BSc (Hons) Computing with Education | Course Description

SOED 1513 Foundations of Education                 
This course deals with the historical, philosophical, and social foundations of Ghanaian education. Relevant content areas shall be selected from the development of education since the arrival of European traders, the influence of sociocultural ideals on the content and method of Ghanaian education, as well as Ghanaian and selected western philosophical ideas that underpin Ghanaian education.

SOED 1523 Educational Psychology                                                                                

This course combines the theories and principles of human growth and development, and of learning. The specifics include factors that influence the nature and direction of growth and development at the pre-natal and post-natal stages, as well as relevant psychological knowledge concerning the theories of human development. Also included are the relevant theories of learning, such as those of Pavlor, Skinner, and Thorn dike.

SOED 1533 Communication Skills I                                                                                        

This course seeks to introduce you to academic writing as a meaningful process involving extensive reading, multiple drafting, and revision. Students will do a great deal of reading and writing in and out of class. Students will encounter several ideas and strategies that might sound new to them. They are encouraged to try them out and see their reading and writing skills improve tremendously. Both group and individual activities will be assigned.

SOED 1543 Communication Skills II                                                                                      
Continuation of SOED 153 Communication Skills I                                                                                     

SOED 1562 Introduction to Logic                                    
This course looks at the relation between a formal language (syntax) and its interpretations (semantics), Consistency, completeness, and compactness. Tarski’s theorem on the inexpressibility of truth. Godel’s incompleteness theorem and impact on mathematics. Broad spectrum of areas of logic and applications, based on student’s suggestion and interests.

SOED 2513 Pedagogical Aspects of Studying ICT I                                                               
The course will introduce students to Foundations in IT; Basic Facilitation skills for teaching in IT; the use of IT in the retrieval of electronic sources documents; and the importance of software packages as an aid to education. Some discussions under the above themes include, the characteristics, relevance, growth and challenges in the IT industry; the basic facilitation skills like attending, observing, listening, questioning, and hands on practice.

SOED 2523 Pedagogical Aspects of Studying ICT II                                                              
Continuation of SOED 251 Pedagogical Aspects of Studying ICT I.  Attention will be given to the use of library databases, and organisation and manipulation of information, storing etc; the use of software applications in the areas of image manipulations and sound editing and solving specific problems; and teaching specific IT tools and techniques.
                                                               
SOED 2533 Classroom Management                                                                                      
The classroom is made up of the teacher, students, teaching/learning materials, furniture, as well as rules and regulations. The course prepares the student to manage these human and non human resources in the classroom to facilitate teaching and learning. Some of the relevant content areas are theories and principles of classroom management, dealing with order and discipline in the classroom, use of instructional time, use of facilities.  Attention will also be given to team teaching and team combined classes.

SOED 2553 Intermediate Mathematics                                                                                   
Introduction to business mathematics; set theory; mathematical functions; matrix algebra; calculus; introduction to probability; mathematics for finance.

SOED 2543 Multimedia in Education                                                                      

Multimedia for Teachers is a problem-based course, designed as an introduction to the use, methodologies, and concepts of multimedia as an instructional tool. The course will focus on practical hands-on design and multimedia activities appropriate for students and teachers.

SOED 2563 Curriculum Studies in Computing                                                                      

In this course the student is introduced to the concept “curriculum” and the basic principles and processes of its development. The student will be guided to critically examine selected JSS and SSS syllabuses using the knowledge gained to design innovative practical approaches.
SOED 2583 Object Oriented Programming                                                                                    
Same as SICS 1523.

SOED 3513 Aims and Principles of Education                                                                        

The course deals generally with the aims of education from the point of view of the student, the parent, and the state. Relevant content areas will include the social functions of education, equalization of educational opportunity, as well as the relationship between formal/informal educations in national development.

SOED 3523 School Accounting                                                                                                 

In this course, the student is introduced to the basic principles, concepts, tools and procedures in business accounting and their application to day-to-day accounting practice in the school. Also relevant are resource mobilization, financial and inventory control and management, as well as budgeting, and so on.

SOED 3533 Methods of Teaching Computing                                                                       
The student is exposed to current/relevant methods of teaching computing to learners. Principles of questioning, handling of students’ questions, methods of instruction in computing, use of inductive and deductive techniques, and preparation of lesson plans and hands on learning materials, and so on, are some of the relevant content areas. Besides, the student will be required to design and try out innovative methods of teaching the subject.

SOED 3543 Simulation Teaching                                                                                             

In this course students practice specific teaching skills in a non-threatening environment, getting feedback from peers and mentors. The specific teaching skills and practices include questioning techniques, use of the chalkboard/whiteboard/electronic board, and other audio/visual resources, systematic presentation, and lesson closure. Opportunities are provided for the student to observe good models of teaching through video presentations and demonstration of specific teaching techniques.

SOED 4513 Educational Software Design                                                                                      
The course aims at giving students a detailed understanding of the phases of software development lifecycle and how to know the best practice and problems that are associated with each of the individual phases. The course guides the student in the transition from programming-in-the-small to programming-in-the-large.  

The course discusses software development processes and the role of design as applied in those processes.  Topics that will be treated include: Object oriented design; - rationale for OOD, big players within OOD, Abbots proposal and Lorensen's design steps, Design documentation; - design notations, benefits of design methods, IBIS approach, GOMS approach, IEEE Standard for design documentation, Principles of good design, viewpoints of HCI, Wasserman principles of design and Meyer criteria for judging design methods, The design process; - characteristics of design methods, design activities and strategies, the architectural design process, modular decomposition, Introduction to design;- abstraction, modularity, refinement, cohesion, coupling, encapsulation and aggregation. Other topics include System Structuring;- repository, client server and abstract machine architecture models (the advantages and disadvantages of each).  Emphasis is placed on computer-aided software engineering (CASE) tools. Attention is also given to the strengths and weaknesses of the development methods, along with trace ability to requirements and code.

SOED 4523 Public School Management                                                                          
Public School today must be run as business entities. The student is therefore introduced to relevant management theories and their application to management of public schools in Ghana. The role of the community, the district administration, and the central government in the organisation and management of the public school system are relevant.  Attention is also given to the role of PTA, SMC/Board of Governors, Traditional Authorities and Religious Bodies.

SOED 4533 Field Experience (Teaching Practice)                                                                 

In this experience the student spends a minimum of 96 hours teaching in the real school setting. (i.e. six hours per week for the whole semester) The student intern teaches assigned course(s) under the guidance of faculty and selected school-based mentors. The intern receives counseling after each supervision by either the faculty supervisor or the school-based mentor.

SOED 4503 Project/Dissertation                                                                                              
An independent research project carried out under the supervision of a faculty member.  Students may produce an 8,000 or 10,000 – word dissertation depending on the nature of the project or research.

SOED 4603 Project/Dissertation                                                                                              
A continuation of SOED 4503 and submission of Dissertation.