ENG5112 - Professional Development and Placement (Volunteering)

Objectives:

On successful completion of the module, students will be able to:
Demonstrate the ability to apply, in the volunteering sector, knowledge and skills gained from the academic study of English.
Reflect on and evaluate their strengths and weaknesses across a range of key employability skills, and further develop their employability skills.
Apply employability skills in the workplace and perform to a satisfactory standard.
Produce written evaluations of professional and academic employability experience.

Content:

This module develops and supports student employability skills and experience, through a placement within a suitable organisation(s), normally 60 hours of volunteering spread over an extended period (12-20 weeks), and a series of workshop sessions introducing Professional Development Planning and preparing students for the placement. Workshop sessions normally include discussion of and lectures on practical elements of employability and presentations from staff from the Professional Placements and Careers Offices. Topics include: job satisfaction, Humanities employment, professionalism, higher-order graduate skills, team work, careers planning, employability skills, briefings on Placement Office procedures, skills and preparation for the placement and assessment.

Learning and Teaching Information:

Learning and teaching takes place through tutor-led discussion amongst placement tutees, and through workshop sessions, covering (as may be applicable to specific placement plans): oral presentations, poster presentations, email reporting, briefings, discussions, practical activities (role play, drafting, writing), and matters relating to the requirements of the preparatory portfolio and report. Individual tutorials with the Placement Tutor/Personal Tutor are provided before the placement starts. Student briefing and information documentation will be provided by the Module Coordinator and Placements Office staff in the Induction meeting.

Workshops
Hours: 18
Intended Group size: Cohort

Placement
Hours: Approximately 150 hours

Guided independent study
Hours: 32

Further details relating to assessment
The Portfolio Assessment focuses on student career planning (including a CV). The report is a scholarly evaluation of the placement in the context of wider secondary reading.

*Students must pass the placement element. In addition, students must adhere to the University's Professional Conduct Code.

Assessment:

001 Portfolio; 1,500 word equiv.; during semester 1 & 2 30%
002 Report; 3,000 words; end of semester 2 70%
003 Placement; pass/fail; end of semester 2 0%

Fact File

Module Coordinator - Juliette Taylor-Batty
Level - 5
Credit Value - 20
Pre-Requisites - NONE
Semester(s) Offered - 5YL