Module Catalogue 2024/25

Pre Requisite Comment

Students are expected to have read the Module Outline Form and information on the Careers Service web pages under 'Careers Modules'.

Placement Routes:

Students are expected to complete a minimum of 50 hours of professional experience activity between October and May (with at least 30 hours completed in semester 2) through one of the following routes:

(1) Learning from work in which the student’s development occurs in the context of an existing part time role (paid or unpaid) that they have arranged for themselves;
(2) Volunteering roles arranged by the student through the Students' Union (NUSU) including specific club or society roles and roles with voluntary sector organisations that NUSU have confirmed;
(3) Student Tutoring in which students work with local schools and arranged through the Careers Service, or;
(4) Other Professional Experience activities as defined/arranged through the Careers Service.
For all routes students are expected to use these hours to support and implement planned, purposeful activity as the basis for reflection and experiential learning which will feed into assessments.

Prior to commencing the module, students must indicate which route they wish to take and take further action as detailed below:

(1) Learning from Work: provide details of the host organisation, their role, a named person in the organisation who will act in a supervisory capacity, information so the Careers Service can confirm Employer and Public Liability insurance is in place.
(2) Volunteering: provide details of agreed role and activity, a named person in the organisation/at NUSU who will act in a supervisory capacity.
(3) Student Tutoring: provide further information about their background, interests, and subject-preferences. Students selecting this route must also complete a DBS application.
(4) Consultancy/Project-based route: students will be required to register interest in this and provide further specific information at a later date.

Co Requisite Comment

At the DPD’s discretion, It is possible that two Careers Service modules may be chosen in the same academic year.

Aims

To develop students’ self-awareness and the ability to self-manage, proactively interact and ethically apply knowledge and skills in a work-related context or during professional experience.

The NCL2007 Career Development module offers students the opportunity to undertake work-related learning or have a professional experience in a variety of environments, both on and off the University campus, or remotely if appropriate. Through engagement with the module, students will start to develop an understanding and awareness of their skills and attributes and how they might use these in future roles. Students will enhance their employability and graduate skills as well as contributing towards meeting the aims of their host organisation.

Outline Of Syllabus

Successful graduates are equipped with the necessary skills to perform and an ability to plan and manage their portfolio career, which is likely to be varied. The 2nd stage Career Development module therefore offers students the opportunity to learn about their skills and attributes and how they might apply these in future roles upon graduation. To aid this learning and development, they undertake a professional experience in a variety of different environments, both on and off the University campus, or remotely if appropriate. See http://www.ncl.ac.uk/careers/modules/cdm/ for more information.

Supported by their module tutor, students will reflect on and manage their own learning and development through a series of workshops, seminars and lectures both on campus and online. Through engagement with both the professional experience and module teaching, students will enhance their employability and personal enterprise skills whilst contributing towards the aims of the host organisation.

Students will join the module at the start of semester one and are expected to balance their work for the module, including completing a minimum of 50 hours of engagement with their placement/professional experience, across the academic year.

At the start of the academic year students are expected to:
• confirm that all pre-requisites have been met;
• attend teaching/seminars and complete related engagement tasks;
• negotiate calendar of activity and duties with their host organisation (placement) or the Careers Service (other professional experience) to meet module requirements.

Teaching will be arranged in two-week Learning Units with a thematic focus which will unite teaching sessions, online content and module engagement tasks to be completed by students via Canvas. Engaging with all content across the thematic blocks will ensure students meet all of the module learning outcomes.

During semester one students are expected to:
• attend timetabled seminars, group tutorials and lectures; Themes for these include:
induction/orientation; goal-setting, action planning and reflection; graduate skills and
attributes; preparation for the first assignment; and giving and receiving feedback.
• carry out ongoing reflection, analysis and development of own competence;
• carry out ongoing primary and secondary research into issues relevant to their professional
experience and future career aspirations;
• complete formal assessment tasks;

During semester two students are expected to:
• complete remaining placement or professional experience to total at least 50 hours;
• attend timetabled seminars, workshops and lectures. Themes for these include: engagement with
• employers; career planning (next steps, and professional identity); and assessment preparation.
carry out ongoing reflection, analysis and development of own competence;
• carry out ongoing primary and secondary research into issues relevant to the host
organisation and their own future career aspirations;
• complete formal assessment tasks

Intended Knowledge Outcomes

Knowledge Outcomes

By the end of this module students will know how to:

Use appropriate sources to identify occupational standards and organisation information to understand and inform articulation of the broader professional experience context. [Organisational awareness]

Explore and expand graduate career ideas using module tools and research, to inform personal and professional development. [Occupational awareness]

Use appropriate tools to establish a personal skills baseline to inform the development of graduate skills relevant to their professional experience and future career ideas. [Self-Awareness].

Intended Skill Outcomes

By the end of this module, students will be able to:

Use techniques for structured reflection, to plan and manage their own learning and development, during their professional experience and to progress graduate career ideas. [Reflection]

Identify and describe their competence in specific graduate skills and implementing planned actions to improve their performance during their professional experience. [Professional development]

Articulate examples of personal development through professional experience, which are related to their graduate career aspirations. [Articulation]

Teaching Rationale And Relationship

Overall, the teaching programme provides a framework for students to review their career planning status, set personal goals based on a work placement and future career aspirations, and take opportunities to learn from graduate skill theory and application. The 2nd stage Career Development module therefore offers students the opportunity to learn about their skills and attributes and to develop their career thinking towards future graduate roles. To aid this learning and development, they undertake work-related learning in a variety of different environments, both on and off the University campus. See http://www.ncl.ac.uk/careers/modules/cdm/ for more information.

Students will join the module at the start of semester one and are expected to balance their work for the module, including engagement with their placement/professional experience, across the academic year.

At the start of the academic year students are expected to:

confirm that all pre-requisites have been met;
attend teaching/seminars and complete related engagement tasks;
negotiate calendar of activity and duties with their host organisation (placement) or the Careers Service (other professional experience) to meet module requirements.

Supported by module tutors, students will reflect on and manage their own learning and development through a series of workshops, small group seminars and lectures, both on campus and online. Through engagement with both a professional experience and module teaching, students will analyse their current skills and work experience and how this relates to both their professional experience and future career aspirations.

Students must complete a minimum of 50 hours of professional experience activity between October and May in the context of one of the routes detailed above (see pre-requisites). This can be exceeded in agreement with placement supervisors. Students should carry out at least 30 of their 50 hours in semester 2, to enable them to meet the learning outcomes of this module and ensure they can succeed in both module as assessments. The professional experience hours must be carried out over a period of no less than 8 weeks to ensure that students are able to engage with the reflective practice that is central their personal and professional development on the module.

Where exceptional circumstances occur e.g. national pandemic, the minimum expected hours will be reviewed and alterative arrangements made as needed to ensure students can still meet the expected learning outcomes of this module.

Teaching will be arranged in two-week Learning Units with a thematic focus which will unite teaching sessions, online content and module engagement tasks to be completed by students via Canvas. Engaging with all content across the thematic blocks will ensure students meet all of the module learning outcomes. Most Learning Units include a synchronous online (lecture) session and a small group seminar which is planned to take place in person on campus.

Semester 1 themes will be: Induction/orientation; goal-setting, action planning and reflection; graduate skills and attributes; assessment preparation; and giving and receiving feedback. Semester 2 themes will be: engagement with employers; career planning (next steps, and professional identity); and assessment preparation.

The aims of the module are drawn from the Newcastle University Graduate Skills Framework and informed by current Graduate Employer Intelligence. The intended skills outcomes aim to equip students with the ability to articulate how they have developed and learned from a professional experience to make them more employable. Students will achieve the learning outcomes for the module through full engagement with the activities above and a commitment to their own self development.

Assessment Rationale And Relationship

The assessment components are designed to develop and reward effective performance as described in the Newcastle University Graduate Skills Framework provided for the students: http://www.ncl.ac.uk/careers/modules/cdm/ They directly link to the learning outcomes to provide students with clear outcomes in relation to recognised personal development at the end of the module.

The first assessed component comprises a strengths based personal statement (1250 words) that simulates an element of a job application. This tests the student’s ability to use tools to explore and inform career ideas and personal skills and help them identify how they may need to develop further.

The second component has a smaller weighting to encourage engagement with the module requirements including further research. This consists of student completion of at least 12 out of 15 engagement tasks for taught sessions. The overall completion of these tasks is equivalent to writing 500 words or less as will come in the form of e.g. answering multiple choice questions.

The third assessment allows students to verbally present their learning from the placement experience and identify next steps for their own development/careers planning. This simulates a method of delivery that will often be tested within a recruitment and selection process or expected within the workplace. Student time spent on preparation and delivery of this task is roughly equivalent to a written task of 3000 words.

General Notes

Capping of numbers of students will be applied across the suite of Career Development Modules.

This module (NCL2007) is intended for Stage 2 students. Students will join the module at the start of semester one and will be expected to balance their work for the module across both semesters.

Placement Routes:

Students are expected to complete a minimum of 50 hours of professional experience activity between November and May in the context of one of the following routes:

(1) Learning from work in which the student’s development occurs in the context of an existing part time role (paid or unpaid) that they have arranged for themselves;
(2) Volunteering roles arranged by the student through the Students Union (NUSU) (including specific club or society roles and roles with voluntary sector organisations that NUSU have confirmed);
(3) Student Tutoring in which students work with local schools and arranged through the Careers Service, or;
(4) Other Professional Experience activities as defined/arranged through the Careers Service.
For all routes students are expected to use these hours to support and implement planned, purposeful activity as the basis for reflection and experiential learning which will feed into assessments.

Prior to commencing the module, students will be expected to indicate which Professional Experience Route they wish to take and will be required to take further action as detailed below:

(1) Learning from Work: provide the details of: the name and contact details of the host organisation, their specific role, a named person in the organisation who will act in a supervisory capacity, and information so that the Careers Service can confirm Employer Liability and Public Liability coverage is in place. (Typically this would be Policy and Certificate numbers).

(2) Volunteering: the agreed role and activity (e.g., Club or Society executive committee role, NUSU project, NUSU brokered role with a community voluntary organisation).

(3) Student Tutoring/School Support: students are expected to inform us of their interest in this route and to provide further information about their background, interests, and subject-preferences. Students selecting this route will also be expected to complete the DBS application process.

(4) Consultancy/Project-based route – Students will be required to register interest in this and provide further information as specified at a later time.



All students will be required to submit a completed Health and Safety checklist form in line with University procedure and as detailed in module induction information.

Students selecting the Learning from Work or Volunteering routes are expected to act early to confirm their role is suitable and to ensure and confirm they have an agreed and approved named supervisor for that activity by the start of term.

Students requiring further support regarding this module should contact csmodules@ncl.ac.uk

Any student requiring further support regarding volunteering/ specific club or society roles as approved by NUSU should contact cdm.union@ncl.ac.uk