HS627-6-PS-CO:
Quality Improvement in Practice
2021/22
Health and Social Care (School of)
Colchester Campus
Spring & Summer
Undergraduate: Level 6
Current
Saturday 22 January 2022
Wednesday 31 August 2022
60
31 March 2021
Requisites for this module
(none)
(none)
(none)
(none)
(none)
Work based learning (WBL) has been described as learning that takes place at work or away from work with the sole purpose of improving work performance by focussing on the challenges and realities of practice.
WBL offers a means of linking theory to practice and a way of valuing practice as an integral part of professional education. The principle behind WBL is that individuals are given an opportunity to explore aspects of their work for development of themselves and the organisation/ service in which they work.
This module places control over the learning process in your hands: you negotiate your own learning contract with your academic and practice supervisors. This will set out and structure what you want to learn, what action you will take to achieve it, and what evidence will demonstrate that achievement.
It is expected that as a student on this course you will directly apply the knowledge and skills gained to your professional work through development of a service improvement project and specific, individualised activities to enhance your professional practice.
Work based learning will enable you to:
* Tailor learning to you and your workplace's needs
* Identify and reinforce existing knowledge and experience
* Gain academic credit for existing knowledge and skills
* Develop research skills in designing, delivering and disseminating work related projects
* Improve personal effectiveness through reflection
This module aims to provide you with an opportunity to:
• Tailor learning to you and your workplace’s needs
• Identify and reinforce existing knowledge and experience
• Gain academic credit for existing knowledge and skills
• Develop research skills in designing, delivering and disseminating work related projects
• Improve personal effectiveness through reflection
In addition to achieving your individualised learning outcomes, on successful completion of the module at Level 6 you will be able to:
• Source and critically analyse appropriate information from a range of sources, with minimal guidance
• Synthesise and utilise knowledge and skills to enhance current practice
• Demonstrate advanced judgement in problem identification, problem solving and decision making within your professional role
• Engage in self appraisal and critical reflection
• Demonstrate effective communication with clients and colleagues in the development of practice
The principle behind work based learning is that individuals are given an opportunity to explore aspects of their work for development of themselves and for the organisation/ service in which they work. You will be encouraged to gain and develop skills to enable you to enhance aspects of your practice. It is expected that you will directly apply the knowledge and skills gained to your professional work through development of a service improvement project and specific, individualised activities to enhance your professional practice.
This module centres on an individualised, supervised and structured learning process. In negotiation with your academic and practice based supervisor you will be required to identify your specific learning needs and project work.
Independent:
Through negotiation of the learning contract, specific learning needs relevant to you and the organisation you work for will be identified, alongside the evidence that will need to be presented to support demonstration of achievement.
Each student's learning needs will be individual to them. However it is anticipated that further learning activities including reading and research will be required to meet the learning objectives and assessment criteria for this module.
It is your responsibility to structure and undertake this independent study to support your learning and prepare for your assessment.
You will be expected to meet with your academic and practice supervisors on a regular basis throughout the course.
Arrangements for supervision will be the responsibility of the student. We recommend that tutorials are organised at 6-8 weekly intervals to enable contact to be maintained and support given as needed.
Online:
A number of resources have been placed on our online learning tool (Moodle) to assist the student in their preparation of the portfolio. This includes a series of tutorials and tools about service improvement, useful links to national guidance and policy, and profession specific resources. Supervisors will encourage you to access these resources to guide them through what may be relatively unfamiliar territory.
Access to Moodle requires an up-to-date browser IE8 or later. Google Chrome, Firefox and Safari also support Moodle.
Tutorials:
On commencing the course you will be allocated an Academic Supervisor. Academic Supervisors will support you in the preparation of the module assessment and will be responsible for marking your work. Intake on this course is at the beginning of each academic term; an induction session is offered to support newly registered students with aspects of the module. Hand in deadline for final submission is the end of the second term of study. Your first tutorial will be around the negotiation of your learning contract and your project ideas.
You are asked to identify a practice based supervisor within your workplace or organisation to provide support and coaching via your learning contract. This also supports your own professional development within your organisation and may support you for requirements such as study leave. Moore (2010: 27) suggests that the manager enables WBL when they 'have a flexible approach to learning, enable practice development, legitimise personal development, and encourage collegial work'. The learning contract must be negotiated and agreed at the beginning of the period of study between the student, the academic supervisor, and the practice based supervisor.
It is anticipated that students will discuss with their ideas and ask for advice of their supervisors at various stages of developing their project and fulfilling the goals in their learning contract. The academic and practice supervisor roles will at times overlap as most academic supervisors will come from a health professional background, and most practice supervisors will have studied in higher education. However, it is expected that students will access practice supervisors to guide them in relevant practice, policy or processes within their chosen field and to facilitate implementation of their service improvement project. You should seek advice from your academic supervisor regarding research activities, academic writing and preparation of a portfolio to support your learning contract.
We advise students and supervisors to read the associated 'Work Based Learning Supervisor's Guide'. This is available on Moodle or by contacting the Module Lead to request a copy.
Any student may elect to change his/her Academic Supervisor following discussion with the module or programme Leader or the Director for Teaching and Learning.
This module does not appear to have a published bibliography for this year.
Assessment items, weightings and deadlines
| Coursework / exam |
Description |
Deadline |
Coursework weighting |
| Coursework |
Portfolio |
|
100% |
Additional coursework information
This module will require students to produce a portfolio to include;
• A completed learning contract with relevant supporting evidence including a reflective account of the learning and development achieved.
• A report on a service improvement that will enhance service user’s experience.
Exam format definitions
- Remote, open book: Your exam will take place remotely via an online learning platform. You may refer to any physical or electronic materials during the exam.
- In-person, open book: Your exam will take place on campus under invigilation. You may refer to any physical materials such as paper study notes or a textbook during the exam. Electronic devices may not be used in the exam.
- In-person, open book (restricted): The exam will take place on campus under invigilation. You may refer only to specific physical materials such as a named textbook during the exam. Permitted materials will be specified by your department. Electronic devices may not be used in the exam.
- In-person, closed book: The exam will take place on campus under invigilation. You may not refer to any physical materials or electronic devices during the exam. There may be times when a paper dictionary,
for example, may be permitted in an otherwise closed book exam. Any exceptions will be specified by your department.
Your department will provide further guidance before your exams.
Overall assessment
Reassessment
Module supervisor and teaching staff
Ms Penny Hodgkinson, email: pahodg@essex.ac.uk.
Penny Hodgkinson
Penny Hodgkinson
E: pahodge@essex.ac.uk
Kathryn Hills
Senior Student Administrator
E: cpd@essex.ac.uk
No
No
No
Mr Richard Clark
Sheffield Hallam University
Senior Lecturer
Available via Moodle
Of 304 hours, 0 (0%) hours available to students:
304 hours not recorded due to service coverage or fault;
0 hours not recorded due to opt-out by lecturer(s).
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