Module FOUD02Q1: Practice

Department: Foundation Year (Durham)

FOUD02Q1: Practice

Prerequisites

• None

Corequisites

• Enquiry

Excluded Combination of Modules

• None

Aims

• Practice is one of the core modules on the Durham Foundation Year. It helps you develop the study skills, academic writing skills, and habits of mind you will need to succeed at university - all grounded in your own subject area. 
• The module runs alongside Enquiry. While Enquiry focuses on the knowledge and ideas of your discipline, Practice develops the practical academic skills you will use to engage with that knowledge.

Content

• Approaches to study in higher education 
• Academic writing styles and conventions 
• Academic referencing practices, including how to avoid academic malpractice 
• How to find and use academic sources 
• Critical and reflective thinking styles 
• Structured academic communication

Learning Outcomes

• Approaches to study in HE, including academic writing styles 
• How to find and use academic information sources 
• Critical and reflective thinking styles and learning practices 
• How to communicate in a structured, academic way 
• Relevant issues and debates about knowledge and its application in your discipline

• Read, analyse and critically evaluate academic sources 
• Extract ideas from sources and use them to construct and support an argument in an appropriate academic format 
• Use academic sources to present and engage with alternative arguments 
• Understand specialist vocabulary and use it appropriately in your writing

• Construct a coherent, logical and persuasive argument supported by evidence 
• Use grammar, vocabulary and academic style accurately and appropriately 
• Present academic content – such as quotations, paraphrases, data and references -accurately and correctly, using the Harvard referencing system (Cite Them Right)

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

• Practice is delivered through seminars and workshops. All sessions are held in discipline-specific groups (streams), and in appropriate teaching facilities. The specific format of each stream’s seminars and workshops, like the content, will differ between streams.   
• In seminars, you will develop your academic skills within the context of your own subject area and engage in teacher-led discussions and group activities.
• In workshops you will be given space to consolidate and apply your learning in a more hands-on, interactive way. This may include problem-based exercises in small groups or individually and include orientation tasks to help you reflect on your own learning, identify your strengths and areas to develop, and plan your future study. The exact content and activities of your workshops will depend on the discipline area of your future degree.
• If you are studying a science-related pathway (for example, Biological Sciences with Foundation), your module may include laboratory workshops. These are designed to help you develop practical laboratory skills, confidence and competency in a science setting.
• As well as timetabled sessions, you are expected to take responsibility for your own learning outside of class. Independent study may include: completing orientation and preparation tasks set by your tutor; undertaking pre-reading before seminars and workshops; answering practice questions and consolidating your understanding; and reading more widely around your subject.
• The module is assessed by portfolio. You will build up a portfolio of work across the module that reflects the conventions and expectations of your chosen degree discipline - so the assessment tasks you will be set, and the way you write and present your work, will be appropriate to your subject area. Assignments such as Essay plan, Essay, Laboratory report, financial impact report, learning log, project blog, presentation may contribute to the portfolio.
• Feedback from each formative and summative assignment is designed to help you improve for future assignments, so it’s important to engage with the feedback you receive.
• Practice runs alongside Enquiry. The two modules are designed to complement each other: while Practice builds your academic skills, Enquiry introduces you to the knowledge and ideas of your chosen discipline. Together, the two modules are designed as part of the full foundation year programme to prepare you for progression to your chosen degree.

Teaching Methods and Learning Hours

Summative Assessment

Formative Assessment:

Throughout the module, you will also complete a range of formative tasks and exercises. The exact type of formative assessment you will complete depends on your chosen degree route, but some indicative examples include essay plans, maths progress tests, literature reviews, learning logs, etc. These are not formally graded, but they are designed to help you develop your skills and build towards each summative assignment. Engaging actively with formative tasks will support your progress and help you perform well in the assessed work.

■ Students who do not attend monitored activities shown under Teaching Methods and Learning Hours, or who fail to complete the summative or formative assessment(s) specified above, may be subject to the Academic Progress procedures defined in the University's General Regulation V, and may be required to leave the University.