Outdoor Education MA

Teaching

You are taught through a combination of on-line lectures, webinars, tutorials, on-line tasks and work-based projects. Whilst most of the teaching resources allow students to progress at their own pace there are 3 days throughout the year that are set aside for shared working.

Typically these Masters Days include:

• Webinar Presentation and discussion 10:15-12:15
• Skype tutorials and small group work 13:15 – 15:15

In addition, meetings (either in person or at distance) with personal academic tutors are scheduled on at least 4 occasions each year.

You have an opportunity to engage with other students through on-line fora and web discussion groups and have access to extensive VLE resources. 

Contact time

In the three work-based project modules and Dissertation module, you will be supported 1:1 by a tutor. In all other modules, you will have contact with staff in 6 x 2 hour online sessions (lectures/seminars) and 1:1 tutorials. These sessions are usually scheduled in the evening to avoid normal work time.   

Your contact time also includes the time that the course team spends in 1:1 communication with you. This might be Skype, phone, email or in person. As this is a part-time Masters programme where many students are studying at a considerable distance from the University, there is no specific time period for contacting staff, however, contact with staff should be within UK working hours. For live Skype, phone and in-person tutorials, the student should arrange a time by email. In general, students should not expect more than 30 minutes of contact time per module per week.

Students are expected to plan their own study and arrange their communication with University staff around their work commitments, but to remember that the weeks immediately prior to assessment can be very busy.

Independent self-study

In addition to teaching time and 1:1 contact time, you are expected to undertake around 5 hours of personal self-study per week. Typically, this will involve accessing resources on VLE, undertaking the self-study tasks, structured reading, undertaking work-based projects, and engaging in reflective learning. As a guide, completion of the entire course should require 1800 hours of total student learning time.

Independent learning is supported by a range of excellent learning facilities, including the Hive and library resources, the virtual learning environment, and extensive electronic learning resources.

Duration

Part-time only (2-6 years).

Timetables

Students are expected to plan their study and their contact with University staff around their work commitments. The precise contact hours will be largely determined by the student, but will depend on the number of modules selected.

Teaching staff

You will be taught by a teaching team whose expertise and knowledge are closely matched to the content of the modules on the course. The team includes staff with a depth of professional and academic experience of Outdoor Education in schools and in the outdoor sector.  

Teaching is informed by the teaching team’s research and consultancy, and 50 percent of course lecturers have a higher education teaching qualification or are Fellows of the Higher Education Academy. You can learn more about the staff by visiting our staff profiles. 

Study options

• Part-time only
• Work-based learning
• Email and Web based support
• Continuing professional development
• Flexible approach means you can study at your own pace

Assessment

The MA in Outdoor Education provides opportunities to test your understanding and learning informally through the completion of practice or ‘formative’ assignments, as well as through formal or ‘summative’ assignments. Summative assignments are graded and count towards your overall module grade. There are 2 summative assignments per module, typically for submission in February and May. Each module has one or more formative assignments that can be submitted at various points through the year. 

Assessment methods include: Career profile, Negotiated learning contract, Work-based project reports, Reflective reports, Poster design, Research proposal, Dissertation.

Students can select between 1 and 4 modules per year. Thus, the precise assessment requirements for an individual student in an academic year will vary according to the number of modules taken. A typical summative assessment pattern for each year of the course is: 2 summative assignments per module, typically for submission in February and May. In the final year, the dissertation submission is typically in September. 

Programme specification

For comprehensive details on the aims and intended learning outcomes of the course, and the means by which these are achieved through learning, teaching and assessment, please download the latest programme specification document.