ACE1040 : Academic and Professional Skills
- Offered for Year: 2019/20
- Module Leader(s): Mrs Helen Adamson
- Owning School: Natural and Environmental Sciences
- Teaching Location: Newcastle City Campus
Semesters
| Semester 1 Credit Value: | 10 |
| Semester 2 Credit Value: | 10 |
| ECTS Credits: | 10.0 |
Aims
The module aims to
• develop basic skills in operating computer software within a Windows environment in the context of reporting the output of research
• develop communication and study skills to enable independent learning at a HE level in particular how to find, analyse, synthesise and present information appropriately.
• introduce the application of statistical techniques to agricultural, nutrition, business, environmental and animal data.
Outline Of Syllabus
MS Office: MS Word, Excel, PowerPoint
Research skills: library search stragegy and referencing
Experimental design, basic data manipulation, interpretation and presentation,
Communication: essay structure, presentation, poster
Teaching Methods
Teaching Activities
| Category | Activity | Number | Length | Student Hours | Comment |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Scheduled Learning And Teaching Activities | Lecture | 12 | 1:00 | 12:00 | N/A |
| Guided Independent Study | Assessment preparation and completion | 1 | 10:00 | 10:00 | Preparation of CV |
| Guided Independent Study | Assessment preparation and completion | 1 | 10:00 | 10:00 | Preparation of report |
| Guided Independent Study | Assessment preparation and completion | 1 | 10:00 | 10:00 | Preparation of search strategy and references |
| Scheduled Learning And Teaching Activities | Practical | 12 | 2:00 | 24:00 | Computer practical - skills development |
| Scheduled Learning And Teaching Activities | Practical | 1 | 2:00 | 2:00 | Research investigation - data gathering |
| Scheduled Learning And Teaching Activities | Practical | 1 | 3:00 | 3:00 | Seminar: student PowerPoint and poster presentations |
| Scheduled Learning And Teaching Activities | Small group teaching | 4 | 1:00 | 4:00 | Tutorial groups |
| Guided Independent Study | Project work | 1 | 10:00 | 10:00 | Preparation of PowerPoint |
| Guided Independent Study | Project work | 1 | 10:00 | 10:00 | Preparation of poster |
| Guided Independent Study | Student-led group activity | 1 | 20:00 | 20:00 | Group work - research and discussion of poster and PowerPoint |
| Guided Independent Study | Independent study | 1 | 22:00 | 22:00 | Skills practice |
| Guided Independent Study | Independent study | 4 | 1:30 | 6:00 | Preparation for tutorial |
| Guided Independent Study | Independent study | 1 | 57:00 | 57:00 | Background reading, lecture follow up. |
| Total | 200:00 |
Teaching Rationale And Relationship
In semester 1 students will work in groups (SO2) to present a PowerPoint, Poster and Essay Structure(SO4, SO5, KO1, SO3) on a relevant topic (SO4, KO6). They will receive lectures and practical sessions to develop their MSOffice skills (SO5), and to learn about sourcing and referencing information (KO2). In tutorials they will develop their chosen topics and critically assess former work against assessment criteria (KO5, KO1).
In semester 2, students will carry out small investigation where they will collect relevant data which they will use in lecture and practical sessions for basic relevant calculations (SO6), they will manipulate the data in MSExcel (SO5) and carry out basic statistical tests (SO8) and learn how to understand, present and describe tables and graphs (SO7, KO3). Students will use the data and graphs to produce a correctly referenced, correctly formatted, scientific report in MSWord (SO3, SO7, SO9, SO5).
In tutorials they will critically evalute graphs and tables used in data presentation, and assess former student reports against assessment criteria (KO4,KO5, SO9).
A learning log will be produced to encourage students to reflect on their learning.
Assessment Methods
The format of resits will be determined by the Board of Examiners
Other Assessment
| Description | Semester | When Set | Percentage | Comment |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Written exercise | 1 | M | 20 | Essay plan with references and search strategy (500 words). |
| Poster | 1 | M | 30 | Poster and PowerPoint presentation on chosen topic (circa 10 slides) |
| Report | 2 | M | 40 | Scientific report (1000 words) |
| Written exercise | 2 | M | 10 | CV |
Assessment Rationale And Relationship
The written exercise addresses KO1, KO2, KO5, KO6, SO1, SO3, SO5, SO9.
The poster exercise addresses KO1, KO2, KO4, KO5, KO6, SO2, SO4, SO5, SO6, SO9.
The scientific report and exam addresses KO1, KO2, KO3, KO4, KO5, SO1, SO2, SO3, SO5, SO6, SO7, SO8, SO9.
The CV & reflective log bring together students' understanding of their skills development and hence addresses most of the LOs.
Although there is some repetition in assessment of LOs, this is the nature of the skills module whereby skills learned are applied to many aspects of work.
Reading Lists
Timetable
- Timetable Website: www.ncl.ac.uk/timetable/
- ACE1040's Timetable