Description
Psychological Concepts, Language and Study Skills
Module title | Psychological Concepts, Language and Study Skills |
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Module code | INT1020 |
Academic year | 2018/9 |
Credits | 30 |
Module staff | Andrew Holbrook (Convenor) Paul Rogers (Lecturer) |
Duration: Term | 1 | 2 | 3 |
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Duration: Weeks | 12 | 12 |
Number students taking module (anticipated) | 25 |
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Description - summary of the module content
Module description
This module is designed to support your modules in the BSc in Psychology. It is part of the International Year One programme, which leads to a Certificate of Higher Education and counts as the first year of a degree in psychology. By taking this course you will become familiar with the language and concepts of the study of human behaviour and mental processes. In addition you will develop the necessary language and study skills to approach assignments and tasks set in the discipline. These include researching psychological literature, participating in group presentations and seminars, taking notes, skills for academic reading and written tasks.
The module is suitable for students with a minimum overall ability in English as a foreign language equivalent to IELTS 6.0 (with a minimum of 5.5 in writing and listening, and 5.0 in other sub-skills).
Module aims - intentions of the module
This module aims to provide you with the opportunity to develop and strengthen your linguistic skills for the study of psychology if you already have a degree of proficiency in spoken and written English. At the same time it will provide substantial support in terms of language and concepts for the psychology modules you study alongside all other first year psychology students in the university.
During the spoken language classes the aim is for you to develop confidence, fluency and accuracy when participating in seminar discussions or giving a presentation. In your written language classes the core aim is for you to develop a good understanding of how to write essays and research reports for psychology. Secondly, you will develop your skills in reading and understanding psychological literature. At the same time, you will enhance your ability to take notes and understand lectures in psychology. A further aim is that you will develop a good understanding of how to approach university examinations. With some exceptions all the work you do in this module is directly tied to the work you will be doing for your psychology modules.
Intended Learning Outcomes (ILOs)
ILO: Module-specific skills
On successfully completing the module you will be able to...
- 1. Demonstrate adequate proficiency in spoken and written English language in the context of the study of psychology
- 2. Use language creatively and flexibly for a range of purposes and audiences,
- 3. Engage actively in discussion of psychological issues, showing awareness of the communicative needs of others
- 4. Engage in analytical and evaluative thinking in the discipline of psychology
- 5. Research and select psychology source materials effectively
- 6. Extract and synthesise key information from a range of written and spoken sources in the discipline of psychology
- 7. Take accurate and effective notes from written and spoken texts
- 8. Organise and present ideas orally and in writing within the framework of a structured and reasoned argument
- 9. Use psychology source materials appropriately in your writing, avoiding plagiarism
ILO: Discipline-specific skills
On successfully completing the module you will be able to...
- 10. Communicate effectively in the field of psychology using the full range of currently available methods
- 11. Participate effectively in key elements of your taught programme
ILO: Personal and key skills
On successfully completing the module you will be able to...
- 12. Think independently, critically and creatively
- 13. Manage yourself effectively including autonomy, time management, self-teaching, self-reflection, seeking and using feedback, personal responsibility, self-criticism
- 14. Use technology relevant to your studies, e.g. library catalogues, word-processing packages, VLE, PowerPoint
- 15. Work co-operatively with others, interacting effectively within a group
Syllabus plan
Syllabus plan
Spoken Language Skills
- Listening, comprehension and note-taking skills for lectures in psychology.
- Group discussion skills: using language appropriately, flexibly and creatively; formulating questions about what you have heard to initiate discussion; showing awareness of other people’s communicative needs by supporting and encouraging their contributions.
- Presentation skills: presenting a topic which you have researched to your peers, having organised material to ensure clarity and coherence.
Written Language Skills
- Reading skills for psychology:
- Understanding the structure and ideas of complex, unsimplified written text;
- Locating specific information from a variety of text types;
- Engaging with text content; relating it to your own knowledge base in order to monitor your own understanding; adopting an analytical approach to text, e.g. comparing different writers’ views.
- Building vocabulary for the field of psychology.
Writing and research skills for psychology:
- Locating and evaluating sources.
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- Effective note-taking and summary writing for assignments.
- Supporting arguments using source material through summary, paraphrase, quotation.
- Synthesising information from different sources and incorporating into your own writing.
- Referencing: using APA conventions to make correctly formatted references to sources; compiling bibliographies.
- Monitoring your writing for good academic practice which avoids plagiarism; using Turnitin.
- Analysis of essay titles and exam questions; establishing the focus required to answer questions.
- Planning and completing a written psychology assignment.
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Learning and teaching
Learning activities and teaching methods (given in hours of study time)
Scheduled Learning and Teaching Activities | Guided independent study | Placement / study abroad |
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240 | 60 | 0 |
Details of learning activities and teaching methods
Category | Hours of study time | Description |
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Scheduled Learning and Teaching | 144 | Lecture preparation and follow-up: in these teacher-led classes you will prepare for upcoming lectures in two psychology modules in each semester, focussing on the language needed. After the lectures, you will discuss the lecture, checking your understanding of concepts and the accuracy of your notes. |
Scheduled Learning and Teaching | 96 | Reading and writing for psychology: in these classes you will develop strategies and study skills for reading psychology texts and writing assignments and exams. |
Guided Independent Study | 60 | Self-study, assigned reading, resources on ELE |
Assessment
Formative assessment
Form of assessment | Size of the assessment (eg length / duration) | ILOs assessed | Feedback method |
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Group Presentation - term 1 | 10-20 minutes (5 minutes per student) | 1-6, 8, 10, 12-15 | Written and Spoken teacher and peer feedback |
Listening and Note-taking exam - term 1 | 60 minutes | 1, 6, 7, 11 | Written and Spoken teacher and peer feedback |
Seminar - term 2 | 20-30 minutes (5 minutes per student) | 1-6, 8, 10-11, 15 | Written and Spoken teacher and peer feedback |
Annotated Essay Plan | 800 Words | 4-7, 12-14 | Staged tutorials and final written feedback from teacher |
Summative assessment (% of credit)
Coursework | Written exams | Practical exams |
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0 | 65 | 35 |
Details of summative assessment
Form of assessment | % of credit | Size of the assessment (eg length / duration) | ILOs assessed | Feedback method |
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Listening and note-taking examination term 2 | 25 | 60 minutes | 1, 6-7, 11 | written and spoken teacher and peer feedback |
Assessed seminar term 2 | 20 | 20-30 minutes (5 minutes per student) | 1-6, 8, 10-11, 15 | written and spoken teacher and peer feedback |
Reading and writing examination term 2 | 40 | 2 hours | 1-2, 4, 6, 8-12 | written and spoken teacher and peer feedback |
Individual presentations term 2 | 15 | 10 minutes | 1-6, 10, 12-14 | written and spoken teacher and peer feedback |
Re-assessment
Details of re-assessment (where required by referral or deferral)
Original form of assessment | Form of re-assessment | ILOs re-assessed | Timescale for re-assessment |
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Seminar | semi-structured Interview (15 minutes) | 1-4, 8, 10, 12 | August resit period |
Listening and note-taking examination | Listening and note-taking examination | 1, 6-7, 11 | August resit period |
Reading and writing examination | Reading and writing examination | 1-2, 4, 6, 8-12 | August resit period |
Individual presentations | Individual presentation | 1-6, 10, 12-14 | August resit period |
Re-assessment notes
The group presentation and the seminar are replaced by an interview to be conducted by two staff and recorded. The questions set for re-assessment will ensure that all the ILOs are met. A referred re-assessment will be capped at 40%.
Resources
Indicative learning resources - Basic reading
Basic reading:
Short J. (2010) English for Psychology in Higher Education Studies. Reading: Garnet.
Vicary, A. (2014) Grammar for Writing. Reading: Garnet
Hayes, N & Stratton, P. (1988) A students Dictionary of Psychology. Hodder UK.
VLE – additional material covered in the tutorials, practical materials, and information about assessment will be available on ELE
Indicative learning resources - Web based and electronic resources
www.learner.org/series/discoveringpsychology/
Module has an active ELE page
Credit value | 30 |
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Module pre-requisites | none |
Module co-requisites | PSY1203 - Introduction to Social Psychology (term 1) PSY1204 – Introduction to Clinical Psychology (term 1) PSY1205 – Introduction to Statistics (terms 1 and 2) PSY1206 – Introduction to Research Methods (term 1) PSY1207 – Cognition, Emotion and Development (term 2) PSY1202 – Introduction to Biological Psychology (term 2) |
NQF level (module) | 4 |
Available as distance learning? | No |
Origin date | 30/11/2013 |
Last revision date | 15/08/2018 |