Getting going with your course work Sara Steinke STAY AHEAD AUTUMN PROGRAMME 2011

Aims of the session Reflect upon the key common barriers to starting coursework – and consider how to avoid them Getting motivated and planning your work Reflect upon your present strengths in starting coursework, the areas for improvement that you are hoping for and the strategies that work best for you

Think about the following 1.What do you think are the most common barriers to starting coursework? 2.Which of these barriers have you experienced in your first term at Birkbeck? 3.What have you done to overcome these barriers?

You are not alone... Procrastination Perfectionism Lack of self discipline Worrying Personal Disorganisation Lack of priorities Inability to say no Indecisiveness Socialising (too much) Intrusions (visitors, calls) Not finding resources Excessive family demands Not able to contact people

How well motivated are you?YesNo 1. I recognise/deal with procrastination 2.I break the task down into smaller chunks 3.I imagine the sense of achievement when I have completed the task 4.I energise myself to get started/keep going 5.I set a specific task with a deadline 6.I link the task to my future goals 7. I am clear on what to do next 8. I tell a friend who will hold me to account 9. I use a variety of techniques to get started 10. I recognise/deal with perfectionism

Tricks for getting started See Cottrell 2008: 173 Free writing Write all your ideas as fast as you can for three minutes, dont bother about sentences or punctuation Mind mapping Talking Talk out loud to yourself, record/listen to yourself Question banks What, where, when, why Summing up in a few words/sentences

Helps you generate ideas Helps you find the specific focus of your topic Gets you started writing at an early stage Look for different possible answers rather than one solution Allow yourself to think of crazy suggestions Suspend judgment on which ideas might be useful

Class activity: brainstorming studying

Reflective/active learning 1.Write down the three most important things that you have learnt/thought about in this session? Why were they important to you? 2.Are there any areas of improvement that you need to take action on? If so, what are you doing to do to improvement this aspect of your learning?

Recap of the session Identified the key common barriers to starting coursework – and received help and advice on how to avoid them Discussed techniques for motivation and planning Reflected upon your present strengths in starting coursework, the areas for improvement that you are hoping for and the strategies that work best for you