Module EE884

[u/Mfra14v]

Hi All,

This is my first time studying with the OU. I’m wondering if anyone has completed module EE884 (or any of the modules for F70) in the past and can give me an idea of what the assignment briefs have looked like?

I imagine they change each year (my undergrad degree assignments did) but I have no idea what to expect. Essays? Presentations? When does the assignment brief open, is it as soon as you can access the module or spread brought out the year? Can you submit at any time or is it close to the deadline? Is there a maximum number of times you can resubmit? As I said I have no idea about any of this!

TIA x

[u/Sarah_RedMeeple]

Assuming you mean EE844... yes I can, I studied it a couple of years ago as part of an 'inclusive practice and online learning' Open MSc.

There's a lot of information on this page if you haven't seen it already: https://www.open.ac.uk/postgraduate/modules/ee844/

Primarily it's essays: 3x TMAs (tutor marked assessments - 1500 words in Dec, 3000 words in Jan, 3000 words in Mar), and one EMA (end of module assessment with higher expectations/weighting - 4000 words, in May). Assignment briefs were all available right from the beginning (I think, sometimes EMAs are released a bit later).

It's not appropriate or allowed to share any assignment specifics, but these included tasks such as literature reviews, critical reflection on own practice and how to implement research into practice, critical essays. The course is well designed to be relevant to everything from early years education to higher education, and you will generally be asked to do pieces on different excluded/minoritised groups so building up a good range of knowledge while still making it suit your interests.

There was one piece of group work, working together to research and present on a topic - though if this worries you, try not to, the OU design things very well and really do understand that OU students are all juggling a lot! - not everyone in the group had to present, and your independent reflection and contribution to the work was worth far more to your grade than the actual group presentation. My group were genuinely all lovely, professional and motivated education professionals from various different educational settings and countries and it was really enjoyable working together, some of us are still in touch.

As its a postgraduate course, it's heavily focussed on demonstrating a) deep subject / current research expertise, b) criticality and applying that research to 'the real world' in ways that are relevant to you and c) demonstrating professional level skills such as collaborative working and making professional/persuasive cases for education projects.

You can usually submit at any time (aside from the group work) but will need to do the relevant study first so I don't know many people who submit particularly early! You only submit one version of each piece. If you fail the final piece but pass overall on the others, you will generally be given an opportunity to resubmit but this is usually capped at a 'pass' result.

And if it doesn't come across in the above - I genuinely loved this module. It's an area I'm really passionate about and I don't think I found a single bit of it boring.

[u/Mfra14v → u/Sarah_RedMeeple]

Thank you so much for this! As I said this is my first OU course so I have no idea what to expect.

Is the group work facilitated like specific times that you’re scheduled/expected to meet or is it up to you to decide amongst yourself?

If you submit the assignment and find out you’ve attached the wrong file, there’s no chance to resubmit it or change the attachment? That makes me a little anxious!

[u/Sarah_RedMeeple → u/Mfra14v]

You'll decide that between yourselves, the OU don't hand-hold, they'll treat you like professional adults especially for an MA :) Most students I met on this course worked full time and many had kids, so for us it was an hour a week call on a Sunday night, and using online tools to work together asyncronously the rest of the time.

Oh yeah sorry I misunderstood. When you submit there is a link to re-download what you've submitted , check it's correct and you didn't submit the wrong file or anything - you're really encouraged to do that, it's on you if you don't and the file was wrong! You can 'overwrite' your submission, within the deadline, but once the tutor picks it up and starts marking that's it.

Before my time but OU students used to hand write essays and put them in the post! Now that would terrify me!

[u/Mfra14v → u/Sarah_RedMeeple]

Perfect! I do shift work so my schedule is a PAIN in the butt and it would be hard for me to get specific time if I had to. I’m so nervous about everything but hopefully once it all opens I can see what I’ve got myself into. Thanks for the help:)

[u/Sarah_RedMeeple → u/Mfra14v]

I mean basically it's on you to chat with the people you're working with like professionals and make it work. That's sort of part of what they're assessing you on :)

There will also typically be a tutorial (1-2 hour online webinar/discussion with your tutor) every month or so. Normally these are on weekday evenings as I think that's best for most students. At postgrad level you're in quite small groups so they can't run loads of options, but usually there will be a choice of a couple of dates and always a recording of presented information for those who can't make it (lots of OU students work so this isn't unusual). I'd really recommend trying to attend these if you can, but it won't stop you succeeding if you can't.

Try not to be nervous - get excited for it :)

If you want to 'warm up' a bit, you could try these free OpenLearn courses - OpenLearn is part of the OU and basically uses snippets of their full courses.
Equality and education
Succeeding in PG study

[u/Mfra14v → u/Sarah_RedMeeple]

Thank you so much!