Module ASB-1205:
Tutorials in Economics and Banking

Module Facts

Run by Bangor Business School

20.000 Credits or 10.000 ECTS Credits

Semester 1 & 2

Organiser: Dr Rhys ap Gwilym

Overall aims and purpose

The purpose of this module is to introduce students to a range of skills that are necessary for their development into confident and self-sufficient learners. The module will also encourage wider reading and research in the areas of Economics and Banking.

Course content

The module will be based around weekly sessions where students are introduced to generic academic skills and fortnightly tutorials where these skills will be applied in the context of Economics and Banking. The generic skills will include but not be limited to: note taking in lectures and seminars; IT skills (including internet, e-mail and Blackboard); the sourcing of information (including library, databases and search engines); the use and interpretation of evidence (including quotation, citation and plagiarism); essay perparation and writing (including the development of academic argument); oral presentation; and group work. The fortnightly subject-specific tutorials will focus on applying these skills to a particular theme that bridges economics and banking. Students will be given a choice regarding the theme that the group will follow. The choices available will include financial crises, inequality, globalisation and policy.

Assessment Criteria

good

B- to B+ (60-69%): Very good performance Most of the relevant information accurately deployed. Good grasp of theoretical/conceptual/practical elements. Good integration of theory/practice/information in pursuit of the assessed work's objectives. Evidence of the use of creative and reflective skills.

C- to C+

C- to C+ (50-59%): Much of the relevant information and skills mostly accurately deployed. Adequate grasp of theoretical/conceptual/practical elements. Fair integration of theory/practice/information in the pursuit of the assessed work's objectives. Some evidence of the use of creative and reflective skills.

excellent

A- to A+ (70%+): Outstanding performance. The relevant information accurately deployed. Excellent grasp of theoretical/conceptual/practice elements. Good integration of theory/practice/information in pursuit of the assessed work's objectives. Strong evidence of the use of creative and reflective skills.

threshold

D- to D+ (40-49%): No major omissions or inaccuracies in the deployment of information/skills. Some grasp of theoretical/conceptual/practical elements. Integration of theory/practice/information present intermittently in pursuit of the assessed work's objectives.

Learning outcomes

  1. Communicate ideas clearly and confidently.

  2. Develop confidence and competence in a range of learning processes

  3. Develop the ability to find materials relevant to particular issues and to appraise their provenance and limitations

  4. Write well-structured essays, with a logical line of argument, drawing upon appropriate evidence from robust sources

  5. Summarise, precis and abstract longer academic papers or journal articles in the fields of Economics and Banking.

Assessment Methods

Type Name Description Weight
Portfolio 60.00
Group Presentation or Vlog 20.00
Presentation 20.00

Teaching and Learning Strategy

Hours
Tutorial

Fortnightly tutorial - maximum two hours each

 20
Lecture

Fortnightly generic skills sessions - one hour each

 10
Private study

Regular tasks will be assigned during tutorials, contributing towards the assessment portfolio

 170

Transferable skills

  • Literacy - Proficiency in reading and writing through a variety of media
  • Numeracy - Proficiency in using numbers at appropriate levels of accuracy
  • Computer Literacy - Proficiency in using a varied range of computer software
  • Self-Management - Able to work unsupervised in an efficient, punctual and structured manner. To examine the outcomes of tasks and events, and judge levels of quality and importance
  • Exploring - Able to investigate, research and consider alternatives
  • Information retrieval - Able to access different and multiple sources of information
  • Inter-personal - Able to question, actively listen, examine given answers and interact sensitevely with others
  • Critical analysis & Problem Solving - Able to deconstruct and analyse problems or complex situations. To find solutions to problems through analyses and exploration of all possibilities using appropriate methods, rescources and creativity.
  • Presentation - Able to clearly present information and explanations to an audience. Through the written or oral mode of communication accurately and concisely.
  • Teamwork - Able to constructively cooperate with others on a common task, and/or be part of a day-to-day working team
  • Argument - Able to put forward, debate and justify an opinion or a course of action, with an individual or in a wider group setting
  • Self-awareness & Reflectivity - Having an awareness of your own strengths, weaknesses, aims and objectives. Able to regularly review, evaluate and reflect upon the performance of yourself and others

Subject specific skills

  • Abstraction. From the study of economic principles and models, students see how one can abstract the essential features of complex systems and provide a useable framework for evaluation and assessment of the effects of policy or other exogenous events. Through this, the typical student will acquire proficiency in how to simplify while still retaining relevance. This is an approach that they can then apply in other contexts, thereby becoming more effective problem-solvers and decision-makers.
  • Analysis, deduction and induction. Economic reasoning is highly deductive, and logical analysis is applied to assumption-based models. However, inductive reasoning is also important. The development of such analytical skills enhances students' problem-solving and decision-making ability.
  • Quantification and design. Data, and their effective organisation, presentation and analysis, are important in economics. The typical student will have some familiarity with the principal sources of economic information and data relevant to industry, commerce, society and government, and have had practice in organising it and presenting it informatively. This skill is important at all stages in the decision-making process.
  • Framing. Through the study of economics, a student should learn how to decide what should be taken as given or fixed for the purposes of setting up and solving a problem, i.e. what the important 'parameters' are in constraining the solution to the problem. Learning to think about how and why these parameters might change encourages a student to place the economic problem in its broader social and political context. This 'framing' skill is important in determining the decision-maker's ability to implement the solutions to problems.

Courses including this module

Compulsory in courses:

Optional in courses: