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Education Placement Module

Module description

This module allows you the unique opportunity to take up a relevant experiential placement in an education setting and to use this as an opportunity for personal, professional and academic development. The module will give you the tools to reflect critically upon your placement. You will also be encouraged to reflect on the learning undertaken on your placement and to consider how this relates to the wider issues, processes, practices, policies and theoretical ideas that you have explored in your academic study.  This module thus strongly supports you in connecting theory and practice.

You will be expected to search for your own placement, although you can request support in this process from a placement support officer.  If you are on a particular specialism (such as the MA Education: SEN) you may be supported in approaching schools.  For students on other programmes it is not expected that these placements will NOT take place in the formal school setting. Instead, students are encouraged to think about the variety of settings where education might occur and to consider placements which will challenge their existing assumptions, perspectives and skill sets.

The module involves two parts: a professional placement and a series of lectures and seminars focusing on critical reflection, experiential learning and professional development within education. There are no pre-requisites to this module. This module requires Disclosure and Baring Service clearance.

Module aims - intentions of the module

The principal aims for this module are:

• To support and develop your skills as a critically reflective and professional practitioner
• To provide direct experience as a means of supporting the development of knowledge and skills in practice
• To critically explore and problematise the issues and challenges professionals face in real-life education settings
• To extend your existing experience in education settings and your understanding of the places where education might take place (e.g. placements will take place in a variety of settings including, for example, education research organisations, higher education institutions, museums, theatre companies with an educational remit/focus)
• To develop your understanding of experiential learning and what it means to learn through reflection
• To develop employment related skills which will prepare you for future work in the field

Intended Learning Outcomes (ILOs)

ILO: Module-specific skills

On successfully completing the module you will be able to...

• 1. Gather relevant practical data and critically analyse it for purposes of reflection
• 2. Demonstrate ethical professional practices
• 3. Critically reflect on your practical experience of being on placement and develop a comprehensive and sophisticated argument about what you learnt in relation to theory and policy.
• 4. Demonstrate detailed knowledge and understanding of what your placement organisation does; how it is managed, the culture within the organisation and what influences this.

ILO: Discipline-specific skills

On successfully completing the module you will be able to...

• 5. Construct organised, structured, critically reflective and analytic writing
• 6. Critically engage with relevant sources of literature and current debates in education
• 7. Reflect on and problematise theory, practice and/or policy with regards to the placement experience.

ILO: Personal and key skills

On successfully completing the module you will be able to...

• 8. Demonstrate independent learning, self-management and organisation
• 9. Critically reflect on your own practice and discuss the implications for future practice
• 10. Demonstrate oral and written communication skills

Syllabus plan

Whilst the module’s precise content may vary from year to year, and depending on your particular specialism focus, it is envisaged that the syllabus will cover some or all of the following key areas:

• Preparing for your placement
• Personal development planning
• Learning from experience
• The key principles of reflective practice
• Values and professionalism in the workplace
• Professional learning
• Key themes in education practice
• Ethics in the workplace
• Linking theory to practice

Learning activities and teaching methods (given in hours of study time)

Details of learning activities and teaching methods

Formative assessment

Summative assessment (% of credit)

Details of summative assessment

Details of re-assessment (where required by referral or deferral)

Indicative learning resources - Basic reading

Bassot, B. (2015) The Reflective Practice Guide . Routledge

Crebert*, G., Bates, M., Bell, B., Patrick, C.J. and Cragnolini, V., 2004. Developing generic skills at university, during work placement and in employment: graduates' perceptions. Higher Education Research & Development, 23(2), pp.147-165.

Kolb, D. (1984),  ‘Experiential Learning: Experience as a Source of Learning and Development.’ PHI, New Jersey.

Moon, J. (1999), Learning Journals: A handbook for academics, students and professional development. Kogan Page. London

Owen, S.M. and Stupans, I., 2009. Experiential placements and scaffolding for reflection. Learning in Health and Social Care, 8(4), pp.272-281.

Key words search

Placement, work, employment, employability, work place, reflection, professional