TG1PD: Professional Development 1

Module code: TG1PD

Module provider: Typography; School of Arts and Comm Design

Credits: 20

Level: Level 1 (Certificate)

When you'll be taught: Semester 1 / 2

Module convenor: Mr James Lloyd, email: j.c.lloyd@reading.ac.uk

Pre-requisite module(s):

Co-requisite module(s):

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

Module(s) excluded:

Placement information: NA

Academic year: 2024/5

Available to visiting students: No

Talis reading list: Yes

Last updated: 29 August 2024

Overview

Module aims and purpose

Design careers are varied and exciting. This module fulfils several roles in helping you imagine and achieve your career goals. Specifically, it aims to: 

• Nurture your personal creative process, which is a designer’s most marketable skill 
• Develop good habits of self-directed technical learning 
• Expose you to a range of design-related roles though a vibrant, diverse, student-curated series of guest lectures from people in early, mid and late career roles in design or related industries 
• Begin to build your personal network of industry contacts 

Module learning outcomes

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

1. Challenge the obvious: Create, explore and analyse alternative solutions to solve design problems through a wide range of graphic styles, platforms and formats.
2. Evidence design decisions: Explain and justify design concepts and proposals through a range of written, oral and graphic media.
3. Employ technologies appropriately: Select and harness traditional, current and emerging technologies and crafts.
4. Seek and assimilate new knowledge: Assess and incorporate contemporary discourse into design thinking.

Module content

The module contains distinct strands to support different areas of personal growth. 

• Workshops build skills and approaches to ideation, design process, and effective recording and reflection on practical projects 
• A guest lecture series provides the basis for reflective writing about industry and personal aspirations 
• Opportunities to engage with the University Careers team 
• A guided approach to online software learning helps you identify, undertake, and then reflect on tutorials that you choose for yourself. This provides the opportunity to be rewarded for effectively shaping and exploring your own set of design priorities. 

Structure

Teaching and learning methods

The module will be delivered through a series of workshops, guest lectures, online content and in-person check-in sessions. Classes may involve group work, some of which may be assessed. 

Study hours

At least 54 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.

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 40% to pass this module.

Summative assessment

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.

Formative assessment will usually fall into two categories: 

• Tasks and feedback that link directly to final assessment, allowing you to build relevant skills and measure your progress towards assessed work. 
• Tasks and feedback that feed into wider learning around the topic being covered. The skills and insights you acquire should help you achieve well in assessed tasks, but application of this leaning may be interpreted, rather than simply repeated. 

Formative feedback will often include: 

• Verbal feedback in class. 
• Written comments on a piece of work. 
• Self, peer of staff assessment against a mark scheme. 

Formative feedback will be given: 

• During an intensive careers workshop 
• At dedicated check-in points 

Reassessment

Additional costs