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Education & Development
Teaching mathematics
This free course, Teaching mathematics, has been designed for non-specialist mathematics teachers of 8 to 14 year olds, teaching assistants, home schoolers and parents and draws on the established provision of mathematics education at the Open University. It can also be used as Continuing Professional Development by individuals or groups ...
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Education & Development
Global perspectives on primary education
This free course, Global perspectives on primary education, provides an introduction to comparative education studies and will compare and contrast primary schooling around the world. You will look into classrooms and hear from teachers, teacher educators and policy makers from a range of education settings and countries. You will also learn ...
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Education & Development
Supporting children's development
Supporting children’s development is an introductory course for anyone who is interested in children’s development, especially support staff in schools, such as teaching assistants. It builds on your knowledge and skills to develop a deeper understanding of children from the early years to school leavers. You will be introduced to some core ...
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Health, Sports & Psychology
The science of nutrition and healthy eating
This free course, The science of nutrition and healthy eating, looks at the science behind nutrition, covering aspects of biology, chemistry and physics as well as giving some insight into healthier eating. Reading food labels, choosing healthier foods, hydrating appropriately and understanding how we taste food will allow you to be more ...
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Money & Business
Effective communication in the workplace
This free course, Effective communication in the workplace, explores the importance of communication as a skill in the workplace. It aims to increase your understanding of communication skills and to help you to consider how your communication could be perceived by others. You'll cover areas such as verbal and non-verbal communication, written ...
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History & The Arts
Discovering music: the blues
This free course, Discovering music: the blues, will introduce you to a musical tradition with roots in the nineteenth century but which is still relevant to making music today. You will learn about how the lyrics of blues songs reflect the social environment in which they were created, and about the musical techniques that underpin the ...
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Science, Maths & Technology
Understanding autism
Learn about autism, one of the most challenging long-term conditions of the century. This free course, Understanding autism, introduces the autism spectrum, how it is experienced by individuals and families, and why it has become a global concern. The course explains how understanding of the autism spectrum and approaches to diagnosis and care ...
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History & The Arts
Exploring books for children: words and pictures
Many people have fond memories of the stories they encountered in childhood, perhaps especially of those wonderful picture books and illustrated tales which fired our young imaginations and transported us to magical worlds. To an adult’s eye, some picture books may seem remarkably simple, even oversimplified. However, in this free course, ...
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Languages
How to learn a language
Learn about the concepts and skills required to learn languages successfully. This free course, How to learn a language, introduces the skills and strategies for language learning, setting realistic goals when learning languages and keeping motivated, practise speaking skills and vocabulary learning strategies. It will enable you to evaluate ...
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Health, Sports & Psychology
Exploring learning disabilities: supporting belonging
This free course, Exploring learning disabilities: supporting belonging, takes the real-life cases of a number of different people to explore what it is like to have the label ‘learning disability’. The course also considers how it feels to support someone with a learning disability, as a family member, a friend, an advocate or a paid worker...
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Science, Maths & Technology
Discovering chemistry
Chemistry lies at the centre of our modern life, playing a part in areas as diverse as the development of new drugs and materials, analysing our environment through to more mundane activities such as washing your clothes and making your tea. But to truly understand the role chemistry plays you need to have a sound grasp of a number of ...
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Science, Maths & Technology
Can renewable energy sources power the world?
We ask the question ‘Can renewable energy sources power the world?’ as a response to the growing awareness that increased use of renewable energy technologies is making a major contribution to global efforts to limit anthropogenic climate change. The course begins by examining the environmental concerns that have caused a rise in interest in ...