Studying at York
Individual Study Module - EDU00012H
Module summary
Students may propose to undertake an individual study module relevant to their programme in place of a taught Optional Module in semester 5 (semester 1 of stage 3). I students wish to undertake an academic study of a topic that is not otherwise represented in the student's programme. Proposals must be submitted to the student's Programme Leader during semester 4 for approval before the end of Stage 2; the handbook gives more information.
Professional requirements
Students are reminded that an Individual Study Module must be relevant to their programme of study. In particular, BSc Psychology in Education students' Individual Studies must be related to psychology in education.
Related modules
Pre-requisite modules
- None
Co-requisite modules
- None
Prohibited combinations
Module will run
| Occurrence | Teaching period |
|---|---|
| A | Semester 1 2023-24 |
Module aims
The individual study module offers you the possibility of working towards the attainment of your Programme Learning Outcomes by studying, at an academic level (i.e. research and theory, perhaps in relation to policy and/or practice) issues concerned with a topic area that is relevant to, but otherwise not represented in, your programme. It is not experiential learning and neither is it empirical enquiry. It is academic enquiry, supported by reading, reflection and critical analysis; it may however involve observations, discussions and interviews with key informants, to support your developing knowledge and understanding. For example, you might choose to study and write about issues in Physical Education; or Shakespeare in the community; or psychological perspectives on technology-enhanced learning. A successful individual study module will enhance your employability profile by developing and demonstrating your ability to propose, plan and carry out an academic study with a degree of independence, as well as by enhancing your knowledge and understanding of the substantive and methodological aspects of the field of the study.
Module learning outcomes
By completing an Individual Study module, you will gain critical knowledge and understanding of the topic you have chosen. You will be able to critically reflect on current and/or important issues and debates in the topic, be they theoretical or practical. You will also be able to reflect on and evaluate relationships between theory, research and scholarship, policy and practice, bringing research evidence to bear in informing discussion. You will show that you can access, interpret and critically evaluate the literature in the field, both in the substantive area and concerning methodological aspects.
Module content
The proposal for an Individual Study must be developed by you, the student. You must submit an outline to the module coordinator before the end of week 6, semester 4 of your programme. The outline should cover, briefly (500 words max), the topic you intend to study and why – what makes you interested in it, and what you hope to get out of the study – and why you think it is feasible and appropriate for a Stage 3 module. Typically, a student would discuss this with their supervisor.
You will receive brief feedback from the module coordinator (who will have consulted with the Programme Leader). You may be invited to submit a full proposal. The proposal should expand on the outline to turn it into a brief (1000 words max) but clear statement of
- the rationale and aims for the particular Individual Study proposed
- the general area of focus and scope of the field on which the Study and the associated written report will be based
- the methods by which material and information will be accessed.
Responsibility for writing the proposal lies with you, the student, but the module coordinator will provide support, guidance and challenge (in consultation with the Programme Leader).
Once the proposal has been agreed with the Programme Leader, the module coordinator will seek approval on your behalf from the Undergraduate Teaching Committee, and from the Board of Studies at the end of semester 4. You will not be allowed to undertake an Individual Study or to receive credit relating to any work done for an Individual Study until the proposal has been accepted and approved at the Board of Studies meeting in the semester before the Study.
As part of the approvals process, the department will consider your rationale and motivations for the proposed Individual Study, and will check that the field is sufficiently broad in scope and appropriately rigorous, with a suitably extensive body of literature.
The department will allocate a study supervisor, who will be an academic member of staff in the department (this person may also be the module coordinator). The Board of Studies will also ascertain that there is a member of staff who is willing to mark an Individual Study in the proposed field and who can validate the proposal as an appropriate study.
There will be three meetings with your study supervisor during the semester. The first tutorial will require you to reflect on progress since the proposal was accepted, to re-confirm the direction and to agree a time-plan for the study, which should be presented orally and in writing along with an intended reading list. The second tutorial will involve the presentation of a 2000-word formative essay, which will
- set out key matters of interest in the field, such as issues and debates or important research questions, demonstrating wide reading of key sources (substantive and methodological research, theory and policy, as appropriate) to give a critical and balanced account
- narrow down a focus onto a topic that will form the basis of the summative essay, in due course, setting the context and rationale for this.
The final tutorial will involve presentation and discussion of your proposed title and plan for the summative essay.
You will be required to submit for summative assessment a written essay 3,000 words in length in the assessment period following the Individual Study, emergent from the plans presented and discussed in the final tutorial, and fully referenced according to APA conventions.
Indicative assessment
| Task | % of module mark |
|---|---|
| Essay/coursework | 100 |
Special assessment rules
None
Additional assessment information
Formative assessment is embedded through the development of the proposal and through the three tutorials described above.
If a re-assessment is required in the summer reassessment week, this will consist of the essay in a revised form, accompanied by a brief (500 words max) commentary explaining how the essay has been revised in the light of feedback received.
Indicative reassessment
| Task | % of module mark |
|---|---|
| Essay/coursework | 10 |
| Essay/coursework | 90 |
Module feedback
The feedback is returned to students in line with university policy. Please check the Guide to Assessment, Standards, Marking and Feedback for more information.
Indicative reading
The key texts will be specific to the student's chosen field of study.