Academic and Personal Development

Learning Outcomes

Knowledge and Understanding

Having successfully completed this module, you will be able to demonstrate knowledge and understanding of:

• what it means to be an independent learner;
• how teams and groups work together
• reflective practice in student and professional life;

Subject Specific Intellectual and Research Skills

Having successfully completed this module you will be able to:

• recognise how you and others use time and its impacts on how you organise all your goals and
• value the strategic impact of reflective practice in academic and personal development;
• use various digital tools to enhance your learning
• work together;

Transferable and Generic Skills

Having successfully completed this module you will be able to:

• work towards being a reflective learner;
• use a variety of digital tools to help you learn;
• use university documents to give you an overview of what is expected of you.
• work towards being an independent learner;

Topic 1: Becoming an Independent Learner

• Understanding your study documents

Note: Programme specification/ module specification / Blackboard session / student handbook or notes etc.

• So what is an ‘independent’ learner?

Notes: Why is this important /working WITH fellow students/ knowing where and how to get information / knowing how to get help / managing stress / understanding your library and referencing your work

• The value of being reflective

Notes: What this is / a professional approach to life-long learning / how to do it (in prep for reflective portfolio)

Topic 2: Being Digitally Literate

• What it means to be digitally literate

Notes: An overview of the area eg. Key online competencies Online identity, collaborating online, online learning, tools .e.g scoop, efolio, Blackboard.

• Digital tools 1

Notes: Blackboard Developing your eLibrary skills

• Digital tools 2

Notes: Efolio, scoop etc and what they can do.

• Learning online

Notes: Working in groups online, online etiquette

Topic 3: Getting Organised

• Understanding how we use time

Notes: Recognising how you use time / multi and/or linear tasking – when to / balancing your goals / identifying your ideal study space/time management strategies. On line discussion re their own approach to time.

• Understanding laboratory experiments

Notes: Be clear what is expected of you/ understand the purpose of the experiment / record your data clearly / plan and write up afterwards / reflect on what you did– include work on time.

• Becoming a real team player & presenting your work

Notes: Students given texts/handouts that discuss this topic. In groups they devise a presentation based on how they worked through the information and worked as a group. Being reflective is vital. Feedback on this given. Presentation feedback

The areas to cover are: different types of working groups / setting ground rules / planning who does what / recognising potential problem areas / what to do when things go wrong .

Topic 4: Informal Assessment

• Writing your reflective portfolio

Notes:This is a time for individual / group sessions / reflection is across all subjects during the semester / planning the portfolio / collecting evidence for your portfolio e.g. feedback comments from tutors and marks.

Learning activities include individual work on exercises, supported by tutorial/workshop sessions with tutors; writing an individual reflective document on own learning using suitable software tools; working in groups online.

Teaching methods include: lectures, supported by exercises; tutorials/workshops to support learning; printed notes available through Blackboard and/or through your module lecturer.

Summative

This is how we’ll formally assess what you have learned in this module.