Using the key models and concepts from the module, you must: Identify and examine key study and employment skills for business students, referring to suitable sources self-evaluate and reflect upon your individual development identify areas for improvement and research ways in which you can address these areas research relevant stipulate how you will develop your skills through extra-curricular activities
You must write an individual report (3000 words +/- 10%) which consists of key 2 areas:
Audit and Evaluation of Key Skills (1,600 words approx.)
Please note – these are NOT suggested sub-headings (see advised structure below)
Assess and reflect upon your individual development so far Identify, demonstrate and rate your overall skills development through the formative team activity o Include a one-page table in the body to provide an overview of your skills development: List the key skills, provide examples from the task, and evaluate that skill The content in the table must be refined, concise & bullet-pointed information – this must be referred to in the body.
Examine & evaluate the development of your individual skills through the formative exercise, focusing on TWO key skills o You will decide upon the key skills that you will examine o it is expected that these will include teamwork, communications, research, planning, decision-making, problem solving, organisation, time-management, for example
o Include a one-page table in the body to demonstrate & detail your skills development / audit: breakdown each chosen skills with reference to supporting reading, provide examples from the task, and evaluate that skill The content in the table must be refined, concise & bullet-pointed information – this must be referred to in the body.
Reflect upon ONE SPECIFIC KEY experience within the team project process using Gibbs’ Model of Reflection to support your discussions o NOTE – this must NOT be a reflection upon the team task as a whole o Include a one-page table in the body to detail the reflection (using Gibbs)
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The content in the table must be refined, concise & bullet-pointed information – this must be referred to in the body.
Within your examination of your skills and reflection you must: o Demonstrate your individual development with specific examples and evidence o Reflect upon your individual contribution and the overall team performance o Refer to qualitative and quantitative evidence to support the above, e.g. feedback from peers, team targets (stats) You must use and reference key concepts, models and terms from relevant academic reading. o Support your work using extracts from and references to suitable academic reading
Personal Development Research & Planning (1,100 words approx.)
PLEASE NOTE that these are NOT sub-section headings – see the suggested structure
Determine the areas that you need to develop with regard to these skills o arising from the skills audit / evaluation overview o drawn from a wider consideration of your study and employment skills o provide an overview (in a concise table) Explore and consider the opportunities to learn and develop whilst at University o Research a number of developmental / learning opportunities o Your research must be demonstrated and sourced o Provide an overview (in a concise table) Discuss the areas for development and focus on TWO-THREE avenues for improvement that you intend to pursue o Support your work with evidence from your searches, enquiries, applications, etc. relating to developing your skills / seeking experience Include short tables in the body to map the chosen developmental opportunities examined against the key skills to be developed o The content in the table must be refined, concise & bullet-pointed information – these must be referred to in the body. o These must be referred to in the body of the report
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In the Appendices, you must provide a Personal Development Plan for the next 1218 months AND include an up-to-date, annotated CV o CV must be annotated to highlight areas that are currently being developed and areas warranting development o PDP must provide key details and be supported with sourced research both of these must be referred to in the body of the report
You must use and reference key concepts, models and terms from relevant academic reading o Underpin your work using extracts from and references to suitable academic reading VERY IMPORTANT – Tables and Appendices are not in the word count, but MUST be used effectively to demonstrate your evidence and evaluation. o You must refer to these in the body of your report o Tables must include concise, refined and bullet-pointed information (NOT extensive passages of content/text) o Tables must NOT be longer than a single page (if over a page, only the first page will be considered by the marker) o Appendices must be important and concise (NOT extensive content taken from the body)
Note – You MUST:
Underpin your work using extracts from and references to suitable academic reading Refer to suitable extracts from key reading (core academic texts and academic articles) Refer to secondary sources and research Use the Harvard Referencing system – use Cite them Right
Include short tables in the body: to detail your skills development and audit to detail the reflection of experience(s) to map the developmental opportunities examined against the relevant skills the content in the table must be refined, concise & bullet-pointed information these must be referred to in the body of the report
Include Appendices to your report containing: Relevant evidence of the team task specific to your discussion, e.g. team agreement, minutes, Gantt chart, examples of work showing your personal contribution research into opportunities to develop annotated CV and PDP form
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these must be referred to in the body of the report
Support will be given in the workshops and on Canvas
Referencing
As part of the report process you are expected to cite core textbooks, journal articles AND internet-sourced information These must ALL be correctly referenced within the main body of the report and listed in full at the end of the report under ‘References List’ o Divide into two categories – o Academic references o Non-academic references You must use and Cite Them Right and the HARVARD referencing system
Structure & format
Your report MUST be written in a recognised academic format, including the following:
(Front/Cover page) Module Code and Module Title Title of Assignment Module Leader’s Name ** Your Tutor’s Name (this person will mark your work) ** Your Name (Family name underlined or in capital letters) Your Student Number Date of Submission Contents Page (listing key sections and relevant page numbers)
1.0 Introduction
2.0 Audit and Evaluation of Key Skills
Provide an overview of your skills development in the team task
Then examine TWO key skills and reflect using Gibbs
– use sections and sub-sections, 2.1, 2.2, 2.3, etc.
2.1 Teamwork Skills (for example)
2.2 Communication Skills (for example)
2.3 Gibbs’ Reflection of Specific Experience in the team task
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3.0 Personal Development Research and Planning
Identify key skills for development and research/explain the development opportunities
Provide an overview of the opportunities to be pursued, and examine two-three of them
– use sections and sub-sections, 3.1, 3.2, 3.3, etc.
3.1 Volunteering (for example)
3.2 Internships (for example)
4.0 Conclusion
REFERENCES List (using Cite them right and HARVARD system)
– Two categories:
– Academic references
– Non-Academic references
APPENDICES – Including: specific evidence from the formative team task annotated CV PDP form
Format –
Make your assignment easy to read – some guidelines Make all general typeface 11pt Arial, Calibri, Tahoma You should use line spacing of 1.5 All pages should be numbered All diagrams, tables and appendices MUST be labelled, numbered, titled and sourced (as appropriate)
Please note – correct spelling, punctuation and grammar are also expected grammar/spell check and proofread your work