DA4032 - Academic Practice

Most of your learning on this Degree Apprenticeship module will be in your workplace. You will gain a theoretical understanding of the topics through live (online or face-to-face) university sessions and online resources such as recorded lectures, videocasts, podcasts, electronic books, journal articles and websites. Your involvement in quantity surveying tasks will enable you to put the theory into context, thereby cementing your understanding. You will agree with your Workplace Mentor a Module Learning Plan (MLP) designed to achieve the Module Learning Outcomes via a series of directed workplace learning activities, such as shadowing a colleague, visiting a site or producing a poster.

Due to the nature of this module, there is a greater proportion of work-based learning (estimated at 120 hours) and a smaller amount of scheduled activity than for the technical modules. This is estimated at 4 hours of ‘Seminars’ (synchronous delivery, most likely all online via Blackboard Collaborate), 4 hours of ‘Lectures’ (asynchronous online delivery via Blackboard and Blackboard Collaborate), and 2 hours ‘Tutorials (1-to-1 support from your Workplace Mentor and Workplace Coach). The remaining hours in the Notional Student Workload for the module are attributed to independent learning, with the estimated ratio of tutor-guided to student independent learning at 1:1, as appropriate for a Level 4 module.

Your Module Tutor(s) will deliver an online module induction session and lead live sessions that enable you to interact with your tutor and peers. They will provide and direct you to essential and recommended online resources available via the University’s eLearning Portal and University Library. Outside of live sessions, they will provide advice and respond to questions via the eLearning Portal.

Your Workplace Mentor will support you in developing your Module Learning Plan. You will be provided with a guidance document that outlines the principles of workplace learning and provides examples of a large and diverse range of potential workplace learning activities. You may also discuss your Module Learning Plan with your Workplace Coach.

All modules at Northumbria include a range of reading materials that students are expected to engage with. The reading list for this module can be found at: http://readinglists.northumbria.ac.uk
(Reading List service online guide for academic staff this containing contact details for the Reading List team – http://library.northumbria.ac.uk/readinglists)

Knowledge & Understanding:
None

Intellectual / Professional skills & abilities:
MLO1: Demonstrate effective academic study skills

Personal Values Attributes (Global / Cultural awareness, Ethics, Curiosity) (PVA):

MLO2: Contribute effectively to meetings and present information in a variety of ways including oral and written

You will be formatively assessed by the completion of the workplace learning activities identified in your Module Learning Plan. You will receive informal, often verbal, formative feedback from your Workplace Mentor, and sometimes from other colleagues and your Workplace Coach. You will also have the opportunity for formative feedback from your module tutor(s), particularly during the assessment guidance sessions.

Your summative assessment will provide you with the opportunity to translate your workplace learning into a coherent output that demonstrates that you have achieved the module learning outcomes.

This will be in the form of a 10-page portfolio demonstrating your understanding of the range of approaches, tools and resources available for effective academic study, and identifying those most relevant for Quantity Surveying Degree Apprentices.

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This module is an integral part of your Degree Apprenticeship programme, designed in collaboration with employers to meet the requirements of the Construction Quantity Surveyor and Chartered Surveyor Degree Apprenticeship Standards and provide a solid skills base for career progression and professional qualification.

You will be introduced to academic study skills to support your learning throughout the programme, including topics such as independent learning, time management, searching for information, reading and note taking, academic writing, presentations, referencing and plagiarism, ethics and standards and using technology. You will also gain awareness of how to contribute effectively to meetings and present information in a variety of ways including oral and written.

You will gain theoretical understanding through university sessions and online resources but as a Degree Apprentice, you will do most of your learning in the context of your Quantity Surveyor role via a series of workplace learning activities agreed with your Workplace Mentor.