Mentor-guided Portfolio-building
Full course description
In Year 1, and throughout the programme, students will be mentored, and mentorship will be organized around portfolio building and individualized follow-up. All aspects of the programme, incl. all forms of assessment, will be used as material for feedback in a process by which students set specific goals, define strategies to reach their goals, and then analyse their progress. These goals can be in different competency domains, including exam results on courses and skills, but may also focus on personal growth in various modes of communication and cultural sensitivity, organisational skills, providing and receiving feedback, etc. Because of the construction of the programme, stated goals in the portfolio in Year 1 and 2 most likely will be focused on content and skills required to master the curriculum. Towards the end of Year 2 and in Year 3, additional goals related to elective, thesis topic, and future study choices, as well as related to personal growth and life-long learning, will feature more prominently in the students’ portfolio. Embedded in the mentorship offered to the students are also alumni, networking, and entrepreneurial events where staff from a range of academic, research, and governmental institutions as well as from various industries will interact with the Brain Science Bachelor students to provide perspectives on employability. These events will also invite students from relevant masters (Appendix 8), with whom Brain Science bachelor students can interact to make informed master choices.
The final assessment for this course is pass or fail - and not a numerical grade between 0,0 and 10,0.
Course objectives
- To perform self-analysis based on comprehensive information and self-observations to identify points for improvement in one or more competencies that need to be developed further, and to translate this analysis in goal setting.
- To make choices of strategies towards reaching the identified goal, and plan implementation.
- To translate strategies and implementation plans into action.
- To monitor the outcomes of the actions against stated learning goals.
- To conclude after a set time whether a goal has been reached or not, after which a new cycle of portfolio building is set in motion.
- To perform all steps in the portfolio-building cycle with a realistic and balanced view towards oneself.
- To create a written portfolio in good English, based on a well-organized set of honest notes collected through the academic year.
- To elaborate verbally on the portfolio and to interact constructively with the input given by the mentor.