TY3PRP-Professional Practice 2

Module Provider: Typography
Number of credits: 20 [10 ECTS credits]
Level:6
Terms in which taught: Autumn / Spring / Summer module
Pre-requisites:
Non-modular pre-requisites:
Co-requisites:
Modules excluded:
Placement opportunity: Micro placement
Current from: 2023/4

Module Convenor: Mr James Lloyd
Email: j.c.lloyd@reading.ac.uk

Type of module:

Summary module description:

The development of skills in the professional practice of graphic communication, through design work undertaken for clients; and the development of career awareness.

Aims:

The module aims to develop professional skills through work-based learning, in the form of design work undertaken for clients under supervision (‘Real Jobs’), or alternative experiential learning assignments that better suit the career goals of individual learners. In addition, the module aims to develop greater awareness of personal strengths and skills relevant to careers learning, and strategies for gaining appropriate employment, including presentation of work to prospective employers through the effective display of practical work (both physically and online through blogs or websites). There is exposure to external design professionals at every opportunity.

Assessable learning outcomes:

For Real Jobs:

• Communicate and work effectively alongside clients, supervisors, and production staff and other professionals.


• Analyse problems posed by a brief, and construct an appropriate restated brief in response to a client's account of a problem, including a description of what needs to be delivered, and by when.


• Prepare and undertake presentations of design proposals


• Carry through proposals to an appropriate deliverable


• Make weekly progress reports


• Demonstrate timely working methods appropriate to both task and resources


• Demonstrate craft skills and professional - including technical - competence, particularly in the relationship to design for print or electronic production


• Reflect on the process and final outcomes of the project in terms of ‘success’ for the clients, their users, and your own personal accomplishment.

For other experiential learning assignments (ELAs):

• Reflect on experiences in personal and professional terms, but also in the context of the (relevant) industry as a whole.


• Develop an engaging, authoritative written style appropriate to the topic and audience.


• Present your experiences to other students to help them broaden their understanding of the world of design.

For the careers unit:

• Build a simple online portfolio of design work


• Draft a CV that is relevant to the sector in terms of content and design.


• Identify and plan to address areas for improvement in your professional practice, in readiness for your next assignment or career step.


• Identify, assess and articulate personal skills, interests, values and personality traits in the context of career decision making.


• Synthesise careers research and reflection-on-learning into a personal career action plan.


• Make applications for job vacancies in an effective manner.


• Make an effective presentation of work to a prospective employer.

For the displays of work:

• Follow a simple specification and guidelines regarding the display of work


• Work to specific assessment criteria, without losing track of the big picture.


• Refine skills in selecting and promoting high quality work


• Demonstrate high level copy editing and crafting skills 

Additional outcomes:

Students should be able to work as part of a team, make effective contributions to meetings, explain and defend their work, and demonstrate project management skills. In addition, students may acquire and assess knowledge of the career destinations of recent Department graduates and the routes they took to those destinations. If appropriate, students will develop skills for preparing an effective portfolio of design work. IT skills in the area of careers research will also be developed. Students will also develop Personal Development Planning abilities

Additional information for mature students: Mature students are encouraged to participate in careers learning with their cohort. Students who are not planning a career as a practicing designer, or will return to an already established career, can choose from other activities that address career planning in a wider sense, as an alternative to the module’s main strand of careers learning.

Outline content:

Real jobs:

The module involves work-based learning in the form of professional assignments (‘Real Jobs’) brought to the Department by outside clients, and assignments from within the University. The nature of these projects will vary; students will be allocated professional assignments with regard to their interests and abilities. The conduct of the assignments will encompass those learning outcomes listed above, but within a specific context. Special emphasis will beplaced on the practical management of work and the working relationship established with the client.

Other experiential learning assignments (ELAs):

As a means of supporting a wider range of professional experience than simply undertaking practical design work for a client, students have the option to choose other assignments that relate to professional practice, but have little or no practical design output. Examples may include:

• Writing up and presenting to peers about a work experience placement


• A literature review of an emerging field or technology, involving some first-hand experience of the topic.


• An interview with a mentor or other aspirational figure in the industry.


• A reflective report on the process of entering a design competition outside of the University

Careers unit:

In addition, the module includes an intensive careers learning day supported by online resources. Content of the day may include:

• Use of personal profiling/online learning techniques to encourage self-awareness


• recognition of skills and attributes suitable for employment, based on previous work in TY2PRO


• Introduction to the use of careers information sources (e.g. websites)


• Reflection on interviews recorded with recent graduates in graphic communication


• Practical exercises and advice on recruitment and selection methods (e.g. CVs, physical and digital portfolios, job interviews) relevant to individual career plans.

Displays of work:

Students assemble a convincing display of work by selecting the best outputs from throughout their course and considering the best mode and style of communication. They are briefed in a written document, in person, and (if possible) in situ. The marking scheme for this work is completely transparent. 

Brief description of teaching and learning methods:

Students are required to undertake at least two assignments, plus the careers unit. The assignments can both be Real jobs, both by other ELAs, or be a mix of the two. Students can take on more than two assignments if they choose, but only their two best assignments will contribute to their final mark for the module.

On Real jobs, students are supervised by a member of academic staff who comments on design proposals and approves the final design. Jobs are monitored and prog ressed at separate weekly meetings and students are required to make a concluding presentation, attended by both students and supervisors. Supervisors will ensure a balance between students' assignments, and may require students to work in small teams.

Other ELAs do not have a dedicated supervisor beyond the module convenor, and will be more independently managed by the students themselves.

In addition, the module is taught by means of an intensive car eers learning day and by self-directed learning through on-line resources.

Summative assessment- Examinations:

Summative assessment- Coursework and in-class tests:

Coursework A (Project output other than dissertation / or written assignment including essay): 60% of module mark.

Students must undertake a minimum of two assignments. They can take on more than two if they choose, but only their two best assignments will contribute to their final mark for the module.

Real Jobs will be assessed as they are completed, according to an agreed set of Assessable learning outcomes and by an agreed rubric. Criteria will include: the design quality of finished artefacts; engagement with staff, clients and the process; the quality and depth of the reflective report (blog posts); the extent to which the student has maximized the opportunities afforded by the brief. Each coursework submission will receive its own percentage mark. Feedback is given within the University’s agreed timeframe, to allow students to improve their performance in subsequent assignments. 

Other ELAs will be assigned a percentage mark based on the Department standards for written work and/or presentations, as appropriate. Feedback is given within the University’s agreed timeframe. 

Unlike practical work in other Part 3 modules in Typography, there is no resubmission process for any of the work in this module.

Coursework B (Careers unit): 20% of module work

Careers day assignments will include:

• personal career action plan


• reflection-on-learning report based on professional assignments and/or projects undertaken in the Department


• CV and online portfolio preparation

Coursework C (Display presentation): 20% of module mark

The final display of work produced by each student for the end of year show will be assessed according to the criteria set out in the brief. It is the quality of the display (e.g. organisation, level of craft skills, explanations of work displayed) which is assessed, not the quality of the work itself, which will be assessed separately for the relevant modules.

Formative assessment methods:

For Real Jobs and other experiential learning assignments, the brief that students construct will be scrutinized by staff and other students until satisfactory. Tutors will be available for informal feedback throughout the projects, and the weekly Real job meetings provided a forum for extensive peer support and input. This may include numerical formative assessment.

Penalties for late submission:

Non-standard penalties apply to the late submission of Part 3 practical work that is assessed in Summer Term. 10% of the total marks available for the work will be deducted from the final mark where work is submitted up to 24 hours late. Thereafter the mark falls to zero. Assessors may exercise discretion in the application of penalties.

Assessment requirements for a pass:

A mark of 40% overall.

Reassessment arrangements:

Submission of a new practical project (NOT a professional assignment), and/or submission (or resubmission) of equivalent Careers day assignments by an August date to be notified.

Additional Costs (specified where applicable):

1) Required text books: None

2) Specialist equipment or materials: None

3) Specialist clothing, footwear or headgear: None

4) Printing and binding: None

5) Computers and devices with a particular specification: None

6) Travel, accommodation and subsistence: None

Last updated: 30 March 2023