module specification

In this module you will explore a broad range of social science and current affairs issues. You’ll reflect on the qualities needed to be a successful student in Higher Education and identify your own strengths and areas for development. You’ll be guided to investigate and conduct research on a topic of interest to you in greater depth.

1. You will learn to access sources, recognise and analyse arguments, and critically engage with source material.
2. You will explore some principles of research and develop research skills.
3. You will develop digital and academic communication skills, including integrating source materials with your own voice into written work.
4. You will develop oral, written and visual communication skills to produce work in a range of formats.
5. You will critically engage with current, social, and ethical issues, in the context of the Education for Social Justice Framework and your subject area
6. You will contribute to building a sense of belonging, and a respectful learning community, where students collaborate, share knowledge and ideas and work effectively as a team.
7. You will be encouraged to explore and build on prior knowledge and experiences to prepare you for further study in your subject area, professional behaviours and your chosen career
8. You will reflect on your learning journey, build your confidence, and take ownership of your motivation.

The syllabus will include an exploration of various social science themes such as inequality and discrimination, identity and society, environmental issues and current affairs.  (LO1, LO5, LO6). Academic and digital literacies are embedded into the syllabus and students will practise critically engaging with texts and producing work based on their reading and research. (LO1,LO2, LO3, LO4) Students will reflect on their learning journey and how this relates to their future career aspirations (LO7, LO8) Students will undertake research on a topic of interest related to their subject area and present the findings to their cohort (LO2, LO4, LO7, LO8)Students in groups will work on a topic and showcase their research in an exhibition, reflecting on the learning process (LO2, LO4, LO6, LO7, LO8) and  Students will work on projects to contribute to a final assessed portfolio (LO1,2,3,4,5,6,7,8).

The module is delivered through classes, one to one student contact, online tasks and guided research sessions.  Examples of class activities include seminar discussions, group tasks, IT lab sessions. 

Opportunities for self-reflection and PDP are core to the module, running through all teaching and learning strands including content, class activities, informal and formal tutor and peer feedback, assessment and independent study.

Ongoing independent study will provide routes to develop and explore individual and degree-related interests. Key areas will include developing personal agency over academic, disciplinary/professional and personal outcomes. Blended learning resources such as reading resources, class materials and study support resources are available on weblearn and other platforms.

Academic
Students will be encouraged to develop strategies for effective learning, including identifying their own strengths and areas of development, action planning in response to formative feedback, taking responsibility for intrinsic motivation and encouraging personal reflection on academic priorities.

Personal
Students will reflect on their own values and interests, investigate their own identity as an individual, as part of society, and gain confidence in belonging of the academic community.

Disciplinary and professional
Students will start to develop a sense of identity with their subject area, feeding into their academic and professional aspirations. They will receive input from the pathway discipline, including development of digital and employment related skills. There will be integrated opportunities for link up with relevant departments within university e.g. Careers, Subject Librarians, Student Union.

Reflective practice and self-reflection
Students will be introduced to the processes and purposes of reflective learning, including how to write reflectively, applying relevant reflective models and approaches and understanding the purposes of reflective practice, both academically and professionally.

1. Students will be able to critically engage with a variety of sources, recognise and analyse arguments.
2. Students will use research skills to investigate a topic of their choice
3. Students will demonstrate digital and academic communication skills, including integrating source materials with students’ own voice into written work
4. Students will demonstrate oral, written and visual communication skills and produce work in a range of formats
5. Students will demonstrate an understanding of current, social and ethical issues and how they relate to the subject area.
6. Students will contribute to a respectful learning community and work in collaboration with other students.
7. Students will demonstrate a wider understanding of professional settings, while drawing on their own knowledge and experience to prepare them for further study and/or their chosen career.
8. Students will demonstrate self-awareness through reflection on their own learning.

No core reading - module will use a selection of the texts below and current articles

FOR VALIDATION: FY3000 Foundation Year Programme | London Metropolitan University (talis.com)

Akala (2019) Natives:race and class in the ruins of empire, London: Two Roads

Caulfield. L & Hill, J (2018) Criminological skills and research for beginners: a student’s guide.  2nd Edition.  London: Routledge

Cogni M (2018) From sentences to essays, a guide to reflective writing through reflective thinking, Wilmington: Vernon Press

Cottrell, S (2019) The Study Skills Handbook.  5th Edition. London: Red Globe Press, Macmillian International

Giddens, A & Sutton, PW (2021) Sociology (9th Edition). Cambridge: Policy Press

Godfrey, J (2020) The student phrasebook: vocabulary for writing at university, London: Red Globe Press

Godfrey, J (2018) How to use your reading in your essays, London: Palgrave
Hall, S., Gilroy, P. and Gilmore, R.W. (2021) Selected writings on race and difference. Durham: Duke University Press.
Hoque, Aminul. British-Islamic Identity : Third-Generation Bangladeshis from East London, Institute of Education Press (IOE Press), 2015. ProQuest Ebook Central, https://ebookcentral.proquest.com/lib/londonmet/detail.action?docID=3563880.

Jakeman, V, Harrison, M, Paterson, K (2022) Improve your grammar, the essential guide to accurate writing, London: Bloomsbury

The Art of Disruption, Magid Magid 2020 (https://ebookcentral.proquest.com/lib/londonmet/detail.action?docID=6138142)

Moore, S, Aiken, D, Chapman, S (2008) Sociology AS for AQA, London: Harper Collins

Nagle, J (2016) Introducing Sociology, a graphic guide, London: Icon Books

Sarpong, J (2019) Diversify, London: HQ

Shukla, N (ed.), 2017,  The Good Immigrant https://emu.londonmet.ac.uk/record=b2153998~S1

Stein, S. & Andreotti, V.D.O. (2016). Decolonization and higher education. In M. Peters (Ed.), Encyclopedia of educational philosophy and theory. Singapore: Springer Science+Business Media. doi:10.1007/978-981-287-532-7_479-1

Thompson, N (2018) Promoting equality: Working with diversity and difference (4th Edition). Basingstoke: Palgrave.

Thompson, N (2020) Anti-discrimination practice: Equality, Diversity & Social Justice. London: Macmillan Education UK

Williams, K, Wooliams, M, Spiro, J (2020) Reflective writing, London: Red Globe Press

Woodward, K (2004) Questioning Identity: gender, class, ethnicity, London: Routledge