The following collection of links represent the outcome of a project funded by the Higher Education Funding Council for England at Liverpool Hope University College. The pages describe a novel approach to support students in their transition to undergraduate studies. Originally developed for Geography learning in small groups, the main methodologies are transferable to other disciplines and different levels of education. The major outcomes are based on modern Learning Theories and are oriented towards promoting the development of deeper, life-long learning skills among students, emphasizing collaborative work and a constructivist mechanism for learning, towards the establishment of Learning Communities.
This page contains advice and information on how to work as a group with other students. It can either be worked through on screen or downloaded and printed out for your reference. Throughout the text there are optional tasks to be completed.
The information and tasks within this page are designed to introduce you to the concept of taking a deeper approach to your learning and in particular to the material you are reading.
It will soon become apparent, if it hasn't already, that not all lectures are fascinating and stimulating, and that not all lecturers are born with a gift for public speaking.
However, the information and ideas that they are trying to impart are just as important, and any notes that you take in the lectures must be understandable to you, not only five minutes after the lecture has finished, but in several months' time, when you come to revise from them. The question, then, is how to retain your concentration and produce a good set of notes.
There are a few misconceptions on the part of students as to what can be expected of a lecture session. Firstly, that the responsibility for the success of the lecture is entirely the tutor's, and that the student's role is to sit and listen or to take verbatim notes. Secondly, that the purpose of a lecture is to impart information which will be needed for an exam question. And thirdly, that attending the lecture, and taking notes, is an individual, even competitive, activity.
This page aims to correct these ideas, and to help you develop successful note-taking strategies.
Essays will form a substantial number of the assessments that you have to undertake for your degree. Many students work extremely hard at these pieces of work but, due to poor time management, either submit late or submit them without proof-reading them. Both of these practices lead to marks being lost. Below is a table which may help you from falling into this trap.
Almost any piece of writing is to a given brief, even if set subconsciously by the writer:
Any writing has to clearly convey a message to a target audience.
There is no universal revision technique which is suitable to all people in all situations. Which method you choose depends upon your personal way of working, the type of course you are revising and type of exam you will do, the amount of time you have allowed yourself to revise etc.
The large majority of people are nervous before an exam, and one of the best ways of coping with nerves is to arrive at the exam feeling thoroughly prepared and organised. Most of this will rely upon having done appropriate and sufficient revision (see Student Helpfile on Effective Revision), but you can also help yourself by heeding a few suggestions on what to do before and during the exam:
At the end of your degree programme you will be competing with many other graduates for jobs. Employers have stated repeatedly that they want graduates who possess team and presentation skills.
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