HIS5002 - Professional Development and Placement (Volunteering)

Objectives:

On successful completion of the module, students will be able to:
Demonstrate an understanding of the application of History, Public History, and English and History in the workplace;
Reflect on and evaluate their own strengths and weaknesses across a range of key employability skills;
Develop further employability skills, including digital skills, and apply employability skills, including a level of enterprise and initiative, in the placement workplace and perform to a satisfactory standard;
Write an action plan for developing employability skills. Research a future career and career plan, producing an action plan for gaining the further experience and qualifications required to enter that graduate career.

Content:

Semester 1: professional development and preparation for placement - a programme comprising:
Introduction to Professional Development Planning and Placements at Level 5

Workshop sessions including:

- Careers in Heritage and Museums, Archives and Libraries, Education, commercial enterprise
- Applying for employment and postgraduate courses
- Team work
- Assessment centre tasks
- Development of further employability skills, including digital skills

Briefings on Careers and Employability Placement procedure, skills and preparation for Placement and assessment for module, e.g. successful blogging, writing the Report.

Discussion with Placement Tutor.

Semester 2: six-week placement - feedback and reflection - completion of diary (blog) and report, and the Career Action Plan.

Discussion with Placement Tutor.

Semester 2: six-week placement - feedback and reflection - completion of diary (blog) and report, and the Career Action Plan.

Learning and Teaching Information:

Learning and teaching takes place through tutor-led discussion amongst placement tutees, and through preparatory workshop sessions, covering: researching future careers (through Prospects website http://www.prospects.ac.uk/); production and maintenance of a CV; practical activities exploring how to get a Placement, advice on the Placement experience and planning for this, blogging, the digital humanities an broader digital skills. Individual tutorials with Placement Tutor/Development Tutor are provided before the placement starts. Students to write a blog while on Placement (to feed into the final Report).

Workshops
Hours: 32
Intended Group size: 30

Tutorials
Hours: 0.5
Intended group size: 1

Placement
Hours: 167.5 1

Further details relating to assessment
It is expected that students will maintain a blog to underpin the reflective Report; the first week's diary is important in allowing tutors to assess whether or not a student needs some form of additional support/intervention by the University and is therefore mandatory.

Students will produce a portfolio consisting of an up-to-date copy of their CV, a career action plan, a sample covering letter and a digital skills assessment. Further information on portfolio tasks will be given out during the academic year.

Employers submit their own report on the Placement (P/F) to the Placement Partnership Office for consideration, and this is passed to the tutor supporting the student - this may be shared with student on completion of the module, in order for them to undertake further reflection re their skills for employability, (Employer does/does not give permission for this to happen).

The tutor who supported the student on placement normally marks the Placement Report.

Other relevant matters
Students may undertake a Placement abroad, as long as it is approved by the EPO - n.b. the University cannot pay for travel abroad.

Assessment:

001 Portfolio; 1500 words equivalent; end of semester 1 30%
002 Placement 60hr over 12-20 week period (Pass/Fail) 0%
003 Report; 3,000 words; end of placement 70%

Fact File

Module Coordinator - Josh Poklad
Level - 5
Credit Value - 20
Pre-Requisites - NONE
Semester(s) Offered - 5YL