Below is an example from a module in the University of Leicester's Politics and International Relations programme, showing how the five-stage model has been implemented in one particular context. (Please note that due to copyright constraints, not all of the material referred to in the e-tivities below can be included here. However, the application of the five-stage model should be clear enough from the outline of the activities.)
E-tivity 1: Access and socialisation
Begins: Monday 26 January, 8am (Week 1)
Ends: Thursday 29 January, 8am (Week 1)
Purpose: Introduce yourself to your peers and familiarise yourself with the use of our forums.
Task: Tell us about something you have done on the Internet (maximum 10 lines) that you couldn’t have done in any other way, or could not have done within the same timescale or the same budget. One example might be locating and buying a particularly obscure book.
'Sign' your message with the name you'd like to be called during this course (e.g. Billy or Catherine), and post it to the E-tivity 1 forum.
Respond: Please comment on at least one other person’s description.
Outcome: You will be able to post messages to a forum and post replies thereby engaging with your fellow students.
(We recommend you spend a minimum of 30 minutes on this e-tivity, although you are encouraged to continue to converse with your peers.)
E-tivity 2: Information retrieval at the library (5%)
Begins: Thursday 29 January, 8am (Week 1)
Ends: Sunday 8 February, 10pm (Week 2)
Purpose: To access e-resources and use a bibliographic database to find an article from an academic journal.
Task:
- Watch this tutorial on the Expanded Academic ASAP database. (The tutorial will last approximately 7 minutes 30 seconds and will open a new window.)
- Discover how to access e-resources off campus (opens in a new window).
- Go to your subject room. Choose an appropriate database to find an article from any academic journal on: The "founding fathers" of Diplomacy (opens in a new window).
- Go to the E-tivity 2 forum and post the full bibliographic details by Sunday 10pm of Week 2.
Respond: After this, return to the forum and please provide a brief analysis (400 words maximum) of the major argument in an article someone else has posted, before partaking in any subsequent discussion in the relevant forum.
Outcome: You will be able to search the university’s databases, identify and access an article, and post the required bibliographic information, as well as beginning to analyse its content and share your thoughts.
E-tivity 3: Text critique (5%)
Begins: Monday 9 February, 8am (Week 3)
Ends: Sunday 22 February, 10pm (Week 4)
Purpose: To analyse this well-known article and identify its major attributes:
Lloyd, L. ‘What’s in a name? The curious tale of the office of high commissioner’, Diplomacy & Statecraft (2000) 11/1 pp. 47-78
Task: Please follow the link above and read the article. Then provide a brief analysis of it (maximum 400 words) to the E-tivity 3 forum by Monday of Week 4.
Respond: In the E-tivity 3 forum please post comments on your peer’s assessments by way of sharing your own articulation on the article, between Monday of Week 4 and Sunday of Week 4.
Outcome: You will be able to analyse the content of a scholarly article and share your thoughts on it.
(We recommend you spend as much time as is necessary to read the article; up to 2 hours composing your analysis; and as much time as you are able participating in the forum).
E-tivity 4: Essay plan (15%)
Begins: Monday 23 February, 8am (Week 5)
Ends: Sunday 15 March, 10pm (Week 7)
Purpose: To provide you with bespoke guidance to complete your module essay.
Task:
Please compose a plan of between 800-1000 words (not including suggested bibliography of a minimum of 10 sources) for an essay chosen from the list of module essay questions.
Examples of essay plans can be found on the DL site. This will also provide you with broader guidance ahead of the essay.
Please submit your plan by 10pm Sunday Week 7 by submitting as an attachment in an email to your Associate Tutor.
Where relevant be aware of the sources identified in the weekly readings.
Respond: Mindful of the need to avoid plagiarism, and that everybody will have their own take on this, please feel free to spend as much time as you are able discussing your approach in the E-tivity 4 forum.
Outcome: You will have a clear idea as to the strengths and weakness of the approach you intend to undertake for your essay. Further you will have been notified of a particular source that you should consult for E-tivity 5.
(We recommend you spend a minimum of 6 hours researching amongst sources relevant to your essay topic; up to 2 hours composing your plan.)
We aim to return to your essay plan to you within a week so you can begin the next e-tivity.
E-tivity 5: Text critique II (5%)
Begins: Monday 23 March, 8am (Week 9)
Ends: Sunday 5 April, 10pm
Purpose: To analyse a well-known article and identify its major attributes.
Your source will be identified in the feedback to your essay plan for E-tivity 4.
Task:This e-tivity has two parts:
First, please read the suggested source, then post its full bibliographic reference and a brief analysis of it (maximum 400 words) in the E-tivity 5 forum as soon as you are able.
Respond: Second, please post comments on how you think your reading of this article informs your essay. Of course your wider reading will also be relevant here, especially if the source that has been recommended represented a different school of thought from your initial reading.
Outcome: You will be able to analyse the content of a scholarly article in relation to your own essay and share your thoughts on it.
(We recommend you spend as much time as is necessary to read the article; up to 2 hours composing your analysis; and as much time as you are able participating in the forum).
E-tivity 6: Module essay (70%)
Begins: Monday 26 January, 8am Week 1
Ends: Friday 8 May, 12pm
Purpose: Capstone exercise bringing together elements of the weekly readings and building upon the e-tivities to illustrate you have understood key aspects of the field of Diplomacy.
Task: Write a 5000 word essay at the MA level illustrating your analytical abilities from a list of questions below.
Your essay questions:
- How far do you agree Diplomacy is a dying art?
- To what extent is Richelieu the architect of modern diplomacy?
- Outline, with more than one example, the attributes of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs in conducting Diplomacy historically and with reference to contemporary affairs?
- How far do you agree that it is best to make concessions incrementally or in one fell swoop? Answer with reference to at least two case studies.
- How far do you agree that the advantages outweigh the disadvantages in pre-negotiating?
- Analyse the potential difficulties for parties in agreeing upon the basic principles of a settlement in the ‘Formula stage’? Please support your answer with specific examples.
- Explain strategies for maintaining momentum in negotiations, and in what ways the tempo of negotiations affects the ultimate outcome?
- What is the importance of the form of the final outcome to the negotiations process? Answer with reference to more than one particular example.
Outcome: You will have met the learning objectives of the module in complete this aspect of the module.
Further details on the essay requirement for this module can be found under Module Information.
Attribution
The above series of e-tivities was developed by Dr Simon Rofe, Lecturer in the Department of Politics and International Relations, and Simon Kear, Learning Technologist with the Beyond Distance Research Alliance at the University of Leicester.
Reflection
1. The five-stage model and the tutor's role
Can you see how the five-stage model has been used to structure the e-tivities? For example, e-tivity 1 addresses the first two stages (access and socialisation); e-tivity 2 takes stage1 (access) a step further and begins to address address stage 3 (information exchange). E-tivities 4 and 5 deal quite intensely with knowledge construction (stage 4), and e-tivity 6 leads learners into further development (stage 5). How do you think the tutor's role would differ in each e-tivity?
2. Marks for participation
What do you think of the weighting of marks for learners' participation at each stage? Which aspects of the course do you think are being emphasised? Would you agree with this emphasis?
3. Any other thoughts?
Do you have any other thoughts on the politics model? For example, could you develop a similar structure for the e-tivities in the course you lead? What would be some of the barriers or challenges you would have to overcome?