From bolt-on to embedded: inclusive approaches to teaching study skills Cath Senker and Clare Hardman Study Skills, Careers and Employability Centre

In this workshop we will: Consider the skills your students need to develop Explore the challenges of teaching study skills to a diverse group and discuss solutions Share examples of resources at Sussex to help students develop their skills Share successful study skills activities and try some short skills teaching activities

Teaching study skills effectively Timely Relevant Explicit Everyone Embedded

Skills Resources at Sussex Skills Hub website CEC Workshops on study skills and all aspects of writing Better Writing Tutorials Student Support Unit workshops Academic Development and English Language Student Mentors Academic Advisors www.sussex.ac.uk/skillshub

CEC Spring 2017 workshops How do I reference correctly? How do I integrate sources effectively? How can I improve my academic writing style? How do I devise my own essay question? Writing at postgraduate level How can I manage my time and avoid procrastination? How do I prepare for my presentation? How do I plan and structure my essay? How do I write a good introduction and conclusion? How can I develop a good argument in my essay? Working on my postgraduate dissertation Refining my postgraduate dissertation

Skills Teaching at Sussex

Introduction (c. 10%) •Punchy first sentence – arouse reader’s interest •Context: set the scene •Explain how you interpret the question •Define key terms •Outline the issues that you are going to explore, in the right order •Introduce your main argument In small groups, students note every element in an intro on a sticky, then order the stickies. Invite students from different tables to share their ideas and discuss order of material in introduction. Visual approach - image of funnel - focus in from general to specific for intro. The opposite for the conclusion. Encourage them to consider how to adapt the model to their discipline. Activity can be adapted for any ordering task: eg structure of an essay; process of work for dissertation; structuring argument; structuring paragraph. Apps and software can also be used rather than stickies.

Questions