LD5008 - Developing Digital and Professional Competence

This module employs an experiential learning approach in which learning is applied to, and/or occurs in, your employing organisation or in relation to work-related project or in relation to your professional practice training. This approach is designed to enhance your employability through development of intellectual, personal and professional skills in the context of 'live' projects within a digital and computing setting.

It is also designed to develop your capacity and confidence as independent learners. It will, therefore, involve a substantial amount of directed and independent learning based around the module-specific self-supported learning materials.
Independent study will involve responding to practical challenges arising from your experiential learning as well as addressing relevant theoretical aspects of issues addressed in digital and computing projects by reading beyond the provided learning materials, reflection, and gathering relevant personal and organisational data.

Indeed, the module is intended to develop your understanding of management and behavioural competence as outlined by the BCS and the subsequent ability to reflect on your current competence. Through the supported learning materials and wider reading, you will be introduced to academic concepts enabling you to apply theory to your own personal and organisational 'real life' practice. Through the learning and assessment strategy, you will be encouraged to develop your knowledge and skills and apply this to your experiential experience, in order to think critically about their personal practice.

As this module is delivered as part of your experiential learning experience, the main focus will be on directed and independent learning, which is structured by the module tutor through the teaching and learning plan. The directed learning includes a range of additional activities or questions for consideration. You will be introduced to the module and assessment during an initial workshop. Lectures will cover contents to help you understand how to conduct a skills analysis, create a professional development plan and reflect on your competence and skills profile. You will be also offered two 1-hour tutorials on career and professional development skills by the Career and Employability team.

A range of approaches are adopted to accelerate your learning in this module.

During the module workshop you will receive information about the module and Teaching & Learning Plan. The teaching and learning plan (TLP) sets out
• Learning outcomes and overall module and programme aims
• Teaching, learning and assessment strategy
• Teaching schedule
• Directed reading references (text and journals) and core texts for the module
• References to data sources and details of lab activities

The remainder of your module will be supervised by a named tutor who will work with you throughout your experiential learning journey.

All modules at Northumbria include a range of reading materials that students are expected to engage with. Online reading lists (provided after enrolment) give you access to your reading material for your modules. The Library works in partnership with your module tutors to ensure you have access to the material that you need.

Knowledge & Understanding:
1. Demonstrate awareness of digital, management and wider computing professional competences.

2. Identify and employ a range of knowledge, skills and dispositions including personal qualities and styles in order to contribute to personal and professional development in digital age.

Intellectual / Professional Skills & Abilities:
3. Make an objective analysis of your digital and management competences, utilising theoretical perspectives and demonstrating self-awareness in relation to their future career aspirations.

Personal Values Attributes (Global / Cultural awareness, Ethics, Curiosity) (PVA):
4. Demonstrate self awareness of your personal and professional development.

This module uses a subject-based assessment approach, encouraging or directly enabling you to bring your career context or experiential learning experience into the module.

Formative Assessment
Formative assessment of your skills, knowledge and understanding in contemporary issues and technologies in AI, as demonstrated in your submitted assignments, is a key component of the assessment strategy. It forms an integral part of the formal scheduled teaching programme utilising lectures and practical labs to enable you to use ‘learn by doing’ approach. To foster engagement with your tutors and peers, asynchronous discussion board on the VLE will be used. Formative assessment feedback on your seminar activities will additionally enable you to undertake self-reflection and to include newly-acquired knowledge and practical skills to refine your tutor-guided and self-directed independent learning and enhance your performance during final summative assessment.

Summative Assessment
Summative assessment takes the form of a reflective journal (3000 words) in which you present and review your competence development as a result of your experiential learning experience. This will assess all Module Learning Outcomes.

You will be provided with written, electronic, feedback on your work which you can use to improve your future assessments in this subject area.

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As part of your experiential learning journey you will develop a range of digital and professional competences as outlined by the Computing Curricula 2020. Computing and Digital Technologies is a wide field in which professionals can find themselves working within a number of different roles and specialisms each requiring specific knowledge, skills and dispositions related to the tasks they perform.

This module is intended to develop your understanding of these essential digital and professional competences and your ability to recognise the need for and to enter into the process of personal and professional development. Your experiential learning during your internship or consultancy or professional practice activity will specifically enable you to develop professional competencies and subsequently reflect on the extent to which you can consider these skills and competences strengths. You will conduct a self analysis of your competencies using and identify strengths you can use to update your CV alongside a continuing personal and professional competence development plan.