Getting Started at Edge Hill University · 2019-06-20 · any set tasks and readings, ... reflecting upon examples of good practice. The work based learning placement is designed

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Getting Started at Edge Hill University

A Guide for Students BA (Hons) Children and Young People’s Learning and Development Full Time 2019-20

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Introduction

Welcome to the BA (Hons) Children and Young People’s Learning and Development programme

Starting university can be daunting time and you may have lots of questions about your university experience. This booklet will help guide

you through some important areas and topics to help you prepare for your study in September.

Coming to university will be an exciting time and we look forward to

welcoming you in person in September.

Karen Bloyce Programme Leader

Top Tip!

Whenever you see this symbol in your

booklet, it means that there is an activity for

you to complete. Don’t worry about

completing everything – we will be using this

booklet when you arrive

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Contents

Section One: What is expected from you at university? University Expectations 4 University Teaching Style 5 & 6 I-N-S-P-I-R-E Strategy for Learning 6 Independent Study 7 Assessment 9 Work Based Learning 10 & 11 Student Academic Mentors 12 Section Two: What are academic skills? Reading at University 13 Note Taking 15 Referencing 15 Academic Writing 16 Spelling and Grammar 17 Critical Reflection 18 Section Three: Managing yourself for university Self-Management 19 & 20 People Skills: Collaborative Working 21 Group Discussion 22 Making Presentations 22 Employability Skills 23 Learning Styles 24

Section Four: Managing your time Where Does my Time Go? 25 Managing Your Time at University 26 Time Circles 27 & 28 Reference List 28 Recommended Reading 28

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Self-motivation

One of the main ways of working at university is through independent study. You need

to ensure that you are prepared for sessions and

undertaking any set tasks and readings.

Aimee, first-year student

To achieve well at this level, you need to be reasonably good at:

• Adapting to new people and environments

• Working in potentially groups • Being flexible in your learning style

Section One: What is expected from you at university?

Develop independence

You must be able to ‘stand on your own two feet.’ However,

there is help available from the Student Union, Student Support Services and Learning Services as needed. Student Academic Mentors (SAMs) will also be

assigned to support each group with their assignments (further

details on page 12).

Ability to work with others

Part of university life is working with your peers in and out of

sessions. Organising study group sessions with your peers during your allotted independent study

time is highly recommended.

Organisation

It is your responsibility to ensure that you know when

and where all sessions are and work to your deadlines for submitting assignments.

Attendance

Attending all sessions and being there on time is essential to ensure that you get the most from your course. In the event

of non-attendance your personal tutor or Programme

Leader may request a meeting. In the case of repeated non-

attendance Academic Registry will contact you and may begin the process of withdrawing you.

Goal setting

Learning at university requires you being in charge of your own learning and progress. This includes working things out for yourself and setting yourself goals to improve your work. Make sure you use your tutors’ feedback to help you work

towards achieving your goals.

Top Tip!

Check your Edge Hill emails

daily for any announcements

and messages from tutors

regarding timetabling, rooming

Adapted from COTTRELL, S., 2013. The Study Skills Handbook. 4th ed. New York. Palgrave McMillan.

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Teaching Styles at University


Lectures

Some of your sessions at university may take place in a lecture theatre with students from other groups. Lectures are led by the lecturer and students need

to make notes throughout the session and complete any set readings and activities given.

Independent Study

The amount of time needed for independent study in order to meet the requirements of each module is outlined in each module handbook. This is an essential study time where you prepare for seminars and lectures, complete

readings for the module and work towards the learning outcomes of the assessment. Many students find it useful to organise study groups as well as

working alone.

There are many different ways that you will learn at university, some of which may be different to ways you have previously worked at school and college. Whilst we all have different ways that we learn best, it is important that you adapt to the different teaching theory methods in order to get the most from your

degree course.

Seminars

Many of your sessions at university will take place as seminars in class groups of students with a lecturer. In seminars you will take part in group work, independent study and group discussions. It is important to prepare for

seminars by looking in your module handbook and on Blackboard, and conduct any activities and reading needed to prepare for the session.


Tutorials

These may be one-to-one sessions between yourself and your tutor to discuss your feedback from your work and general progress. You may also have group

tutorials to work together on aspects of the programme. It is important to prepare for tutorials in advance. Academic tutorials will take place as part of your

academic support within modules. You will also have personal tutorials to support you in deciding on your pathway and support you with your studies throughout

the year.

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Teaching Styles at University

INSPIRE Strategy for Learning

Identify which teaching method will most suit your learning styles and which ones you will find most challenging. What steps can you take to ensure that you get the

most out of all of the teaching methods?


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Innovative

Nurturing

Studious

Pro-active

Imaginative

Reflective

Energised


Consider each of the key aspects of INSPIRE and think about what each of these words mean for you as a learner and how you already portray that quality:

I

N

S

P

I

R

E

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The Role of Independent Study

For this course a large proportion of your study time is independent study. This is where you complete any set tasks and readings, but also where you take control of your own learning and work towards

achieving the learning outcomes for the module. Your taught sessions act as a springboard into your own learning.


What does independent study mean to you?

1. Underline all of the words that you associate with independent study for yourself.

2. Highlight the words which you would like to associate with yourself and independent study. Add any other words to the diagram which you would like to add.

What steps can you take to work towards your identified goals for working independently?

Top Tip!

It is called independent study,

but that does not mean you

have to do it alone! If you

work better with others,

consider getting a study

group of friends together to

help each other. You can

book group study rooms in

the library for this purpose.

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Reflect upon each of the activities which you might undertake as part of your assessment. How do you feel

about each one? Have you any experience with that type of assessment or will it be new to you?

Top Tip!

You can use Learning

Services UniSkils sessions to

seek additional support with

any assessment strategies

which are new to you.

Assessment

Academic assignments

Word based placements

Presentations

Skills audits

Lesson planning

Picture analysis

An assessment takes place at the end of each module to assess your ability to meet the required learning outcomes. Academic support sessions will be timetabled as part of each

module to support you with meeting the learning outcomes..

A range of different assessment styles take place throughout the course to allow you to demonstrate a range of different skills. Whilst you will write academic assignments, you will also

undertake work based learning placements, presentations, skills audits, lesson plans and picture analysis assignments.


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Work Based Learning


Within your first year you will undertake 20 days of work based learning placement. This is designed to enable students to develop progressively a range of appropriate skills and strategies, and reflect on their experiences and observations in order to enhance their understanding of a variety of Education

settings. You will have the opportunity to identify the type of Education related setting you wish to focus on during welcome week.

Theory and practice are closely linked, offering students a coherent framework within which to develop their own knowledge, skills and understanding alongside the broader issues of working with

Top Tip!

Like many activities and assessments

within your university course, the main

purpose of this activity is to reflect upon

your experiences and what you have

learnt from them, and not simply

describe them. See Page 18 for

more support with this.

This is an opportunity for you to take theory and principles learnt throughout your studies and apply them in practice. You will be working alongside practitioners, taking a full part in the setting as well as observing and

reflecting upon examples of good practice.

The work based learning placement is designed to be a supportive experience that allows students to gain

confidence through working with a partner setting. You will be assigned a member of staff to support you whilst you are on a placement and also an Edge Hill visiting tutor who will visit you in your setting and keep regular

contact to support you throughout.

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Work Based Learning

Your experience Each student will start the course with a wide range of experiences. List below the experience that you already have in relation to working with children. Then reflect upon each experience, what did this experience teach you? How will it

help you with this course?


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You will meet the new SAMs during your induction week at Edge Hill and they will be readily available

to support you with the transition to university.

Reading at University

School and college University

The readings for assessment are usually set and checked upon by the teacher.

You are expected to decide what to read and what not to read.

All students read the same texts. Because you are in charge of your own learning, many of the sources you read may be

different to your peers. Students learn by absorbing the information

in texts. You are expected to think beyond the texts and

decide whether you think the information is important, why it is important and how it

connects with other information you have collected.

Section Two: What are academic skills?

The skills that you use at university may be quite different to skills that you have used at school and college. Research is pivotal to academic work within Higher Education, so you will need to develop the

core skills needed to research for your assignments (Cottrell, 2013.) This will include you using the learning acquired from taught sessions to help you with your independent study and finding good

quality information through reading widely around the subject with careful note taking.

According to Godfrey (2010), reading is one of the most essential skills that you will need to develop in order to succeed in Higher education. Some readings which are relevant to your taught seminars will be provided by tutors in either session materials or via Blackboard. However, in order to successfully meet all of the learning outcomes for each module, a large proportion of your independent study time will be spent on finding suitable texts, reading, making notes and reflecting upon your findings. Whilst

an essential reading list will be provided for you within your module handbook (all of which can be accessed at the Edge Hill library), this is only a starting point for your independent reading.

The reading which you have undertaken as part of your previous studies will be quite different to reading at university level. The following table highlights the main differences:

Taken from GODFREY, J., 2010. Reading and Making Notes. New York. Palgrave McMillan.

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Academic Reading

Reading Strategies

Do you use this strategy?

(Yes / No) Do you consider the question you are trying to answer? Do you consider the information you will need? Do you use the recommended reading list? Do you use up-to-date (in the past seven years) sources? Do you use academic books and journals? Do you consider whether it is readable / manageable? Do you browse the book / blurb before deciding to read it? Do you use the contents page and index to look for key words? Do you use chapters, headings and sub-headings for guidance? Do you identify which parts of the book you are going to read and put markers in them?

Do you read the first sentence of each paragraph (to introduce the concept / idea)?

Do you read the summaries and conclusions?

Reading widely around the subject title is essential to gain a high mark in your assignments. However, reading does not need to be a long and laborious task.

Do you have any strategies for approaching your reading? Which of the following do you do? Put a ‘yes’ in the columns which apply to you.


Top Tip!

Build up your active reading muscles by practicing reading as often as you

can! You will be expected to develop a Reading Log to aid your active

reading and understanding.

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Now highlight your top five reading strategies to identify the ones that you are

going to try to develop to support your academic skills (these can be ones that you

do not already use, or strategies that you use but want to develop further).

Top Tip!

Your module handbook for each session lists the key

words relating to the learning outcomes. Look for these

in the contents page and index of books to find

relevant readings. It is important that you learn how to

search the Edge Hill Library Catalogue to aid this.


15 Adapted from BUZAN, T., 2011. Buzan’s Study Skills: Mind Maps, memory techniques, Speed Reading. Essex. Pearson.

Note Taking

Referencing


Buzan (2011) states that in order to read effectively and make good use of what we read for academic purposes, some form of note taking is required. This is a personalised way of learning and you will

need to explore the different ways of note taking to find which method suits you best.

Note Taking Style

Mind map

Visual notes Highlighting

text

Colour coded notes

Bullet points

Diagrams / pictures

Typed notes Read the article ‘Towards Reflective Teaching’ https://www.tttjournal.co.uk/uploads/File/back_articles/Towards_Reflective_Teaching.pdf Practice using the different styles of note taking to find which one / ones work most effectively for you when summarising the key points from

an article.

Top Tip!

Look back on your notes and reflect upon

them, link them to your other findings and

relate them directly to the assignment title and

learning outcomes.

At this level of writing in Higher Education we are seeking experts’ viewpoints around the subject and critically reflecting upon them. The purpose of our reading is to develop our understanding of the topic, but also to enable us to gather a wide range of sources, finding different arguments and views about a particular topic. In order to use different authors’ work in assignments it is important to cite the author

to avoid plagiarism. To make it easier when you write up your assignments (or other assessment based tasks) make sure that you take note of the author and where you found the evidence from. At

Edge Hill the 2014 Harvard Referencing Guide is used in academic writing to reference evidence found – a copy of this can be found on Blackboard and you will be supported in how to use this in

academic support sessions.

Top Tip!

The best references are academic ones (i.e. authors

or books, research, legislation and journal articles).

You can find a lot of these in the Edge Hill library.

https://www.tttjournal.co.uk/uploads/File/back_articles/Towards_Reflective_Teaching.pdf

https://www.tttjournal.co.uk/uploads/File/back_articles/Towards_Reflective_Teaching.pdf

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Academic Writing

Writing academic assignments at Higher Education will be different to writing that you have done at college and school. The following diagram demonstrates what academic writing is.

• Written in a formal, academic style. Different writing style to how you speak.

• Work towards achieving the learning outcomes for the module.• Use your reading and references

What?

• To demonstrate your ability to meet the learning outcomes for the module.

• Develop and organise your own ideas through writing• Criticially reflect upon your findings through your reading.• Allows tutors to assess your progress and mark your work.

Why?

• An assessment will take place within each module, with some of the assessments, or elements of the assessment, being a written academic assignment.

How often?


Many students, like other writers, find that they get writer’s block when starting to write an assignment. These tricks might help you get over that first hurdle with your writing:

Talking about your work with

peers

Peer study groups Free writing – write for five

minutes without thinking about spelling, punctuation, etc.

Writing in a different

environment, e.g. library.

Sum up your main ideas in one sentence

Brainstorming – write down all of

your ideas

Create a Wordle / Free Association of key words / ideas

List your ideas

Have a go at using each strategy. Circle your top three (or add

your own) for the strategies which you

find most helpful.

Choose one aspect and write

about it.

Start at a different point (e.g. don’t start with the introduction).

Start writing on paper.

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Spelling and Grammar

A good understanding of spelling and grammar is essential in order to complete academic writing that is of a high standard, and is

especially important if you want to become a teacher.

Try some of the quizzes on the following web page to self-assess your spelling, grammar and punctuation.

http://www.academicenglishcafe.com/grammar-quizzes.html

How did you do? Make sure you revise any areas that you are unsure of as it will not only support you with your academic writing,

but also with passing your professional skills test.

Top Tip!

If you struggled with

any area of your

spelling, grammar and

punctuation, then you

can book a session

with Learning Services

who can support you

with this.


How did you do? Make sure you revise any areas that you are unsure of as it will not only support you with your academic writing, but also with passing your professional

skills test.

http://www.academicenglishcafe.com/grammar-quizzes.html

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Critical Reflection Started

Most of your written assignments will require you to critically reflect upon your findings rather than simply describing them. This means weighing up the arguments and evidence for and against. The

starting point of your critical reflection needs to start when you are reading; if you find an author who has one view point then try to find someone who agrees / disputes their claims. You then need to

devise a way of collating your notes to draw connections between the different readings and viewpoints that you find.

Writing critically involves using your readings to analyse issues from different perspectives and bringing all of your findings together to draw your conclusion of the topic.


Use your notes from the reading based task on Page 14 and 15. Which strategies does it suggest that students use to become reflective, which you can use to support

you with critically reflective reading and writing? Make a list below.

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Self-management is an essential study skill at university to enable students to cope with the responsibility of taking charge of their studies and to engage fully in their

learning.

Self-Management

You need to be

aware of the skills that you can develop through study and to

transfer to other contexts such as

employment.

LEARNING ENVIRONMENT

PAST EXPERIENCE

Academic People Task Study Skills

FUTURE AIMS

Self-management skills:

independence; identifying strengths and areas for

development; developing strategies on how you think

and learn.

Self-management skills:

study strategies; personal learning style;

time management; improving performance

with feedback.

The learning environment refers here to everything that forms part of the wider context in which you are studying. It also includes self-management skills.

Good skills in self-management help you to manage interactions more effectively and to identify the skills and qualities you need at any given time.

Section Three: Managing Yourself.

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Self-Management

Using the learning environment diagram on the previous page:

a) Highlight those aspects of the environment that you find most challenging. b) List the sort of skills you need to develop in order to manage better the

aspects that you highlighted. _____________________________________________________________ _____________________________________________________________ _____________________________________________________________ _____________________________________________________________ _____________________________________________________________

_____________________________________________________________

c) Which self-management skills will be most important to you in developing those skills?

____________________________________________________________ _____________________________________________________________ _____________________________________________________________

Section Three: Managing Yourself.

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People Skills – Collaborative Working


The most useful part was getting feedback on my ideas as the others saw things I hadn’t spotted.

Study can be solitary so it’s actually really nice to work in a group.

You need to work out the ground rules so everyone pulls their weight in the group.

Top Tip!

Making a group work: Be aware of people’s feelings Make ground rules Plan to prevent difficulties Create an effective group environment Set clear agendas Check progress

What our students say:

The Value of Collaborative Working. Which of the following aspects do you value? Tick all that apply. 1) Enjoying a sense of group solidarity

2) Sharing ideas and stimulating each other’s thinking, so everyone gains more ideas 3) Gaining new and diverse perspectives 4) Tapping into a wider pool of experience

5) Learning to stay on task even when working with people whose company I enjoy 6) Achieving greater outcomes than I could alone

7) Learning ‘give and take’, rather than dominating a group or being dominated by others in the group 8) Gaining confidence in asserting my viewpoint

9) Learning to deal with challenge and criticism

10) Helping and supporting others

On this course you will be expected to work with others as an integral part of the learning experience. You need to understand how to work alongside others, to give support and share

ideas whilst also maintaining the integrity of your own work.

Developing such attributes can be challenging, as this requires greater self-awareness, which can be unsettling. It can also mean putting group interests

before your own.

Section Three: Managing Yourself

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Be encouraging

Group Discussion

Structure Have a logical order: introduction; middle

and a conclusion

Practice Practice beforehand in front of a mirror or in

front of a friend

Body Language Smile, make eye contact & move

around a bit

Posters Make large, using blocks of text and

avoid overloading the poster

Presentation Skills

Speech Speak clearly and not

too fast

PowerPoint Keep simple and use charts, pictures and

diagrams

Interaction Build a rapport and

encourage questions

Nervousness It’s normal to be

nervous, preparation, practice and reflection

will reduce nerves

Section Three: Managing Yourself

Being effective in a group

discussion

Include everyone

Admit mistakes

Listen to others in the

group Build on others’ ideas

Sum up for the group

Offer information Make

suggestions

Making a Presentation Students are often asked to give presentations to start off class discussion, to produce a variety of perspectives, and to develop a skill required for

many occupations

Top Tip!

Getting the most out of discussion

Before: Read around the subject What questions do you want answered? During Jot down useful information. Ask if you don’t understand. After Go over your notes. Add your thoughts. Diarise activities arising out of the group.

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‘Soft Skills’ are those which are hard to measure but oil the

wheels of any work situation.

Employability Skills

Adapted from TROUGHT, F., 2012. Brilliant Employability Skills. London. Pearson.

Typically a rounded student might be able to offer something in at least 3 of the following 1) the degree subject

2) complementary subjects 3) skills development 4) unusual technical experience

5) work experience 6) volunteer activity

7) contributing to the community 8) a position of responsibility

9) a broad set of skills that can be transferred to the workplace In which of the areas above have you invested already?

_______________________________________________________________________

_______________________________________________________________________

Realistically, what else could you undertake in the next 6 months to develop your personal portfolio?

_______________________________________________________________________

_______________________________________________________________________

_______________________________________________________________________

_______________________________________________________________________


Top Tip!

Here are the skills employers value most:

Oral communication Team player Listening Written communication Problem solving Relationship development Adapting communication style Time management Sharing knowledge Influencing others Positive attitude

Section Three: Managing yourself

Employers are looking for the rounded applicant, not subject specialists and are

interested in your broader development. You need to plan ahead towards your career

whilst studying.

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Knowing Yourself

Section Three: Managing yourself

It’s important to understand what the interests and goals are that drive you. Think about the programme and what will motivate you to engage with the learning and other opportunities. What are you most looking forward to?

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Where Does My Time Go?

Managing your time at university .

Section Four: ManagingYour Time

Clarify where your times goes by pencilling in your diary everything you do for a few

days. What is the number one thing you can do to improve your time management?

___________________________________

Take the quiz using following the link: http://www.mindtools.com/pages/article/newHTE_88.htm

Make a note of your score and check your score interpretation. Then use the quick summary of the main areas of time management that were explored in the quiz and the guide to the specific tools you can use for each.

My time management strengths are:

____________________________________________________________________________________________________

____________________________________________________________________________________________________

The areas I need to develop are:-____________________________________________________________________________________________________

___________________________________________________________________________________________________

____________________________________________________________________________________________________

Top Tip!

Use word limits to focus your study as

assignments with 3000 words will require more energy than 1000 word

assignments.

Read only what is relevant when planning your assignment – refer to

your question and make a mind map.

Use a thorough plan for assignments to break the assignment down in to

manageable chunks.

Successful people tend to have the ability to focus on the right tasks at the right time. Time management is a skill that can be developed. Weigh up the following ideas to try to adopt those most suited to you.

http://www.mindtools.com/pages/article/newHTE_88.htm

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Time Circle

Circle One Circle Two How I use my time now: How I want to use my time:

Example How I use my time now sleep – 10hr eating – 2hr socialising – 3hr personal/home – 3hr travel – 1hr lectures, seminars, tutorials – 2hr reading – 2hr writing – 1hr thinking – 0hr exercise/relaxation – 0hr

Example How I want to use my time sleep – 8hr eating and socialising-3hr personal/home- 2hr travel – 1hr lectures & seminars-2hr reading – 3½ hr writing – 2hr thinking – 1hr exercise/relaxation -1½hr

1 2

4

5

6

7

8

3

14

15

16

13 12 11 10

9

20

19

18

17

24

21

22 23 1

2

4

5

6

7

8

3

14

15

16

13 12 11 10

9

20

19

18

17

24

21

22 23

As a student you will need to balance the time you devote to study, family, work and social activities.

Use the examples to help you to transfer your diarised findings by shading or using graphics, to mark were your time usually goes in a day on circle 1 below. Treat each segment as roughly one hour.

On circle 2 divide the day into how you would prefer to use your time so the day is balanced between

different activities.

Section Four: Managing Your Time

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Time Management Skills

Reflecting on your time circles from the previous page, how do you think you can improve your time management skills to help you best use your study time? Make a list of your top five skills to improve: __________________________________________________________________

Section Four: Managing Your Time

Adapted from McMILLAN, K. and WEYERS, J.,2012. The Study Skills Book. London. Pearson.

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Reference List

BUZAN, T., 2011. Buzan’s Study Skills: Mind Maps, memory techniques, Speed Reading. London. Pearson.

COTTRELL, S., 2013. The Study Skills Handbook. 4th ed. New York. Palgrave McMillan.

COTTRELL, S., 2011. Critical Thinking Skills. 2nd ed. New York. Palgrave McMillan.

GODFREY, J., 2010. Reading and Making Notes. New York. Palgrave McMillan.

McMILLAN, K. and WEYERS, J., 2012.The Study Skills Book. London. Pearson. MINDTOOLS, 2015. Essential skills for an excellent career.[online]. Available from: http://www.mindtools.com/pages/article/newHTE_88.htm [Accessed 14th May 2015] TROUGHT, F., 2012. Brilliant Employability Skills. London. Pearson Education.

Recommended Reading List

The following texts are recommended to support you with starting your course and academic skills but you DO NOT need to purchase them:

BUZAN, T., 2011. Buzan’s Study Skills: Mind Maps, Memory Techniques, Speed Reading. London. Pearson.

COTTRELL, S., 2013. The Study Skills Handbook. 4th ed. New York. Palgrave McMillan.

COTTRELL, S., 2011. Critical Thinking Skills. 2nd ed. New York. Palgrave McMillan.

GODFREY, J., 2010. Reading and Making Notes. New York. Palgrave McMillan.

GODFREY, J. 2013. How to Use Your Reading in Your Essays. New York. Palgrave McMillan.

HARRISON, M., JAKEMAN, V., and PATERSON, K. 2012. Improve Your Grammar. New York. Palgrave McMillan.

References

http://www.mindtools.com/pages/article/newHTE_88.htm

Documents

Getting Started at Edge Hill University · 2019-06-20 · any set tasks and readings, ... reflecting upon examples of good practice. The work based learning placement is designed