Module POL3255 for 2021/2
- Overview
- Aims and Learning Outcomes
- Module Content
- Indicative Reading List
- Assessment
Undergraduate Module Descriptor
POL3255: Deliberating the Environmental Emergency: The Citizens' Assembly
This module descriptor refers to the 2021/2 academic year.
Module Aims
This module will equip you with the latest scientific knowledge on the major causes and consequences of climate change and biodiversity loss. You will learn about policy solutions to these problems, on the key sectors contributing to them, such as energy, transport, infrastructure, food and consumption. Understanding and awareness of these issues is critical for the next generation of politics graduates who will be challenged to find solutions to these issues in a range of employment, community and policy contexts.
The environmental crisis is a cross-cutting issue that requires knowledge and input from more than one sector and discipline. The course will thus be enriched with a series of guest speakers, including academics providing expertise based on their own and others’ research, and stakeholders and practitioners sharing their experience.
You will learn about the role of deliberative public engagement in the policy process through first-hand experience of engaging in a Citizens’ Assembly run as a key component of the module. You will also acquire key transferable skills through the moderation of, and participation in, group deliberations. With its applied focus, the module will also provide you with an opportunity to get involved in devising policy solutions to achieve sustainability in the national context.
| On successfully completing the programme you will be able to: | |
|---|---|
| Module-Specific Skills | 1. Demonstrate in-depth knowledge about the design and conduct of Citizens Assemblies 2. Understanding the environmental emergency from a trans-disciplinary perspective |
| Discipline-Specific Skills | 3. Demonstrate detailed and comprehensive knowledge of environmental policies related to climate change and the protection of biodiversity, as well as the challenges associated to implementing these policies 4. Understand the role, potential and limitations of citizen deliberation in developing policy recommendations |
| Personal and Key Skills | 5. Moderate and facilitate group deliberations 6. Use lessons from research to inform policy development |
How this Module is Assessed
In the tables below, you will see reference to 'ILO's. An ILO is an Intended Learning Outcome - see Aims and Learning Outcomes for details of the ILOs for this module.
Formative Assessment
A formative assessment is designed to give you feedback on your understanding of the module content but it will not count towards your mark for the module.
| Form of assessment | Size of the assessment (eg length / duration) | ILOs assessed | Feedback method |
|---|---|---|---|
| Participation in group work during citizens assembly, term 2 | 45 min group deliberation (observation lasting 10 mins per group) | 2-3 | Written observation from tutors after 1st group deliberation session |
| 5 x Reflective Logs (about the thematic group deliberations, forming a source of primary evidence to be used in the Summative Analytical Report), term 2 | 350 words each (total 1,750 words) | 1; 4; 5-6 | Individual written feedback for log 1; Class feedback for logs 2-5 |
Summative Assessment
A summative assessment counts towards your mark for the module. The table below tells you what percentage of your mark will come from which type of assessment.
| Coursework | Written exams | Practical exams |
|---|---|---|
| 100 | 0 | 0 |
...and this table provides further details on the summative assessments for this module.
| Form of assessment | % of credit | Size of the assessment (eg length / duration) | ILOs assessed | Feedback method |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Essay (term 1) | 50 | 3,000 words | 2-3 | Written feedback |
| Citizens Assembly Analytical Report (term 2) | 50 | 3,000 words | 1; 4; 5-6 | Written feedback |
Re-assessment
Re-assessment takes place when the summative assessment has not been completed by the original deadline, and the student has been allowed to refer or defer it to a later date (this only happens following certain criteria and is always subject to exam board approval). For obvious reasons, re-assessments cannot be the same as the original assessment and so these alternatives are set. In cases where the form of assessment is the same, the content will nevertheless be different.
| Original form of assessment | Form of re-assessment | ILOs re-assessed | Timescale for re-assessment |
|---|---|---|---|
| Essay | Essay (3,000 words) | 2-3 | August/September reassessment period |
| Citizens Assembly Analytical Report | Citizen Assembly Analytical Report (3,000 words) | 1; 4; 5-6 | August/September reassessment period |
