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.

The Career Development module offers students the opportunity to undertake work-related learning in a variety of environments, both on and off the University campus. Through engagement with the module, students will learn about themselves, enhancing their employability and personal enterprise skills as well as contributing towards meeting the aims of the 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 3rd 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 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.

Supported by module tutors, 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 a professional experience and module teaching, students will enhance their employability and career readiness.

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.

Teaching for the 2022/23 academic year 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; and career planning (exploration and research). Semester 2 themes will be: Giving and receiving feedback; networking (in person and online); engagement with employers; career planning (decision making and applications). Sessions focused on preparing for module assessments will also be available.

Intended Knowledge Outcomes

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

1. Analyse the graduate labour market in order to determine or further explore a suitable career destination, research this role and the sector of which it is part, compile a portfolio of skills, knowledge and experiences relating to this [Occupational awareness].

2. Assess their readiness for graduate employment, contrast this with the expectations of a suitable career destination, and determine graduate skill development needs for progression towards or within an occupation of choice [Self-awareness].

Intended Skill Outcomes

3. Apply techniques for structured reflection in order to create meaning from planned purposeful experience and adopt new attitudes and behaviours that will benefit themselves, their placement, and/or aspired future roles [Reflection].

4. Evaluate the skills needed to be successful within a specific professional setting; plan and implement actions that develop and apply these skill needs within the professional setting specified, [Professional development].

5. Experience improvement in specific graduate skills and attributes, and progression toward a graduate career of choice, through a professional experience undertaken as part of the module. Present this evidence in a way that reflects current graduate recruitment and selection practices [Articulation]

Teaching Rationale And Relationship

Successful graduates are equipped with the necessary skills to perform and an ability to plan and manage their careers, which are likely to be varied. The 3rd 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 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.

Supported by module tutors, 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 a professional experience and module teaching, students will enhance their employability and career readiness.

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.

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 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 for the 2021/22 academic year 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; and career planning (exploration and research). Semester 2 themes will be: Giving and receiving feedback; networking (in person and online); engagement with employers; career planning (decision making and applications). Sessions focused on preparing for module assessments will also be available.

The aims of the module are drawn from the Newcastle University Graduate Framework and informed by current Graduate recruitment guidance. 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 indicated above.

Assessment Rationale And Relationship

The module assessments are designed to develop and reward effective performance as described in the Newcastle University Graduate Framework provided for the students (linked to definitions of employability in Newcastle University and sources such as www.prospects.ac.uk).

Students are expected to set personal goals that relate how they will demonstrate the module learning outcomes, and to maintain a dialogue with their module tutor and colleagues at their placement or through the professional experience they will undertake as they plan and implement actions for progressing towards these goals.

Module assessment will take the form of a ‘professional portfolio’, designed to encourage and record student planning and reflection upon progress through the module and towards chosen future careers. The portfolio will be assessed at two points in the year: towards the end of semester 1 (focusing on planning) and the end of semester 2 (focusing on reflection). Students will be encouraged to keep, use and add to the contents of their portfolio to use when making applications and transitioning into a future professional context after graduation.

Portfolio assessment 1 will take the form of a plan for students’ development through the professional experience they will undertake for the module, including personal goals and action plans and a rationale for how and why these have been developed in line with students’ existing strengths and weaknesses and their career aspirations and plans. The plan will be 1750 words in length.

Portfolio assessment 2 will take the form of a reflective piece, to be presented as a PowerPoint file with recorded voiceover or a video, describing students’ progress and development through the module and including evidence of this (to include feedback gained from others on their performance). The reflective piece will be equivalent to writing 1750 words.

There will be a series of short tasks for students to complete between seminars, related to each of the core curricular themes. These will be uploaded to Canvas and will assess understanding of theories and concepts to ensure seminars are practice and discussion focused. The overall completion of these tasks is equivalent to writing 500 words or less as these will come in the form of e.g. answering multiple choice questions. The outcomes of these tasks will be included and reflected upon in both parts of the assessment of the portfolio.

General Notes

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

This module (NCL3007) is intended for final year 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