Remember the Utah Nurse story we discussed after the moral dilemmas session?

http://news.sky.com/story/utah-police-officer-sacked-for-dragging-nurse-out-of-hospital-in-row-over-blood-sample-11075799


Here is the resolution of the news story we discussed a month or so ago.


Mark

Noel Conway: Terminally ill man loses right-to-die case

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/health-41506155 - this is a story from a few days ago about a man who is terminally ill with motor neurone disease who lost his High Court challenge to fight for his right to die.


The judgment does confirm, however, that the courts do have the authority to declare current inconsistency with human rights.


Noel Conway, a grandfather and retired lecturer from Shrewsbury, was diagnosed with motor neurone disease in November 2014 and is not expected to live beyond 12 months.


One of the groups on Monday were looking at the contentious issue of euthanasia and that is what prompted me to post this story for you to comment on.


I do understand that this issue can be sensitive, personal, difficult to articulate thoughts on, but if you do wish to make some comments, please do so in the box below.


Mark

Proposed schedule of work until that time in December which shall not be mentioned!

Hello everybody,


When we return after our well deserved October break, there will be only 9 weeks until the end of the academic year (that nicely avoids the 'C' word!)


Below is how I intend to roll out the classes which will be a mixture of reading analysis practice, discussion, working in small groups and doing two assessments. I feel that if we get these two reading assessments out the way it will mean we (you) will have three out the eight assessments done a few weeks with me before the end of the semester and gives us a good run at work to do in the New Year. In fact, once Andrew has looked at your reports on serial killers and I have sampled some of them to ensure the quality is of an appropriate standard, that will be four, which is no mean feat. Integrated assessments always work well to reduce the workload.


Anybody who has not achieved assessment passes by the end of the first semester will be able to use the catch-up week which is week commencing 22nd January 2018. That will hopefully bring everybody up to speed.


The reading assessments / teaching fits nicely with the listening assessments too and how I will teach you is the formula needed to achieve passes in the assessments.

I have been busy updating teaching and assessment materials for you, but this preparation is not misplaced prep., as you can use any helpnotes I give you for the actual assessments. Both the reading assessments are new for 2017, so hopefully they will work out well.

So, here is how I intend to roll out the next nine weeks. I am a great believer in schedules and sticking to them, so there should be no problems if we follow this recipe for success.

23/10 - reflecting on the discussion assessment, reading a newspaper article on plagiarism, particularly in Universities, discussion around this important topic and information on how you can answer reading analysis questions. Lots of handouts to keep for you.


30/10 - answering practice questions on plagiarism article in small groups (sample answers at the end after group discussion).


6/11 - practice reading exercise on working in the mental health sector from the perspective of a health professional (sample answers at the end after group discussion).


13/11, 20/11, 27/11 - first reading assessment - this will be on a topic of interest and I will mark what you have done for the following week so the assessment is continuous. 


4/12, 11/12 and 18/12 - second reading assessment - see above.


I have allowed three weeks for each assessment which means that you all have sufficient time to complete the assessment(s). Everybody will receive one to one written and verbal feedback on their work.

One other thing, in addition to the helpnotes I distribute to you, you are also permitted to use a dictionary should you so wish. The answers will be handwritten and done in class with me supervising but your spelling etc. is NOT being assessed here, just your answers.

I hope you will all be able to enjoy your break and I look forward to seeing you all on our return on 23rd October.


All the best,


Mark

Discussion success, part deux!

Well done to the students who participated in the discussion assessment today. All attendees passed and both groups (monarchy abolishment and euthanasia) produced some great discussion points.


I was struck by some personal anecdotes and the amount of research put in prior to assessment, and both sessions provided a lot of content to be reflected upon.


All the best,


Mark

Time Management Skills

Hello loyal readers!


Below are two really useful links on time management strategies. They are worth a look, especially as I am such an advocate of the importance of effective time management skills. I think you will all find them of use.

http://www.bristol.ac.uk/students/study/advice/?playlist=150&videoid=2244

https://www.ox.ac.uk/students/academic/guidance/skills/time?wssl=1#

Day trip to Inverness

Hi all,


I am competing in a golf final tomorrow in Inverness, at a place called Castle Stuart. It is truly the most spectacular course I have played anywhere in Scotland.


The prizes are pretty big for this competition, and we have all been playing in comps to qualify for the final since May.


I think there are around 450 competitors or so, and last year I was lucky to win which meant I qualified to play for a week all expenses paid to Turkey. But I turned it down! Yes, you did read that correctly. It was during term time before Easter which is a critical time for students, so my place went to the first reserve. Noble or completely mad, you can make your own mind up on that one!


So, here is my low key outfit for tomorrow and some pics of Castle Stuart. I am up at 5am and travelling up and down in the day, so I could be a tad jaded on Saturday evening. My cat Jet isn't coming, despite what he may think...


I hope you are all having a great weekend and I will see you all soon.


Cheers,


Mark

Discussion Success

Well done to all the students who successfully passed the discussion assessment this morning.


I found both discussions really interesting for various reasons and the level of content and research was very good.


I would say that the first group adopted a procedural approach to the assessment, whereas the second group was slightly more free flowing.


But the same result prevailed, passes all round!


Cheers,


Mark