There are two assessments:

 

The first is a Progress Report (weighted at 30%). The final submission date via Turnitin is midday on Friday, 11^th December 2015 (to be confirmed at the start of Semester 1).

 

The second is an Evaluation Report and Feedback Letter (weighted at 70%). The final submission date via Turnitin is midday on Friday, 26^th February 2015 (to be confirmed at the start of semester 1).

 

Read these guidelines for both assessments at the start of the module as you should not duplicate material. You must achieve a minimum mark of 40% in aggregate across both elements to pass the module. Your module mark is obtained by aggregating the individual marks of the module assessments using the weightings shown. When writing your assessments, you may wish to use Turnitin which helps you check the originality of your work against a range of electronic sources. Further information about this is on Blackboard.

 

1. Assessment 1: Progress Report (30%)

 

1.1       Purpose of the Progress Report

 

This assessment gives you an opportunity to start to understand the organisation where you’re based and to reflect upon your experiences there. Specifically, the assessment gives you a chance to show that you can:

 

• Undertake independent work by organising your own experiential learning.
• Systematically collect and record your observations and reflect on these.

 

1.2   What you have to do …..

 

            Stage 1: Begin your reflective journal

As soon as you start the module, you should begin a reflective journal in which you record your activities, observations and reflections upon your learning. This reflection can include the journey you make in arranging your experiential learning e.g. preparing for and attending interviews. You should also consider what future learning needs you may have in relation to the experiential learning or your future career development. You can record your activities and reflection in PebblePad, the university’s personal learning system: www.pebblepad.co.uk/uwl/ This reflective journal should be written as you carry out your experiential learning. It will remind you of important information for your assignments and can be used during discussions in supervision sessions. The importance of keeping a reflective journal will be highlighted in class.

 

Stage 2: Develop your understanding of your experiential learning organisation

As soon as you’ve identified your experiential learning organisation, you should start to develop your knowledge of it and its context. This is sometimes referred to as ‘business, commercial or organisational awareness’ and employers consider it to be an important graduate attribute.   Some aspects you should consider are:

 

• Purpose of the organisation e.g. its aims, objectives and/or

philosophy. How do these aspects fit into wider structures and policies? For example, if you’re carrying out experiential learning at a smoking cessation clinic, how does the purpose of the clinic relate to government health policy in general and smoking policy in particular? Similarly, if you’re at an after-school club, how does its work relate to government policy on literacy, numeracy and socio-emotional health? You should read a newspaper or news website (e.g. www.bbc.co.uk/news/) regularly so you’re aware of current issues in your area.

 

• Organisational structure e.g. how is the organisation structured? Is the organisation part of a larger network or group? You will find it useful to make a diagram of this as you will need to include one in your first assignment.

 

• How the organisation is run e.g. who makes decisions? How is the organisation funded and/or how is it financed?

 

• Users of the organisation e.g. who are the organisation’s clients/users/patients/customers? Are they a particular group of people? How do they come into contact with the organisation?

 

• A reflection on your experiences in setting up the experiential learning and with the organisation This should draw on your work for Stage 1 above. For example, how did you go about setting up the experiential learning? How would you summarise your role in the organisation? What are the key activities you have carried out? Which of these activities are new to you? What have you done that could be linked to the competencies employers expect to see?
• Personal Development Planning g. In what areas do you need to develop in relation to your experiential learning or to work towards your career plans? For example, if you’re based at a community drugs project, would it be helpful to learn about models of addiction? If you wish to apply for an Assistant Psychologist role, what other experience may you need to get in addition to your experiential learning? What steps will you take to achieve this personal development?

 

The organisation, its affiliated organisations or user groups may have information you can use (e.g. annual reports, consumer leaflets, structural charts) to add to your observations and research. You can use other secondary sources (e.g. government statistics such as those provided by the Office for National Statistics [www.statistics.gov.uk], local authority or health trust data, business or industrial databases).

 

            Stage 3: Write your Progress Report

From your notes and reflective journal, you should write a Progress Report of between 1,800 and 2,000 words.

 

While you are working on the report, use Turnitin which helps you check the originality of your work.

 

Give the report a full title which reflects its content. Do not just call it ‘Progress Report’.

 

Organise the Report as you wish although many students find it useful to write it in two sections to cover the content required:

 

 

SECTION 1: Introduction and background to the organisation (900-1,000 words)

 

This should include:

 

• The aims and philosophy of the module, e.g. experiential learning as a way of learning. You should make links to education or other theory. The library has resources on the use of experiential learning in education.

 

• A description of the organisation, e.g. its aims and philosophy, organisational structure and processes, staffing levels and nature of work. You should place the organisation’s aims within a broader context (e.g. government policy and strategy). The description of the structure of the organisation should include a diagram and we will look at some of these in class.

 

SECTION 2: An account of your experiential learning to date (900-1,000 words)

This section of the report should draw on the reflective journal you have been keeping (e.g. in PebblePad) while carrying out your experiential learning and the work you have done in the seminars or independently. You should include:

 

• A brief description of the key activities you’ve been involved in so far, e.g. contacting the organisation, meetings with staff. The activities can include searching for and arranging your experiential learning so you do not need to have started your experiential learning to write Assessment 1.

 

• A brief summary of your role in the organisation.

 

• A reflection on what you’ve learned so far from the experiential learning. What have you done that could be linked to the competencies employers expect to see? What organisation-specific reading have you carried out? How does what you’ve learned and done relate to your personal development goals e.g. career plans?

 

• A description of how you intend to develop your personal and academic skills in relation to the experiential learning. For example, what skills and knowledge do you need to learn and/or develop? How will you achieve this?

 

• What concepts/theories/models/evidence do you intend to examine in relation to the organisation? This is an important element of the assignment and should not be omitted. You should not go into great detail or begin the analysis but it should be clear that you have identified some appropriate theory to consider in the second assignment. The theory should be drawn from lecture material and your organisation-specific reading.

 

            Remember: You must anonymise any organisation clients or employees that you mention in your reports.  This can be as simple as changing their names and possibly their role title.  You may also need to anonymise the organisation. This can be through a name change and possibly a change of location e.g. ‘in a London borough’ rather than ‘in Hammersmith’. When you have anonymised organisations or people, state that you’ve done this.  Also, if you have permission to name the organisation, you should state this in your assignment. Issues of confidentiality and anonymity will be discussed in class.

 

To do well in the assessment, you’ll need to use a number of key skills. These include negotiation skills, interpersonal skills, co-operation with outside organisations, investigation of external resources and report writing.   Your assignment should be submitted through Turnitin by mid-day on Friday, 11th December 2015.

 

Before you submit assignment 1, you must complete the Confirmation of Experiential Learning details form (Appendix 1 of these guidelines and on Blackboard) and paste it at the end of your assignment.

 

 

1.3       Assessment Criteria

The following criteria will be used to assess the Progress Report:

 

Content:

• Illustration of research into the experiential learning organisation
• Reflection on learning
• Identification of psychological theory relevant to the experiential learning

 

 

Communication and Presentation:

• Writing style: structure, lucidity and cohesiveness
• Adherence to word limit
• Use of APA reference system (see guide on Psychology Network on Blackboard)

 

 

 

 

 

2. Assessment 2: Evaluation Report and Feedback Letter (70%)

 

The second assessment has two components: an Evaluation Report (1,700-2,000 words) and a feedback letter (200-400 words) to the organisation. It is recommended that you actually send the feedback letter to the organisation.

 

2.1       Purpose of the Evaluation Report

 

The report is a chance for you to consolidate your learning on the module and to evaluate the relationship between psychological theory and practice. To do well in the assessment, you need to use a number of key skills. These include the abilities to relate theory to practice, to be critical, to reflect on what you have learned and to write reports.

 

2.2.      What you have to do…

 

By the time you write this report, you will have read the required reading from the lecture/workshop programme and organisation-specific material that you have identified yourself or with your tutors in supervision sessions. From your reading and notes made at the organisation, lectures, seminars and supervision sessions, you should write a report linking psychological theory and practice.

 

The report should identify relevant psychological theories/ concepts/models and evidence and critically examine how they relate to the organisation where you carry out your experiential learning. Please note that the theory introduced in the lecture sessions has broad applicability to a range of situations and organisations.

At first, concepts such as social support and models of stress may not appear particularly relevant but, with reflection and supervision discussion, you are likely to find they are. However, you may also wish to consider other theories of specific relevance to your experiential learning. For example, if you’re based in a chemical dependency unit, you may wish to outline models of addiction and analyse what models the staff and users of the organisation hold.   If you’re based with a management consultant, you may wish to examine aspects such as change management, motivation, leadership and team-building.

 

From your reading, you should write an Evaluation Report of between 1,700 and 2,000 words (excluding appendices and references). Use the full word limit to cover the assignment adequately. Remember to give the report a detailed title that reflects its content. Do not just call it ‘Evaluation Report’. The report should cover two key elements:

 

• An examination and evaluation of the application of psychological theory at your organisation

For example, if you’re based at a play centre for children with special needs you may wish to examine social support in some detail. This may include analysing the type of support offered in terms of its structure and functions, and explaining how this applies to the children who use the centre and to other people involved with the centre e.g. staff, parents, teachers. Similarly, if you’re based at an after-school homework support club, you may wish to analyse the club’s work in terms of prevention. For example, does the club have a preventive role, can this role be categorised as primary, secondary or tertiary, is it a community-wide preventive strategy?

 

• Suggestions on ways in which theory might be used to develop practice, and, if possible, how practice might inform the development of theory

From examining the extent to which theory is put into practice, it should be possible for you to identify ways in which practice could be developed. For example, with reference to models of stress in organisations, it may be possible for you to suggest ways in which an organisation can adapt its working practices to reduce risk of staff burn-out and improve client outcomes.

 

You may organise the report as you wish. Some students like to deal with the above elements in an integrative way so they make suggestions on developments alongside the analysis; others prefer to deal with the two elements consecutively. You should do whatever you consider appropriate for your report. However, most students find it helpful to use sub-headings relating to the particular aspects they are considering e.g. ‘The Role of Social Support’.

 

You will probably produce a more analytic piece of work if you consider four or five aspects in depth rather than bringing in more material at a superficial level.   However, you should aim to demonstrate your broader knowledge of psychology through brief but explicit links.

 

            Remember: As with the Progress Report, you should always anonymise any organisation clients or employees that you mention in your reports.  This can be as simple as changing their names and possibly their role title.  You may also need to anonymise the organisation. This can be through a name change and possibly a change of location e.g. ‘in a London borough’ rather than ‘in Hammersmith’. When you have anonymised organisations or people, state that you’ve done this.  Also, if you have permission to name the organisation, you should state this in your assignment. Issues of confidentiality and anonymity will be discussed in class.

 

Feedback Letter

As well as your report, you need to write a feedback letter to your experiential learning organisation. The letter is part of the assessment and must:

 

• Thank the organisation for giving you the opportunity to carry out your experiential learning with them.

 

• Outline what you’ve gained from your experience in terms of development of your knowledge and skills. You can draw on your reflective diary for this (e.g. PebblePad).   In your role as a student, you must not be critical of the organisation and you should not offer them advice.

 

• Be approximately 200-400 words (no more than 2 A4 sheets).

 

• Be presented in a professional way i.e. word processed. Leave plenty of space at the top, bottom and side margins of the page. At the end of these guidelines, you’ll find a suggested layout for the letter.

 

• The letter should be included in your Report as an Appendix and submitted via Turnitin so it can be ready by markers/external examiners.

 

• In addition, it is recommended that you print one copy of your letter on A4 paper to send to your experiential learning organisation. Sign the hard copy of the letter and write an envelope addressed to your contact at the organisation where you carried out your experiential learning. The envelope should not be smaller than 11cm x 22cm as the letter will then require too many folds and will look unprofessional. If you use a window envelope, make sure the letter can be folded so the address appears in the window!

 

The final hand-in date for the second assessment via Turnitin is midday on Friday, 26^th February 2016.

 

2.2.3   Assessment Criteria

The following criteria will be used to assess the report:

 

Content:

• Knowledge and understanding of relevant theories, concepts, issues and research and their implications for developments
• Critical evaluation of the relationship between psychological theory and practice
• Use of examples to support the line of argument

 

Communication and Presentation:

• Writing style: structure, lucidity and cohesiveness
• Use of APA reference system (see guide on Psychology Network on Blackboard)
• Adherence to the word limit

 

 

           

 

EXAMPLE LAYOUT FOR FEEDBACK LETTER

(for Assignment 2)

Words in italics and brackets are for your guidance only

 

(Type your address here and use UWL’s address if your prefer, e.g.) 23 Carlyon Court Hampstead Road London NW3 1AW   (Type the contact and organisation’s address here, e.g.) Ms Jane Smith The Orchid Centre 67 Caxton Road London SW6 4AY     Date       Dear                         Yours sincerely     (sign your name here)     Petra Browne (Type your name under your signature)

 

 

Experiential Learning (Psychology): SS60022E

CONFIRMATION OF EXPERIENTIAL LEARNING DETAILS

 

 

The information on this form will be made available to module tutors and external examiners.

 

1. Download this form from Blackboard (in Assignments) and complete the table electronically. The table will expand as you type in it.

 

3. Save the completed form.

 

4. Copy and paste the completed form into the back of assignment 1 BEFORE you upload your assignment 1 to Blackboard. If you forget to do this, you should email your completed form to the Module Leader: [email protected] with the subject heading EL details followed by your name.

 

Student number
I am carrying out my experiential learning at (type the information below)
Name of organisation
Organisation’s full address including postcode
Organisation’s telephone number
Name of my contact at the organisation
Type of organisation (e.g. mental health drop in centre, HR department)
Date I started my experiential learning
Other information I wish to add
Date form completed

 

If your experiential learning details change, you must inform the Module Leader and provide information about the new organisation.

 

Many thanks for providing this information. Remember to copy and paste the completed form into the back of assignment 1 BEFORE you upload your assignment 1 to Blackboard.