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PYM0PL: Placement

PYM0PL: Placement

Module code: PYM0PL

Module provider: Psychology; School of Psych and Clin Lang Sci

Credits: 20

Level: Postgraduate Masters

When you'll be taught: Full year

Module convenor: Dr Julia Vogt, email: j.vogt@reading.ac.uk

Pre-requisite module(s):

Co-requisite module(s):

Pre-requisite or Co-requisite module(s):

Module(s) excluded:

Placement information: Mini placement

Academic year: 2024/5

Available to visiting students: No

Talis reading list: No

Last updated: 23 May 2024

Overview

Module aims and purpose

The module provides students with an opportunity to work with an established researcher, or team of researchers, in psychology or language sciences. The principal researcher will generally be a member of academic staff in the School of Psychology and Clinical Language Sciences at the University of Reading. Exceptionally, with the agreement of the Programme Director, the placement may be conducted elsewhere. Allocation to any placement is the decision of the Module Convenor.

Students will be exposed to practical issues in research. Students will have the opportunity to apply research skills they develop in this module to other modules (e.g., project, statistics). Students will gain an appreciation of research as a career. They will work on practical problems and write a report about their activities, the skills they have acquired and what they have learned about the research field in which they have been embedded.

The aims of the module are that the student should further their understanding of research in a particular domain of psychology.

Module learning outcomes

By the end of the module, it is expected that students will be able to:

  1. Show understanding of practical considerations pertaining to their placement
  2. Reflect on feedback received from their placement supervisor(s) and generated an effective response (or plan of how to respond)
  3. Demonstrate application of skills relevant to research in applied psychology
  4. Describe how their understanding and skills have changed as a result of the placement

Module content

The module will continue across Semester 1 & 2 and the summer.

Placement activities will depend on individual supervisors, who will set specific tasks, and will include relevant training.

Exceptionally, students may identify and arrange their own placements. All such arrangements will be at the discretion of the Programme Director and Module Convenor.

Assessment requirements mean placements must be completed by the end of July, unless specific arrangements (approved by the Module Convenor) are made to the contrary. It is rarely possible to assign students to a new placement and it is not possible to extend a student’s enrolment in order to facilitate more hours spent on placement.

Structure

Teaching and learning methods

Teaching will be by hands-on instruction by supervisors. Drop-in teaching sessions are provided by the School. Students should spend 160 hours working with their supervisor (i.e., time on placement activities). This allowance includes orientation and training time, which will vary from placement to placement. Combined with hours allocated to report writing and documentation (Learning Agreement and Interim Report), a total of 200 hours should be allocated to the placement module. The exact number of placement hours in each term will be arranged as required by the supervisor in discussion with the student, although it is anticipated that most of the placement hours will be undertaken between April and July. At the placement supervisor’s discretion, these hours can be undertaken remotely.

As part of the placement, students will be asked to complete a Learning Agreement with their supervisor. As part of the assessment for the module, supervisors will be asked to provide an Exit Report describing the extent to which students have achieved the aims of the placement (e.g., skill/competency development, targets achieved, hours completed, and comment on student’s reflection on the placement).

Study hours

At least 4 hours of scheduled teaching and learning activities will be delivered in person, with the remaining hours for scheduled and self-scheduled teaching and learning activities delivered either in person or online. You will receive further details about how these hours will be delivered before the start of the module.


 Scheduled teaching and learning activities  Semester 1  Semester 2  Summer
Lectures 1 1 2
Seminars
Tutorials
Project Supervision
Demonstrations
Practical classes and workshops
Supervised time in studio / workshop
Scheduled revision sessions
Feedback meetings with staff
Fieldwork
External visits
Work-based learning


 Self-scheduled teaching and learning activities  Semester 1  Semester 2  Summer
Directed viewing of video materials/screencasts
Participation in discussion boards/other discussions
Feedback meetings with staff
Other
Other (details)


 Placement and study abroad  Semester 1  Semester 2  Summer
Placement 14 40 106
Study abroad

Please note that the hours listed above are for guidance purposes only.

 Independent study hours  Semester 1  Semester 2  Summer
Independent study hours 9 9 18

Please note the independent study hours above are notional numbers of hours; each student will approach studying in different ways. We would advise you to reflect on your learning and the number of hours you are allocating to these tasks.

Semester 1 The hours in this column may include hours during the Christmas holiday period.

Semester 2 The hours in this column may include hours during the Easter holiday period.

Summer The hours in this column will take place during the summer holidays and may be at the start and/or end of the module.

Assessment

Requirements for a pass

Students need to achieve an overall module mark of 50% to pass this module.

Summative assessment

Type of assessment Detail of assessment % contribution towards module mark Size of assessment Submission date Additional information
Written coursework assignment Reflective report 50 2,000 words Usually early Summer Evidence of hours completed should be included in the report, and supervisors will be asked to provide an Exit Report describing the extent to which students have achieved the aims of the placement.
Oral assessment Presentation 50 10-20 minutes Usually early Summer Slides to be submitted by the deadline, prior to the presentation.

Penalties for late submission of summative assessment

The Support Centres will apply the following penalties for work submitted late:

Assessments with numerical marks

  • where the piece of work is submitted after the original deadline (or any formally agreed extension to the deadline): 10% of the total marks available for that piece of work will be deducted from the mark for each working day (or part thereof) following the deadline up to a total of three working days;
  • the mark awarded due to the imposition of the penalty shall not fall below the threshold pass mark, namely 40% in the case of modules at Levels 4-6 (i.e. undergraduate modules for Parts 1-3) and 50% in the case of Level 7 modules offered as part of an Integrated Masters or taught postgraduate degree programme;
  • where the piece of work is awarded a mark below the threshold pass mark prior to any penalty being imposed, and is submitted up to three working days after the original deadline (or any formally agreed extension to the deadline), no penalty shall be imposed;
  • where the piece of work is submitted more than three working days after the original deadline (or any formally agreed extension to the deadline): a mark of zero will be recorded.

Assessments marked Pass/Fail

  • where the piece of work is submitted within three working days of the deadline (or any formally agreed extension of the deadline): no penalty will be applied;
  • where the piece of work is submitted more than three working days after the original deadline (or any formally agreed extension of the deadline): a grade of Fail will be awarded.

The University policy statement on penalties for late submission can be found at: https://www.reading.ac.uk/cqsd/-/media/project/functions/cqsd/documents/qap/penaltiesforlatesubmission.pdf

You are strongly advised to ensure that coursework is submitted by the relevant deadline. You should note that it is advisable to submit work in an unfinished state rather than to fail to submit any work.

Formative assessment

Formative assessment is any task or activity which creates feedback (or feedforward) for you about your learning, but which does not contribute towards your overall module mark.

Reassessment

Type of reassessment Detail of reassessment % contribution towards module mark Size of reassessment Submission date Additional information
Written coursework assignment Reflective report 50 2,000 words Evidence of hours completed should be included in the report, and supervisors will be asked to provide an Exit Report describing the extent to which students have achieved the aims of the placement.
Oral reassessment Presentation 50 10-20 minutes Slides to be submitted by the deadline, prior to the presentation.

Additional costs

Item Additional information Cost
Computers and devices with a particular specification
Printing and binding
Required textbooks
Specialist clothing, footwear, or headgear
Specialist equipment or materials
Travel, accommodation, and subsistence Students may be expected to meet reasonable travel costs from their own pocket, particularly for placements that are away from campus as placement providers cannot typically provide funds for this. More information will be provided during the course.

THE INFORMATION CONTAINED IN THIS MODULE DESCRIPTION DOES NOT FORM ANY PART OF A STUDENT'S CONTRACT.

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