This module focuses on giving you a strong foundation of academic and transferable skills alongside your business modules. It also provides you with an opportunity to develop life-long learning and personal development skills. The module provides a bridge between the wide range of study experiences of students at Level 3 and the demands of successful study at level 4. The early part of the module will aim to develop the essential study skills that will be required to be successful on all the modules of the Foundation year.
As the module develops you will start to evidence those skills also in the context of your future career and learn how to build your employability, both for your own self-awareness, as well as for recruitment and selection activities you may face for placements and graduate employment. You will have the opportunity to apply your learning in a practical way working as part of a group on a business projects and problems.
A wide range of both formative and summative assessment methods are used in the module. These include a portfolio of skills and a short capstone project culminating in a poster presentation which will use the skills developed in this module, alongside the subject material in other modules, to consider a topical issue related to your chosen degree pathway.
The personal tutorial system for the foundation year is incorporated within this module.
On successful completion of the module, students will be able to:
During the year students will cover the essential study skills required for level 3 study ensuring that they recognise and appreciate their current academic and study skill level, plan how to uplift that in this different context, and develop those skills directly needed for successful study in this module and the other level 3 modules being studied alongside.
Students will be introduced to specific study skills such as understanding assessment briefs, sourcing appropriate materials, time management, problem solving and how to write reports that relate directly to business using well justified and reasoned arguments
Students will be work on a reflective journal. To be successful the students will need to use the essential skills outlined under Curriculum Content above and developed earlier. Each week, students will be introduced to a new skill; knowledge materials, exercises to develop the skills and further reading materials will be available on Moodle and students will be expected to have accessed and read those materials before each taught session. Formal class time will be used to introduce skills and generate debate, as well as providing the opportunity for participatory learning by means of problem solving exercises and case studies.
Students will be encouraged to assess their own reasoning, think logically and broadly, and to consider alternate conclusions - students benefit from opening their minds to alternative viewpoints and reviewing their existing options.
The Capstone Project element of the course will allow students to work independently and engage in individual research to identify the wider issues which affect the business problem they have been working on. This will allow students to develop their research and referencing skills and broaden their understanding of business issues. Students will assess and reflect upon the skills they have developed earlier in the year and how they have been used to complete the project.
The sequence of content and skills delivered in the module will align closely with, and will complement and support, the delivery in other modules within the overall foundation programme.
| Definitive UNISTATS Category | Indicative Description | Hours |
|---|---|---|
| Scheduled learning and teaching | 4 hours per week over 32 weeks | 128 |
| Guided independent study (which includes work-based learning) | 172 | |
| Total (number of credits x 10) | 300 | |
A key feature of the delivery of the module is the incorporation of effective formative assessment activities to prepare students for summative assessment. The overarching nature of this module, with its emphasis on developing transferable skills for use across the whole programme, will allow many opportunities for formative assessment eg. whilst a business report does not form part of this module's summative assessment a formative, case study based, exercise of this nature will be used to develop effective writing skills that can be applied across the programme and also within the summative elements of this module. Similarly topics such as exam and revision techniques will be incorporated within the academic tutorial system in this module to support the "time constrained" assessment elements in other modules. Students will be encouraged to engage actively with the feedback they receive on formative assessment (this will form part of their reflective log) to ensure that this has a positive impact in summative assessment and helps develop their skills as reflective independent learners ready for progression to Level 4 study.
Summative assessment of the module is through the submission of a Professional and Personal Development Portfolio (50%), and a Capstone Project (50%) relating the work of the module to the student's intended degree pathway.
The portfolio of skills activities will encompass records of planning and reflection activities eg. PDP, library workbook, production and review of revision plans, analysis of revision techniques, referencing and research activities. Students will have access to a log of their performance in the assessed coursework activities and this will be reviewed periodically with their personal tutors. Students will prepare a short report based upon their reflection identifying two areas of strength, two areas for further development and recommendations as to how this development might be achieved. Together with reflections and analysis of activities that they complete during visits to the Kingston Hill campus to sample the level 4 teaching and learning experience and other activities relating to their intended degree pathway following the Foundation Year.
A key feature of the assessment scheme is a Capstone Project which allows students to apply the research and analysis skills that they have developed in the module to consider a topical issue related to their intended degree pathway. The project requires students to document their research and analysis of their chosen topic and culminates in a poster presentation. The presentation occurs at the end of the year, and will be made to the course directors of the students' intended degree programme at the University.
| Learning Outcome | Assessment Strategy |
|---|---|
| Manage their time effectively and demonstrate a transition to becoming independent and reflective learners. | Professional and Personal Development Portfolio Capstone Project |
| Use a range of essential business and study skills to solve a range of business problems. | Professional and Personal Development Portfolio Capstone Project |
| Assess, reflect upon and start to evidence their current business skill levels. | Professional and Personal Development Portfolio |
| Process and present business information in a variety of formats including the effective use of ICT. | Capstone Project |
| Retrieve, process and reference information from a range of sources. | Professional and Personal Development Portfolio Capstone Project |
| Description of Assessment | Definitive UNISTATS Categories | Percentage |
|---|---|---|
| Coursework | Professional and Personal Development Portfolio | 50% |
| Practical exam | Capstone Project | 50% |
| Total (to equal 100%) | 100% | |
It IS NOT a requirement that any major element of assessment is passed separately in order to achieve an overall pass for the module.
The Study Skills Handbook - (Palgrave Study Skills) by Stella Cottrell 2008, Third Edition. Palgrave Macmillan, ISBN 13;978-0-230-57305-5
Trought F. (2011) Brilliant employability skills. How to stand out from the crowd in the graduate job market. Prentice Hall
Additional Reading :
Effective Study Skills - Unlock Your Potential - Geraldine Price and Pat Maier 2007- Pearson Longman ISBN 13;978-1-4058-4073-6
Cameron, S. (2010) The Business Student's Handbook: Skills for study and employment. FT Prentice Hall (5th edition)
Horn, R. (2009) The business skills handbook. Everything you need to know in your studies and at work. Charted Institute of Personnel Development
Winstanley, D. (2005) Personal Effectiveness, CIPD