Upload
dinhnhan
View
227
Download
1
Embed Size (px)
Citation preview
The University of Sydney Page 1
Successful learning: strategies for first years
Presented by HELENDRURY LEARNINGCENTREORIENTATIONLECTURE|2016
The University of Sydney Page 2
Academicexpecta>onsatuniversity
The University of Sydney Page 3
Academic expectations
Comparedwithhighschool,universitystudents:
o receivelessguidanceo havemoreautonomyo havemoredistant,impersonalrela>onshipswith
teachersandtheuniversityorfacultyo havelarger,moreirregularworkloadso havetodealwithmoreimplicitexpecta>ons
The University of Sydney Page 4
Academic expectations
Asauniversitystudent,youareexpectedto:o knowhowtofindanduseinforma>ono think,readandwriteanaly>callyandcri>callyo writetherightacademicgenreforanassignmento managealargeandirregularworkloado aOendlecturesandsubmitassignmentson>meo mo>vateyourselfo makeyourowndecisionsabouthowtolearno ac>velyseekhelpandinforma>onwhenyouneedit.o behavewithacademichonesty(i.e.correctreferencing
andnoplagiarism).
The University of Sydney Page 5
Academic expectations
Skillsaudit:o Lookatthelistofacademictasksandskillsinyourhandout
o Giveyourselfara>ngofMaster,Appren>ceorBeginnerforeachskill.
The University of Sydney Page 6
Academic expectations
Master: o Thisskillisoneofyourstrengths
o Youhaveahighlevelofconfidenceandexperiencewiththisskill.
The University of Sydney Page 7
Academic expectations
Appren>ce: o Thisisadevelopingskill.
o Youmighthavesomeexperiencebutperhapsnotatuniversitylevel.
The University of Sydney Page 8
Academic expectations
Beginner: o Youhavelimitedskillinthisarea.
o Youmightnothaveexperienceindoingthis.
o YoumightnothavetriedthisatUniversity.
The University of Sydney Page 9
Academic expectations
Take4minutestodotheskillsaudit.
The University of Sydney Page 10
Academic expectations
Ifyouareabeginner:o Haverealis>cexpecta>ons:Don’texpectperfec>onin
thefirstassignment.
o Ifyouneedthisskillforanassignment,askforadvice:otherstudents,yourtutorand/oryourlecturer.
o DoafreeLearningCentreworkshop.
The University of Sydney Page 11
Academic expectations
Ifyouareanappren>ce:o Haverealis>cexpecta>ons:Don’texpectperfec>on,
butonlyimprovement.
o Setyourselfsomegoalstoimprove.
o DoafreeLearningCentreworkshop.
The University of Sydney Page 12
Academic expectations
LoveyourUnitofStudyOutlinebecauseitgivesyou:o Duedatesandinstruc>onsforassignmentso Referencingexpecta>onso Guidetostyleandformatofassignmentso Informa>onaboutcriteriafordifferentgradeso Outlineofthecontentandstructureoftheteachingo Contactinforma>onforlecturersandtutorso …plusmore…
The University of Sydney Page 13
Timemanagementstrategies
The University of Sydney Page 14
Reflect on your study preferences
TimeforstudyTakeafewminutestoreflectontheseques>onso Doyoupreferstudyinginthemorningorevening?o Whenisyourmostproduc>ve>me?o Whenareyoumostabletoconcentrate?o Whenareyouleastproduc>veandmostdistracted?
Nowsharewiththepersonsi`ngnexttoyou.Maximiseyourstudy>me–studywhenyouarefreshandavoid>meswhenyouaredistracted.
The University of Sydney Page 15
Planning
Semester
Week
Session
EnteralldeadlinesonyoursemesterplannerForeachdeadline:• workbackwards• iden>fytheweeks/dateswhen
youneedtostartworkonthatassignment/test
UseyoursemesterplannerasthebasisforyourweeklyplannerUseyourweeklyplannerasthebasisofyourstudysessionplanner Gototomorrow’slecture‘Somanybooks,soliOle>me:Tipsforconqueringreadingand
research’(10-11,intheBoschLectureTheatre),formoreonplannersfor>memanagement.
The University of Sydney Page 16
Planning
o Planningmeans:o Breakalargetaskintostepsorchunks.o Es>matehowlongeachstepwilltake.o Workoutwhichchunksneedtobedoneineachweek.
o Writethechunksintheweeklyboxesonyoursemesterplanner
The University of Sydney Page 17
Planning – breaking assignment preparation down into steps
Forexample:wri.nganessayReadandsummarisejournalar>cles–8hoursPlanessay–2hoursWritedrah–3hoursRevisedrah–2hoursWritefinalessay–2hoursFormatreferences–2hoursPrintout–finalproofreadingandelectronicsubmission-1hour
The University of Sydney Page 18
Example semester planner
LING FRENCH BIO ENGLISH
Week1 Readnovel3hours
Week2 Readandsummarisejournalar>cles–8hours
Summariselecturenotes Readchapters1-3andmakenotes–3hoursWritedrahofsummary1hr
Readnovel2hrsFind3ar>cles1hr
Week3 Planessay–2hours
Studyforquiz2hours Writefinalsummary–2hrs
SummaryReadar>clesandmakenotes3hrsPlantutorialpresenta>on1hrDeveloppowerpoint2hrs
Week4 Writedrah–3hoursRevisedrah–2hours
Quiz Readchapters4-6andmake
notes–3hoursWritedrahofsummary1hr
Rehearsepresenta>on2hrs
Tutorialpresenta>on
Week5 Writefinalessay–2hoursFormatreferences–2hoursPrintout–1hour
Essay1due
Writefinalsummary–2hrs
Summary
Break Summariselecturenotes
Week6 Studyforquiz2hours Assignment1 Essay1
Week7 Quiz
Week8 Groupassignment
The University of Sydney Page 19
Procrastination
TimewastersHowdoyouprocras>nate?Takeafewminutestoreflectontheseques>onso Whatareyourbiggest>mewasters?o Howcanyouavoidthese?Nowsharewiththepersonsi`ngnexttoyou
o TV/computero Facebook,IM,TwiOeretc.o Phoneo Organisingyourdesko Gamingo Daydreaming...?
The University of Sydney Page 20
Timewasters
TV/computer Facebook Household
chores
The University of Sydney Page 21
Timewasters and solutions
TV/computer
Use it as a reward only
after finishing a task.
Check Facebook as a reward when
you finish.
Household chores
Don’t do cleaning or other chores
during your study time.
telephone texting Turn it off!
The University of Sydney Page 22
Goal setting
§ Studentswhosetgoalsaremorelikelytosucceed
§ Goalse`ngcanhelpyoutoimproveacademicperformanceatUniversity
Morisano,D.,Hirsh,J.B.,Peterson,J.,Pihl,R.,&Shore,B.(2010).Se`ng,elabora>ngandreflec>ngonpersonalgoalsimprovesacademicperformance.JournalofAppliedPsychology,95(2),255-264.
The University of Sydney Page 23
Set SMARTgoalso Specifico Measurableo Achievableo Realis>co Time-frame
By2pm,read4journalar.clesandmakeaconceptmapsummaryofideas.
S.cktoweeklystudyschedulethisweek.
TodayIwillavoiddistrac.onsbyturningoffmymobilewhilestudying.
The University of Sydney Page 24
Effec>vereadingtechniques
The University of Sydney Page 25
Reading effectively
Readingforapurpose:§ Whyareyoureading?e.g.:
§ foranassignment,eitherwriOenororal?
§ foratestoranexam?
§ Thewayyoureadandtakenoteswillbedifferent;e.g.:§ foranessayassignmentora(short)essayexam,youusuallyneedtoiden>fythemainideasandargumentbeingdevelopedbytheauthor
§ foranexamtes>ngdetailedknowledge,you’llneedtoseetherela>onshipsbetweenthevariouselementsofthesystem,process,etc.,thatyouarelearningabout
The University of Sydney Page 26
Reading techniques: Skimming
Skimming:gainingageneraloverviewofmainideas,argumentsetc.§ helpsyoudecideifatextisanappropriatesourceofinforma>onand
ifitis,todeterminehowmuchandwhatyoushouldreadmoreintensively
§ youcanapplyskimmingtechniquesatalllevelsofatext:§ skimtheintroductoryandconcludingchaptersofabook,togetherwiththetableofcontents
§ withinchapters,skimtheopeningandclosingparagraphs,theheadingsandsubheadings,thenskimthefirstsentencesofeachparagraph:these‘topic’sentencesusuallysummarisethecontentoftheparagraphorthedirec>onitwillbeleadingthereaderin
§ Skimmingallowsyoutoreflectonandpredictwhatistofollow:§ Takingafewminuteswhileskimmingtopredictcontentkeepsyouac>veasa
reader
§ Skimmingalsohelpsyoutowritebriefernotes
The University of Sydney Page 27
Reading techniques: Scanning
Scanning: to try to locate specific information § Book:
use the Contents pages (chapter titles) and/or the Preface/Introduction
use the index to find, e.g.:
o the name of a particular theorist - the index might provide that without having to scan parts of the text at all
o the main characteristics of a type of plant - find the page number(s) for the plant (or species) and scan the page(s) for the information you require.
§ Journal article:
use find if it is an electronic, searchable version
let your eyes move over each page in a systematic way until you find the information you want
§ Scanning can be used during the early stages of reading and researching as well as during the later stages to clarify specific points
The University of Sydney Page 28
Some General Principles for Reading
1. Be selective - you can't read everything so read the key texts in depth and skim some of your other references.
2. Use the information available in the texts to help you decide which texts to read and how much; i.e. use the index, chapter headings, table of Contents, introduction, and so on to help locate specific information.
3. Use your resources - get advice from lecturers as to which texts are the most important and which topics are the most time consuming.
4. Know what you're looking for: have a list of questions you need answers for to enhance your understanding of the material.
The University of Sydney Page 29
Learningandrevising…
The University of Sydney Page 30
Learning tips
Forreading/wriMnglearners:§ writesummariesofyourlectures§ makelists§ writekeyconceptsonpost-itnotes§ inventmnemonics(e.g.ROYGBIV–red,orange,yellow,green,blue,indigo,
violet=Newton’scoloursofthespectrum)§ fillanA-Zaddressbookwithaglossaryofkeywords,meanings,synonyms,
equa>ons,theories,etc.,inyoursubject
ForkinaestheMclearners:§ collectpictures/objectsthatremindyouofthekeypoints§ makeupreal-lifeexamplesofabstractconcepts,usecasestudies§ prepareademonstra>on,goonfieldtrips,interviewpeople,perform
experiments,docomputersimula>ons,…
The University of Sydney Page 31
Learning tips: what kind of learner are you?
Foraurallearners:§ recordkeypointsontoyouriPhoneandlisten§ holdstudysessionswithfriendsfordiscussions§ explainyournotestosomeoneelse,listentoothers’explana>ons§ imaginelisteningandtalkingtoyourtutor§ explaintherela>onshipsbetweenconcepts/elements
Forvisuallearners:use§ graphicorganisers,e.g.SmartArt§ conceptmaps,eventmaps,Venndiagrams,flowchartstoexplainthe
rela>onshipsbetweenconcepts/elements§ keywordsdisplayedincolour§ symbolstorepresenteachlearningelement
The University of Sydney Page 32
Concept map Event map
Topic
Feature 1
Feature 2
Feature 3
Feature 4 Event
Who?
What?
Where?
When?
How?
Why?
The University of Sydney Page 33
Venn diagram
A
B C
Things in common
to A and C
Things in common
to A and B
Things in common
to B and C
Things in common
to A, B and C
The University of Sydney Page 34
Learning preferences
§ Askthepersonsi`ngnexttoyou
§ Whattypeoflearningstyledoyouprefer?
§ Reading/wri>ng§ Kinaesthe>c§ Aural§ Visual
The University of Sydney Page 35
Revision tips: exams may seem a long way off !!
Advice from British ‘memory champion’, Ed Cooke: § start early in the semester § learn in short sessions § test yourself over a number of weeks, leaving intervals between revision
sessions § don’t leave learning, especially of large amounts of information, till the last
minute …
Knowledge building in science Knowledge building in humanities
Concept 1
Concept 2
Concept 3
vertical Concept 1 Concept 2 Concept 3
horizontal
https://www.memrise.com/
The University of Sydney Page 36
Revision tips: exams may seem a long way off !!
General revision advice: § revise in short, timed bursts of activity, then have a short break § revise when you’re ‘at your peak’ = early in the day? much later? § revise the most challenging subject areas first, while you’re fresh § give yourself a reward after a challenging revision session!
For example: Use the pomodoro technique 1. decide on the task to be done (and break it down into intervals). 2. set the pomodoro timer to n minutes (traditionally n = 25).
3. work on the task until the timer rings. If you are distracted, record whatever it is, but immediately get back on task.
4. when the timer rings after one ‘pomodoro’, take a short break (3–5 minutes), then continue with the task. Keep track of the number of pomodoros.
5. after four ‘pomodoros’, take a longer break (15–30 minutes), and start again. http://pomodorotechnique.com/
The University of Sydney Page 37
Preparing for Multiple Choice Question exams
Reviseindifferentways:§ makesummaries§ makediagramma>crepresenta>ons(e.g.conceptmaps,spidercharts,
flowcharts)§ makeoralexplana>ons/discussions(youcanrecordtheseandplaythem
back)§ applyyourknowledgetonewsitua>ons§ relatenewinforma>ontowhatyoualreadyknow:makeitconcrete,make
itpersonal§ movefromgeneraltospecificinforma>on§ workwithfriendstoprepare–andanswer–possibleques>onsonthe
samegeneraltopic:preparingques>onsyourselfisaverygoodwaytopreparefortheexam
The University of Sydney Page 38
Closing
1. Ques>ons…?2. PleasegiveusyourFeedback.Fillintheformand
leaveitintheboxasyouleave–thankyou!3. Fortheseslidesandadetailedhandout(including
planners),gotosydney.edu.au/lcandclickonResources
Goodluck