KOMUNIKAT: zasady finansowania studiów undergraduate w roku akademickim 2006/07

Od nowego roku zostały wprowadzone nowe zasady finansowania studiów dla studentów angielskich z unii europejskiej.

Od nowego roku maxymalna opłata ustalona przez dany uniwersytet może wynosić 3000 funtów za rok nauki, jednakże osoby, które zostaną przyjęte na studia otrzymują automatycznie pożyczkę, która jest spłacana po ukończeniu studiów pod warunkiem, że dochód na osobę przekroczy 15 tysięcy funtów. W przypadku pojęcia zatrudnienia w Wielkiej Brytanii na początku miesięczne raty wynoszą ok. 20 funtów miesięcznie.

International Study Programme

W ramach ISP studenci łączą naukę języka angielskiego z przedmiotami następujących dziedzin: Humanities – nauki humanistyczne, Creative Studies – nauki artystyczne, Science – nauki ścisłe. Rok akademicki trwa od września do czerwca. Warunkiem przyjęcia jest dobra znajomość języka angielskiego IELTS 5.5. Nauka jest bezpłatna dla studentów z Unii Europejskiej

Więcej informacji o możliwości studiowania za granicą w portalu jezyki.net.pl

Are you interested in working hard and learning to think independently and analytically? Have you finished your school education successfully? Do you want to continue your studies at university? Do you have IELTS 5.5 (please note the IELTS requirement in the brochure is for the 2004 entry and has since been updated for 2005) or ESOL entry level 1? Can you live and study in Oxford full-time from September to June? If you can answer ‘yes’ to these questions, then you are just the kind of student we are looking for on the International Study Programme.

The International Study Programme is a full-time course lasting one year, which prepares you for successful university entry or other vocational studies, either in the United Kingdom or in your own country. A student on the ISP studies English for approximately six hours per week followed by three academic subjects for a total of nine hours per week, as well as Study Skills and Information Technology.

Academic Modules

You choose three academic modules; depending on the timetable (published in September) you will be able to mix modules from each pathway.

Humanities Creative Studies Science

Business Studies Literature Psychology

Tourism Performing Arts Programming

Law Critical Studies Chemistry

Culture and Society Film & TV Studies Biology

European Studies Physics

As well as the academic modules, all students study the core modules of:

Reading and writing comprehension Learn how to understand academic writing. We will give you training in proofreading and editing skills.

Grammar Communicate accurately in English by learning and practising the main structures of English at an advanced level.

Presentation Skills Debate the issues of the day in seminars and individual presentations.

Vocabulary An in-depth introduction to the way words are formed and pronounced.

Study Skills Develop your understanding of how YOU learn best, and practise techniques to improve your memory, note taking, and examination skills.

Information Technology Learn how to use a computer to support your studies. Produce essays using a word processor and spreadsheet to a high standard of presentation.

Student Support Your Personal Tutor will help you make an effective application to British Universities and will give you feedback on your progress on the International Study Programme. You will have access to the College’s well-stocked Library, Listening Centre and Open Access Computing Centre. We will provide you with free Internet and e-mail accounts. There are a number of cafes and shops on site and in the town centre nearby. We also arrange host family accommodation for full-time students upon request.

Qualification awarded At the end of July you will be issued with a certificate recording your credits. If you have gained at least 15 credits at Level 3 and 5 credits at Level 2 then this certificate is accepted by universities as meeting their minimum requirements (some universities may set additional requirements for entry).

The course is accredited by the Oxfordshire Open College Network, and you will accumulate credits at Level 2 and Level 3 for the work you do during the course. Assessment is made based on a combination of coursework and examinations, which take place at the end of every term. You may be able to enter for other nationally recognised qualifications, such as CLAIT.

Duration:One year, full-time. You will need to be available between 9am and 5 pm, Monday to Friday. Your timetable will depend on the modules you have chosen.

Dates: 5 or 12 September 2005 (to be confirmed) to July 2006

Holidays: To be advised

3 Self Study Days to be arranged

Fees* European Union students: no examination or tuition fees if this is their first application and if the course tutor supports the application. However if it is their second application then an examination fee of £150.00 is applicable. International students pay tuition fees of £4,800.00 and an examination fee of £150.00. The course fees do not include the cost of textbooks or incidental expenses incurred. You can expect to pay approximately £100 on books and other expenses throughout the year.

*Fees quoted are subject to review

Applications You may be invited to attend an interview or asked to provide evidence of your English language level by July 31 2005 (normally by taking the British Council’s IELTS exam) before we offer you a place. Places on the ISP are limited so you are strongly advised to apply before June 30 2005 to ensure your application is processed and that you can meet any language conditions in time for the start of the course.

Biology

Content

The module covers:

· Foundation: cellular organisation, biological molecules, cell division and control

· Central concepts: photosynthesis, respiration and genetic control

· Transport and elective: mammalian circulation, immunity and individual elective study

What students do

Students will:

· participate in laboratory experiments and investigations, both group and individual

· undertake individual research

· produce laboratory reports

· participate in seminars, lectures and tutorials

· produce written answers and assignments

· participate in end-of-unit examinations

Teaching and Learning methods

The units will be delivered by a combination of: lectures; laboratory practical work (involving both group and individual investigations); seminars; academic tutorials; and individual research.

Business Studies

Content

The Business Studies module offers students insight into the management of business functions in modern organisations by experiential learning, with each student actively engaging in real-world business practices in a team-based simulation exercise running through most of the year.

The module introduces the five main elements of the management of business functions in organisations of all kinds:

· Organisation Management

· People Management

· Product Management

· Money Management

· Information Management

What students do

Students will:

§ Produce five written reports to a given brief ("written assignments")

§ Submit a Project Portfolio for a Course Project

§ Give two formal presentations

§ Participate in a long-term team-based business simulation exercise

§ Participate in plenary discussions and exercises

§ Attend all classes

Teaching and Learning methods

The basis of learning will be through simulation of real-world business practice. All students will help to create a simulated business-based organisation to a brief, enhanced by frequent additional briefings throughout the two terms of the project. They will work in teams of between 3 and 6 people, with elements of competition and co-operation between the teams, and will be encouraged to undertake a variety of operational roles within their team.

The student teams will undertake different research, analysis, planning, operational and review tasks in class and outside.

There will be supplementary presentations, workshops and class discussions as appropriate.

Support Material and Resources

Tutors have a wide range of support material available. The key textual resource is the 10^th edition of "Contemporary Business" by Louis Boone and David Kurtz, relevant parts of which students are guided to in class; other texts are provided for teaching and self-study.

Other teaching support resources designed for or attached to the course include:

§ topic PowerPoint presentations

§ case study videos and texts

§ virtual (via website) or physical visits to organisations

How Students are Assessed

The units will be formally assessed by:

· Five written assignments in standard business report format, between 1000 and 2000 words.

· A Course Project Portfolio containing: a journal of activities, an overall Report, presentation notes, research notes and other relevant material.

· Three examinations.

· A formal presentation between five and eight minutes duration, supported by visual material.

· Group work and class plenary discussion.

· Individual participation in class exercises, recorded by the student in a class folder.

Assessment will be by the tutor.

Chemistry

Content

The module covers:

· Foundation chemistry: compounds and mixtures; atoms, elements and molecules; electron energy levels and the Periodic Table; structure and bonding; chemical pollution.

· Chemical reactions: equilibrium; kinetics; organic reactions; environmental chemistry; formulae and equations; masses and volumes; thermochemistry; acids, bases and salts; organic chemistry, environmental chemistry

What students do

Students will:

· participate in laboratory experiments and investigations, both group and individual

· undertake individual research

· produce laboratory reports

· participate in seminars, lectures and tutorials

· produce written answers and assignments

· participate in end-of-unit examinations

Teaching and Learning methods

The units will be delivered by a combination of : lectures; laboratory practical work (involving both group and individual investigations); seminars; academic tutorials; and individual research.

Critical Studies

Content

The module will cover two distinct, but related elements:

· to present themes, debates and case studies to inform students of the key ideas in the subject; and

· to equip them with critical and analytical skills by engaging with issues in design, communication and media, cultural currents and debates.

What students do

Students will:

· Participate in interactive classes and presentations, making appropriate notes and records

· Demonstrate extensive use of at least one written source

· Analyse two paintings of their choice in their notebook

· Make a presentation of 10 minutes’ duration on a painting of their choice

· Write an essay of at least 1500 words on an subject of their choice

· Undertake a piece of independent research into a subject of their choice

· Participate in student-led seminars

Teaching and Learning Methods

Units will be delivered by a combination of the following methods: interactive classes, slides and videos; class discussion; group work; individual activities.

Museum and gallery visits will be an integral part of the course.

Culture and Society

Content

This module encompasses an introduction to what is variously called social or cultural anthropology or sociocultural anthropology. In its contemporary impersonation this academic discipline is in danger of being all and nothing and students are from the outset encouraged to be critical of the anthropological ideal : that through the study and interpretation of cultural diversities as well as similarities, we may come better to understand ourselves as much as to appreciate the otherness (alterity) of other cultures, subcultures, ethnicities, people and peoples.

The module will investigate:

· how data can be gathered and then interpreted

· whether the comparative method is a noble failure or an effective force in the laboratories of the social sciences

· students’ ‘own’ cultural backgrounds on the scales of comparison and interpretation of other cultures or subcultures, in the expectation that such key concepts as individuality/individualism and human rights can be placed in the arena of everyday cultural, social, political, and economic activity

· whether cultures and societies are, as Evans-Pritchard proposed, morally conceived and enacted, or bound by structural bipolarities, as Levi-Strauss promoted

· the exotic made familiar and the familiar made exotic

Indicative Reading and Resources

Baumann, Gerd, Contesting Culture, Cambridge 1996

Carrithers, Michael, Collins, Steven. Lukes, Steven, The category of the person, Cambridge University Press, 1985.

Eriksen, Thomas Hylland, Small Places, Large Issues, 2^nd edition, Pluto Press, 2000.

Hendry, Joy, An Introduction to Social Anthropology : Other People’s Worlds, Macmillan Press Limited, 1999.

Layton, Robert, An introduction to theory in anthropology, Cambridge University Press, 1997.

Nugent, Stephen, and Shore, Chris, Anthropology and Cultural Studies, Pluto Press, 1997.

Students will also use a tutor module handbook and complementary materials from newspapers and journals, and, whenever and wherever possible, contemporary video material, e.g. on racism in Britain today.

What students do

Students will:

· Participate in interactive lectures and class discussions , making appropriate notes and records

· Participate in fieldtrip visits within Oxford

· Write nine short and three long assignments

Teaching and Learning Methods

This module is based on class teaching, discussion, and debate. In addition fieldtrips to various localities and neighbourhoods in Oxford, although necessarily brief, will be an essential key to the way students are expected to use their anthropological eyes and ears in what Edmund Leach called ‘subjective objectivity’(personal communication, 1972).

How Students are Assessed

Assessment is based on

· Nine short written assignments (500 words each)

· Three long written assignments (1500 –2000 words) per term

· Lecturer and peer assessment of student participation in class discussion and debate

· Tutor assessment of a student’s fieldtrip activities.

· Three examinations

European Studies

Content

This module is in essence an attempt to outline and interpret the politics, economics, history, and sociocultural patternings of Europe since 1945, with necessary forays into earlier historical moments. Ever in danger of falling into the overdrawn and generalising tendencies of ‘Plato to Nato’, students are expected to focus on:

· the divisions of the Cold War and their consequences

· the origins, evolution, and current state of the European Union

· Europe in regional, national, and international contexts, as a ‘global player’, and in a state of what Raymond Aron characterised as ‘perpetual flux’ (an interview in ‘Le Monde’, November 23^rd, 1973)

· European nationalisms, ethnicities, and cultural and linguistic identities past, present, and future

Indicative Reading and Resources

Brubaker, R., Nationalism Reframed : Nationhood and the National Question in the New Europe, Cambridge University Press, 1996.

Cole, J., and Cole, F, A geography of the European Union, 2^nd edition, Routledge, London, 1997.

Gowland, David, O’Neill, Basil, and Dunphy, Richard, The European Mosaic :

Contemporary Politics, Economics, & Culture, Longman, 2^nd edition, 2000..

Jervis, J., Exploring the Modern : Patterns of Western Culture and Civilisation, Blackwell, Oxford, 1998.

Seidentop, Larry, European Democracy, Penguin Books. 2000.

Thody, Philip, Europe since 1945, Routledge, 2000.

Students will also use a tutor module handbook and complementary materials from newspapers and journals, and, whenever and wherever possible, contemporary video material, e.g. ‘Newsnight’ reports.

What students do

Students will:

· Participate in interactive lectures and class discussions, making appropriate notes and records

· Write nine short and three long assignments

Teaching and Learning Methods

This module is based on class teaching, discussion, and debate, the use of a tutor/lecturer course handbook, a textbook, complementary materials from newspapers and journals, and frequent use of current video materials, e.g. from BBC 2 ‘Newsnight’. Students will be expected to take part in role play exercises, e.g. federalist Europeans versus sovereignty association Europeans. Class time will, as much as is practicable, be student-centred.

How Students are Assessed

Assessment is based on

· Nine short written assignments (500 words each)

· Three long written assignments (1500 –2000 words) per term

· Lecturer and peer assessment of student participation in class discussion and debate

Film & TV Studies

Content

This course will cover both theoretical and creative aspects of film and television. The students will learn film language and terminology, critical approaches to the moving image, as well as hands on production, resulting in their own piece of practical work.

The main topics will include:

· How groups are represented in British television

· Private research into an issue of representation of students’ choice

· Issues surrounding this representation (ethical and legal issues, contexts)

· A personal response

· Plan and present two videos in different genres, e.g horror and documentary.

Indicative Reading and Resources

Films studied will include: Hallowe’en; Repulsion; Funny Games; Shivers; Elizabeth; Bowling for Columbine; Last Resort; Citizen Kane.

What students do

Students will:

· Participate in all classes

· Write three essays during the year

· Give presentations to the rest of the class

· Involve themselves in all aspects of practical production: writing, storyboarding, camera, lighting, and editing.

· Work as part of a crew on two edited pieces of video.

Teaching and Learning methods:

Units will be delivered by a combination of the following methods: lectures, class discussion and groupwork, individual project work and practical. There will be appropriate screenings in class of set visual texts.

How Students are Assessed:

The units will be formally assessed by –

· Three essays

· Presentations

· Group work in class

· Two video productions

Assessment will be by the tutor.

Evidence of assessment will be marked essays and practical work with feedback sheets, written tutor records of class work, and videos.

Literature

Content

During the year, students will read a variety of short and long prose narratives and poetry from a variety of periods and genres (but mainly twentieth century). They are also invited to discuss issues of a more theoretical nature. The precise selection can be negotiated with students but in the past it has included:

· Novels and short stories written by male and female authors with a variety of male and female protagonists

· Novels and short stories by at least one living author

· Short extracts from Shakespeare and the Bible

· Poems illustrating different themes

· Definition(s) of literature

· Functions of the author, reader and text

· Feminist, Marxist and other literary theories

Indicative Reading and Resources

Blake Songs of Innocence and of Experience (selection)

Auden (selection)

Coleridge ‘Kubla Khan’

‘ Rime of the Ancient Mariner’

Heaney (selection)

Wordsworth ‘Lucy’ poems

Poetry of the First World War

Henry James Turn of the Screw

Joseph Conrad Heart of Darkness

Virginia Woolf Mrs Dalloway

Doris Lessing Memoirs of a Survivor

Briefing for a Descent into Hell

Antony Burgess Clockwork Orange

James Joyce Portrait of the Artist as a Young Man

Jane Austen, Pride and Prejudice

Jeanette Winterson, Oranges Are Not The Only Fruit

What students do

Students will be expected to:

· Read and prepare set texts

· Participate in class discussion and analysis

· Compile a portfolio of their responses to poetry and short prose

· Analyse at least three novels

· Give a short presentation/introduction to a discussion

Teaching and Learning methods

Classes, group discussion, presentation.

How Students are Assessed

Students will be expected to:

· Give one presentation or write a short analysis of aspects of a novel

· Build up a written portfolio of their responses to at least 6 individual poems and 4 pieces of short prose

· Write 2 essays on two novels of 1000 words each

· Write short answers or give a presentation on aspects of literary theory

Mathematics

Content

A comprehensive module designed to meet university requirements for mathematical skills post-GCSE level. The course covers the following areas:

Algebra: surds, logarithms, linear, quadratic and simultaneous equations and graphs.

Calculus: differential calculus, integral calculus

Statistics: probability, binomial distribution, normal distribution, sample mean, correlation and regression techniques.

Teaching and Learning methods

Lectures and workshops

How Students are Assessed

Students will complete coursework assignments and three time-constrained assessments during the year.

A portfolio and test scripts will be made available to the External Verifier.

Performing Arts

Content

A practical introduction to performance art, encompassing:

· Identifying source material:

· Utilising literary stimuli:

· Adapting stimuli to practical theatre

· Analysing the text:

· Taking on a role: Actor; Director; Designer

· Styles of performance

· The dynamics of performance

· The relationship between performers and audience

Indicative Reading and Resources

Students will have access to performance space. The choice of performance text can be negotiated with the students but in the past has included:

Arabian Nights

Berthold Brecht, The Good Woman of Sechuan

William Shakespeare, Romeo and Juliet

What students do

Students will be expected to:

· Work in a group to explore theatre

· Identify source material from a range of:newspaper extracts, diaries, music, social issues etc.

· Utilise literary stimuli from a range of poems, novels, etc.

· Adapt stimuli to practical theatre

· Use a play text as the basis of production

· Analyse the text from a range of: reading, planning, design, Teaching and Learning of lines, subtext, mise en scene, motivation, pace and movement, dramatic shaping, focus of ideas.

· Take the part of an actor from a range of identification of character, role, acting style and methods of rehearsal, research, use of props, use of costume and stage space, actor’s notebook and log.

· Take the part of a director from a range of: type of play, interpretation, type of venue, performance content, performance objectives, style of presentation, directorial strategies/methods, research, director’s notebook.

· Take the part of a designer from a range of: type of play, historical and social context, integration of staging elements in the performance, planning, nature of stage space, appropriate stage pictures, constraints and resources, essential design aspects, use of sketch/note book.

· Explore styles of performance from a range of: epic, social realism, grotesque, expressionism, satire-review, masque-baroque, farce, situation comedy, naturalism, propaganda-agit prop, street theatre, performance, melodrama, restoration comedy, pantomime, musical, theatre in education.

· Experience the dynamics of performance from a range of: pace, focus, space, climax, anti-climax, dramatic shape.

· Experience the relationship between performers and audience during the unique nature of live performance.

Teaching and Learning methods

Practical workshops, group feedback, discussions, written review of live performance, working rehearsals, showings and presentations to wider audience.

How Students are Assessed

The units will be formally assessed by:

· One piece of devised performance

· One piece of text-based performance

· Four written review pieces

Performance pieces on video, reviews and rehearsal logs will be available to the Verifier.

Physics

Content

The module covers:

· Physical quantities, Vectors, Motion, Forces, Energy

· Series and parallel d.c. circuits, Alternating current, Magnetic Fields, Electromagnetic Induction

· Simple Harmonic Motion, Diffraction and Interference, Gas laws, Radioactivity, Fission and Fusion

What students do

Students will:

· participate in laboratory experiments and investigations, both group and individual

· undertake individual research

· produce laboratory reports

· participate in seminars, lectures and tutorials

· produce written answers and assignments

Teaching and Learning methods

The units will be delivered by a combination of : lectures; laboratory practical work (involving both group and individual investigations); seminars; academic tutorials; and individual research.

Programming

Content

This module aims to:

· stress the importance of good design, documentation and using appropriate programming tools

· emphasis skills in problem solving and algorithm specification rather than just writing syntactically correct code

· introduce practical modular programming

· encourage students to construct, test and document a solution involving computer programming.

Indicative Reading and Resources

Deitel H M et al. How to Program Prentice Hall (2^nd edition) 1994

Dickson E Computer Program Design McGraw-Hill Publishing Company (ISE Editions)

Sargent D Program Design, McGraw-Hill Publishing Company 1991

Neil R and King R Delphi for Dummies, IDG Books

What students do

Students will:

· write three assignments during the year

· complete coursework examples set in class

· participate in classes

· write answers in three time constrained assessments during the year

Teaching and Learning Methods

Units will be delivered by a combination of the following methods: lectures, seminars, class discussion, group work, individual activities. Where appropriate CBT material will be used.

How Students are Assessed

The units will be formally assessed by:

· three assignments written during the year

· observation of participation in classes

· written answers in three time constrained assessments during the year

Psychology

Content

This module will introduce students to some psychological theory. It will also equip them with the basic skills necessary to carry out research.

Topics covered will include:

· Some psychological theories of Freud, Skinner, Milgram, Bandura, Zimbardo and Piaget

· Application of theory to practice

· Differing approaches to mental health

· Design, organisation and carrying out of research

· The role of ethics in psychological research

· Presenting data

· Use of statistics in analysing results

Indicative Reading and Resources

Cardwell, M. et al, Do Brilliantly: AS Psychology, ed., Jayne de Courcy, Collins, 2001

Cardwell, M. et al, Do Brilliantly: A2 Psychology, ed., Jayne de Courcy, Collins, 2002

Cassells, A., Remembering and Forgetting, The British Psychological Society Open Learning Units, 1991

Eysenck, M. W., Simply Psychology, 2^nd ed., Psychology Press Ltd., 2002

Glassman, W. E., Approaches to Psychology, £rd ed., Open University Press, 2000

Hayes, N., Teach Yourself Applied Psychology, Hodder Headline, 2001

Jarvis, M., Theoretical Approaches in Psychology: Perspectives and Research, Routledge Modular Psychology Series, 2000

Smith, P. B., and Harris Bond, M., Social Psychology Across Cultures: Analysis and Perspectives, Harvester Wheatsheaf, 1993

What students do

During the year, students will:

· Participate in group discussions, taking appropriate notes

· Design and carry out a psychological study

· Present findings in report format

· Give group and individual presentations

· Write essays

Teaching and Learning Methods

Units will be delivered by a combination of the following methods: interactive classes; class discussion; group work; individual activities.

How Students are Assessed

Students will:

Write three essays of 1000 words

Complete one structured stimulus response questions

Design, carry out and write up in an appropriate format a piece of research

Give one individual and one group presentation

Travel and Tourism (currently under revision)

Content

This module is designed as an introduction to the scale and scope of tourism and aims to enable students to understand the structure and function of the travel and tourism industry, and to appreciate its role in the whole business environment through a variety of tasks involving research and analysis. Where appropriate and whenever possible, international examples and/or case studies are used in the Teaching and Learning of the module. Students are encouraged to do the same while completing various assessments. Topics covered will include:

· The scale and scope of travel and tourism

· Tourism planning and impacts

· Product design and customer service

Resources

Some visits to tourism/accommodation facilities may be organised to reinforce the students’ learning and understanding of the industry . Trade and national newspaper articles and features will be used. Access to the internet and other electronic aids such as Powerpoint is a requirement.

What students do

During the module, students will:

· Define travel and tourism, from a range of: what is travel; who is a tourist; incoming, domestic, outgoing tourism; tourism resources.

· Identify major developments in tourism:, from a range of the historic growth of tourism, seaside resorts, railways, jet aircraft, package tours/holidays, car ownership, information technology, major tourist receiving areas of the world

· Analyse visitor attractions from a range of : natural, built, purpose-built, cultural and heritage attractions, countryside, leisure and recreation, events, their appeal, design and technology, interpretation techniques

· Look at the structure of the travel and tourism Industry from a range of: sectors, key components (travel agents, tour operators, transportation, tourist attractions, tourism development and promotion) and their role, functions, inter-relationship horizontal and vertical integration.

· Examine the significance of tourism to the economy and to employment

· Investigate tourism planning from a range of: reasons, process, development agents and their roles

· Identify external influences on tourism from a range of : economic activity in travel and tourism, political events, civic unrest, natural disasters, epidemics, technological developments

· Look at the impacts of tourism from a range of: socio-cultural, economic, environmental; positive and negative; sustainable tourism; measures to minimise harmful effects; measures to maximise benefits; organisations

· Investigate the design of new tourism products from a range of: identifying provision for incoming visitors and market gaps in a given area, types of customers and their needs; design a suitable alternative product; set objectives; apply guiding and interpretation principles and techniques

· Provide customer service from a range of: the importance of good customer service, the effects of bad customer service, customer handling skills

· Communicate with customers from a arrange of: communication methods and skills; face-to-face, written; with individuals and groups

· Practice good customer handling skills from a range of: provide customer care during group tours; meet customer requirements; evaluate personal customer handling skills

Teaching and Learning methods

A variety of methods will be used in the Teaching and Learning of this module including:

Lectures, video presentations, group discussions and role plays, tutorials and workshops

How Students are Assessed

Students will complete:

A total of

· 3 assignments,

· 2 time-constrained tests and

· 1 practical assessment