Teaching & Learning

Modules on this programme will be taught in line with best practice across the University, within the sector and in related courses, namely the Business and Marketing degrees taught within the Department of Business, Computing and Law. These courses deploy a three stage strategy. Here, the Foundation Year and Level 4 are seen as platforms to enable students to develop an understanding of the sector itself, namely marketing and media communications and the component skills and theories that underpin it. Level 5 will see students add to this understanding and begin to actively deploy skills through more in-depth analysis of the sector and its key elements, whilst practicing and using these skills via examination of real world examples and live briefs. Level 6 will be a more focused approach, involving the development of critical analysis of existing knowledge and practices, aligned with exposure to new and emerging methods and theories. Within Level 5 and Level 6 each student will be able to, via course content and discussions with staff and the industry, use their studies to focus on potential career pathways and to develop a strategy to successfully enter the workplace.

Therefore the teaching and learning strategies throughout the course will be those judged to be the most appropriate for each module aligned with the above strategy. This has been designed to ensure that there is an evolution from formal teaching through to student-centred and independent learning, as a student progresses and develops through these different levels of the course.

A range of teaching methods will be used including:

Lectures

This is the most formal teaching strategy employed in teaching the modules. It is generally used to deliver a body of theoretical information to a large group of students and is most effective when followed up by a seminar or tutorial session to consolidate learning.

The lecture format may be supported by reference to set texts, Web or library references which serve to reinforce and expand the audio-visual information presented. In addition, staff will make appropriate use of the VLE (Virtual Learning Environment – Blackboard) facilities. Where appropriate, material will be as up to date as possible in order to keep pace with the rapid changes within the marketing and media communications industry. This should enable lecturers to enhance the traditional communication and learning media, as well as making material available to students at home and on the university campus.

Workshops/ Practical Sessions/ Demonstrations

Often in smaller groups, demonstrations and guided learning sessions, will enable students to create material, or explore practical skills and techniques related to a particular module. This will be via online exercises and information sheets with demonstrations of different techniques and technologies with the help of a lecturers working through practical exercises in, say, a computing room, or studio facilities. As students move through the course some of this work will be done independently with lecturers acting as advisers and coaches. This will cover work in a specialist facility such as a studio or IT room, as well as mentors for groups or individual students working on live projects or specialist reports and dissertation material.

Seminars

These can vary from large group seminars, which provide an opportunity for the student-led formal debate of particular topic areas, to ‘impromptu’ discussion sessions with smaller groups, which may, for example, follow the showing of a video. These will be carried out alongside scheduled industrial visits, guest lectures and computer-aided learning tools, these being used where appropriate. This variety of techniques is aimed at stimulating student learning. The teaching and learning strategies for individual modules are detailed in the relevant module descriptions

Assessment Methods:

Underpinning the practical skills development will be a strong framework of an understanding of concepts, models and theories and how these are being challenged, adapted and developed to this new landscape. The course will complement this by enabling students to develop and test their skills and knowledge via guest speaker lectures, visits to clients and agencies, and other organisations through assignments based both upon live briefs and real world scenarios. The latter will provide opportunities to acquire skills in leadership and management and to understand how marketing and media communications operate alongside other business disciplines at both an operational and strategic level.

A variety of assessment vehicles will be used as appropriate to the different modules, including assignments carried out in the student’s own time, in-class assignment, workshops, presentations and formal examination. The form of assessment has been chosen so as to motivate students to achieve their best, and create learning activities for the students. The assessment vehicles for individual modules are detailed in the module descriptors.

Assessments will be appropriate to the task, achievable, motivating and vocationally-focused and will form a constructive part of the learning process.
Assessments will develop general transferable skills as well as academic skills.
Assessments will provide sufficient opportunity for the best students to exhibit a level of innovation and creativity associated with excellence.

During the Foundation Year, students will be exposed to a variety of summative and formative assessments whilst developing the academic skills to be a successful student at university. Course content and Learning Outcomes will relate to students developing their knowledge and understanding of the subjects being studied and assessed.

Level 4 assessments will be primarily formative and will encourage the development of appropriate academic practice and concepts so that the student develops a clear understanding of the concepts and principles underpinning the subject and how to evaluate these via different types of research sources. The emphasis will be on frequent small-scale assessments wherever possible with a balance between formative and summative assessment.

Level 5 assessments will be more demanding, with the emphasis still on development of knowledge, skills, and concepts but now encouraging learning at greater depth, emphasising the development and deployment of critical thinking and the active acquisition and use of practical skills. This will be achieved through communicating appropriate findings to different audiences on live briefs and real world case studies. Assessment will also ensure that students develop creative thinking, problem solving skills at a formative level and an ability to use these alongside teamwork and project management in formative and summative assessments.
Level 6 assessments are designed so as to allow students to demonstrate critical thinking and to clearly demonstrate conceptual understanding of both existing and emerging theory and practice with a clear indication that the student has become an effective, independent learner. The emphasis is on summative assessment, whose development is clearly supported by informal and ongoing assessment at the group and individual level.

Advice, Feedback and Collaborative Learning

Assessment is an integral part of the education process, promoting student learning by providing a focus for consolidating, applying and demonstrating understanding of the subject matter. The summative assessment regime measures and grades learner development and achievement in relation to the intended Learning Outcomes. It also generates feedback information for students about the strengths and weaknesses in their work, with tutors affirming what students have done well whilst giving constructive criticism and encouraging advice about areas requiring reflection and further improvement.

In fact, tutor feedback on formal assessment elements is just part of the ongoing dialogue with students about their learning and personal development. Tutors will offer students frequent opportunities to discuss their progress, where their work can be examined and reviewed, including the evaluation of plans and drafts for assignments prior to submission. This supportive engagement helps to clarify what “good performance” is, with reference to published criteria and expected standards; it also encourages, motivates and directs students towards achieving their full potential.

Different strategies for timely advice and effective feedback will be adopted, according to what is appropriate for students and modules. For instance: good or bad examples of previous student work not only give students clues about appropriate content, structure and presentation of assignments but also highlight common mistakes and omissions; mock exam papers and formative tests; work portfolios represent a collection of structured activities completed over a period of time with regular interactions with the tutor; individual and group tutorials; practising presentations with other students can invite peer review; model answers can supplement and extend the feedback given on assessments; group discussions can promote reflection and collaborative learning; audio and video recordings can be used at various points to explain topics and to give guidance; other technology (such as the VLE) can facilitate information sharing, and support learning and collaboration.

Entry Requirements

Students whose prior studies have included business, psychology, sociology, media and English can continue to explore the subject areas with a marketing and media focus. The course may also be of interest to mature applicants who have experience of working in a front-line customer service role or who have run their own business and who want to formalise their practical experience with an acknowledged qualification.

Applicants who do not meet the minimum requirements for our three year programmes, or those who do not feel fully prepared for first year entry, can be considered for the four year programme including a foundation year. Applicants to these will have typically achieved between 32-56 UCAS tariff points. International students with IELTS 6.0 (5.5) or below will have to undertake an enhanced curriculum in addition to the advertised programme.

Applicants will normally have some interest, experience or employment ambitions related to marketing and media communications. The programme is not just aimed at recent leavers of School/College but is also an option for mature candidates who may have aspirations to return to education, perhaps as a springboard towards a significant career change. Standard University entry requirements will apply.

Start Date

New intakes each: September