Reference is made in Flexible Pedagogies: part-time learners and learning in higher education to a selection of case studies that illustrate how flexible pedagogies have been developed to support the needs of part-time learners.
This case study illustrates how a public health module was designed to ensure the particular needs of part-time learners were drawn upon to provide effective timely education to enable them to meet professional competences that were flexible inter-sectoral and would meet specific employer requirements.
Swansea University
Health protection is a core element of public health practice but challenging to teach beyond standard theoretical delivery and assessment. The 15 CATS M-level module was commissioned by Public Health Wales to raise the recognised theoretical and practice-based competence of public health practitioners from across Wales. The issues faced in meeting the commission included:
- a senior group of students unable to be released in the usual study day format of an extended period;
- diverse teaching content requiring an all Wales approach;
- how to combine different types of competence in both the taught programme and the assessment;
- a requirement for rapid outcome through responsive concurrent assessment.
The module design addressed these challenges in terms of mode and methods of delivery inter-sectoral collaboration innovative assessment and prompt feedback. The module was designed to be delivered intensively within a single working week with students working long days. All sessions were mapped to the learning outcomes the National Occupational standards and the UKPHR competencies. An important aspect about the pedagogical approach was the way individuals and the group were assessed in terms of contribution and performance. The examiner evaluation of the assessment process recognised the complexity of the process the levels of analysis involved and the need for experienced assessors.
