• Offered for Year: 2024/25

• Module Leader(s): Dr Michael Cook
• Lecturer: Dr Gillian Mabbitt

• Owning School: Careers Service
• Teaching Location: Newcastle City Campus

• Capacity limit: 44 student places

Semesters

Your programme is made up of credits, the total differs on programme to programme.

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

Teaching Methods

Teaching Activities

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 Methods

The format of resits will be determined by the Board of Examiners

Other Assessment

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.

Reading Lists

• NCL2007's Reading List

Timetable

• Timetable Website: www.ncl.ac.uk/timetable/
• NCL2007's Timetable