Aims

The aim of this practice-based module is to provide students with the opportunity to work both in teams and individually on designing and delivering a project in collaboration with a heritage/museum public venue. The module aims to assist students to become better equipped to develop their personal professional portfolios for career advancement.

Outline Of Syllabus

This practice-based module allows students in small teams to work on heritage-based projects designed through discussions with academic staff, staff at a heritage organisation in the North East of England, and other appropriate heritage sector professionals. Projects may take place either in an in-person or online environment (or a combination of both) and may include, for example: heritage management provision, developing a communications and interpretation strategy, designing interpretation and producing an interpretation brief, and designing a learning programme with supporting materials. The module provides students with opportunities for gaining practice-based team-work experiences, which will benefit them in terms of employability in the heritage and associated sectors after completion. During the module, students will be expected to use theoretical ideas to enrich their practice, and vice versa, and to reflect on their learning experiences and acquisition of knowledge and skills, which they can then use to shape their future career aspirations.

Teaching Rationale And Relationship

Students will experience scheduled learning and teaching activities; however, the majority of their learning on this module comes from guided interdependent small-group study. The scheduled time is a combination of interactive lecture material on museum curatorial practices, regular small-group workshop sessions and practical sessions, where students will work in small groups on a museum project. This balance between theory and practical sessions will allow students to gain the knowledge and skills needed to make the transition from being students to becoming better equipped to develop their personal professional portfolios for a career foundation and/or advancement.

Module talk: This teaching method will be used to introduce the module and brief students about assessment.

Lecture materials: This will include online content and activities to achieve all of the knowledge learning outcomes.

Small-group teaching: This teaching method is intended to allow students to consolidate knowledge learning outcomes and to meet the skills outcomes through critically applying their new knowledge. It also allows students to practice all of the skill-sets within the Graduate Skills Framework. A portion of the small group teaching sessions will normally be delivered through a Crit format.

Practical: This is used to support knowledge and skills outcomes associated with creating a public intervention in a museum context (this can be online, on-site, or a combination of both).

Drop-in/surgery: This method allows students to receive clarifications on project tasks/activities in smaller task-oriented sub-teams in order to progress with their group assignment.

Project work: This is used to support the development and completion of the project assignment and will involve individual and group-based independent study.

Independent study: This teaching method enables students to independently deepen knowledge outcomes and to practice all skills outcomes, as well as applying cognitive/intellectual, self-management skills in particular through reading, engaging with materials and resources.

Structured research and reading activities: This teaching method will allow students to engage with preparatory reading and tasks related to the small-group teaching sessions.

Fieldwork: This teaching method will allow to students to critically evaluate heritage interpretation and education at other institutions in order to encourage reflection on their own project work and future practice.

Assessment Rationale And Relationship

The module is designed to allow students, working in one or more teams, to complete small-scale iterative interpretive, learning and audience engagement projects relevant to the Heritage sector. The project is normally developed in collaboration with a public heritage venue.

Formative assessment - each student is encouraged to keep a journal detailing their contribution to the group project and progress throughout the module. There will be multiple opportunities for the students to give peer feedback during the project process. Formative feedback will also be provided through present-in-person and structured non-synchronous discussion and small-group teaching by academic and professional staff.

The final summative module assessment is divided between a group mark for the outcomes of the team’s Heritage project(s) (30%) and an individual report (70%).