• Offered for Year: 2025/26

• Module Leader(s): Dr Nicola Patterson

• Owning School: Newcastle University Business School
• Teaching Location: Newcastle City Campus

• Capacity limit: 45 student places

Semesters

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

Aims

The aim of this module is to support Senior Leaders on the MSc Strategic Leadership or Level 7 Senior Leader Apprenticeship programmes to develop their leadership knowledge, skills and behaviours leading to changes in practice by creating a learning community in the form of Action Learning Sets during stage 2 of the programme.

Apprentice learners will remain on this module whilst completing on-programme training. Once apprentices reach Gateway they will not be permitted to continue on the module unless they transfer to the MSc Strategic Leadership.

Outline Of Syllabus

The syllabus will include but not be limited to topics such as:

The importance of psychological safety to create safe enough learning communities
Appreciate the importance of social learning for leadership development
Understand Action Learning as a leadership development process
Understand Different Action Learning Set methodologies and approaches

Teaching Methods

Teaching Activities

Teaching Rationale And Relationship

The teaching methods recognise the importance of social learning for leadership development in supporting critical thinking, reflexivity, advanced leadership practice skills development, whilst appreciating learners professional context which support the achievement of the module’s learning outcomes.

The processes of teaching and learning, within this blended learning module, include but are not limited to the following: online Action Learning Sets, an online reflexive tool kit and guidance for pre and post Action Learning Set thinking and activities.

Action Learning Sets enable participants, with the support of Set members, to tackle problems through processes of action, learning, reflection and reflexivity. Meeting at a scheduled time with agreed ways of working, Action Learning Sets create a learning community and lead to changes in practice. Action Learning Sets in this module are facilitated by a member of the programme team.

The structured nature of Action Learning Sets through dialogue, discussion and collaboration supports learners to think critically about themselves and others by drawing upon self and critical reflexivity tools to question and challenge their underlying assumptions and leadership practices.

As a post-experience programme, providing the space for learners, all of whom are leaders within their organisations, to share their leadership in practice is imperative to elevate the cohorts leadership knowledge and learning processes by applying to different contexts and practice scenarios.

Learners are expected to enhance their synchronous learning through independent reading, skills practice and reflexivity.

Assessment Methods

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

Other Assessment

Formative Assessments

Formative Assessment is an assessment which develops your skills in being assessed, allows for you to receive feedback, and prepares you for being assessed. However, it does not count to your final mark.

Assessment Rationale And Relationship

There is no summative assessment, however attendance at module sessions contributes and supports assessment for the other modules on the MSc Strategic Leadership and Level 7 Senior Leader Apprenticeship programmes.

The Action Learning Set is designed to elicit formative feedback throughout the process primarily from Action Learning Set peers as well as the academic facilitator managing the process.

Reading Lists

• NBS8954's Reading List

Timetable

• Timetable Website: www.ncl.ac.uk/timetable/
• NBS8954's Timetable