This level 6, 30 credit module is intended to enable you to develop life long professional learning skills including the ability to manage your own learning needs both now and in the future. It provides opportunity for you to consider the various ways in which people learn, and in light of this, how best to adapt and relay information to others.

Using a range of learning and teaching approaches; (e.g. lectures, practical workshops, group work, discussion groups, directed and self-directed study) you will be expected to find and interact with evidence on which practice is based, consider implications for developing practice in light of this, and communicate information effectively to others in a variety of formats. In order to make the best of the available learning opportunities, you will be encouraged to apply the content of the module to your individual learning needs and your own specialist area of practice, including other modules you are taking as part of your studies.

Throughout the module, you will be expected to develop an electronic personal portfolio of evidence to demonstrate your learning. Your Guidance Teacher (GT) and peers in your GT group will provide formative feedback during the compilation of the portfolio, the finished portfolio of evidence will be summatively assessed.

This booklet is designed to provide an overview of the module in relation to its content and requirements. As such, it contents should be used in conjunction with the appropriate course handbooks, for example the Continuing Professional Development Framework Student Handbook and the University Assessment Regulations. It is imperative that you read these carefully at the commencement of the module and ask your module teacher for clarity as required. Assessment regulations and other supporting documentations can be found at:
Aims of Module:
1. Retrieve and critically review information, using a variety of sources and techniques

2. Communicate information in an effective manner

3. Manage own learning needs now and in the future

4. Utilise evidence for practice in their sphere of practice

5. Critically reflect on professional practice

Learning Outcomes:

On successful completion of this module student will be able to………

1. Select and critically analyse relevant evidence, data and information to inform professional practice

2. Accurately deploy established techniques of analysis and enquiry within a discipline to develop practice

3. Engage in the effective use of ICT to facilitate professional development and communication

4. Evaluate practice dilemmas and concepts and appropriately articulate information and ideas to varying audiences.

5. Critically reflect on personal learning style and select appropriate strategies to enhance individual learning in order to formulate an individual action plan

6. Develop self directed study skills in order to formulate strategies for lifelong learning and practice development

Content Areas

Principles of study skills
• Library interface
• Effective learning
• Information retrieval
• Interpreting tasks and setting boundaries

Academic writing
• Enquiry and analysis
• Essay construction
• Signposting
• Developing and debating argument
• Use of literature, and other evidence
• Accurate referencing

Reflective writing
• Introduction to models of reflection and their appropriateness in differing contexts
• Single Loop
• Double loop

Presentation skills
• Multi-modal approaches
• Engaging the audience
• Assessing the impact

IT skills
• Meeting the needs of the student (flexible and individualised)
• Databases
• E-learning platforms
• Pebble pad

Principles of blended learning
• Learning styles
• Innovation in learning resources
• Peer and self-assessment Tools
• Self-awareness
• Individual needs
• Action planning

You are required to provide your own choice of evidence to demonstrate competence in each of the above content areas. This is explained more fully in the e-portfolio information and is a compulsory course work requirement for this module

Summative Assessment.

You are expected to develop a web-folio (using Pebble Pad) demonstrating evidence of your learning; this will be summatively assessed against the learning outcomes of the module and attracts a pass/ fail grade.

As part of this portfolio you are expected to complete 4 short answer summative assessment components (as below) and supplement this with your own choice of evidence to demonstrate competence in each of the content areas. This is explained more fully in the e-portfolio information.

All module learning outcomes, short answer assessments and outline content areas (page 5) of the module must be achieved to a satisfactory level to gain an overall pass grade. If referred on any component of the module, students will be required to re-submit these components.

Assessment 1

Following the information retrieval exercise in week one, you are required to retrieve five relevant articles (e.g. Literature review, research article, opinion, website, media) for debate and presentation later in the module. The topic will be related to either your area of practice or your module choices. After successfully retrieving the articles, you will produce a short appraisal of each article which will critically discuss the author’s credentials’, the overall content, usefulness and reliability, etc. The appraisal should demonstrate achievement of outcomes 1, 2 and 3.
The work will be shared with the rest of your GT group through the media of pebble pad and presented in your portfolio (600 words).

Assessment 2

A critical reflective review which examines and evaluates your own learning style. The review should demonstrate achievement of module learning outcomes 5 and 6. The work will be presented in your portfolio and shared through pebble pad. (600 words).

Assessment 3

A 600 word critical reflective account which reflects on and evaluates your performance in the presentation which you will have provided for your peers in a GT session.You should take in to account your own feelingsabout your performance as well as the feedback from your peer review and the module teacher. The critical reflective account should demonstrate your achievements of learning outcomes 2, 4 and 5.

Assessment 4

A detailed SWOB (strengths, weaknesses, opportunities, barriers) analysis of your continuous learning needs for the rest of the academic year. You should consider what new skills you have learnt throughout the module and what you need to develop further. Your action plan should be detailed and incorporate SMART (specific, measurable, attainable, relevant, timely) objectives.
Your individual action plan should demonstrate achievement of all the learning outcomes of the module. (600 words)

Performance Criteria The successful student will:
• Retrieve and critically review information, using a variety of sources and techniques and demonstrate a comprehensive knowledge of relevant issues and principles.

• Communicate information in an effective manner and participate in student led seminars, discussions and debate exploring underlying theoretical knowledge and assumptions

• Critically reflect on professional practice and where appropriate, make recommendations based on sound evidence

• Manage own learning needs now and in the future