Exploring practice

What you will study

This module is about developing your ability to negotiate, plan and undertake a work-based project, and is designed to build on experience and develop practice. It will develop your confidence and competence as a practitioner, enabling you to assess evidence and draw appropriately on findings. You will learn how to handle uncertainty and change and throughout the module you will relate learning to practice. The module is relevant to youth justice, social work, nursing and the allied health professions. To complete the module successfully you need recent relevant work experience in a field of health, social care or social work. For example, this might be in the capacity as a volunteer – contact us for further advice.

This module provides you with the skills needed to work independently and to interrogate critically the evidence of your practice in terms of knowledge and change creation. It provides you with the opportunity to demonstrate your learning within the workplace through an independent learning journey culminating in a written project of 7000 words.

The module will allow you to explore an area of your practice that requires improvement, you will ‘scope’ this through professional discussion and review of current published research literature. You will not be required to conduct primary research or implement any changes in practice within the scope of the module but will be asked to produce a plan about ‘how’ you would implement these changes in the future as part of the final module assessment.  

You will develop the following key skills on this module:

• ability to learn in new and unfamiliar situations from differing sources and experiences
• appreciation of multiple perspectives and their effect on decision making
• ability to manage complexity and critically analyse, synthesise and evaluate new information in the context of its use
• ability to use information literacy, ICT tools and numeracy skills as appropriate to find, evaluate, process, present and communicate information
• ability to frame and address issues appropriate to your work, being aware of their context and environment
• independently plan, monitor, evaluate and improve your own learning and performance.

The central learning resource for this online module is its website. You will use it to plan and conduct your studies via the interactive learning guide. This guide, coupled with the online calendar, will provide the ‘road maps’ for the progression of your project. You’ll be directed to online tools that are provided to support your project development, and collaboration with your peers will form an essential component of your learning journey.

Vocational relevance

This module will have relevance for your practice and practice setting. You will need to engage in professional discussions in the workplace and explore research literature on your chosen topic. While this module does not provide you with a registered qualification, you will be able to use it towards your continuing professional development (CPD) and in some cases it may meet your professional CPD requirements – please check with your professional body. This module also has relevance in your workplace and may form part of your professional development within your organisation.

Outside the UK

If you work in a health and social care setting outside the UK, this module may be suitable given that it is about the development of independent learning within a health and social care work setting, although your project will need to have relevance to the UK. You will need to be in a practice setting and have a line manager to negotiate your work-based project. This module is delivered and assessed in English.

Teaching and assessment

Support from your tutor

You’ll be supported by an OU tutor who will offer online tutorials on a tutor group basis and later in the module, on a one to one basis . They will offer support via other methods such as email. You’ll engage with your tutor group through online group discussions facilitated by your tutor. Your tutor will provide individualised support in preparation for and feedback on your assignments via the tutor group forum, assignment feedback, online group tutorials, online one to one tutorials (later in the module) and other methods such as email.

Contact us if you want to know more about study with The Open University before you register.

Assessment

The assessment details for this module can be found in the facts box above.

You will be expected to submit your tutor-marked assignments (TMAs) online through the eTMA system. The TMAs are summative and contribute towards your final assessment score; your tutor will provide you with feedback relevant to the progression of your independent project. These assignments are compulsory as they provide valuable feedback on your progress toward the EMA. The end-of-module assessment (EMA) is a 7000-word project report, which is submitted online through the eTMA system.

Regulations