Unit information: Core Skills (Distance Learning) in 2015/16

Unit name	Core Skills (Distance Learning)
Unit code	VETS30001
Credit points	15
Level of study	H/6
Teaching block(s)	Academic Year (weeks 1 - 52)
Unit director	Mr. Wotton
Open unit status	Not open
Pre-requisites	None
Co-requisites	Other units required for completion of PgC (4 units, 15 credits), PgD (8 units, 15 credits) and MSc (8 units + research project).
School/department	Bristol Veterinary School
Faculty	Faculty of Health Sciences

Description including Unit Aims

The unit develops a range of transferable skills, cognitive skills, research skills and personal development.

Aims This Unit aims to develop the student’s:

• Transferable skills (written, verbal, ICT, time management, problem solving)
• Oral presentation skills
• Research skills (experimental design, statistical analysis)
• Personal development
• Cognitive skills

Intended Learning Outcomes

1. Students will be able to

• synthesise, summarise and critically analyse past and current research
• address complex industry problems informed by an in-depth knowledge and understanding, and original thinking
• make accomplished oral presentations of published research papers, summarising the results succinctly and able to answer questions about the paper satisfactorily
• understand the principles involved in designing experiments and analysing experimental data
• demonstrate excellent IT skills

Teaching Information

All the teaching materials for this e-learning unit will be hosted on a web-based platform, Blackboard, accessible remotely by DL students. The Blackboard site has an easy-to-navigate structure with 5 sections: introduction, taught material, contacts, and assessment.

The ‘introduction’ includes a welcome from the Unit Director, an electronic copy of the student handbook, information and contact details (with permission) about other students on the programme (emails, telephone numbers, and work address), and contact details for personal tutors and the DL student representative.

The ‘taught material’ subject matter is divided into discrete sections (bite size chunks) which develops the subject in a logical order and includes a discussion Board. The content is the same as that in the residential unit (VETSM0008).

The ‘contacts’ sections has contact details (email and phone) for the Programme Director, Unit Director, and IT support.

There is a separate section giving details on how the unit is assessed.

The e-learning materials have been available, either in part or in their completed form, for about 2 years to FT and residential PT students. The feedback on the resources has been very favourable.

Assessment Information

This unit differs from the other units on the Meat Science programme in that the assessment is based entirely on coursework. There is no written examination.

Marks are assigned to the unit based on essays, oral presentations and other assignments submitted throughout the programme. For each piece of coursework, students receive a mark for content (which contributes to the subject unit in connection eg animal production VETSM0001) and a second mark which contributes to the core skills unit. A weighting is applied to calculate a final mark, of 60% for the essays, 30% for the orals and 10% for other pieces of coursework.

Reading and References

Malmfors, B., Garnsworthy, P. & Grossman, M. (2000). Writing and presenting scientific papers. Nottingham University Press.