Teaching methods Teaching is by lectures, seminars, tutorials, group and individual projects, feedback on oral presentations and on written work, and via supervision of the research project. Presentations by students and classroom discussion and debates are used to draw on students' own work experience and to encourage them to develop their verbal skills. It also enables students to learn from each other's experience, and to benefit fully from the international nature of the student body. Directed self-study is an essential part of the learning process, and students are helped in the development of the necessary skills through the tutorials and seminars and through the assignments set. CICH has a specialised Resource Centre within the ICH Library which contains much of the published and grey literature relevant to the field.
Students often come with little previous knowledge of computing or word processing.
Assessment Most modules are taught intensively - over a two to four week period, depending on the credit rating. The exception to this is the Introduction to Research Methods which runs on Mondays over the first term, to enable a paced and cumulative input. Exam and assignment scripts are anonymous and are double marked. The Programme Director and the student's Personal Tutor are responsible for guiding them in their academic choices. Personal Tutors are allocated to the student at the start of their degree programme and have an academic counselling and pastoral counselling role.