Teaching, learning and assessment methods
Teaching and learning
This programme is taught via a range of methods. In Part 1 (A825), printed teaching materials are supplemented by a module website, which hosts additional online materials and a range of other learning support tools. Students are expected to work their way through the printed and online materials with help from a study planner, which outlines their weekly tasks. Each student is assigned a tutor and is a member of a tutor group. The bulk of tuition for the MA will be delivered online and by telephone or email support. This means you will submit assignments and receive tutor feedback electronically, and have opportunities to participate in electronic forums and online OU events. In addition, there will be face-to-face day schools during the course of the MA.
Part 2 (A826) is a dissertation module. Students are provided with a module guide and are allocated a tutor and tutor group. Their primary learning task is to submit a 14-16,000 word dissertation on a topic of their choice. In this they are assisted by their tutor, who functions as a research supervisor, and with whom they communicate on a regular basis. Students are expected to direct their own learning by carrying out independent research. If they have problems or encounter obstacles, they can contact their tutor directly, or raise issues within the online tutor group forum or within the wider module forum. Because of the independent nature of study at this level, the tutor group and module forums function largely for queries and general support. Both modules have Day Schools at which students can benefit from a plenary session as well as meet their tutor and tutor group for mutual support and specialist advice and guidance.
Assessment
This programme is assessed through written essays. For Part 1, there are four tutor-marked assignments (TMAs) and one end-of-module assessment (EMA). The TMAs vary in length between 2,500 and 5,000 words and are designed to encourage students to engage with the module content. They are also designed to develop the skills of essay writing and, gradually develop student engagement with historical arguments, use of primary sources and independent research. The EMA is in two parts: a research proposal and a research essay. This requires students to think about, and outline, plans for their dissertation, which they undertake in earnest in Part 2. The research essays require students to demonstrate their newly acquired skills of independent research, by asking them to apply it to one aspect of their proposed research topic. By the end of Part 1, students will have been introduced to the basics of local history practice and been encouraged to use this on a project of their own choice, which they intend to pursue in the following module. This enables them to receive high-quality feedback at a crucial stage in the development of their ideas for their dissertation.
Part 2 is assessed through the submission of a 14-16,000 word dissertation, which includes three formative TMAs. The first TMA asks students to revise and refine their proposal and timetable for the dissertation whilst the second TMA is a sample chapter. TMA03 asks for another sample of the final dissertation and asks for a reflective essay, regarding the research to date and how that has worked out. The revised proposal obliges students to engage with feedback they received in Part 1. TMA02 and TMA03 encourage students to begin writing early on in the module and enables them to receive feedback before moving on with their research. The reflective commentary encourages them to consider their next research steps and assists them in organising the later part of their research, which is increasingly done independently and without further formal feedback structures.