How Teaching works in the UK (& Nottingham)

Top Tips for Postgraduate Students – How to Succeed in Your Studies

Rich Cowley– Professional Development

All Resources For This Presentation

http://pd.nottingham.ac.uk/eng/Induction/International-Students2

Congratulations!

Keeping Your Studies on Track

QuestionHow different are you expecting studying at

Nottingham to be from your previous experiences?

1→→→→→→ →→→ 5 →→→→→→→→→10Not Very different

Verydifferent

What do you think will be different?Complete this sentence “I think ………..will be

different” • Swap papers around so you don’t know whose

you have• Read out what is on the paper if asked.

Uni of Nottingham & International Students•Over 30,000 students•Approx 8,000 Post-grad students•Over half post-grads are international

UK System of Studying•Undergraduate Degrees•Postgraduate Taught Courses▫Includes PG Diploma, PG Certificates and taught

Masters•Research Masters by Research (MRes or MPhil)•Doctoral Degree (e.g. PhD/DPhil etc.)

Degree Structure - PGTCourses, Modules & Credits• PGCert – 60 credits• PGDip – 120 credits•Masters (MA or MSc) – 180 credits (no more than 75

per semester)

•Module handbooks / Course handbooks. • Post-Graduate Student Advisors

Semesters and TermsAutumn Semester

26 September 2011 – 28 January 2012

Spring Semester30 January 2012 –

22 June 2012

Autumn term26 September 2011 –

16 December 2011

Spring term16 January 2012 -

30 March 2012

Summer term30 April 2012 – 22 June 2012

Top Tips For: Getting the Most Out of UK Teaching Methods

•Lectureshttp://www.palgrave.com/skills4study/studyskills/learning/learning.asp

•Seminars •Tutorials•Practicalshttp://www.palgrave.com/skills4study/studentlife/international/speaking.asp

•Supervision

What can you do? •Before the lecture / seminar

•During the lecture / seminar

•After the lecture / seminar

Independent Study•Learning to become an independent learnerhttp://www.palgrave.com/skills4study/studyskills/learning/independent.asp

•Don’t expect ‘rote learning’•Demonstrating independent thought (backed-up

by evidence)

What do Supervisor’s Expect?Supervisor’s expect their students to • Be independent• Produce written work that is not just a first draft• Attend regular meetings• Be honest when reporting on progress• Follow the advice they give• Be interested and excited by your work

Do not expect!• Your supervisor to take the initiative• That they will become a replacement parent• They will make major contributions to your

research and thesis• That they will give you very detailed direction and

guidance• That the supervisor will have a high level of

knowledge in your specific area• That they will proof read and re-write your work

Developing your Critical Thinking• Critical thinking is the process of applying reasoned

and disciplined thinking to your subject.• To do well in your studies you

need to think critically about the things you have read, seen and heard.

• Critical thinking is essential for high grades.

• You can learn to become a critical thinker.

Developing your Critical ThinkingTake in the information Understand the

key points and arguments

Compare similarities and

differences between the

ideas you are taking in

Bring together the different sources of information Develop

arguments, and draw

conclusions

Use the understanding you have gained in

assignments and projects

Developing your Academic Writing• Academic writing has a clear purpose, either an exam

question to answer or a research project to report on.  Most academic writing in English is linear.

• Every part contributes to the main line of argument, without digression or repetition.

• What ever kind of writing your are producing, you, the writer, are responsible for making your line of argument clear and presenting it in an orderly fashion so that the reader can follow.

Developing your Academic WritingUnderstanding the QuestionIt is important to have a clear understanding of what you are

being asked to write:

• Analyse - Separate down into its componentparts and show how they interrelate with each other

• Annotate - Put notes on (usually a diagram)• Assess - Estimate the value of, looking at

both the positive and negative attributes• Comment - To make critical or explanatory notes/observations

http://www.lboro.ac.uk/library/skills/Advice/WhatQuest.pdf

Developing your Academic WritingAcademic writing is a difficult skill for all students to acquire…so…• Attend a workshop• Talk with your lecturer• Practice writing• Write first, revise later• Learn from good writers• Talk about writing with other students• Use your PC to improve your writing• Learn from textbooks• Learn new words• Use new words

Developing your Academic Writing – citing and referencing

References should include the following

• The author or editor• Year of Publication (in round brackets)• The title• The edition if other than first• The place of publication• The publisher’s name

• E.g. Kittel, C. (2005) Introduction to solid state physics. 8th ed. New York: Wiley

Developing your Academic Writing – Avoiding Plagiarism• 2.2.1 It is an academic offence to present someone else’s work as being

one’s own. (The University of Nottingham, Quality Manual)

• It is important to understand that even though you may not mean to plagiarise, it would not be right that you are given credit for work that is not your own, even if it was done in error.

• It is possible to be in violation of the university's rules on plagiarism becauseyou have been careless or inadequate in the way you have cited your sources.

• To avoid the confusion of appearing to have plagiarised, it is better to make sure you have understood the conventions expected in citing thewords and work of other people.

Marking – A rough guide•70+ - Distinction•60-69 – Merit•50-59 – Pass (Masters) •40-49 – Pass (PGDiP and PGCert)

Assessment – understanding feedbackLecturer feedback will usually tell you,

• How good the assignment was

• Whether it achieved what the lecturer wanted.

• What could have beenimproved

Assessment – Understanding feedback“You have given an adequate introduction to this topic

based on your reading.”

“You write in a clear, academic style, following the conventions in almost every respect”

“Your summary of the various sources is thorough. Ideally you would integrate these more, rather than referring to the various people one by one in each section”.

Translation: The word adequate means good enough. The marker is saying that what you have written is finebut not great. The marker is also suggesting that you

may not have read enough texts.Translation: Academic style = University writing, in almost every respect = most of the time

Translation: You need to change your academic writingstyle a little and bring together summaries of sources otherwisethe assignment becomes too long winded.

General Advice• If you don’t understand – ask your tutor, lecturer, supervisor or

Director of Studies

Work hard to understand and respond to new

academic expectations

• Use the on-line materials contained within this presentation and others to help with all aspects of your work