PROFESSIONAL DEVELOPMENT PLANNING - 2027/8

Module Overview

Professional Development Planning is the fifth of six compulsory modules within the BA (Hons) Theatre. Students will engage in analytical reflection on their personal, interpersonal, and professional skills, articulating life goals and career ambitions. Students will be guided to identify sustainable approaches to individual and professional development, and tools needed for future progress. The coursework essay is the summative assessment.

Module provider

Guildford School of Acting

Module Leader

TRINGHAM Anna (GSA)

Number of Credits: 15

ECTS Credits: 7.5

Framework: FHEQ Level 6

Module cap (Maximum number of students): N/A

Module Availability

Year long

Prerequisites / Co-requisites

N/A

Module content

Indicative content for the module consists of a series of units of study and a reading list which is prepared by the module tutor and delivered via the Virtual Learning Environment (VLE), Surrey Learn. Professional Development Planning may include the following indicative topics: reflective practice, frameworks for thinking, didactic and democratic models. Seminars and tutorials will focus on looking back to go forward, identifying opportunities, target setting, as well as advice on the assignment. Independent learning hours are allocated to allow the student to fully engage with this content.

Assessment pattern

Alternative Assessment

N/A

Assessment Strategy

Assessment Philosophy

Assessment across the BA (Hons) Theatre (online) programme supports the development of each student as an artist and professional, as well as an academic writer. It prioritises clear thinking expressed in the student¿s own voice, evidence of process, development and decision-making, sustained reflection on learning over time, and the integration of theory with lived creative practice.

Academic language is expected to emerge from genuine understanding rather than replace it. Students are encouraged to write in the first person where appropriate and to evidence how their ideas evolve through study, practice and reflection. Assignment briefs therefore require documentation of process, including challenges and changes of direction, so that learning is visible and personal.

In a context where generative AI can produce generalised responses, assessment prioritises work that is specific, situated and grounded in the student¿s experience, attending not only to what students know but to how students think, create and develop as artists and professionals.

Summative Assessment Brief

The summative assessment will expect students to include reflexive analysis of the opportunities, risks, and ethics of using AI in identifying employment pathways, shaping professional profiles, and researching further training. The assignment brief will require students to articulate a personal policy on AI use in creative work.

Students are provided with the opportunity to demonstrate:

• Knowledge and comprehension of the processes by which professional development is conceived and realised.
• An awareness of the global and cultural issues that impact on the nature of professional development in the creative industries.
• The ability to identify areas of special interest in professional development and demonstrate resourcefulness and resilience through research.
• Reflection on individual, interpersonal, and professional skills to devise a strategic approach to future employability.
• The ability to evaluate the effectiveness of one's own capabilities in producing scholarly and creative outputs online and in person.
• An awareness of professional sustainability and wellbeing within the creative industries.
• A pro-active and self-regulatory approach to coursework.

Thus, the summative assessment for this module consists of:

• Coursework Assignment in the form of a PowerPoint presentation (or equivalent) in response to a written brief
• The assignment may include spoken commentary recorded as audio or video
• Total written and spoken text should be equivalent to 2,500 words.

The formative assessment and feedback consists of:

An outline or plan for the summative assignment. This may include, but is not restricted to:

• A visual or graphic plan such as a mind map
• Charts, diagrams, figures, tables, etc.

Informal, formative feedback from tutors will be provided by, but is not restricted to:

• Personal tutorials via video call
• Question and answer exchanges via email
• News feed on the VLE.

Ongoing, informal, formative feedback from the tutor may be facilitated by, but is not restricted to, Discussion Boards on the VLE and email exchanges at the students' request.

Module aims

• Engage students with sustainable methods, strategies, and models for professional development.
• Enable students to engage in self-reflection and forward planning for personal and professional development.
• Support students to articulate their ongoing personal and professional learning journey.

Learning outcomes

Methods of Teaching / Learning

The learning and teaching strategy is designed to:

• Actively engage the online learner with the key concepts of professional development planning.


• Unfold a structured reflection on personal and professional knowledge, skills, and experience.


• Enable the online learner to access information on careers, employability, further study and qualifications.


• Support the online learner to demonstrate their knowledge and understanding of the key concepts.

The learning and teaching methods include:

• Guided Learning in units of study and a reading list delivered via the VLE, Surrey Learn


• Independent Learning allowing the student to fully engage with the content and beyond


• Seminars delivered during intensive online study weekends.


• Tutorials delivered online by the module tutor throughout the study period

GSA delivers its provision across three teaching blocks within the University of Surrey's existing semester structure.

Indicated Lecture Hours (which may also include seminars, tutorials, workshops and other contact time) are approximate and may include in-class tests where one or more of these are an assessment on the module. In-class tests are scheduled/organised separately to taught content and will be published on to student personal timetables, where they apply to taken modules, as soon as they are finalised by central administration. This will usually be after the initial publication of the teaching timetable for the relevant semester.

Reading list

https://readinglists.surrey.ac.uk
Upon accessing the reading list, please search for the module using the module code: TDL3018

Other information

Guildford School of Acting trains students, within their chosen fields, to have an understanding and appreciation of Employability, Digital Capabilities, Global and Cultural Capabilities, Sustainability, and Resourcefulness and Resilience. This module is designed to allow acting students to develop knowledge, skills, and capabilities in the following areas:

Resorcefulness & Resilience, Sustainability, Digital Capabilities, Employability

Professional Development Planning contributes to achieving the educational aims of the programme by enabling students to become self-aware, self-reflective, and self-regulating, increasing students' appreciation of career sustainability and wellbeing in the creative industries, and fostering digital citizenship through the nature of online learning, thus preparing students for a wide range of graduate destinations and future employability.

Programmes this module appears in

Please note that the information detailed within this record is accurate at the time of publishing and may be subject to change. This record contains information for the most up to date version of the programme / module for the 2027/8 academic year.