The module's aim is to enable the student to broaden their education and develop his/her skills in goal-setting and time-management by pursuing a completely self-defined programme of study

 

A student who has passed this module should be able to:

 

Module Specific Skills and Knowledge:

 

Discipline Specific Skills and Knowledge:

1. identify a piece of work which can be satisfactorily completed in a given amount of time;

2. define a critical path to accomplish the task;

3. communicate progress via short reports to a staff member acting as a mentor;

4. present results effectively in an oral, written or visual form (the final assessment can take one of a number of forms);

5. show evidence of critical self-appraisal through the submission of a 'self-assessment' of the accomplished work;

 

Personal and Key Transferable / Employment Skills and Knowledge:

6. gain familiarity with new subject material entirely through independent study.

Students following this module will exercise their goal-setting and time-management skills extensively. They will learn how to define a critical path to deliver a stated result within a given time and develop skills in resourcing, selecting and organising relevant information. They will acquire the discipline to complete their self-defined goal within a time constraint. Equally importantly they will learn not to spend too much time on a project which constitutes only a fraction of their Stage 4 credit. Depending on their chosen form of assessment, they will exercise oral, written or poster presentation skills. They will learn to defend themselves in a viva and apply constructive self-criticism to their final work.

 

To satisfy the module requirement, the student must:

 

I. Identify a suitable piece of work to accomplish

II. Define and meet a series of intermediate goals

III. Produce a final result.

 

The entire exercise should take the equivalent of 10 hours per credit. The word length of written essays reports, etc. should be commensurate with Physics norm, i.e. 500 words per credit.

Notes:  The report and/or other end products will be assessed by two members of staff, and the student will normally required to attend an viva voce examination. This will be decided when the form of the end product of the independent study is agreed at the start of the module. In addition, students will be asked to make an evaluation of their own work, and this will be included in the assessment process. N.B. Students are not permitted to register for this module until the convener is satisfied that the project plan involves an appropriate amount and level of learning and will lead to a satisfactory end product.

 

Re-assessment is not available except when required by referral or deferral.

 

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