Supporting Student Study Skills and PDP

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Supporting Student Study Skills and PDP
Dr Stella Cottrell Queens University Belfast
2008
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My remit today

• Why did you write the book(s) for whom?
• What was the rationale?
• Relate SSH to Queens Employability Skills
  policy and PDP
• Contexts and strategies for using the book
• Include activity

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1.Why and for whom did you write the books?
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Why and for whom did you write the books?

• Students were struggling to achieve as well as
  they wanted .

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Why and for whom did you write the books?

• Their marks didnt please them or their tutors
  ..

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Why and for whom did you write the books?

• Or they were coasting, doing OK, avoiding
  notice below the radar ..

B
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Why and for whom did you write the books?

• Increasingly, students wanted more outcomes
  for their dollar
• We have debts, well need mortgages, we need
  jobs but do employers really appreciate all we
  have to offer?

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Why and for whom did you write the books?

• Lecturers sighed
• Wed like keen learners, bright, and
  self-reliant, a credit to us, able to take
  responsibility for their own learning, and
  ambassadors for our programme when they leave us
  

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Why and for whom did you write the books?

• We want A students
• (Should we increase the entry criteria.?)

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Why and for whom did you write the books?

• There were long queues for learning support.
• tutors swamped by crowds of needy students.

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Why and for whom did you write the books?

• Lecturers were tired Students just dont do
  what we tell them!
• Students were confused Its them pesky
  lecturers they give contradictory advice

too impersonal dont use personal opinion! use
the facts theres no such thing as a fact
focus on your course think beyond your degree.
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We need something to
Address anxieties misconceptions
Orientate to HE study
Provide quick tips for emergencies
Deepen learning
Link work, life study skills

• Develop coping strategies

Motivate
Structure reflection
Sharpen thinking

• Encourage self evaluation

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It needs to do everything

• Meet learner wants
• Short-term, quick fix
• To know how to
• Better marks
• Not to look stupid
• Quick easy to use
• not boring / preachy
• Immediate relevance

• Meet tutor wants
• Long-term development
• Independent learners
• Engagement with learning process
• Thoughtful reflection
• Academic conventions followed
• Building of knowledge and understanding

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Design principles of SSH

• Student friendly Non-threatening dyslexia
  sensitive
• Personalised/ can do Theres more than one
  way
• Demystifies complex need-to-know information
• Student responsibility for learning,
  motivations, priorities, organisation, etc .

• Supports memory Visually distinct pages
  headers multi-sensory
• Reduce redundancy effect e.g. activities to
  focus attention
• Manageable Bite-size chunks little often
• Structures reflection and self-evaluation

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2. The underlying philosophy and rationale
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To counter the deficit culture, learning
development approaches were introduced

• Current levels of performance dont tell the full
  story
• Learning performance are different
• Skill/ knowledge transfer isnt automatic
• Self-concept helps or hinders learning
• Identify needs more specifically

• SSH written from developmental perspective
• Linked to whole university approaches

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recognising many impacts on success

• External pressures

• Expectations of the learning context

• Adapting to independent study

• Understanding of
• academic conventions

• Myths about intelligence

• Prior taste of academic success

• disability

• Isolation and
• loneliness

• Coping with change

• Academic support

• Managing choice

• Time

• Nutrition/health

• Learning environment

• Peer pressure/
• support

• Ambitions/motivations

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finding the right combination of strategies for
the individual

• Personalised learning strategies are key to
  SSH and SFS There is a way
• and this may be very specific to the person,
  context, learning material, etc.

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recognising hindrances to good cognitive
functioning Reptile brain v neo-cortex

• Promote confident enjoyment of challenge
• Assists cognitive processes
• Encourages experimentation, generative thought
  collaboration

Reduce unhelpful fears and anxieties Avoid
Survival responses defensiveness flight or
fight inhibition
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making interventions at 8 levels

• Higher purpose /mission
• Identity
• Beliefs and values
• Emotion
• Capability
• Behaviour
• Learning object
• Environment

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1
2

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1
4
2
4

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3
5

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7
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Will, desire, drive
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3. ... and Queens Student Employability
Skills policy and PDP
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Congruent with Queens Strategy

• Help for students to recognise and articulate
  their abilities
• Fostering particular types of graduate
  self-reliant, ethical, creative leaders
  entrepreneurs

• Integrated and university-wide strategy,
  providing coherence from the student perspective
• Key role for personal tutor
• Continuity between academic and employability
  skills

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Strategy at Queens a university wide initiative

• Step 1
• Jot down your own thoughts
• Time 5 minutes
• Step 2
• Join 2-3 other people. Share your initial
  thoughts. Is a consistent message coming across?
• Time 10 minutes

• What are the key messages for you to get
  across about Queens Skills/PDP policy - so that
  it can make a difference to students with whom
  you are in contact?

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Lessons learnt
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The tutor is key relationships with tutors
really matter
The key differentiator from school
Someone who knows what Im about
continuity
To be seen as a person
they are the experts know what matters

• To feel known
• amongst 1000s

Motivates
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Good tutor approach good student response

• Where staff are enthusiastic, so are students
• Champions ---gt creative curriculum design,
  engaged students, improved sense of belonging to
  the dept. and university
• Where staff are derogatory or embarrassed, that
  can be contagious too.

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Students need it

• Start of orientation module questionnaire
• 93 thought such a module useful
• 31 uncertain about making right academic choices
• 29 unsure how to find out about support
• 47 unsure how to plan for their career
• 49 unclear what career they wanted
• 30 unclear about using independent study time
  well
• 13 already unsure if on right programme

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4. Contexts and strategies for using the SSH
with students
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Universities use of SSH

• Induction programme
• Key text for skills modules
• Exercises and activities integrated into skills
  sessions and/or personal tutoring
• Quick responses to requests for support
• Linked to assessment feedback
• Consistency
• Broaden range of staff providing support
• Back up for teaching staff

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Supporting texts

• Teaching Study Skills and Supporting Learning
  (2001)
• Skills for Success- the Personal Development
  Planning Handbook (2003)
• Critical Thinking Skills (2005)
• Exam Skills Handbook (2007)
• Personal Planner (annually)

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Personal tutors use because
Emphasises student responsibility
Broad-ranging
Bite-size chunks
Self-evaluation
advance preparation
Exam revision strategies
Priority-setting action planning
Time-management
Draws links between skills in different contexts
Supports personalised strategies
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Integrated into assessment preparation
feedback
Additional support by non- academic staff is
consistent with tutors
Feedback sheet refers to specific pages
Quick to use
Single reference point
Feedback consistent with preparatory support
guidance
Consistent reinforcement
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Responding requests for support e.g. SkilIs for
employment

• Potential use of SSH
• Prompts to reflection
• Activities to help gather thoughts / information
• e.g.
• Skills developed through mainstream academic
  activities (p.36-7 340-3)
• Personal Development History (p.28-29 334)
• Planning towards a career (p.335)

I focussed only on my academic work but I need a
job. Maybe I dont have any skills employers
would want. Now, Im not sure what I should do
next year.

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Responding to requests for support
time-management

I dont seem to achieve much when I do study
and I dont have time to study any more than I do
already .

• Is the trouble in settling to study? (SSH p.67)
• Managing time and setting priorities? (7078)
• Poor goal-setting? (72)
• Wasting time on unnecessary tasks? (73 66)
• Poor time awareness? (74-6)
• Poor use of deadlines? (79)
• Motivation? (86)

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Good luck with the new strategy!