Learning Support Materials: Getting Started and Learning Methods

Learning
Support Materials
Module SS101
Study Skills
UNIT 1
Getting Started and Learning Methods
Unit 1
STUDY SKILLS
GETTING STARTED AND

LEARNING METHODS
AIMS:
to demonstrate that we all learn in different ways and start you on a
process of reflection that will help you to learn as well as you can.
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Objectives
When you have completed this unit, you should be able to:
identify positive learning experiences,
identify factors that lead to effective learning, both in general and for yourself,
identify benefits of time management, in general and for yourself,
draw up a learning timetable,
discuss the benefits of keeping a learning journal,
describe how communication with tutors and students can support your learning,
describe some of the electronic media that can be used for communication.
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Overview
We use the word learning in many ways without really thinking about
it. This unit encourages you to think about what you mean by learning
and identifies definitions of learning that successful students take.
While you will probably have to do some memorising for exams,
memorising is not the best definition of learning. Students who aim for
understanding will tend to do better.
Learning does not need to be a chore; young children love it, for example. This unit encourages you to think about the conditions in
which you learn best. It stresses the role of purpose, being active in
your approach to learning and getting to know yourself. Some people
prefer to work with words, some with pictures and some like listening
to tapes. If you know what your preferences are, you can try to increase the amount of learning you do, using these preferences.
Similarly, do you know whether you prefer studying early in the

morning, late at night or at some other time of day? You may have
little choice; however, recognising when you are most alert can help
you to plan your time. The unit considers how time management
might help you.
You are also encouraged to consider any demands of your own circumstances when planning for learning. Three sets of circumstances
are briefly discussed but all students should consider what particular
needs will influence their learning.
Reflection is the key to this unit - reflecting on what will help you
most. Some people like to do this by themselves in private diaries;
others are very dependent on other people. Using both a diary and
other people is helpful and the unit explores the reasons why.
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TABLE OF CONTENTS
1. GETTING STARTED
11
1.1
Introduction
11
1.2
Objectives
12
1.3
What Studying is All About
12
1.4
Effective Learning
13
1.4.1
Making Your Learning Meaningful
13
1.4.2
Making Your Learning Relevant to You
14
1.5
Managing Your Time
15
1.6
Studying in Your Own Circumstances
17
1.6.1
Studying by Open and Distance Learning
17
1.6.2
Part-time Students
18
1.6.3
Studying with Special Needs
19
1.6.4
Studying with English as a Foreign Language
20
1.7
Questions
22
1.8
Learning Outcomes
23
1.9
Answers
24
2. LEARNING METHODS
26
2.1
Introduction
26
2.2
Objectives
26
2.3
Identifying Positive Learning Experiences
26
2.4
Learning on Your Own
27
2.5
Learning in Groups
28
2.6
2.5.1
Tutorial Groups
29
2.5.2
Benefits of Group-Based Learning
30
Learning through Different Media
30
2.6.1
Video and Audio Recordings
30
2.6.2
CD-ROMs and on-line Databases
31
2.6.3
The Internet
31
2.6.4
Computer Conferencing
32
2.6.5
Telephone Conferencing
34
2.6.6
Video Conferencing
34
2.7
Self Assessment Questions
34
2.8
Learning Outcomes
36
2.9
Self Assessment Answers
37
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3. YOUR RELATIONSHIP WITH ACADEMIC STAFF
39
3.1
Introduction
39
3.2
Objectives
40
3.3
The Roles of Academic Staff
40
3.4
Asking Questions
41
3.5
Constructive Feedback
43
3.5.1
Principles of Constructive Feedback
43
3.5.2
A Note About Cultural Differences
45
3.6
Self Assessment Questions
46
3.7
Learning Outcomes
48
3.8
Answers to Self Assessment Questions
49
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Point to Ponder
Before you start......
This unit is all about being a reflective learner - that is, someone who
thinks about the way he or she learns. So, well start by practising
what we preach and ask you to think about the way you learn now and
how a study skills module might help you.
How a study skills module might help me ....
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1. Getting Started
Some of the issues that come up when people answer the question on
the previous page are:
I dont know whats expected of me - I hope it will help me to work this
out!
Im not very confident in studying as it is some time since I last did it.
I want to make sure I approach my essays/notes/exams in the right
way.
One thing that will become clear in the module is that there is not always a right way to do things. However, there will be ways that are
appropriate for you and we want to help you discover what they are.
When you have finished this module, you can look back at this unit
and see whether the module has achieved what you hoped it would. If
it has not, then you will perhaps have to take some further action
yourself.
1.1 Introduction
Why read about study skills? Isnt studying a straightforward activity?
Dont you just read modules, read textbooks and write assignments?
What could be more straightforward than that?
However, perhaps it isnt as simple as that. Being a student presents

mental, physical and psychological demands. This study skills module has been prepared to help you cope with all the demands that are
about to be made on you now that you have taken on the role of student.
This first section introduces you to:

what studying is all about,
developing your study skills,
time management,
identifying positive learning experiences,
adapting your learning to your own circumstances.
Being able to deal with each of these aspects will help you to survive
and succeed as a student.
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1.2 Objectives
When you have completed this section, you should be able to:
give a definition of learning,
identify factors that lead to good learning, both in general
and for yourself,
identify benefits of time management, in general and for
yourself,
draw up a learning timetable.
1.3 What Studying is All About

The purpose of studying is to learn. Weve been learning since we
were tiny babies, but not everybody agrees what learning actually is.
Some people think learning means accumulating a lot of facts, so that

you can answer the kind of obscure questions that you might get on
television quiz shows. Others think it is committing something to
memory - and then they worry because they say But Ive got a terrible memory. You will often need to learn in these types of ways - for
example, when you learn your friends telephone number to save
having to look it up. Learning your multiplication tables has the same
good result. If you dont know some facts and figures, then your mind
will have nothing to work with.
However, learning in higher education does not necessarily mean accumulating more facts. It can mean other things too, which are more
concerned with understanding and finding meaning. Learning involves:
making sense of new ideas, - not simply hearing and
memorising them but fitting them alongside your existing
ideas in order to build up a greater understanding of the
subject you are studying,
thinking through new ideas, - we sometimes think that
thinking activities only take place when you are reading
and writing. However, ideas gained from other opportunities, such as talking with other students, odd moments
when you are able to jot down bits and pieces or from
doing things other than studying, are also important and
should not be undervalued,
expressing new ideas, ie, talking and writing about
them. Expressing ideas is part of learning. Until you can
use ideas to express how you feel about a particular
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subject either by talking or writing about it in your own
way, you have not really mastered them.
As you study, it is important that you adopt a critical stance towards

new ideas and take time to reflect critically on what you are learning.
Taking a critical approach to ideas means questioning and challenging them and putting them into context for your own learning needs.
Do not be a sponge and try to absorb every new idea without
questioning.
1.4 Effective Learning

You wont learn much if you sit passively waiting for the information to
be given to you. If all you do is read through your material, you will
probably remember about 20 per cent of it. And how much will you
have understood? Studying requires you to establish:
routines - these include factors such as when you will
study, where you will sit, when you will take a break. Establishing routines will help you to get on with the job
quickly and avoid distractions,
techniques - these can help you accomplish many
tasks. Establishing study techniques, such as the way
you make notes and how you structure essays, will help
improve your performance,
strategies - strategies include the ways in which you allocate your time to study, how you prepare for essays or
assignments and how you take advantage of other students and tutors knowledge to help you with your
studies. You will, therefore, need to plan ahead and
analyse the resources that you have available in order to
work out how they can be best used. Planning makes
you think strategically instead of just drifting.
In essence, all these factors add up to how you manage your time.
1.4.1 Making Your Learning Meaningful

If learning is about meaning and understanding as well as memorising, then it is important that your learning is meaningful to you. To
find out how meaningful your learning is going to be in a new subject,
ask yourself:
what do I know about this already?
what do I think it is going to be about?
how will studying this help me?
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(Notice that these questions relate very closely to what you were
asked to do at the start of the unit in relation to starting this module.)
Questions are a useful approach to making your learning more

meaningful. Your questions will become more sophisticated as you
progress in your subject. Asking yourself questions and answering
them is a proven way of making your learning remain in your memory
as well as ensuring greater understanding. It has been shown that
students who make themselves a question bank on their topics can
anticipate up to 80% of their exam questions, thus making their revision more effective.
This is why open and distance learning material (like this module)
contains so many self-assessment questions (SAQs). These help you
to fix your learning.
Feedback on your questions is also important (which is why we supply answers to SAQs) and the feedback you receive from your tutor
and possibly from other students will help you to know how you are
getting on.
Meaningful connections actually help memory, so understanding and

memorisation are not too far apart from each other. What is meaningful for one person will not necessarily be meaningful for another,
however.
1.4.2 Making Your Learning Relevant to You

As well as making connections with what you already know, your selfknowledge will help you to develop techniques for organising your
study that will work best for you. For example:
If you like..........
then try........
visual things
adding colour and shape to your notes;

turning information into graphs or drawings;
making posters of key points you want to
remember,
listening
tape recording your thoughts or notes;

discussing what you have learned with a
friend or colleague; finding out whether there
are radio programmes on the topic of inter-
est,
doing or making things writing key ideas on separate pieces of paper

and organising them logically on the floor;
moving around while youre trying to work out
your ideas - you dont have to sit still; (some
people say they get their best ideas when
theyre swimming).
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You will find that when you come to review your work (which is another key to effective learning) if some of it is in a format that suits
your own personality, it will be easier to remember.
1.5 Managing Your Time

One of the main problems you may experience as a student is managing your study time and establishing a routine. With so many other
things to be done, how do you find time for studying? Many students
will have work commitments, social commitments and leisure interests.
The first problem to be dealt with, therefore, is how to fit another activity into an already busy schedule. One way to achieve this may be
to draw up a chart of your typical week and identify time gaps. Figure
1.1 is an example of this type of chart.
Sun
Mon
morning
1hr
1hr
afternoon
2hrs
evening
1hr
Tues
Wed
Thurs
Fri
1hr
Sat
2hrs
2hrs
2hrs
3hrs
1hr
Figure 1.1 Sample Chart of Time Gaps
Completing a chart like this is not easy. Most of us know that life is
not easily organised and very often unexpected events will interfere
with our schedules and plans. However, it is still worthwhile to make
the effort because having to change your plans will force you to think
about what you are doing and why. Once you have drawn up the
chart, work out the total amount of study time you can expect to set
aside and where in the week it falls. Remember, you now have to
make space for studying in your life. But you will also have to build in
time to rest and relax.
It may also be a good idea to know how much time you need for particular types of tasks. For instance, some tasks such as writing an
essay or reading course material may require more time and be better
tackled when you feel reasonably fresh. Other tasks which do not require a great deal of thought, such as organising your notes, may be
tackled when you are feeling tired.
The main objective of time management is to get the best out of the
time that you have available and to make you aware of any other
ways that you could manage your study time to get better results. Indeed, the secret of success may often be dependent on how well you
organise your time in order to complete your study tasks.
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For example, once you have set yourself a defined task and you are
clear in your mind what you are doing, you will find that it is easier to
focus your attention on it. You may find that a big task, such as writing an essay, is easier if you break it down into a series of smaller
tasks.
Study tasks that you may set for yourself may include:
reading the next three sections of the text you are
studying,
making notes from an article or book that you have read
recently,
planning your next essay,
gathering information for your next essay,
preparing a first draft of your next essay,
going to the library to look for useful articles and books,
making contact with other students,
checking your study plans,
filing your notes.
Having identified the number of tasks to be accomplished, you then

need to divide your studying time between these tasks. It is, therefore,
not just a case of time management, but also task management.
Time management and task management are closely linked. For example, putting in the hours is good but it is not enough: you have to
use your time wisely. You need to avoid filling up the time with unimportant tasks just for the sake of feeling that you have put in the
hours. Rather than think of studying in terms of the hours you have
put in, therefore, think of what you have achieved.
Watch out for the following dangers for good time management:
other people - you might need to protect some of your
time by making an appointment with yourself, or making
sure others know that certain times are your study times
and not available to others. Some students have to learn
to be assertive to prevent family and friends from interrupting,
being too hard on yourself - some students expect too
much from themselves and drive themselves very hard
to no real effect. If you find yourself getting over-tired,
ask yourself whether your expectations have been too
high,
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being disorganised - if you spend half an hour every day
looking for your work, then it would be worth spending an
hour or so getting yourself organised. In the long run, you
will save time,
no goals or purposes - not knowing what you should be
doing with your time is one of the biggest obstacles there
is. This is why we keep stressing that time and task
management go together.
Being aware of what gets in the way of your time-management helps

you to stay in control.
1.6 Studying in Your Own Circumstances

This part highlights the needs of specific groups of students. The first
group is relevant to all readers of this module, as the module is primarily produced for open and distance learning. You might want to
skip the other three groups if they are not relevant. The groups are:
distance and open learners,
part-time students,
special needs students,
students studying with English as a foreign language.
In each case, we are just drawing attention to some of the issues. If

you feel you need further help, please contact a lecturer, tutor or administrator.
1.6.1 Studying by Open and Distance Learning

The advantages of studying by distance learning that you can work
at your own pace in your own time can also lead to problems. If
your pace is very slow and your own time is always next week, then
you will need to take control of your studies. Open and distance
learning students tend to be highly motivated; those who are not going to stay the course will often drop out at quite an early stage.
If you have never tried the sort of guided self-study that open and
distance learning offers, see how you get on with this module. Some
students discover it is their preferred way of learning. If you do have
problems with it, it will be important for you to think how this might
relate to the learning you have to do by yourself anyway, such as
reading for an essay.
The distinction between open and distance learning is not always

clear, but we use both expressions here as there are a variety of ways
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that you can use a set of resources provided by the University. You
might be a student who is thousands of miles away from the University of Paisley, but still a registered student clearly, that is distance
learning. Or you might be a student who comes into the university occasionally, doing most of the work at home using a module such as
this one.
Material written for open and distance learning students tries to anticipate all the questions you might ask. If lecturers are unclear, the
expressions on students faces can let them know and they can make
adjustments. This cant happen in distance learning, so material is
checked very carefully for ambiguity. You can help by pointing out
anything that is puzzling to you and help yourself by using your tutor
or fellow students to clear up any misunderstandings.
Open and distance learning students really do have to get to know

themselves well how and when they like to learn. However, one of
the side-effects of the increase in this kind of material has been a realisation that all students should be organising themselves in this way
being prepared to be independent learners who will use the variety
of resources open to them.
1.6.2 Part-time Students

Part-time students often combine university life with a full-time job
and/or running a household. Not surprisingly, time management will
be one of your main concerns. In addition, if it has been a few years
since you were in the educational system, you may be feeling some
concern about how you will cope.
Here are some comments made by staff about part-time students:
we often find that part-time students are more highly motivated than full-time students,
students who have valuable life experience are often unaware

just how much this can contribute to their study; they are the
ones who can most usefully compare theory and practice,
their time management is so much better because it has to be!
When you are planning your time, it is particularly important that you
dont leave your own health and well-being out of the plan. You will
need time to recover, to prepare proper meals and to exercise if you
are going to cope with all the demands on your time. This is true for
all students, but especially so for part-time students. This may also
involve some negotiation with family and friends to allow you some
time to study and some time to rest. You may even have to build in
family time to your time-table , especially if you are not going to be so
readily available to them as they have been used to.
Heres how one student coped with it.
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I had a busy job and I was out two evenings a week at university. I had to do at least the same amount of time at home
that is, another six hours a week. I found that an hour from 6
to 7 each morning was a good time for me to study and I
woke up the rest of the family with a cup of tea afterwards. I
didnt study at all on Saturdays that was our family day
and on Sunday mornings I could get in another couple of
hours. Everything got difficult when an essay was due in and
I have to confess to taking a days leave to finish the first one.
Looking back, I wonder how I managed it, but one thing I have
to say is that I dont regret a minute of it. It got me the qualification I wanted.
If you are realistic about what you want and what you have to do to
get it, being a part-time student can make your life very interesting.
1.6.3 Studying with Special Needs

Flexible methods of working can help students who might not be able
to attend classes in traditional ways. Students with special needs
need to find:
viable alternatives to inappropriate traditional methods,
strategies to minimise any difficulties caused by their needs.
Here are some examples of the things that can help you if you have a
special need:
Visual impairment
- taped lectures and books; Braille; voice
computers; large print; readers and scribes; oral assignments.
Dyslexia readers and scribes; spell-checkers; coloured paper/screens for reading; computer software with word prediction and
voice; time management strategies.
Hearing impairment loop systems in lecture theatres; copies of

notes or overheads; more text-based material; sign language expert.
Physical impairment rest breaks; face-to-face sessions organised

in appropriate buildings; opportunities to study at times that suit their
needs; postal library services.
If you have a life-long special need, the chances are that you have
developed strategies to cope with it already. However, you may face
some problems relating to other peoples ignorance about your needs.
Some students prefer not to disclose a special need, for fear of discrimination. The University of Paisley has clear guidelines and you
should not fear discrimination. Contact the Special Needs Adviser in
confidence if you do have concerns.
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If you have just become aware of a special need, the Special Needs
Adviser may be able to help you to get additional support in a variety
of ways.
1.6.4 Studying with English as a Foreign Language

Whether you use English often or not, you may still be apprehensive
about studying in English. It will be useful, therefore, to make a start
by analysing your feelings about studying in English.
For instance, do you feel anxious about it? Are there some things you
feel more confident about doing in English than others? Do you feel
more confident about speaking English than reading and writing in
English? Do you feel happy to read newspapers and magazines in
English but worried that you may interpret a question in an exam paper wrongly?
In this section, we will look at ways in which you can use your
strengths in the English language and lessen your weaknesses. To
achieve this, it is important to identify what you are most worried
about and be prepared to strengthen these areas as you start to
study.
Some students will feel that they are worried about everything. However, if you look carefully and start to analyse your worries you will
find that there are some aspects of studying in English that are more
worrying to you than others.
What is required now is the following:

a study plan containing the number of hours that you can
devote to studying. If you already have an existing study
plan (such as the one in section 1.5 of this unit that deals
with time management) you could use that,
from your study plan calculate the number of hours you
feel you need to spend on studying in English.,
make a list of the areas that you feel most worried about
and those that you feel least worried about,
decide how much time you need to devote to the areas
that you feel worried about. Take longer for the very
worried areas,
divide up the time that you have left between those areas that you feel least worried about.
You should now have a plan that is similar to the one shown in figure
1.2.
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Very Worried
grammar
Worried
writing
assignments
Not As Worried
reading
OK
vocabulary
Confident
note-taking
Monday early am.
grammar
1 hour
Monday, pm.
grammar
1 hour
Tuesday pm.
writing assignments
1 hour
Wednesday, pm.
reading
30 mins
grammar
30 mins
Thursday, am
writing assignments
1 hour
Friday, pm.
note-taking
15 mins.
vocabulary
30 mins.
grammar
1 hour
writing assignments
1 hour
vocabulary
30 mins
reading
30 mins
note-taking
15 mins
Saturday, am
Sunday
Figure 1.2 Studying in English Study Plan
Use your plan for a week to see whether it works; if not, revise it.
Other revisions may be necessary; for instance, you may discover
that you are better at reading than you thought you were. On the other
hand, you may discover that you are not as confident at note-taking
as you thought you were. The more you practise your English, the
easier and more automatic it will become.
You will find it extremely useful if you think in English, particularly

when you are writing. Writing your assignments in English will also
avoid the problem of having to translate sentences from your first
language into English.
Unit 4, English Language, looks at grammar, punctuation, vocabulary

and tenses, (past, present and future). You may find it very useful to
have a look at this unit. It will help you with your writing.
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1.7 Questions
1) What is learning?
2) List some factors that lead to effective learning.
3) What are the benefits of managing your time?
Now look at your answers. For each one, can you say:
whether your own view about this has changed because
of reading the unit,
what your answer might mean for the way you learn in
future.
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1.8 Learning Outcomes
Having completed this section, you should be able to:

identify your own learning preferences,
produce a plan to help you learn.
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1.9 Answers
Note: Many of the answers to these and other questions in this

module are deliberately written in slightly different ways from the
main text, though most of the ideas are similar. It is important for you
to realise that the same ideas can be expressed in a variety of ways
and to find your own ways of expressing ideas.
1) What is learning?
Answer
Here are some possible answers to this question:
memorising,
increasing knowledge,
acquiring facts to use in essays, at work, etc,
making something meaningful,
understanding reality.
The question is not as simple as it appears. Learning might well mean

memorising or increasing knowledge on some occasions. However,
research shows that students who think of learning in terms of abstracting the meaning or understanding will get on better in higher
education, which is why the last two definitions have been highlighted.
2) List some factors that lead to effective learning.

Answer
Effective learning comes from:
a questioning attitude,
meaningful activities,
connections made with existing knowledge,
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active rather than passive approaches,
using feedback to let you know how you are getting on,
using appropriate senses: visual, auditory, physical,
frequent review,
establishing routines, techniques and strategies that work
for you.
What works for you is most likely to tie in with how you like to do
things. For example, if you are a very visual person, then you might
learn most effectively from drawings, graphs, the shape of your notes,
colour coding, etc. Maybe it is harder to understand an idea until you
have drawn it or listened to someone talking about it. Effective learners often use a mixture of methods to increase their ability to learn.
As a distance learner, you use a lot of written text. If words are not
your favourite medium, what can you do to supplement them?
3) What are the benefits of time management?

Answer
Here are some benefits people have said time management has
brought them:
you feel in control,
you know you have got the most you can from the time
available,
you can find out what interferes with your studies,
you accept the need to rest and relax without feeling
guilty,
you dont feel so anxious all the time,
it is easier to see what you have achieved.
People are different in the benefits they get from managing their time.
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2. Learning Methods
2.1 Introduction
Most students learn in a variety of ways on their own or with other
people. In this section, we look at how to get the most from each
method and consider the role of electronic media which combine the
two.
2.2 Objectives
discuss the benefits of keeping a learning journal,
describe how communication with tutors can support
your learning,
describe the electronic media that can be used for
learning.
2.3 Identifying Positive Learning Experiences

Sources of learning such as text, audio-visual aids, tutorials and other
people will all affect your enjoyment of a learning experience. However, there are other factors that can affect how you learn. For
instance, do you learn better if:
you have a quiet room with no distractions?
you are alone?
you are with a group of people?

you have music to listen to while you study?
You may at this point find it useful to think about two learning experiences which you felt were particularly good, one of which took place
when you were on your own and the other as part of a group. They
may have taken place at work, at university or anywhere else.
Now try to identify what it was that made you feel these learning experiences were particularly good. What was it about them that
encouraged you to learn? Your answer, of course, will be specific to
your own experience but you may have included some of the following elements shown in figures 2.1 and 2.2.
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Learning On Your Own

peace and quiet - no distractions, which encouraged concentration,
the subject matter - interesting and relevant to your needs,
the learning materials - well-structured and easy to read,
the feeling of achievement,
time to reflect on what you were studying.
Figure 2.1 Learning from Your Own Experience
Learning As Part of a Group

being part of a group with similar interests and commitment,
being in a friendly, non-threatening environment,
gaining the benefit of others experiences and knowledge,
receiving feedback from others and learning from others ideas,
being able to reflect on what the group was learning as they went
along.
Figure 2.2 Learning from Group Experiences
From your answers you should be able to identify your preferred style
of learning. For instance, you may have realised that for you, learning
on your own is much more productive. On the other hand, you may
have discovered that you learned more when you worked in a group.
Perhaps there were some aspects you liked about studying on your
own and some you liked about group studying? If this is the case, it
would be beneficial to you to try and combine both.
However, whether you learn individually or in groups, one of the most

important factors in any learning experience is the ability to fit what
you have learned with what you already know, thereby building on
your knowledge and ideas of the subject.
2.4 Learning on Your Own

In section 1, we saw that self-knowledge is a major key to effective
learning. One way of finding out about yourself - your learning styles
and preferences, what time of day suits you - is to keep a journal.
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This will appeal particularly to people who enjoy reading and writing,
but others may find it helpful too. Heres what one student says about
keeping a journal.
Case Study - one students experience of using a journal
I use a little notebook that I can carry around with me easily so that if
an idea or question occurs to me during the day I can quickly jot it
down. My main use of it, though, is at the beginning and end of any
learning session.
At the beginning, I write down what I hope to achieve from reading
the unit or chapter and any questions I might have about it.
After Ive done my reading (I make my notes in a different notebook) I
come back to my journal and write down anything that strikes me as
important also see if Ive been able to answer the questions I set at
the start.
I also use my journal for making to do lists which I put in the margin
so I dont forget them. Then I tick them off as I go.
One important result of keeping this notebook was that I discovered I
was trying to learn at the wrong time of day! I had set aside 6 to 8
each evening to study, but often found I was too tired after a days
work. I then discovered I could do twice as much in less time - if it
was first thing in the morning. Keeping a note of how I worked helped
me to see patterns in my studying.
I also deliberately tried some new techniques for revision - making
tapes of key points and turning my notes into diagrams. I found the
tapes didnt work as well as I thought they would so I concentrated on
the diagrams. (My friend was exactly the opposite - so Im glad I
thought about what would work for me instead of just taking someone
elses advice.)
To anyone else who is thinking of doing this, I would say dont worry
what it looks like. No-one else needs to see it (mines very private).
The important thing is to keep looking back over it. Its amazing what
you find in it sometimes! I often say Oh, Id forgotten all about that
when I look at something I wrote a few weeks earlier.
2.5 Learning in Groups

Learning in groups has many advantages; for example, it can:
give you access to the ideas of others,
stimulate thought,
help you to clarify your own thoughts,
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provide you with the opportunity to share experiences
with others.
All the above points are major factors in the motivation to study.
Without access to other students, for example, distance learners can
feel isolated. You will see later in this unit how learning from electronic media, in particular, the Electronic Campus at the University of
Paisley enables students and tutors from different geographic regions
to communicate directly with one another and share learning experiences through group activities.
2.5.1 Tutorial Groups

Whether you usually attend lectures or study by distance learning,
tutorials are normally a very important part of the course. When attending a tutorial, you should expect to become actively involved.
The tutor in a group tutorial, having explained the main ideas of the
particular topic to be discussed, should encourage you and other students to participate and share your experiences with the rest of the
group. This way, the tutorial becomes a learning opportunity.
Tutors are a valuable resource and are there to provide help and advice. But they cannot provide it unless you ask for it. Anxiety
about contacting your tutor over something which you may feel is
trivial will only cause frustration and interfere with your concentration.
Remember, tutors are used to being asked for help and advice; you
will not be the first student to ask for help or have a problem.
Tutors, therefore:
can facilitate learning,
can provide essential feedback,
can offer advice and help,
are a source of knowledge and experience,
can be contacted if you have a problem.
Learning from tutorials will involve some input from you. To prepare
for the tutorial you may have to read specific parts of text or complete
a particular part of the coursework. This is important if everyone in
the group is to be at the same stage and ready to discuss the subject
matter.
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2.5.2 Benefits of Group-Based Learning

One of the main benefits to be gained from group-based learning is
the feeling that you are not alone. Being able to talk with others on
the same study programme can often help put your worries into perspective and make you realise that you are not the only one who is
experiencing difficulties. Other benefits include:
social contact - tutorial groups often include people with
a wide range of backgrounds, making tutorials a significant social experience,
supportiveness - the support and encouragement received from the tutorial group can help keep up your
morale and increase your motivation,
collective progress - tutorial groups build on the
achievements of previous meetings. This means that as
the groups shared understanding of the subject matter
becomes more sophisticated, discussions become more
powerful and your own thoughts become more developed.
2.6 Learning through Different Media

Open and distance learning of which this module is an example
have demonstrated that there are many possible ways in which students can learn. No longer do students have to be in the same room
as their teacher or other students.
It is not just distance learning students who are benefiting from these
additional media they are increasingly affecting all students and it is
important that you are aware of them. Here we examine the possibilities offered by:
video and audio recordings,
CD-ROMs,
the Internet,
computer conferencing,
telephone conferencing,
video conferencing.
2.6.1 Video and Audio Recordings

Tapes of lectures mean that students dont have to be in the same
room as the lecturer. However, it is important to realise that there is a
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stance, many students report that some lecturers come over better
when they (the lecturers) are actually in the room and that listening to
a taped lecture is perhaps not as good or as convincing as being
physically present at the lecture.
Advantages of recordings, however, are that you can watch them

when and where it suits you and play them back if there was anything
you did not understand.
Recordings may be used in a variety of ways. Some lecturers are

starting to produce case studies on video tape, for instance. Students
then have to make an analysis of the situation portrayed on the tape.
Others are using videos as material to start off a discussion in a tutorial. Video and audio recordings can also be used to supplement
distance learning material by bringing the written text to life.
2.6.2 CD-ROMs and on-line Databases

As the amount of information available for students and researchers
has increased, there has also been an increase in the number of ways
of storing this information. A few years ago, miniaturisation seemed
to be the answer and many pieces of information were stored on micro-fiche, to be read by a special viewer. You might still see these
around sometimes, but they have largely been superseded by CDROMs and on-line databases.
CD-ROMs (Compact Disc Read Only Memory) proved invaluable

as storage devices for memory-hungry documents or just large
numbers of documents and a whole years newspapers could be
stored on one CD-ROM. If you want to find an article in last years
Times, for instance, you can make a search of the CD-ROM based on
any information you have available, such as key words or the date.
The Library at the University of Paisley subscribes to a wide range of

databases that could be useful to you. Some of these are available
on-line (ie, through a computer) on what is known as the BIDS system
(Bath Information and Data Service).
Dont be put off by all these initials. The purpose at the moment is
simply to make you aware of the existence of the range of media
available to you. If you get the opportunity, you will find it useful to
explore what is available. Then when you are looking for something
specific, you will have a rough idea of where to look.
2.6.3 The Internet

The Internet began as a network for military applications in America,
but was quickly adopted by academics who saw the value of being
able to link large amounts of data on each others computers. From a
few exciting links, the Internet has expanded to the extent that no-one
really knows everything that it contains. Access to the Internet gives
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you not only the World Wide Web, but also electronic mail (e-mail),
newsgroups and bulletin boards.
The World Wide Web is a huge resource. It contains a lot of rubbish

as well as some useful academic articles. The problem students
sometimes face is knowing how to tell the difference, especially when
you are new to a subject. It is still worth exploring it for information.
Some students are surprised when they realise that it can be used for
things other than finding out about music, games or other entertainments!
To surf the net, you need to be aware of how to use search engines.
(Look for the word search on the screen and try clicking on it.)
These offer you a space to key in words that you want to look up. For
example, I typed Paisley in the Lycos search engine and it came up
with nearly 5000 websites on a very wide range of topics. To find
what you are looking for, you may need to refine your search, by
adding more words for example.
Students at the University of Paisley also have access to the student

Intranet. The Intranet is like the Internet, but only available to a
closed group. Here you can quickly find out whats happening in the
University, what modules you can take and some departments have
additional information for their students.
One of the most significant benefits of the Internet has been e-mail
(electronic mail). It is an excellent communication tool which can
save you valuable time. If you are looking for a tutor or fellow student, it can sometimes be difficult to get hold of him or her by phone
and a letter can take too long. E-mail can mean that you can get hold
of each other quickly and conveniently. University of Paisley students
can all have their own e-mail address, whether you own a computer
or not. Once you get into the habit of checking your e-mail, you will
find it a very useful way to keep in touch.
It can also save you valuable time. You can send a message simultaneously to a large group of people with a single computer
command, thereby saving the laborious task of sending the message
by hand to each individual.
2.6.4 Computer Conferencing

Wide-area networks connected through the public telephone system
will allow you to participate in computer-conferencing. You can do
this via the Internet, but some organisations have their own servers.
For example, distance learning students at the University of Paisley
have their own system.
Here, the computer acts like a notice board on which you can have
active conversations. Messages are sent to the notice board which
you can read, and if you wish, comment on.
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Electronic conferences are organised so that there are areas which
focus on particular topics or interest groups. You can browse electronically around these areas looking at the various issues being
discussed and join in on any conversations that interest you or where
you feel you may have a contribution to make.
Computer conferencing gives you entry into a vast resource of other

students and tutors who will have differing backgrounds, experiences,
jobs and geographical locations from yours. Being able to discuss
your own views and ideas with those of other students and tutors will
provide you with an excellent learning opportunity that should not be
missed. Figure 2.3 shows this process.
Figure 2.3 The Electronic Campus
Many students undertaking distance learning courses do not have the

opportunity to make contact with fellow students and tutors. You do
use it! If this is a new medium for you, get to know it. As with any
new piece of software, you will need to put aside some time to learn
what it can offer you and how to use it effectively. Here are some
useful points to bear in mind:
let other people know who you are and what your interests are,
dont use essay style writing; try to write as if you were chatting to someone on the telephone; this will help to keep the
conversation lively and lead to further discussion,
keep your messages or comments to one topic area; too

many topics will only confuse readers; try not to use more
than one screenful of text as too much text will put other people off reading it.
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2.6.5 Telephone Conferencing

Some students may have the opportunity to have telephone conferences with tutors and/or other students. This happens when several
people are unable to meet but can speak to each other through the
phone system. It can take a while to get used to using the telephone
in this way; at first, there might be awkward pauses or everyone trying to speak at once. Not all students are comfortable on the
telephone anyway, but as with everything, practice leads to great improvements.
2.6.6 Video Conferencing

A video conference allows classes or discussions to be held anywhere
in the world with the appropriate facilities. Some students have had a
video conferenced viva (oral exam) or interview. There are various
ways video conferences can be set up; some people have a small
camera attached to their computer, for instance. The main provision
at the University of Paisley involves two screens one where you can
see what is happening at the other end of the conference and one
which shows what they see at your end. These screens can be used
to show overhead transparencies, videos, etc, as well as the people in
the conference and, thus, a virtual lecture theatre can be created.
As with the other media, there are differences between video

conferencing and normal face-to-face contact and it is worth practising before your first serious use. With some systems, there might be
an echo on the line or a slight delay in hearing the people at the other
end. Body language can be important if you wave your arms
around it can create a distortion. Eye contact is not quite the same as
when people are in the same room, but it helps if you try to reproduce
natural eye contact.
2.7 Self Assessment Questions
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1) How does a learning journal help some students?
2) Why do you need to communicate with others when you learn?
3) Give a brief description of how the following can support your learning:
electronic mail,
electronic sources of information.
Now look at your answers. For each one, can you say:
whether your own view about this has changed because
of reading the unit,
what your answer might mean for the way you learn in
future.
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reflect on your learning by yourself,
reflect on your learning with other people.
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2.9 Self Assessment Answers
1) How does a learning journal help some students?

Answer
A learning journal helps some students because:
it forces students to think about what they have been
learning,
it provides a record of the days work, questions and discoveries,
a record of how you feel can be used to identify good
times to work,
frequent review of the journal helps the revision process.
Not all students like to do this. Some might make a tape recording of
their thoughts at the end of a study period. Some would prefer more
social approaches. For example, a record of your e-mail discussions
might fulfil many of the same functions.
2) Why do you need to communicate with others when you learn?

Answer
Very few scholars can work entirely on their own, and even those who
do seem to have someone in mind with whom they are having a dialogue. Here are some of the benefits of communicating with others:
a tutor or another student can help you to the next stage
of your learning when you are ready to move on,
if you have made a wrong assumption, discussion with
someone else can help you to find out about this,
you feel less isolated when you know other people are
working on the same problems,
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having a range of minds working on the same issue can
produce much richer results,
feedback from tutors and even other students is an essential part of the learning process.
If you are a very sociable person, then it will be natural to you to want
to communicate with others. More introverted people might welcome
the fact that there are now a number of ways to communicate - which
do not all involve being in a crowded room!
3) Give a brief description of how the following can support your learning:
electronic mail,
electronic sources of information.
Answer
Electronic mail enables you to stay in contact with a wide range of
people at a time that suits both you and them. A message can be
sent to everyone on your list with a single command, so you dont
have to keep repeating yourself. You can choose when to open your
messages, so that you dont need to interrupt what you are doing.
Thus, you get the vital communication you need without having to
interfere with your own time management.
Computer Conferencing provides an electronic version of a seminar, again allowing the flexibility of communicating at a time that suits
you. You can find a discussion group that suits your own needs or arrange to create one with others doing the same course as you.
Sometimes shy students lurk in a conference - that is, they wait until
they are confident enough before contributing. It is much easier to do
this electronically than in a room where everyone is looking at you. It
is well worth while participating, because of all the advantages of
communicating your ideas and getting feedback on them.
Information Sources provide electronic versions of stores of information that might once have been kept in books, reports and
microfiches , for example. The most prolific source of information is
the World Wide Web, where networked pages of data in computers
around the world can be accessed with the use of search engines.
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3. Your Relationship with Academic Staff

3.1 Introduction
Although students in higher education are encouraged to be independent, how you work with academic staff will be critical to your
success. Even if you are a distance learning student in fact, especially if you are a distance learning student - your relationship with
your tutor will be vital for the essential feedback you need on your
work.
Showing
you know
Learning
Feedback
Figure 3.1 The Cycle of Learning
Without feedback, the cycle of learning is incomplete and you cannot

go on to the next phase of learning. We talk about feedback instead
of criticism, partly because of the negative ideas associated with criticism and partly because feedback contains the notion of a dialogue
rather than one-way communication.
Feedback from tutors might be provided through:
answers to your questions,
clarification of your misunderstandings,
comments on your work,
grades or marks that indicate you have reached a certain

standard.
Throughout this section, we will refer to a member of academic staff

you might encounter at university as a tutor. They may have an offiPage 39
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cial title of lecturer (see the glossary in the Appendix) but tutor is a
useful word to describe someone who is engaged in communication
with you (rather than just lecturing at you, for instance).
3.2 Objectives
explain how tutors can help someone who is learning independently,
distinguish between appropriate and inappropriate questions

for staff,
describe the principles of constructive feedback.
3.3 The Roles of Academic Staff

In Higher Education, students are expected to become more independent in their learning. Nevertheless, you are becoming a member
of an academic community and the tutors are there to help you to join
that community. They do this by:
providing information you need to engage with the ideas of the

community,
asking you questions that should make you think about the
ideas,
answering your questions,
clarifying areas you have problems understanding,
giving feedback on work you produce,
giving you a grade or mark that indicates your progress with

the work.
Open and distance learning students and part-time students are just
as much members of this community as full-time on-campus students. However, there may be fewer opportunities for interaction with
tutors and it will be important to make sure these interactions actually
provide what you need.
Different tutors will respond to these duties in different ways. It is important to remember that they are all human beings. Some will be
rather shy; others will be very extravert. Some are much more comPage 40
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fortable simply providing information and you may have to find ways
of encouraging them to engage in dialogue with you. One-way communication does not get you the feedback you need, so you must
ensure that tutors have something appropriate to respond to. Questions can be a useful device, but you must be sure they are properly
focused.
3.4 Asking Questions

Consider these two students. Both of them cause their lecturers and
tutors some problems, though they dont intend to.
a)
Kim doesnt understand very much of what is going on at all

but is frightened to say anything because the lecturers are so
busy. She also believes that it is up to her to work things out.
When the lecturer says: Did you all follow that? Kim doesnt
say anything at all.
b)
Ali asks questions all the time, but some of them are not
really related to the course. Sometimes, the student asks
questions that have already been answered and lecturers get
very irritated. Ali thinks that lecturers are impressed by students who ask a lot of questions. (They are, usually, but only
if the students show some willingness to attempt to answer
the questions themselves.)
In neither case is the student really thinking about what he or she

needs from the lecturer. Both students need to be able to identify the
stages at which they have gaps in their knowledge. The more precise
their questions are, the better the lecturer will be able to answer them.
If their questions indicate what they do know as well as what they
dont, then they are more likely to be successful.
Exercise
Read the following dialogues and see whether you can say why the
tutor was able to help Jo more than Ali.
Ali
What exactly do you want for this essay?
Tutor
As it says. Leaders are born, not made. Discuss.
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Ali
But what do you want?
Tutor
You have to interpret the question and come up with

your answer to it. I cant really tell you any more than
that.
Ali thought that the tutor had not been very helpful and was very
upset to hear that Jo had seemed to have more success.
Jo
I have found books on leadership styles, but nothing

about leaders being born. Can you help me?
Tutor
What sort of words have you looked up in the library

catalogue?
Jo
I looked up leader and born.
Tutor
Yes, I can see why youre having some difficulties.

Lets think about the books you have found; what do
you think about styles of leadership? Are you born
with a certain style or can you be trained?
Jo
Well, one of the styles was authoritarian and I think

some people are naturally authoritarian.
and the discussion continued for several more minutes.
Why was Jo more successful than Ali?
If you can demonstrate to your tutor, as Jo did, that you have tried to
give some thought to the problem, it will be easier for them to help
you. If the tutor has no idea about what is in your mind or if you
have not tried at all to think about the problem then there is no way
in. The tutor should perhaps have tried to find out whether Ali had
done any work or not, but the question what exactly do you want? is
a very difficult one to answer and does not encourage tutors to think
about what is going on in the students mind.
The main advice, therefore, is to:
remember your tutors are human,
make your questions as precise as you can,
show what you already know.
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3.5 Constructive Feedback

If you are going to learn from your tutors, you will need feedback from
them. This is a two-way process; they will also need feedback from
you.
Often, students dont bother to read the comments a tutor makes on a

piece of writing. Theyll say things like: Im never going to write that
essay again, so why should I bother. In fact, proper attention to the
feedback may help ensure that the next essay they write is a better
one.
Students will be expected to give feedback to tutors too. Sometimes

this will be formal, for example, an evaluation form at the end of a
course. (Often students are unaware of how seriously tutors take
these and sometimes they can be very unkind and flippant.) Feedback can also be more informal; students body language in a class
gives the tutor quite a lot of feedback.
So the principles identified below should help you both to give and to
receive feedback. It is one of the most important parts of your academic life.
3.5.1 Principles of Constructive Feedback

1.
Comment on the activity, not the person.
2.
Say what worked as well as what didnt work.
3.
Only comment on what can be changed.
4.
Be precise.
5.
Make suggestions for improvement.
6.
Be prepared to receive feedback as well as give it.
It is worth expanding these points a little.
1. Comment on the activity, not the person

Feedback should help you to improve something you are doing. It
should not be regarded as a personal attack. When a tutor says: This
is a weak essay it does not mean that you are a weak person! It just
means that something you have done could have been done better,
and you hope the tutor will also go on to explain why and how.
2. Say what worked as well as what didnt work

Sometimes students get very good marks for their essays and are
told well done. But if they dont know why it was well done, they
cannot ensure that they will do it well again. If someone gives a particularly good lecture one day, it is worth saying something like: I
particularly enjoyed your lecture today because the structure was very
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clear. If you did this, it would encourage the lecturer always to structure lectures in a way that students find helpful.
3. Only comment on what can be changed

If a lecturer has a bad stutter, it is probably not very helpful to point it
out. However, you could say something like: We think it could be
easier to follow your lecture if you told us the topics in advance and
we could do some reading beforehand. Similarly, if you feel something might be unchangeable about your work for example, your
handwriting you would not expect to be criticised for it.
Dyslexic students sometimes feel that this should mean that their
spelling errors should be ignored. In some subjects, this will be the
case but if spelling is being assessed as part of the presentation, the
tutor may not be able to treat the student differently. There are things
that can be done to change this situation, however. In an exam, the
student might be allowed a scribe or for an essay the student would
use a word-processor and spell checker and probably get a friend to
proof-read it too.
4. Be precise
As we saw with asking questions, being precise is one of the key
communication skills you need at university. What exactly is right or
wrong with what the person did? How did it seem to you? A tutor
who writes: Rubbish! is not only being very destructive but is not
offering any help to you at all. It takes longer and more thought to
write You have not demonstrated the relationship between X and Y.
5. Make suggestions for improvement

The feedback that will help you the most will not tell you exactly how
to get the information you need, but will help you to do it for yourself.
It is more useful, for example, if the tutor says: You will find information about the causes in Chapter 6. instead of the causes you should
have mentioned were poverty, bad housing and disease.
It is only more useful, of course, if you follow up the tutors guidelines

for improvement. If you dont read Chapter 6, then the tutors more
detailed answer would be more helpful and some tutors will assume
that students wont be prepared to do the work and end up doing too
much for them. You have to take the responsibility.
6. Be prepared to receive feedback in return

When staff and students (or students and students) are comfortable
talking to one another, it can help to clear up misunderstandings. For
example, in the following dialogue the student gives feedback to the
tutor then the tutor to the student:
Student
I found this problem particularly difficult as I didnt

know where to begin. It would have been very helpful
to have a model to follow it wouldnt have taken me
as long.
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Tutor
Im glad it took you a long time as it probably means

you now see where the answer has come from. If I
had given you a model, you would just have copied it
without thinking about it. You wont have a model in
the exam. It was good that you were prepared to
take the trouble to work through it you will be
pleased that you did in the end.
This is a constructive discussion that both people should feel comfortable with. If the student had said: You should have given us a
model, this would not have been constructive, because it did not say
what the problem was and give the tutor the opportunity to put it right.
Similarly, if the tutor had said: Youre always looking for the easy
way, it would not have been constructive because it was a personal
attack on the student, rather than on a particular piece of behaviour.
3.5.2 A Note About Cultural Differences

There will be some cultural differences in relation to communication
in general and this could have an impact on feedback. If English is
not your first language or your tutor or fellow students come from a
different cultural background from yours, this may need to be taken
into account. For example, in some cultures, it is usual for students
to challenge their tutors if they do not agree with them. In other cultures, the tutor would never be questioned or challenged at all.
You may, therefore, feel uncomfortable with the advice about constructive feedback given above. Some tutors might also feel
uncomfortable with it, especially the idea that it is a two-way process.
It will help if you are sensitive to other peoples difficulties, but keep
asking yourself what precise information you need to help you to improve with your studies.
If you feel there is insufficient feedback from your tutor, can you think
of questions that would help you to get more?
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3.6 Self Assessment Questions
1) What kinds of support can you expect from university staff?
2) Which of the following pairs of questions would be more likely to receive a helpful answer?
(a)
I didnt understand your lecture at all. Can you tell me what

you meant? (1)
You talked about photosynthesis in the lecture. Can you go

over the mechanism for me again? I didnt understand what
some of the words meant. (2)
(b)
What exactly do you want for this essay? (1)
If I wrote an account of Taylors ideas on scientific management and then related it to current practices in industry, would
this be on the right lines? (2)
(c)
I thought I had answered the question. Can you explain what

I missed? (1)
Why did you give me such a low mark? I thought it was a

good essay. (2)
(d)
Will the exam just be on this semesters work or might we be

asked questions from last year? (1)
What will the exam cover? (2)
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3) A distance learning tutor writes the following comment on a students paper: OK 43%. What
questions might the student ask in order to get more feedback from the lecturer?
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approach tutors and lecturers with confidence,
use feedback to help you improve your performance,
seek constructive feedback if it is not given.
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SS101(rev 1.01)
3.8 Answers to Self Assessment Questions
1) What kinds of support can you expect from university staff?

Answer
Broadly speaking, tutors should help you to join an academic community. They should be able to:
help you to find the answers to specific questions (note that

they wont necessarily know the answers themselves),
clarify points from lectures, tutorials or reading material,
give you constructive feedback on your work to help you to

improve.
2) Which of the following pairs of questions would be more likely to receive a helpful answer?
(a)
I didnt understand your lecture at all. Can you tell me what

you meant? (1)
You talked about photosynthesis in the lecture. Can you go

over the mechanism for me again? I didnt understand what
some of the words meant. (2)
(b)
What exactly do you want for this essay? (1)
If I wrote an account of Taylors ideas on scientific management and then related it to current practices in industry, would
this be on the right lines? (2)
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SS101(rev 1.01)
(c)
I thought I had answered the question. Can you explain what

I missed? (1)
Why did you give me such a low mark? I thought it was a

good essay. (2)
(d)
Will the exam just be on this semesters work or might we be

asked questions from last year? (1)
What will the exam cover? (2)
Answer
(a)
(b)
(c)
(d)
In each case, the more specific question is more appropriate. This

might be harder to see in the third example, but good is a very
vague concept. If the student takes a comment made by the lecturer
and asks for clarification it is easier for the lecturer to give an appropriate explanation.
3) A distance learning tutor writes the following comment on a students paper: OK 43%. What
questions might the student ask in order to get more feedback from the lecturer?
Answer
This was certainly not a constructive comment. The student would
find it very difficult to improve and needs answers to such questions
as:
Why was it OK? Was it because I answered the question asked?
Was there anything I did not do that I should have done?
Was there anything I did that I should not have done?
How could I have got a higher mark?
What should I do in future to improve my writing?
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Learning Support Materials: Getting Started and Learning Methods

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Learning

Getting Started and Learning Methods

GETTING STARTED AND

Getting Started and Learning Methods

Getting Started and Learning Methods

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Getting Started and Learning Methods

Similarly, do you know whether you prefer studying early in the

Getting Started and Learning Methods

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Getting Started and Learning Methods

What Studying is All About

Making Your Learning Meaningful

Making Your Learning Relevant to You

Managing Your Time

Studying in Your Own Circumstances

Studying by Open and Distance Learning

Studying with Special Needs

Studying with English as a Foreign Language

Identifying Positive Learning Experiences

Learning on Your Own

Benefits of Group-Based Learning

Learning through Different Media

Video and Audio Recordings

CD-ROMs and on-line Databases

Self Assessment Questions

Self Assessment Answers

Getting Started and Learning Methods

3. YOUR RELATIONSHIP WITH ACADEMIC STAFF

The Roles of Academic Staff

Principles of Constructive Feedback

A Note About Cultural Differences

Self Assessment Questions

Answers to Self Assessment Questions

Getting Started and Learning Methods

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Getting Started and Learning Methods

Before you start......

How a study skills module might help me ....

Getting Started and Learning Methods

However, perhaps it isnt as simple as that. Being a student presents

This first section introduces you to:

Getting Started and Learning Methods

1.3 What Studying is All About

Some people think learning means accumulating a lot of facts, so that

Getting Started and Learning Methods

As you study, it is important that you adopt a critical stance towards

1.4 Effective Learning

1.4.1 Making Your Learning Meaningful

Getting Started and Learning Methods

Questions are a useful approach to making your learning more

Meaningful connections actually help memory, so understanding and

1.4.2 Making Your Learning Relevant to You

adding colour and shape to your notes;

tape recording your thoughts or notes;

doing or making things writing key ideas on separate pieces of paper

Getting Started and Learning Methods

1.5 Managing Your Time

Figure 1.1 Sample Chart of Time Gaps

Getting Started and Learning Methods

Having identified the number of tasks to be accomplished, you then

Getting Started and Learning Methods