Module FOUD0079: Scholarship in Higher Education (STEM)

Department: Foundation Year (Durham)

FOUD0079: Scholarship in Higher Education (STEM)

Prerequisites

• None

Corequisites

Excluded Combination of Modules

• None

Aims

• The CMT modules are designed to introduce students to concepts, methods and theories within the student’s chosen discipline. The CMT modules provide a lens through which students engage with knowledge and knowledge creation in their chosen discipline; the Scholarship in Higher Education module provides the tool-kit for their engagement and communication of knowledge; and the Advanced Scholarship in Higher Education module provides an iterative experience of bringing toolkit and lens together to provide students with the opportunity to actively engage in the process of knowledge generation and communication by completing a research project within the student’s chosen discipline.
• This module aims:
• to introduce and support the development of effective academic skills and communication;
• to introduce a range of foundation concepts and knowledge to support learning in Higher Education;
• to introduce qualitative and quantitative data collection;
• to introduce the effective use of primary and secondary data;to introduce and develop reflective practice;
• to introduce and support structured verbal communication
• to introduce interdisciplinary and collaborative learning and an understanding of academic conventions (norms, values and expectations) in order to prepare students to join the community of practice of their chosen discipline.
• Skills and other attributes
• This module also supports the overall programme aims to enable students to have:
• acquired the ability to work confidently with a range of academic materials and sources (as appropriate to progression subject area);
• acquired the ability to work confidently with numerical data and basic statistics (as appropriate to progression subject area);
• gained various skills for undergraduate study, including the ability to extract and summarise meaning from text, to read rapidly and accurately, to write and present clear and precise arguments using appropriate evidence;
• acquired a level of self-efficacy in relation to workload management, basic academic autonomy and a learner identity as an effective university student;
• gained skills in using libraries, online databases and other reference resources;
• acquired the ability to engage confidently and with clarity in academic oral argument and respond appropriately to contributions made by fellow students.

Content

• The academic learning cycle
• Academic writing styles
• Plagiarism and a range of academic referencing practices
• A range of quantitative and qualitative research methods
• Academic information sources and the use of the Library to support learning
• Critical and reflective thinking styles
• Structured verbal communication

Learning Outcomes

• By the end of the module students will have demonstrated:
• 1. Knowledge of a range of relevant subject concepts
• 2. Knowledge of a range of relevant research methods
• 3. Knowledge of a range of relevant vocabulary

• By the end of the module students will be able to:
• 1. Demonstrate the appropriate use of a range of relevant subject concepts in response to specific assessment tasks
• 2. Demonstrate the appropriate use of relevant research methods in response to specific assessment tasks
• 3. Demonstrate the appropriate use of a range of relevant vocabulary in response to specific assessment tasks

• By the end of the module students will be able to:
• 1. Demonstrate critical thinking
• 2. Demonstrate effective communication using appropriate academic styles
• 3. Demonstrate appropriate use of number
• 4. Demonstrate the use of appropriate sources of evidence

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

• This module will be delivered using a combination of lectures and seminars/tutorials on a weekly basis. Students will be taught concepts and skills then challenged to apply them in a variety of contextual tasks that are designed to lead to achieving the module outcomes.
• Lectures and Seminars
• Lectures and seminars are used to provide guided access to Concepts, methods and theories. Most teaching is carried out in groups ranging between 10 – 30 students to allow for an interactive teaching/learning style which will encompass some lecture-style presentations by the teacher, teacher-led discussions and discussion in groups. These are supported by reference materials, such as introductory videos, module handbooks, handouts or notes posted on the VLE and are delivered by expert staff from within the DCAD team.
• Lectures and Seminars focus on developing Subject Specific Knowledge and Key Skills
• Workshops/Tutorials
• Workshops and Tutorials are used to orient learning, support individual student needs, and to consolidate learning. Tutorials focus on problem-based exercises in small groups or individually.
• Workshops and Tutorials enable students to consolidate their Subject Specific Knowledge and understanding by applying Subject Specific and Key Skills to problems.
• Individual Tutorials
• Individual tutorials focus on discussion and feedback between students and tutors on a one-to-one basis in a more informal environment.
• Individual Tutorials support all learning outcomes, enabling students to discuss, question and receive feedback on their progress, to enhance their own self-reflection, and to encourage them to take responsibility for their own study.
• Orientation Tasks and Self-Regulated learning
• Orientation tasks support students toward Self-Regulated learning and support students to develop Subject Specific Knowledge and Skills, and Key Skills. Self-regulated learning encourages students to reflect on their own learning; identify strengths and weaknesses; and structure some of their own future learning through self-diagnostic exercises and completion of an extended project.
• Orientation tasks and Self-guided learning support all learning outcomes, enabling students to consolidate and expand on Subject Specific Knowledge gained through other learning methods, and to develop Key Skills, which are applied in the production of formative and summative assignments.
• Assessments within this module are designed to provide opportunities to engage in an iterative process to develop student’s epistemological maturity, self-regulation, and essential academic communication skills. Early assessments are used to provide detailed feedback on which later assessments build.
• The Assignments primarily allow students to demonstrate the range and sophistication of their understanding of the module’s content and how they apply this within the context of study in Higher Education, with the secondary focus on effective academic communication through the medium of Academic Writing (as they are likely to experience in their subsequent years of study).

Teaching Methods and Learning Hours

Summative Assessment

Formative Assessment:

A range of formative tasks are used to help students work towards module outcomes and to iteratively build competency towards each respective summative assessment.

■ 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