Why is it important? Why research skills? Transition – especially for languages Attainment Wellbeing Skills gap – transition from school to university Student experience and wellbeing

Why is it important? Why embedded? Relevance Engagement Attendance Love “Student as Researcher” project Skills gap – transition from school to university Student experience and wellbeing

The student research skills journey First Year School-wide skills programme Language-specific research training Honours level Module-specific training Dissertation module Year Abroad Postgraduate Research Skills MA module Steven Johnson, Treasure map with X storage auction gold, Public Domain

School-wide skills provision Harmonising practice Changing demographic Standardising training to cover: Understanding sources Understanding questions Referencing: ‘Real life’ applications…

School-wide skills provision Understanding sources

School-wide skills provision Referencing

‘Real life’ applications New Skills Transferrable Skills Professional Skills Interpretation Evaluation Organization Working methods Contextualization Research House Style TPSDave, Office, Pixabay, Public Domain

School-wide skills provision Library Sessions Understanding your reading list Understanding academic sources Interactive lectures Group discussions Voting Matching / ordering activities Jirka Matousek, Students in Lecture Hall, Flickr.com, CC BY

First years – French Where do you look…. Navigating academic information Responseware Creating collaborative bibliographies Large session, Made interactive with use of response-ware, this time on students’ phones

First years - German Session in core first year module on Library Research Skills GE108 : Changing Face of Germany in Film and Text

First years - Hispanic Choosing search terms Searching Selecting and evaluating Creating collaborative bibliographies

First years - Italian Poster presentations Research Presentation

Honours level Hispanic Using images in a WIKI French – online recap Individual module interventions Hispanic Using images legally

Honours level French Online video tutorial Individual module interventions e.g. Disability and Madness Science Fiction Literatures of the Great war In the Family Way

In the Family Way module Task-based learning Prioritisation of information “Student as researcher” Modules URSS Scheme Reinvention Journal

Student as researcher project:

Year Abroad: embedding good research habits “Student as researcher” Students as research experts Automony Formulating good questions Scrutinising sources

A student view “The first thing I would have to say is problem solving. Carrying out research requires you to use analytical skills in a different way as it requires you to fill in the missing pieces in records and call into the question the reasons for these absences. Likewise, the process of ‘trial and error’ - if at first you don’t succeed, then try and try again! This is very true, especially when working with new software, e.g. archival databases, once you think you the record doesn’t exist, you then discover that in fact it is located somewhere else! Finally, independence. Of course at university you are also an independent learner but you equally have all your peers around you studying the same thing. However, research is rather an individual activity which necessitates confidence and belief in one’s abilities! ”

Dissertation level Systematic Advanced searching Managing your sources Keeping track Postcards and magnifying glass, Wikimedia Commons, Public domain

Postgraduate level As above, plus: Reference management Keeping up to date Broadening your focus Research definition, CC BY-SA 3.0 Nick Youngson

Gaps and challenges Not all students get the same Capacity Academic engagement Pixabay, Public Domain

References John Biggs and Catherine Tang, Teaching for Quality Learning at University (Society for Research into Higher Education and Open University: Buckingham, 2011).

Questions How do we help students / researchers acquire the skills of: Prioritising information? Sifting/sorting and evaluating? Using the internet well? (When it is a problem? When an asset?)