Module ARCH3581: Advanced Professional Training

Department: Archaeology

ARCH3581: Advanced Professional Training

Prerequisites

• 40 credits of Archaeology modules at level 2

Corequisites

Excluded Combination of Modules

• Advanced Professional Training with Skills Passport (ARCH3631)

Aims

• To provide students with an understanding of professional practice and ethic within the archaeology and heritage sector including:
• Practical experience in archaeology through working on an excavation, in a museum, in a lab based project or similar appropriate placement;
• To provide students with an understanding of project design;
• To think about the way projects are managed and the ethics of archaeological practice.

Content

• This module contains a key element of practical experience in archaeology, museums, or cultural heritage management acquired through a placement carried out during the summer between Levels 2 and 3.
• During Term 1 students reflect on their experiences on their placements to develop an understanding of the practical knowledge and skills they acquired, and how they can be used in CVs, cover letters, and interviews to enhance their employability.
• Students receive instruction in project management including health and safety and ethics.
• Students will also develop their own ideas for a future project related to their placement and learn how to articulate them in relation to common archaeological project design and project management structures.

Learning Outcomes

• Understanding of the role of practical work in archaeological research.
• Appreciation of the inter-relationship of theory and practice in the archaeological process.
• An understanding of how and when to deploy particular techniques of investigation and recording in a practical project, and associated health and safety and ethical considerations.

• Technical and interpretive skills pertaining to archaeological research related to the placement undertaken.
• Operating safely and ethically in the workplace.
• An ability to reflect on the outcome of a practical archaeological project.
• An ability to understand the role of project design in organising practical and/or research work.
• An understanding of applied archaeological ethics.

• Competence in a wide range of transferable skills, including reading, assimilating, investigating, and criticising complex data and interpretations.
• The ability to develop a personal development plan to improve performance and employability and obtain feedback.
• The ability to manage time and resources to meet personal objectives.
• The ability to take responsibility for personal decisions.
• The ability to plan work activities and review progress.
• The ability to check and verify investigation data for accuracy and integrity.
• Framing archaeological work through common project design structures.
• Understanding ethical concerns in project design.
• In-depth understanding of the transferable skills gained during the course of the work placement and how to incorporate these skills into a CV, cover letter, and job interview to enhance employability.

Modes of Teaching, Learning and Assessment and how these contribute to the learning outcomes of the module

• The module is taught through a practical placement and a tutorial in which students relate and reflect on their experience.
• The placement must be completed prior to the start of the module, normally in the immediately preceding summer.
• Tutorial presentations will provide the students with practical experience in making oral/visual presentations.
• A series of lectures on project management in archaeological contexts will provide students with the skills to develop their own ideas for projects in the same area as their placement project.
• The student will then write a project management document for a large scale project relating to their placement.
• The project management plan assignment will assess their ability to develop and articulate this project, including health and safety and ethical considerations while the lectures will explain the major steps involved.
• A session on ethics in project work will provide students with an understanding of ethical concerns in archaeological contexts.
• A session on careers and employability will provide students with an understanding of how to recognise and emphasise transferable skills gained during the work placement in future job applications in order to enhance employability, and they will have the opportunity to receive formative feedback on a drafted CV that includes subject-specific and transferable skills gained during the placement.
• The project management plan and risk assessment and ethics statement will assess the student's ability to reflect on the ethical implications of their proposed project, and to understand the legal requirements they should comply with
• Research is embedded into the teaching of this module through practical work where students experience the process of research and develop skills in conducting archaeological research. Students develop research skills in the specialist area of the placement and have the opportunity to acquire a research ethos.
• Lectures may consist of pre-recorded videos and/or live presentations from tutors, and integrate break-out discussions, study exercises and other learning activities as appropriate to the material covered from week to week.

Teaching Methods and Learning Hours

Summative Assessment

Formative Assessment:

Formative assessment will involve oral feedback during tutorial presentations on skills development and on a draft of a CV.

■ Attendance at all activities marked with this symbol will be monitored. Students who fail to attend these activities, or to complete the summative or formative assessment specified above, will be subject to the procedures defined in the University's General Regulation V, and may be required to leave the University