Assistant Practitioner FdSc

Teaching

Students will be taught the knowledge content of the programme through a combination of interactive workshops, lectures and seminars. Interactive workshops take a variety of formats and are intended to enable the application of learning through discussion and small group activities. Seminars enable the discussion and development of understanding of topics covered in lectures and are focused on developing subject specific skills and applied individual and group work.

Seminars, case studies, scenarios and problem-based learning will facilitate development of inquiry into real world situations, developing your skills, knowledge and practice. Online resources will provide you with the opportunity to deepen your understanding of the material presented in class and practical workshops. In addition, meetings with personal academic tutors are available and encouraged, in order to support you throughout the course.

Contact time

FdSc Assistant Practitioner will attend one day a week during the academic year and undertake weekly online sessions.

Typically contact time will be structured around:

• Lectures and seminars (face to face and online)
• Workshops (face to face and online)
• Group work (problem and enquiry-based learning)
• Work-based learning Placement for students (face to face, online and self-directed)

Online contact hours will be structured around:

• Group tutorials based upon focussed activities.
• Assessment workshops
• Problem-based learning
• Skills development workshops

Independent self-study

In addition to the contact time, you are expected to undertake around 15 hours of personal self-study per week. This is in addition to the off the job training requirement. Typically, this will involve completing online activities, reading journal articles and books, working on individual and group projects, undertaking research in the library and online, preparing coursework assignments and presentations, and preparing for examinations.

Independent learning is supported by a range of excellent learning facilities, including library resources, the virtual learning environment, and extensive electronic learning resources.

Duration

Possible pattern:

• 2 years full-time

Timetables

Timetables are normally available one month before registration. Please note that whilst we try to be as student-friendly as possible, scheduled teaching can take place on any day of the week; and some classes can be scheduled in the evenings.

Teaching staff

You will be taught by a teaching team whose expertise and knowledge are closely matched to the content of the modules on the course. The team includes senior academics, professional practitioners and work-based learning tutors all with industry experience. Allied Health Professional staff and practitioners will also provide input for the professional pathways.

Teaching is informed by the research and consultancy, and (as at August 2023) 83% per cent of lecturers have a higher education teaching qualification or are Fellows of the Higher Education Academy. This may differ for students studying at partner colleges. You can learn more about the staff by visiting our staff profiles. For students studying at partner colleges, information on teaching staff will be made available at induction.

Assessment

The course provides opportunities to test understanding and learning informally through the completion of practice or ‘formative’ assignments.

Each module has one or more formal or ‘summative’ assessments which are graded and count towards the overall module grade. Assessment methods include written essays and reports, group and individual presentations, open book examinations, assessed skills simulations, placement portfolio, assessment of direct practice and a dissertation or work-based project.