Project Progression Record

Level 3 Extended Project

This form should be completed by the learner

Name: Jake Harrison Centre:

Candidate no: Centre no:

Current programme of study:

Qualification Type Level Subject
A level Biology
A level Geography
BTEC 3 Extended Certificate in Music Performance

Before starting this form you should have already explored various themes and ideas for your project
and proposed a suitable topic to your mentor/supervisor

Date Project started: 20/9/22

Project Topic: Should music therapy be prescribed as an alternative medicine?
Rationale: why you want to do this project and how it links to progression plans/current
courses/personal interest

Going into this project, want to be able to develop my dissertation writing skills due to not having
essay based subjects in my college courses. Learning skills such as academic writing, referencing
and research will all be extremely useful skills for me as I plan to go onto university.

Music therapy used in the medical world is a subject I find very interesting, but it seems it is a
subject not quite fully understood yet, or not used to its full potential, especially in UK public
healthcare. By writing my dissertation, I want to gain a greater understanding of the potential of
music therapy in the medical world and where it might be heading in the future. In my courses I
study music performance, so have a good background knowledge of music and I also study
biology. However, this project topic allows me to link these two subjects and explore new parts of
each subject which I wouldn’t have learnt about otherwise, while also exploring unanswered
questions and forming analysis based on the current field of research.

I will be extending my existing knowledge of both subjects by exploring a topic not covered in my
courses and learning new skills outside of my comfort zone such as forming a critical analysis in
the format of a dissertation.

I also believe that music therapy does have great potential to help people, having personally
supported and communicated with my late grandmother who had dementia through using music
when I was younger. As a result, this makes me fascinated to explore whether music, in particular
music therapy, has a place in the medical world.

On top of this, I would like to explore formatting the dissertation within a modern medium such as
a website. This would teach me critical skills in website building and presentation which are often

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very important in the modern world as websites are crucial in reaching a wider audience or
spreading a message, thus making it a key skill I would like to develop for the future.

Aims and Objectives: What outcome(s) do you hope to achieve. What skills are you aiming to
develop?

1. To improve my time management skills and utilise appropriate methods to improve my

discipline in this area.

2. Improve my research skills so that I can effectively research and be able to source a range
of credible sources in order to produce a piece of academic writing, which will be useful
for university.

3. Improve my writing style and gain a better understanding of how to produce a piece of
academic writing for university.

4. Gain the skills to build a website and make it appealing and presentable for the
dissertation.

5. Explore new topics which link biology and music which I would not learn about otherwise,
thus extending my understanding of both.

6. Complete the project with a well written 5000 word dissertation and a website that is
appealing and easy to use.

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Initial Planning
What range of resources might you use/what types of research might you complete……e.g.
specialist materials/workshop space. Books/academic journals etc.

I will create an initial research log to collect secondary data consisting of a range of credible
sources such as academic journals, reports, books, podcasts, and documentaries. To find sources
online I will use platforms such as google scholar which is an effective way to find academic
journals and reports from credible sources. This initial research will broaden my knowledge of the
topic area and allow me to use more sophisticated language relevant to the field of music therapy.
Furthermore, I will investigate studies conducted within the practice, in particular the neurological
effects it can have to then make a definitive decision on whether music therapy can be used for
more medical cases in UK public healthcare.

As well as this, during my research I will evaluate the different types of sources, making sure I am
getting my research from a variety of credible sources as they are sourced from a reliable author
or organisation, as well as making sure the research is up to date and identify any bias that may
have influenced the writer’s conclusion(s).

For planning my presentation, I will research the different methods available for building websites
and evaluate which one will be most suitable for my project.

What factors might you need to take into account when planning how to manage your project?

I will need to consider my time management as this is a skill that I want to improve on, evidenced
by my skill audit. While I also want to set various deadlines or targets throughout the course, I
need to make sure this is flexible due to external factors such as being a musician and doing
various gigs outside of college, which often become more frequent leading up to Christmas,
leaving me with much less spare time. As a result, with this as well as college work, I need to make
sure I use my time effectively. I will make sure my timeline is planned around when I will have
more time to put towards EPQ. This also involves makings sure I use my free periods within
college effectively, rather than leaving the work to do after the college day.

How will you plan to bring your project in for the deadline? You should create a timeline.

I have created a timeline with my goals for each month leading up to the final due date and what I
want to get completed each month. This is very flexible throughout the EPQ as I have left plenty of
time to complete deadlines throughout the project. I have a reflective section for each month
where I can evaluate what I have completed and what may need focus on during the next month.
This will help me keep on top of my time management.

Supervisor

Signed Date

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Mid Project Review Date: 07/03/23

How much progress have you made in meeting your outcomes?

I have completed my research and finished the first draft of my dissertation which includes
learning how to and making the reference list written in Harvad style. As well as this, I have
started to build the website to present my project and have completed the home page,
dissertation page and planning page.

How has your project changed or evolved?

The working title of my project was adjusted to narrow down music therapy to music therapy in
the context of neurology. The initial working title of ‘should music therapy be prescribed as an
alternative medicine?’ was simply too vague as it didn’t identify what area of medicine I would be
researching, so instead, the title is now ‘To what extent can music therapy be used in neurology?’.

What have been the strengths/weaknesses with your project management so far?

I have made significant progress in improving my time management skills. Throughout the project
so far, I have been following the timeline and Gantt chart I made and have met all the deadlines I
had set on both, as well as filling out the work log to keep track of everything I have done so that I
know what I need to do.

How are you evidencing the research you have done and how you are managing your project?

I have used a research log to evidence the research. It has where the research came from, the
type of source, and the date I accessed the resources. I have also used colours to link together key
ideas and arguments. Along with this while writing the dissertation I have been doing in-text
citations and made a reference list in Harvard style in order to reference each source. The project
is being managed through the timeline, Gantt chart, work log, research log and by setting smart
targets throughout the project.

On top of this, each source that I have used in my dissertation has been thoroughly evaluated and
rated from 0-5 based on the ‘currency’, ‘relevance’, ‘authority’, ‘accuracy’, and ‘purpose’. This has
been added into my research log so that every source researched can be evaluated easily.

What do you still need to do?

I need to complete the dissertation and website which includes finishing my conclusion and
completing the rest of the website pages. I also need to prepare for my presentation which I will
create a PowerPoint for with a Q&A afterwards, as well as completing a presentation evaluation
and final evaluation of the project.

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Supervisor

Signed: Date:

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End of Project
Where is the evidence within your project that demonstrates:
Outcome
Exploration of a range of ideas for your project
How you have managed your time
Use of a wide range of research and resources
Evaluated research and selected appropriate
research
How you made decisions and solved problems
How you used technology – where appropriate
Presentation given to an audience
Making links to HE/Career
How you have reflected on your project
management skills and the quality of your
outcome.
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Evidence – where can it be found? E.g. log book,
folder etc.
‘Deciding the Topic’ page on my website:
https://jakeharrisonepq.weebly.com/deciding-the-topic
‘Time Management’ page on my website
https://jakeharrisonepq.weebly.com/time-management.html
‘Research’ page of my website
https://jakeharrisonepq.weebly.com/research.html
‘Research’ page of my website
https://jakeharrisonepq.weebly.com/research.html
‘Evaluation’ blog page of my website
https://jakeharrisonepq.weebly.com/evaluation
Key example of technology use is my website.
‘Evaluation’ page also discusses the use of
technology throughout the project
https://jakeharrisonepq.weebly.com
‘Presentation’ page of my website
https://jakeharrisonepq.weebly.com/presentation
Various points such as in the ‘verification of topic’,
‘project progression record’, ‘final evaluation’ and
within my presentation video, all of which can be
found on my website.
I have completed an initial and final skills audit to
reflect on improved skills, found on the ‘skills’ page
on my website. These skills have also all been
assessed through my timeline, worklog and
evaluation blogs.
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 On-going evaluation I have evaluated my progress throughout the
project in my ‘Timeline’, and ‘Worklog’, both of
which can be found on my website.
Final Evaluation ‘Evaluation’ page on my website
https://jakeharrisonepq.weebly.com/evaluation
If not completing a dissertation – 1000 word
supporting statement

Date of Submission:

Student Signature:
Supervisor Signature:

This form should be used to record the progress of each learner.

A copy of this form must accompany each learners work when it is submitted for Moderation.

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