Module FOUD0079: Scholarship in Higher Education Core (SHE Core)

Department: Foundation Year (Durham)

FOUD0079: Scholarship in Higher Education Core (SHE Core)

Prerequisites

• None

Corequisites

• None

Excluded Combination of Modules

• None

Aims

• Programme Aims:
• Foundation students have 3 or 4 core components to their programme, depending on route. The CMT modules are designed to introduce students to concepts, methods and theories within the student’s chosen discipline, and provide a lens through which students engage with knowledge and knowledge creation in their chosen discipline. Meanwhile the Scholarship in Higher Education (SHE) modules provide the tool-kit for their engagement and communication of knowledge; whereas 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. All students apart from Arts & Humanities also have a maths component.
• This module contributes to the overall aims of the Foundation Programme, which are aligned to FHEQ level four descriptors. By the end of the module, students will have demonstrated
• knowledge of the underlying concepts and principles associated with their area(s) of study, and an ability to evaluate and interpret these within the context of that area of study
• an ability to present, evaluate and interpret qualitative and quantitative data, in order to develop lines of argument and make sound judgements in accordance with basic theories and concepts of their subject(s) of study.
• evaluate the appropriateness of different approaches to solving problems related to their area(s) of study and/or work
• communicate the results of their study/work accurately and reliably, and with structured and coherent arguments
• undertake further training and develop new skills within a structured and managed environment.
• the qualities and transferable skills necessary for employment requiring the exercise of some personal responsibility.
• Module Aims:
• • To introduce students to different theories of learning (behaviourist, cognitivist, constructivist) and have them apply these theories to their own experiences of learning.
• To foster a constructivist approach to knowledge and to learning which supports the students’ transition from secondary to higher education.
• To equip students to move from lower-order learning objectives such as remembering, understanding and applying facts and concepts to higher-order objectives such as analysing, evaluating and eventually creating new knowledge.
• To increase students’ procedural knowledge, in terms of academic skills such as note-taking, seminar participation and referencing.
• To develop students’ metacognition through reflection on their own skills and learning strategies.

Content

• Theories of learning
• Lecture and seminar skills
• Effective reading and note-taking
• Argumentation and criticality
• Clear and structured written communication
• Effective use and citation of sources
• Reflecting and using feedback

Learning Outcomes

• By the end of the module students will have demonstrated have knowledge of:
• Theories of learning (behaviourist, cognitivist, constructivist)
• A ‘carrier’ topic relevant to their future in higher education (eg. Generative AI / Research ethics / HE’s contribution to solving contemporary problems)

• By the end of the module students will have demonstrated that they can:
• Use lecture content to inform the direction of their writing
• Use seminar discussion to develop their arguments
• Extract and use relevant ideas from academic texts
• Synthesise ideas from different academic texts
• Critically evaluate these ideas from academic texts
• Use feedback and reflection to improve their own writing

• By the end of the module students will have demonstrated that they can:
• Express ideas and arguments clearly in writing
• Use specialist academic vocabulary from academic texts
• Structure their writing in a principled and effective manner
• Present quotations, paraphrases and references correctly using the Harvard referencing system

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

• and how these contribute to the learning outcomes of the module
• This module will be delivered using a combination of collaborative lectures and workshops and weekly tutorials. Students will be taught concepts and skills, then challenged to apply them in a variety of tasks designed to achieve the module outcomes.
• Collaborative Lectures and Workshops
• These provide guided access to the module content, with approximately 100 students attending. Most additional teaching is carried out in groups ranging between 5-30 students to allow for an interactive teaching/learning style, encompassing lecture-style presentations by the teacher, teacher-led discussions and peer group discussions. These are supported by reference materials such as introductory videos, handbooks, handouts, lecture slides or notes posted on the VLE and are delivered by expert staff from within the DCAD team.
• Collaborative Lectures and Seminars focus on developing Subject Specific Knowledge, Subject Specific Skills, and Key Skills
• Tutorials
• Tutorials are used to guide students to apply learning in their disciplinary context, support individual student needs, and consolidate learning. Tutorials focus on problem-based exercises in small groups or individually.
• Summative Assessment
• Assessments within this module are designed to enable students to develop epistemological maturity, self-regulation and essential academic communication skills.
• The first assessment consists of a three-part online writing task where students have to first produce a short piece of descriptive writing in response to an input text; then a comparative piece of writing in response to this first input text plus an additional one; and finally an analytical piece of writing based on a combination of several input texts. This three-part task will assess students’ ability to extract and use relevant ideas from academic texts; to synthesise these ideas; and to critically analyse and evaluate the ideas. This will demonstrate their ability to work at different levels of Bloom’s Taxonomy of learning objectives, as well as their ability to produce a clear, appropriate and structured piece of academic writing. Detailed tutor feedback on this first assessment will inform and scaffold the second assessment.
• The second assessment consists of a reflective writing task which students will work on throughout the course, where they reflect on their experiences of both secondary and higher education, linking these experiences to different theories of learning, assessing the evidence for each theory and its value within their own educational trajectory. This will assess the same skills covered by the first assessment, along with the students’ ability to use lecture content and seminar discussion to shape their writing, and their referencing skills. Part of the reflective writing task will involve the student explaining how they used tutor feedback to develop this piece of reflective writing over the course of the module (criterion SSS 6).

Teaching Methods and Learning Hours

Summative Assessment

Formative Assessment:

Every SHE lecture involves extensive in-class formative tasks and exercises, which help students 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