Constraints
There are a number of constraints which restrict my approach. Firstly there is me, my indecisions and questions. Will it all fit in to the 12 teaching weeks with just three hours per week? Will it all hang together holistically? I can to some extent assume that students have taken the pre-requisite module at Level 4; the question about whether they actually understood or 'engaged' remains. The university requires students to have taken pre-requisites but it is not necessary to have passed them. Therefore, how can I be sure that students understand? I cannot 'hit the ground running' with a new module. For starters, they have just returned from a long break, either over the summer (about 4 months) or over Christmas (about 6 weeks). So how does this transfer of knowledge take place? Variety, knowledge and enthusiasm - yes! But there is also the use of technologies and knowledge of the end goal. The teacher is likely to want the learner to engage in the subject matter and master it well. The student is likely to have their final grade as their goal. So there is a challenge. How to get the two to intertwine? We try different approaches; we hear of new ideas and retry old ones. We vary the instructional materials used and take care to avoid cognitive overload.
The university places constraints on us. We are expected to adhere to policies, procedures and regulations. We know they are in place for a purpose; equity for all is paramount but sometimes resource or timetabling constraints leads to frustration for both staff and students. External forces may also play a part. Benchmarks, government league tables, student survey results. All play a part.
For this particular module most class sessions will consist of a range of tutor and student inputs and demonstrations, followed by a workshop. These may include: group discussions, presentations, practical activities, reflective summaries, peer and tutor feedback. In addition, the use of Blackboard will enable discussion outside the formal class hours and also form a repository for all module materials. Students will be expected to practise the skills learned and participate in private research between the formal sessions. There will be tutorial sessions where guidance can be sought on a one-to-one basis.
Some activities require more time than others. However, there is a need to be flexible as time allocated is not always accurate. On one occasion an activity may take 10 minutes whilst the following year it could take 20 minutes. Discussion may fall flat and go nowhere, whereas another time it will develop into a lively and valuable debate. As time is difficult to foresee it is always worth including additional 'ad hoc' activities, some of which may not be used during that run of the module or could be postponed to a later week.
