Undergraduate Course: Reflections on Interdisciplinary Practice 2: Growing Confidence (EFIE08007)
Course Outline
| School | Edinburgh Futures Institute |
College | College of Arts, Humanities and Social Sciences |
| Credit level (Normal year taken) | SCQF Level 8 (Year 2 Undergraduate) |
Availability | Not available to visiting students |
| SCQF Credits | 20 |
ECTS Credits | 10 |
| Summary | *Programme Core Course: Interdisciplinary Futures (MA)*
Please Note:
This course is only available to students enrolled on the Edinburgh Futures Institute's undergraduate programme Interdisciplinary Futures (MA) degree.
In this course you will expand your self-awareness and skill using increasingly varied approaches for reflecting on and growing in your interdisciplinary practice. Topics will include growth mindset and models of resilience; equality, diversity and inclusion; narratives of self, and different approaches knowledge creation in the history of science. |
| Course description |
Reflections on Interdisciplinary Practice 2: Growing Confidence continues to support you in your academic and personal growth by giving you the space and tools to reflect on your learning and development from across the degree and beyond. It encourages you to compare, apply and test theories that allow you to synthesise the discrete components of the programme, and to share your reflections with your peers in order to deepen your insights as an interdisciplinary practitioner.
Consolidating and building on the foundational skills and knowledge practices introduced in first year, you will be introduced to a wider range of theories and frameworks for reflection, goal setting and teamwork, encouraging you to compare them against each other and to select those that are most appropriate for your aims and projects.
An additional aspect of personal growth in second year will be the introduction of training in and application of basic techniques in facilitating dialogue and collaboration in diverse groups. Another area of focus will be understanding different approaches to standard setting and measurements of success, including assessment. This will include an emphasis on building assessment literacy: you will learn tools and methods for self- and peer assessment (how to evaluate your own and other people's work against set criteria) and you will apply those in small groups of students to offer each other mutual support. This paves the way for transition into the honours level of study, when your work will be graded, contributing to your final degree classification. Other topics covered this year will include narratives of self; this will help you explore different ways of articulating your own experiences and value to other people (including on CVs and in letters of application). A focus on communication of complex problems through different media and including visual means of communication will allow you contextualise the different methodologies introduced in Researching Global Challenges and how they relate to the global challenge theme that is the focus of this year's lecture series.
Student Learning Experience:
This course consists of two parts: firstly, a series of lectures, with some panel discussions or practical demonstrations thrown in as well. In these lectures, all students from the programme, across all year groups, come together. And secondly, weekly two-hour interactive seminars, or workshops, that will contain a mix of activities including presentations, practical exercises and activities with peers as well as time and space for writing and individual reflections. You will learn alongside your peers from your own year group in these sessions. They are structured around a series of separate thematic blocks linked to the lecture series, Life Design and creative ways of collaboration within diverse groups, each offering its own, specific approach to supporting you in becoming an interdisciplinary practitioner.
All timetabled classes - both lectures and seminars/workshops - will take place in person. The attendance at the classes is compulsory. There may be some recorded content or slides that can be shared after the sessions, but key learning experiences will be offered in class only, and all students are expected to attend all sessions.
Throughout the year, you will be encouraged to apply the knowledge and skills gained in this course to other parts of the degree programme, through a cycle of learning where you are introduced to foundations of a topic, observe, and then reflect on other programme components through this lens. Reflections and insights will be shared with peers on the course, leading to a deeper understanding of the theories and frameworks. You will be aided in your progress by staff who you will meet individually or in groups at key stages throughout the year to discuss your personal goals, and to help assess your progress.
Assessment will take the form of Individual Reflective Reports (IRRs) on your learning experience across the programme each semester. This will be prepared and supported through regular short reflective blogs which themselves are not part of the summative assessment but can be used as evidence for the IRRs and together create a portfolio of work through which students can trace their development and progress across the year.
|
Entry Requirements (not applicable to Visiting Students)
| Pre-requisites |
|
Co-requisites | |
| Prohibited Combinations | |
Other requirements | None |
Course Delivery Information
|
| Academic year 2025/26, Not available to visiting students (SS1)
|
Quota: None |
| Course Start |
Full Year |
Timetable |
Timetable |
| Learning and Teaching activities (Further Info) |
Total Hours:
200
(
Seminar/Tutorial Hours 66,
Programme Level Learning and Teaching Hours 4,
Directed Learning and Independent Learning Hours
130 )
|
| Assessment (Further Info) |
Written Exam
0 %,
Coursework
100 %,
Practical Exam
0 %
|
| Additional Information (Assessment) |
The course will be assessed on a pass/fail basis.
This means that no numerical marks will be given.
The course will be assessed via means of the following assessment components:
1) Reflective Submissions (Pass/Fail)
- 2 summative Individual Reflective Reports equivalent to 1500 words each
- One each to be submitted towards the end of each semester
2) Evidence Portfolio (Pass/Fail)
Students are also required to submit a formative portfolio of work evidencing the activities and application from across this course and other courses, linked to the reflective submissions, with relevant evidence also expected to demonstrate the course Learning Outcomes. |
| Feedback |
Feedback will be given on the summative submissions (including one half-way through the course). Students will also receive feedback - both from staff and their peers - on the formative submissions.
In addition to this feedback linked to specific components of assessment, students will also receive feedback on their ideas and their formative work during workshop sessions and discussions.
A key element of the course is individual goal setting: students will learn about different frameworks for this and also learn how to apply such frameworks to the setting and evaluation of their own individual goals. Feedback on these goals (and the reflection on them) will be given at least twice each year. |
| No Exam Information |
Learning Outcomes
On completion of this course, the student will be able to:
- Demonstrate an awareness and understanding of the scope and dynamic nature of knowledge creation in some specialist areas, and how this is embedded in key theories and principles of interdisciplinary research.
- Apply knowledge, skills and understanding of key methods in varied and unpredictable practical contexts, reflecting on and understanding of the usefulness and limitations of these.
- Present and communicate arguments and ideas using formats appropriate for a range of internal and external audiences across different contexts, while critically evaluating the significance of these.
- Work collaboratively within interdisciplinary groups in ways that show awareness of different roles and responsibilities, while exercising initiative, and independence when carrying out specific research tasks relevant to group and individual work.
- Understand and apply models and theories of personal and professional development, including wellbeing, and develop and reflectively work towards their goals in order to meet personal, academic and professional challenges.
|
Reading List
Indicative Reading List:
Bloxham, S., Boyd, P., & Orr, S. (2011) Mark my words: the role of assessment criteria in UK higher education grading practices. Studies in Higher Education, 36(6), 655-670.
Freire, P. (1973). Education for critical consciousness. New York: Herder & Herder. Kinsella, E.A. (2009). Professional knowledge and the epistemology of reflective practice. Nursing Philosophy, 11, 3-14
Heilbron, J. et al (2003). The Oxford Companion to the History of Modern Science. Oxford: Oxford UP.
Henry, J. (2012). A Short History of Scientific Thought. London: Palgrave Macmillan.
Piaget, J. (1971). Psychology and epistemology: towards a theory of knowledge. New York: Grossman.
Reynolds, M. & Vince, R. (2004). Organizing reflection. England: Ashgate Publishing.
Ross, J. (2011). Traces of self: online reflective practices and performances in higher education. Teaching in Higher Education, 16(1), 113-126. |
Additional Information
| Graduate Attributes and Skills |
Undertaking this course will enable students to develop, apply and reflect on their research and enquiry skills by using a range of methods of academic enquiry and analysis needed for interdisciplinary practice. Students will exercise autonomy, responsibility and initiative while communicating and collaborating with peers and partners across a range of contexts, working in ways that show awareness of and reflection on collective and individual responsibilities. Students will use a wide range of personal and professional skills to adapt to unfamiliar contexts and environments, and demonstrate the ability to transfer learning and skills across these.
Graduate attributes are closely linked to the learning outcomes, which have a degree of flexibility to provide students with autonomy. With appropriate guidance and feedback, this flexibility will allow students to focus on particular skills and mindsets in the context of different experiences, selecting specific attributes they consider the most important to reflect upon, linked to current and future professional and personal aims, and career aspirations. |
| Keywords | MA,Interdisciplinary,Interdisciplinary Futures,UG,Level 8,EFI,Interdisciplinary Practice,Reflection |
Contacts
| Course organiser | Prof Sabine Rolle
Tel: (0131 6)50 3670
Email: S.Rolle@ed.ac.uk |
Course secretary | Mr Matt Bryant
Tel:
Email: Matt.Bryant@ed.ac.uk |
|
|
University Homepage