MODULE TITLE
The Contemporary Academic in Context
MODULE CODE
EFPM900
TERM
DURATION
WEEKS
1
1
1
CREDIT VALUE
30
MODULE CONVENOR
Prof. Karen Mattick
2
3
Number Students
Taking Module
(anticipated)
50
DESCRIPTION – summary of the module content (100 words)
This module is for academics and academic-related professionals who teach or support learning, and/or undertake
research/scholarship in a research-intensive university. Drawing on theoretical and empirical research, and your
own professional experience, this module will locate your professional practice and development within the wider
UK HE policy and education and research context, as well as the more local institutional contexts and priorities
which will shape your professional career development. Through looking at research on academic identities and
communities, and the nature of professional practice in teaching, learning and research in HE, the module also
seeks to enable you to reflect upon and engage critically with your own professional practice and career
development. There are no co- or pre-requisites and no prior learning is assumed.
MODULE AIMS – intentions of the module
This module aims to provide a theoretical grounding in the principles of academic practice and its political and
social contexts. Its purpose is to support you in building on your existing skills and knowledge in order to become
effective academics and professionals operating with integrity in your departments, in the university and in the
national and international context. It is intended to enhance your confidence and effectiveness through informed
reflection on your own practice and enable you to thrive within a research-intensive university such as the
University of Exeter.
INTENDED LEARNING OUTCOMES (ILOs) (see assessment section below for how ILOs will be assessed)
On successful completion of this module you should be able to:
Module Specific Skills and Knowledge:
1 Demonstrate knowledge of, and an ability to work with, key theoretical and research-based debates about
academic practice, at local, national and international level;
2 Demonstrate critical understanding of the organisational culture of the University of Exeter and the
requirements placed on academic staff, and the ability to relate this to the broader social
and political context of higher education in the UK and beyond;
3 Demonstrate comprehensive understanding of selected techniques/methodologies applicable to
academic practice in relation to areas such as teaching and learning, research, administration and external
work;
4 Demonstrate the ability to explore critically, with originality, an individual area, relating to the contemporary
academic in context, relevant to your own practice;
Discipline Specific Skills and Knowledge:
5
Demonstrate critical awareness of higher education policy and its implications for professional academic
practice;
6
Demonstrate critical and analytical engagement with relevant literatures, and the ability to evaluate
alternative forms of theoretical and research-based knowledge;
7
Demonstrate critical awareness of similarities and differences in the cultures of different subject
disciplines;
Personal and Key Transferable/ Employment Skills and Knowledge:
8
Demonstrate the ability to engage in independent study informed by the presentation and analysis of
materials and issues in group discussion;
1
9
Demonstrate the ability to reflect on your own personal and professional values in relation to teaching and
research, and their implications for practice;
10
Demonstrate the ability to reflect critically on your own professional practice, including the relationship
between your personal teaching and research plans; and
11
Demonstrate the ability to prepare, select and organise material to present an extended study which
communicates clearly and effectively.
SYLLABUS PLAN – summary of the structure and academic content of the module
Within the intensive study days, the module will cover the following:
•
•
•
the social, cultural and policy context of the contemporary university, in particular research-intensive
universities such as the University of Exeter;
the nature of contemporary academic practice in all its dimensions: research, teaching,
citizenship/leadership, and business and community relations; and
the relationship between research and teaching and how to negotiate them as a new academic.
Additional elements will be designed in collaboration with you, as participants, in order to reflect your own
priorities and the needs of your department, as determined in prior and on-going discussions between you and
your Academic Leads.
This module is designed to complement your work and to develop a supportive community amongst academics
who are relatively new to the University. Most of the teaching on the module is therefore concentrated into an
intensive three-day study block. As participants, you will be drawn from a range of disciplinary backgrounds and
will engage in peer learning and support, thereby learning from each other as well as from module tutors and
speakers who will give specialist input. Teaching sessions will include a mixture of presentations and large group
discussions facilitated by tutors and speakers; workshop activities; and small group work in both subject-related
and tutorial groups. You will be encouraged to engage across traditional disciplines, for example, to visit another
College to observe teaching or undertake shared project work during your time on PCAP. You will be allocated a
personal tutor and be entitled to a one-hour individual tutorial during the module, plus support by email and/or
telephone/skype.
LEARNING AND TEACHING
LEARNING ACTIVITIES AND TEACHING METHODS (given in hours of study time)
Scheduled Learning &
22
Guided independent
278
Placement/study
Teaching activities
study
abroad
DETAILS OF LEARNING ACTIVITIES AND TEACHING METHODS
Category
Hours of study time
Scheduled Learning & Teaching
21
activities
Scheduled Learning & Teaching
activities
Guided Independent Study
1
Guided Independent Study
100
Guided Independent Study
100
20
0
Description
3 study days (each of approximately 7 hours),
involving whole group sessions, comprised of a
combination of activities, such as interactive
lectures, discussion groups, collaborative small
group tasks, poster presentations, and panel
discussions.
Individual tutorial
Preparing a poster relating to your Extended
Study
Undertaking reading relating to your Extended
Study
Undertaking data collection and analysis (or
2
Guided Independent Study
equivalent) relating to your Extended Study
Writing your Extended Study
58
ASSESSMENT
FORMATIVE ASSESSMENT - for feedback and development purposes; does not count towards module grade
Form of Assessment
Size of the assessment e.g. ILOs assessed
Feedback method
duration/length
Poster and oral presentation
1 hour plus feedback
8, 9
Oral peer and tutor
feedback
Engagement in discussions during
Continuous throughout
1-11
Immediate oral
sessions
scheduled teaching
feedback from peers
sessions
and tutors
SUMMATIVE ASSESSMENT (% of credit)
Coursework
100
Written exams
DETAILS OF SUMMATIVE ASSESSMENT
Form of Assessment
% of
Size of the assessment e.g.
credit
duration/length
Extended study, consisting 100
of ONE of the following
options:
1. A long written project
report/essay
Option 1: 4,500 words
maximum
2. Two shorter written
project reports/essays on
different topics
Option 2: 2,500 words
maximum x 2
3. A shorter written project
report/essay PLUS a digital
project presentation (e.g.
video, podcast or wiki) on
the same topic
Option 3: A minimum of
2,000 written words, plus
the equivalent of 2,500
words in another medium
Practical exams
ILOs assessed
Feedback method
1-11
Written tutor feedback
DETAILS OF RE-ASSESSMENT (where required by referral or deferral)
Original form of assessment
Form of re-assessment
ILOs re-assessed
Extended study, consisting of Extended study, consisting 1-11
ONE of the following
of ONE of the following
options:
options:
1. A long written project
report/essay (4,500 words)
1. A long written project
report/essay (4,500 words)
2. Two shorter written
project reports/essays on
different topics (2,500 words
each)
2. Two shorter written
project reports/essays on
different topics (2,500
words each)
Time scale for re-assessment
Negotiated between you, your
Academic Lead and the
Programme Director.
3
3. A shorter written project
report/essay (2,000 words
minimum) PLUS a digital
project presentation (e.g.
video, podcast or wiki) on
the same topic (2,500 words
equivalent)
3. A shorter written project
report/essay (2,000 words
minimum) PLUS a digital
project presentation (e.g.
video, podcast or wiki) on
the same topic (2,500
words equivalent)
RE-ASSESSMENT NOTES – In the case of a failed assessment you are entitled to one resubmission.
RESOURCES
INDICATIVE LEARNING RESOURCES - The following list is offered as an indication of the type & level of information
that you are expected to consult. Further guidance will be provided by the Module Convener.
Barber, M., Donnelly, K., Rizvi, S. (2013). An avalanche is coming. Higher education and the revolution ahead.
Available at: http://www.ippr.org/files/images/media/files/publication/2013/04/avalanche-iscoming_Mar2013_10432.pdf?noredirect=1.
Barnett, R., Parry, G., and Coate, K. (2001) Conceptualising Curriculum Change. Teaching in Higher Education, 6:4,
435-449. Available at: http://www.tandfonline.com/doi/pdf/10.1080/13562510120078009.
Bolden, R., Gosling, J., O’Brien, A., Peters, K., Ryan, M., Haslam, A., Longsworth, L., Davidovic, A., Winklemann, K.
(2012) Academic Leadership: changing conceptions, identities and experiences in UK higher education. Available
at: https://www.lfhe.ac.uk/en/components/publication.cfm/S3%20-%2004.
Debowski, S. (2011). The New Academic: A Strategic Handbook. Maidenhead: Open University Press.
Eley A., Wellington, J. Pitts, S. Biggs, C. (2012). Becoming a Successful Early Career Researcher. Abingdon:
Routledge.
Morley, L. (2003) Quality and Power In Higher Education (2003) Buckingham: SRHE/Open University Press.
Ramsden, R. (2003) Learning to Teach in Higher Education (2nd edn) London: Routledge/ Falmer.
Participants will also need to construct an individual list of references of books, journal articles and policy
literature according to their portfolio plan.
ELE – http://vle.exeter.ac.uk/course/view.php?id=903&topic=3
Web based and electronic resources:
Times Higher Education Supplement (THES) website: https://www.timeshighereducation.co.uk/
Higher Education Academy (HEA) website: https://www.heacademy.ac.uk/
CREDIT VALUE
30
ECTS VALUE
15
PRE-REQUISITE MODULES
N/A
CO-REQUISITE MODULES
N/A
NQF LEVEL (FHEQ)
7
AVAILABLE AS DISTANCE LEARNING
NO
ORIGIN DATE
20 May 2008
LAST REVISION DATE
16 July 2015
KEY WORDS SEARCH
Higher Education; Teaching; University; Academic Practice
Module Descriptor Template Revised February 2012
4