module specification

This module provides opportunities for students to gain experience of the journalistic working environment and to enhance and extend their learning by applying and building on their academic and journalistic skills.
Students must find their three –week placement themselves, deploying employability and professional skills and their own developing portfolios.
Placements will be supported by a session of workshops, of which students mustt attend the majority.
Assessment will be by a reflective learning log, including ethical considerations and remarks by employers; a presentation to class and on the class blog; self-assessed engagement with classes when not on placement.

The main aims of this module are to provide students with the opportunity to

1. gain a useful experience of the working environment;
2. undertake a work-based project appropriate to their academic level;
3. enhance and extend their learning experience by applying and building on their academic skills and capabilities by tackling real life problems in the workplace;
4. become aware of the culture and structure of a working environment;
5. develop new capabilities and professional skills.

Subsidiary aims may be established by agreement between student and placement tutor.

Pre-placement induction sessions will introduce students to the requirements and demands of work placement, assist them in the diagnosis of their abilities; help them make decisions about suitable work areas; and ensure they produce a suitable CV for placement applications.
At the start of the placement the student, employer and placement tutor agree a learning and assessment contract identifying and specifying the:

• task(s) involved in the placement;
• capabilities to be developed and demonstrated, together with the associated assessment criteria;
• learning opportunities for the development of the expected outcomes;
• evidence required to demonstrate attainment of the outcomes.

A class-based debriefing session, on completion of the placement, will enable the student to reflect on learning and the experiences gained from the placement and to develop action learning plans for the future, including pursuing LinkedIn and social media strategies.

Teaching methods include lectures, workshops, guest speakers, seminar discussion and tutorials.  Workshops will focus on producing CVs, application letters and profiles within class and outside it. Students are expected to attend and must participate.  In seminars, workshops and tutorials they are expected to raise issues, ask questions and seek feedback to enable them to reflect on practice.
In addition to guided reading, students are expected to read and use new media critically. Blended learning will be facilitated through blogs, the virtual learning environment, twitter and photo sites. Journals will map progress.
PDP will be supported.

On successful completion of this module, having completed all the tasks set,  students should be able to: 
1) Show they have reached an acceptable level of professional competence in their work setting;
2) Demonstrate that they have operated effectively, both independently and with others, in a structured and routinely supervised work environment;
3) Demonstrate that they have communicated appropriately with colleagues and superiors ;
4) Show that they took a rational and organised approach, applying previously known or new techniques and/or methodologies, to the task(s) set;
5) Describe and evaluate the structure, major activities and responsibilities of the organisation;
6) Reflect on and evaluate critically their own performance and abilities.

Formative assessment includes the regular maintenance of a structured learning log. This allows the student to plan and monitor their progress, to reflect on and learn from their experience, and to improve their performance during the placement. Formative assessment also includes employer comments and observations during the placement period. The employer will be asked to provide a short report on the student's performance and attendance.
Summative assessment includes performance evidence obtained throughout placement (from the learning log and presentation in class and on blogs) and is not just a snapshot at one point in time, eg on completion of the project/task(s).
Assessment evidence will include:
the learning log, including a written report describing the organisation and evaluating the work undertaken, plus reports from employers (2000 words);
Contribution in class, self-assessed and recorded in online journal;
A presentation of up to 10 minutes, which describes and evaluates the experience for an audience of peers and academic staff, with blog presence available for second marking and links to LinkedIn and CV shown therein.

Three assessments in total (see Sec 19) with an indicative mapping of Learning outcomes and the assessment components:
1) Coursework 1 [LOs 1 to 6]
2) Coursework 2 [LOs 1 to 6]
3) Coursework 3 [LOs 1 to 6]

Employers’ websites and manuals

Online careers information:

www.journalism.co.uk

London Metropolitan University http://student.londonmet.ac.uk/jobs-and- employment/career-and-employability- advice/

Mitchison, E 2016.
https://gothinkbig.co.uk/features/ways-to-get-into-journalism-work-experience

www.nuj.org.uk

www.prospects.ac.uk

http://targetjobs.co.uk

Cottrell, S (2010) Skills for success: the personal development planning handbook 2nd Ed, Palgrave Macmillian, Basingstoke

Fanthome C (2004) Work placements : a survival guide for students Palgrave Macmillian, Basingstoke

Herbert I and Rothwell A (2005) Managing your placement, Palgrave Macmillan, Basingstoke