BSc (Hons) Computing
(Level 4)
Employability, Professional Development
& Study Skills
Assignment 2 (25% Weighting)
Date for Submission: Please refer to the timetable on ilearn
The submission portal on ilearn will close at 13.59 UK time on the date of submission
Assessor: Robert Manderson
Assignment Brief
As part of the formal assessment for the Bachelor of Science you are required to submit two Employability, Professional Development & Study Skills assignments. This is the second assignment and is worth 25% of the module’s assessment. Please refer to your Student Handbook for full details of the programme assessment scheme and general information on preparing and submitting assignments.
Maximum Word Count: 2000 words
Please note that exceeding the word count is likely to result in a reduction in grade
You are required show the word count on the front page. You will be penalised if you are significantly over this limit
Learning Outcomes
Upon completion of this assignment learners will be able to:
• Explain the use and application of supportive communication skills and relate this to appropriate theory
• Demonstrate an understanding of different learning styles and how their own personal style may impact upon others
SCENARIO – CASE STUDY: YOUR STUDY SKILLS
Using your own experiences, and reflections on these, as a communicator and learner, consider the following:
• How you communicate orally and in writing in various contexts
• How you learn and your personal learning style in various contexts
The theories and concepts underpinning these are set out in the learning materials of iLearn and represent the areas that you need to address for this coursework assignment, by focussing on tasks 1 & 2. As well as referencing the relevant theories and concepts for each task, the majority of the work you do for each task will be based around reflections on your communication skills and personal learning style in various employment and study contexts.
N.B. Contact your tutor, Robert Manderson (rmanderson@arden.ac.uk), to discuss your communication and learning contexts.
Assignment Tasks
Using the learning materials provided in iLearn, reading materials from authoritative sources (e.g. EBSCO, Google Scholar), information concerning your communication skills and personal learning style based on your experiences and reflections on these, you are required to answer the following assignment tasks (1 & 2) and their respective component parts (a, b, etc.):
1. This task concerns communication skills (1000 words).
a) Summarise the principal concepts and theories of communication including making oral and written presentations, conducting interviews and conducting meetings.
b) Reflecting on your own personal communication experiences involving presentations, interviews and meetings, describe how your actual communications compared to the concepts ad theories. Highlight any differences between the theories and your current practice.
c) Discuss whether you have learned anything new from the various concepts and theories that could be used to your advantage in future communications of the various forms specified above.
(50 marks)
2. This task concerns learning styles (1000 words).
a) Summarise the principal concepts, theories and models of learning and learning styles.
b) Reflecting on your own personal learning style, describe how your learning style compares to the concepts, theories and models of learning. Highlight any differences between the models and your current practice.
c) Discuss whether you have learned anything new from the various concepts, theories and models of learning that could be used to your advantage in your future learning.
(50 marks)
Guidance
1. This is an individual piece of work.
2. Maximum word count is 2000 words not including references, tables.
Please note that exceeding the word count is likely to result in a reduction in grade
3. Referencing should be in the Arden University (AU) Harvard format.
4. To produce this assignment will require reading wider than just the course material that has been provided. The course material provides a basis for your study of Employability, Professional Development & Study Skills which needs to be supplemented by further reading.
If you are re-sitting this assessment for the first time, you may re-work your original submission if you wish. However, if this is your third attempt at this assessment, you must submit a piece of work which is substantially different from your first two attempts
ASSESSMENT CRITERIA AND MARKING STANDARDS
Level 4 introduces students to HE. Students are expected to demonstrate relevant skills and competencies; to be articulate in expressing ideas orally; and to be coherent and structured in terms of written or other media. Forms of expression at this level may be descriptive or imitative, but students are expected to demonstrate an increasing understanding of the theoretical background of their study and the analytic competence to explore it, as well as its relationship, where appropriate, to particular skills. Students are expected to develop an awareness of strengths and weaknesses in their skill sets
Mark Bands Outcome Generic Learning Outcomes (GLOs) (Academic Regulations, Section 2)
Knowledge & Understanding Intellectual (thinking), Practical, Affective and Transferable Skills
90-100% Achieves module outcome(s) related to
GLO at this level Exceptional information base exploring and analysing the discipline, its theory and ethical issues with extraordinary originality. Exceptional management of learning resources, complemented by assured self-direction/exploration. Exceptional structure/accurate expression. Demonstrates intellectual originality and imagination. Exceptional practical/professional skills.
80-89% Outstanding information base exploring and analysing the discipline, its theory and ethical issues with clear originality Outstanding management of learning resources, complemented by assured self-direction/exploration. An exemplar of structured/accurate expression. Demonstrates
intellectual originality and imagination. Outstanding practical/professional skills
70-79% Excellent information base, exploring and analysing the discipline, its theory and ethical issues with considerable originality. Excellent management of learning resources, complemented by self-direction/exploration. Structured/ accurate expression. Very good academic/intellectual and team/practical/professional skills
60-69% Good information base; explores and analyses the discipline, its theory and ethical issues with some originality Good management of learning resources with some selfdirection. Structured and mainly accurate expression. Good academic/intellectual skills and team/practical/ professional skills
50-59% Satisfactory information base that begins to explore and analyse the discipline and its ethical issues but is still mainly imitative Satisfactory use of learning resources and input to team work. Some lack of structure/accuracy in expression. Acceptable academic/intellectual skills and satisfactory practical/professional skills
40-49% A marginal pass in module outcome(s) related to GLO at this level Basic information base; omissions in understanding of major/ethical issues. Largely imitative Basic use of learning resources with no self-direction. Some input to team work. Some difficulty with structure and accuracy in expression. Some difficulties with academic/intellectual skills and developing practical/ professional skills
30-39% A marginal fail in module outcome(s) related to GLO at this level. Possible compensation. Satisfies qualifying mark Limited information base; limited understanding of discipline and its ethical dimension Limited use of learning resources. No self-direction, little input to team work and difficulty with structure/accuracy in expression. Weak academic/intellectual skills. Practical/professional skills are not yet secure
20-29% Fails to achieve module outcome(s) related to this GLO. Qualifying mark not satisfied. No
compensation available Little evidence of an information base. Little evidence of understanding of discipline and its ethical dimension. Little evidence of use of learning resources. No selfdirection, with little evidence of contribution to team work. Very weak academic/intellectual skills and significant difficulties with structure/expression. Little evidence of practical/professional skills
10-19% Inadequate information base. Inadequate understanding of discipline and its ethical dimension. Inadequate use of learning resources. No attempt at selfdirection with inadequate contribution to team work. Very weak academic/intellectual skills and major difficulty with structure/expression. Inadequate practical/professional skills
1-9% No evidence of any information base. No understanding of discipline and its ethical dimension. No evidence of use of learning resources of understanding of self-direction with no evidence of contribution to team work. No evidence academic/intellectual skills and incoherent structure/ expression. No evidence of practical/ professional skills
0% Awarded for: (i) non-submission; (ii) dangerous practice and; (iii) in situations where the student fails to address the assignment brief (eg: answers the wrong question) and/or related learning outcomes