Unit information: Group Project in 2014/15

Unit name	Group Project
Unit code	HIST23021
Credit points	20
Level of study	I/5
Teaching block(s)	Teaching Block 2 (weeks 13 - 24)
Unit director	Dr. Rob Skinner
Open unit status	Not open
Pre-requisites	None
Co-requisites	None
School/department	Department of History (Historical Studies)
Faculty	Faculty of Arts

Description including Unit Aims

The aim of this unit is to develop key skills: the ability of students to work on collaborative research projects and to present their work to an audience. Students will work in small centrally assigned groups (3-4) on a particular topic stemming from one of the Lecture Response units taken in Teaching Block 1 (the choice of Lecture Response Unit lies with the student). Groups develop their chosen topic independently as a collaborative project, with each individual working on a particular aspect of the topic.

Four introductory lectures provide preliminary methodological and technical guidance, and explain the assessment criteria. A series of workshops with staff input follows to help groups define their project and to discuss their plans for the presentation. The Unit Co-ordinator will be the first and normal point of staff contact for any queries. Other than this, students will be expected to work together and unaided.

Intended Learning Outcomes

By the end of the unit students will have:

• Developed their skills in independent learning

• Acquired (or developed) collaborative learning skills

• Acquired (or developed their presentational skills

• Experienced the dynamics of a group and the reqirements of effective team-working

• Learned how to deal with problems as they arise and how to contribute most effectively to create a portfolio from individual contributions

• Acquired (or developed) through access to various university-wide provision skills in preparing and delivering a PowerPoint presentation

• Had the experience of giving a presentation to a group of peers answering questions on the presentation and of receiving feedback on that presentation from academic tutors

• Deepened their understanding of a particular aspect of one of their Lecture Response units

Teaching Information

Four initial methodological and training lectures Seven 2-hour workshops Powerpoint training (where necessary) Ad-hoc additional tutor support in Office Hours Feedback from tutors on presentations

Assessment Information

Group Presentation (100%)

Reading and References

Each group will (in conjunction with the assigned group tutor) develop its own bibliography depending on the particular topic chosen. The bibliography will derive from the reading list attached to the particular Lecture Response unit from which it derives, but students will be encouraged to extend that list through additional hard copy and electronic sources.