| Unit name | Skills for Science 301 |
|---|---|
| Unit code | PHYS38011 |
| Credit points | 10 |
| Level of study | H/6 |
| Teaching block(s) |
Teaching Block 1 (weeks 1 - 12) |
| Unit director | Dr. Gersen |
| Open unit status | Not open |
| Pre-requisites |
120 credit points at Level 5 in single honours Physics or joint honours programme with Physics. |
| Co-requisites |
None |
| School/department | School of Physics |
| Faculty | Faculty of Science |
An exercise in skills planning, development and review. Skills can be any appropriate and identified as relevant to the students skills development needs and agreed between student and supervisor. Normally the major final year coursework, Physics Project, Physics Dissertation or Physics Education will act as a nucleus for this discussion, but where appropriate the unit may be supervised by a different supervisor to subsequent course work. The student and supervisor will establish the critical needs for successful later courses and career development at the outset of the unit. The student will produce a report based on applying these skills. This might involve establishing background issues and controversies with appropriate figures and bibliography. Depending upon the skills to be acquired appropriate alternatives to the written report would be possible. A further component of this unit is to have students evaluate the skills they have acquired throughout their programme, including those they need to complete their coursework. This together with student self-assessment will form part of the basis of a Personal Tutor interview in week 8, and be a basis for their Personal Development Profile. The unit will prepare students well for the world of work, and ensure they take seriously the issues of PDP (Personal Development Planning).
Aims:
To help the student develop organisational and technical skills and improve written communication. To provide a benefit to them in their subsequent Physics Project, Physics Dissertation or Physics Education. To encourage students to plan and review their personal development and to take seriously the issue of skills enhancement. To enable students to be aware of and be able to present their skills well thereby enhancing prospects for employment and for career development.
On completion of this module, the student will have acquired specific additional skills or knowledge. These will normally be relevant to and in the context of their subsequent units. Such skills could include:
Students will also be better equipped to undertake independent learning, research and critical evaluation. Students will have an better appreciation of the skills needs, their acquisition and the relevance to a PDP and personal development planning in general.
There are no formal lectures associated with this course. Initial training will provide the student with an introduction to library structures, literature searching, on-line publications and the Science Citations Index. An alternative one day session on issues surrounding the teaching of physics in schools will be provided for the Physics Education students. Supervisors will agree development objectives with students at the start of the unit. These might include:
Students will then undertake self-paced active learning through guided reading, library and internet based research and practice. They will produce a 3000 word report summarising the knowledge or skills they have attained together with an appreciation of debates and controversies in the area.
Assessment will be based upon the student's 3000 word end of unit report and interview, jointly assessed by supervisor and coursework assessor, their CV and mock job interview; students will be required to demonstrate that they have achieved the learning objectives identified at the outset of the unit. Students will submit a pro forma focusing on Personal Development Planning. This will be reviewed by the unit director and form the basis of a 30 minute interview with the Personal Tutor. In the report and interview students will be required to demonstrate that they have seriously engaged with and critically reviewed their Personal Development. The report will be the focus for feedback and guidance on skills relevant to postgraduate study and careers.
If this unit has a Resource List, you will normally find a link to it in the Blackboard area for the unit. Sometimes there will be a separate link for each weekly topic.
If you are unable to access a list through Blackboard, you can also find it via the Resource Lists homepage. Search for the list by the unit name or code (e.g. PHYS38011).
How much time the unit requires
Each credit equates to 10 hours of total student input. For example a 20 credit unit will take you 200 hours
of study to complete. Your total learning time is made up of contact time, directed learning tasks,
independent learning and assessment activity.
See the Faculty workload statement relating to this unit for more information.
Assessment
The Board of Examiners will consider all cases where students have failed or not completed the assessments required for credit.
The Board considers each student's outcomes across all the units which contribute to each year's programme of study. If you have self-certificated your absence from an
assessment, you will normally be required to complete it the next time it runs (this is usually in the next assessment period).
The Board of Examiners will take into account any extenuating circumstances and operates
within the Regulations and Code of Practice for Taught Programmes.
