Advanced Professional Practice
| Module title | Advanced Professional Practice |
|---|---|
| Module code | BEF2024DA |
| Academic year | 2024/5 |
| Credits | 30 |
| Module staff | Lindsay Badger (Convenor) |
| Duration: Term | 1 | 2 | 3 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Duration: Weeks | 48 weeks over the year | 48 weeks over the year | 48 weeks over the year |
| Number students taking module (anticipated) | 90 |
|---|
Module description
This module provides you with the opportunity to connect the concepts, approaches and theories which you have learnt throughout the degree apprenticeship and combine this with application in your workplace to enable you to advance your professional practice and facilitate your career development. Drawing upon academic guidance, professional development coaching and workplace mentoring you have a wealth of inspiration and advice to guide and support your own professional practice.
Exploring the advanced requirements of professional practice, you will develop and refine the skills you have built up over the course of the degree and consider your behaviours in relation to working as a Financial Services Professional. Based within professional codes of conduct and organisational policies and processes, you will develop your personal leadership approach to excellence in your role, identifying and building upon personal values, behaviours, skills, strengths and experience.
This module is a part of the formal process of portfolio building which contains work-based evidence that has been built up progressively through the apprenticeship and will illustrate the application of knowledge, skills and behaviours set out in the level 6, degree apprenticeship standards for the Financial Services Professional. The personal and professional development that you undertake and the activities, assignments and reflections that you produce, all offer material for your final EPA professional portfolio and panel interview.
Module aims - intentions of the module
This module offers a series of advanced activities aimed at equipping you to evidence and critically reflect on your development of the skills and behaviours required for practice in financial services. The module empowers you to think critically and helps you to recognise how you can advance your workplace through your own personal leadership. It will also develop your ability to reflect on the impact resulted from your degree apprenticeship and work experience, plus the development and exhibition of your professional behaviours.
The module is designed to pull together learning from research-inspired content and activities in support of proactively managing one’s own professional learning and development. Through constructive feedback from both academic and workplace mentors, you will critically reflect on your progress, developing and refining your skills and behaviours in order to establish yourselves as a Financial Services Professional.
The module aims to equip you to demonstrate the skills and behaviours for your level 6 Financial Services Professional Degree Apprenticeship.
Intended Learning Outcomes (ILOs)
ILO: Module-specific skills
On successfully completing the module you will be able to...
- 1. Describe specific workplace experiences and examples of work product to the requirement of the apprenticeship standard.
- 2. Apply the skills and behaviours required for practice in financial services (see appendix A for a list of these skills and behaviours)
- 3. Develop critical argument both of self and module related theories that support and deepen learning.
- 4. Analyse and evaluate learning, development and the use of skills and behaviours that are required for practice
ILO: Discipline-specific skills
On successfully completing the module you will be able to...
ILO: Personal and key skills
On successfully completing the module you will be able to...
Syllabus plan
Through a series of advanced online, research-inspired learning activities, applied exercises and reflective assignments finance professionals can expect to develop and refine their management and leadership skills, professional effectiveness and critical reflection. In addition, through portfolio building, they are expected to demonstrate and evidence the behaviours of honesty and integrity, adaptability, resilience and enthusiasm, innovation and creativity and attention to detail.
Learning activities and teaching methods (given in hours of study time)
| Scheduled Learning and Teaching Activities | Guided independent study | Placement / study abroad |
|---|---|---|
| 76 | 224 | 0 |
Details of learning activities and teaching methods
| Category | Hours of study time | Description |
|---|---|---|
| Scheduled Learning and Teaching | 28 | Seminars (Master classes/Webinars) - Taking place during scheduled face-to-face masterclasses, there will be at least 28 hours of taught input. |
| Scheduled Learning and Teaching | 48 | Online activities and PDP coaching - Ongoing PDP coaching throughout 48 weeks of the online module. Drawing upon academic guidance, professional development coaching and workplace mentoring. |
| Guided Independent Study | 224 | Applied Professional Practice and Development - Guided and independent learning which will be applied to the work context in consultation with a manager from the organisation. It will include a mixture of reading material, self-development exercises, online discussion forums, self-assessments, and videos. |
Formative assessment
| Form of assessment | Size of the assessment (eg length / duration) | ILOs assessed | Feedback method |
|---|---|---|---|
| 3 context statements/ Journal Submissions into OneFile | 400 500 words equivalent per submission | 1-4 | Academic mentor |
| Group work agreement including plan of action, meeting dates and roles/responsibilities | 1000 words | 1-4 | Lecturer feedback |
Summative assessment (% of credit)
| Coursework | Written exams | Practical exams |
|---|---|---|
| 100 | 0 | 0 |
Details of summative assessment
| Form of assessment | % of credit | Size of the assessment (eg length / duration) | ILOs assessed | Feedback method |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1. Group report which explores the best practice of two areas of the apprenticeship standards skills and behaviours and a critical reflection on working in a team. | 30 | 2,500-word group report and a 1000-word critical reflection | 1-4 | Lecturer will provide written feedback |
| 2. 3,500-word personal brand webpage/document showcasing your skills and behaviours. Including work product/examples and witness testimony. | 70 | 3,500 words ` | 1-4 | Lecturer will provide written feedback |
Details of re-assessment (where required by referral or deferral)
| Original form of assessment | Form of re-assessment | ILOs re-assessed | Timescale for re-assessment |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1. Different from original due to the group work: Individual report which explores the best practice of two areas of the apprenticeship standards skills and behaviours and a critical reflection of the skills used to develop the report. | 2,000-word report and a 1,000-word critical reflection (30%) | 1-4 | Next re-assessment window |
| 2. As per original: 3,500 word personal brand webpage/document showcasing your skills and behaviours. Including work product/examples and witness testimony. | 3,500 words (70%) | 1-4 | Next re-assessment window |
Re-assessment notes
Deferral – if you have been deferred for any assessment you will be expected to submit the relevant assessment. The mark given for a re-assessment taken as a result of deferral will not be capped and will be treated as it would be if it were your first attempt at the assessment.
Referral – if you have failed the module overall (i.e. a final overall module mark of less than 40%) you will be expected to submit the relevant assessment. The mark given for a re-assessment taken as a result of referral will be capped at 40%
Indicative learning resources - Basic reading
Recommended text:
- Brick, J., Wilson, N., Wong, D., Herke, M. (2019) Academic Success: a student’s guide to studying at university. Macmillian International Organisation. Cottrell, S. (2021) Skills for success: personal development and employability. Palgrave Macmillan.
- Kahneman, D. (2012) Thinking Fast and Slow. Penguin: UK
Supplementary text:
- Cottrell, S (2017) Critical Thinking Skills; Developing Effective Analysis, argument and reflection. Palgrave Macmillan:
- Miller, D. (2015) Brilliant Personal Effectiveness: What to know and say to make an impact at work. Pearson: UK
- Paul, D., Cadle, J., & Thomas, P (2012) The Human Touch: Personal Skills for Professional Success. BCS: UK
| Credit value | 30 |
|---|---|
| Module ECTS | 15 |
| Module pre-requisites | None |
| Module co-requisites | None |
| NQF level (module) | 15 |
| Available as distance learning? | Yes |
| Origin date | 26/02/2019 |
| Last revision date | 17/10/2023 |
