Lecture 4 Investing in yourself

Learning through Talk How well you learn from group discussion is greatly affected by what you experience in being in the group Group learning can be very enjoyable and rewarding, and can build confidence and maintain morale... But it can also be confusing frustrating and alienating.  Important to reflect on your reaction  Important to think about how to be productive in a group.

Learning through Talk Discussion based learning:  Seminars, tutorials, group discussion, workshops Size of the group, and type of control by the leader, are both important in determining what you learn from it.

Learning Through Talk Discussion is communal: allows you to share the burden of understanding new ideas Discussion helps develop your debate and thinking skills Helps you to use and understand the specialist language of your subject Lifts your morale: you realize you are not alone in your struggle to understand.

Learning Through Talk Advice for getting benefit from discussion.  Make an effort to talk to group members before and after the group sessions. It will make a difference to your confidence.  Always show up.  Do any readings that you should so that you are prepared to speak.  If you are confused, say so. Otherwise you could get left out of the discussion.

Learning Through Talk Advice...  Don't wait for something “important” to say. Set your sights low, and say simple things and give simple examples.  Don't worry about the quality of your contribution. Nobody will mind.  Share responsibility for keeping the group useful and interesting. Make contributions to the discussion.

Talk Giving presentations:  Keep it simple and make it as clear as you can.  Use examples that the audience can understand.  Make your slides show the main points, and you can talk around these main points with examples.  Practice your presentation the day before.  Check the equipment and take your time. Cut your presentation length rather than rush.

Lectures Learning in lectures does not come by just attending. You have to listen to the lecturers argument You have to think about what is said and make connections with what you already know You must take notes of some kind.

Online research Much good research can be done using online sources. Use search engines outside China for english language queries.  Google, lycos, altavista are common choices for general searches  Often have “advanced” search capabilities You should set up a web filing system.  Bookmarks folder in your browser.

Online research When you need to do serious research about a topic/field start by finding:  Major portals or gateways  Databases When searching, start with simple keywords. But choose alternative words and phrasing as well to check that you get different points of view.  You will begin to recognize the network of knowledge that is on the internet.

Online info: is it any good? How do you know what you found is good? PROMPT:  Presentation: does the site look professional or amateurish? Is it sensational, or sober? Relevance. Is it what you are looking for? Objectivity. Is the writing impersonal, objective?

Online info: is it good? Method.  Are there indications of the method used to get the information? Provenance.  What is the origin and authenticity of the information? Is the source reputable? Who trusts it? Do you trust it? Timeliness.  When was it published? Is it up to date?

Online research. Referencing.  Anything you find online you should make a note of, and reference it in your work.  The texts you find online are the intellectual property of whoever published them. Be careful to acknowledge them. You can download entire webpages onto your hard drive for future reference, if you wish.

Writing Essays Academic writing is a key learning process. It deepens your learning of the subject. It strengthens your power of self expression. It is a major way in which you are graded.

Essay Writing An essay should read as a logical argument with each point following on clearly from the preceding one. In principle:  The argument in an essay should go from the title through to the conclusion without any interruption!  Everything in the essay should contribute in some way to the argument.  Anything which does not contribute should be left out.

Essay writing. Make it clear that you have answered the question which the essay asks. Your primary purpose is to arrive (in the conclusion) at an answer to the question in the title.  Answer can be yes/no/maybe/it depends on circumstances...  Key idea is to show that you have tried to answer the issue/question.

Essay writing Make your arguments obvious.  “Spell it out”  Assume your reader needs lots of hand- holding to follow your argument. Things you write can seem perfectly obvious to you, but be obscure to the reader.  Your points often need more explanation than you think.  When you reread an essay a few months later, you can find your own words a mystery...

Essay writing After you make your arguments, you need to back up your argument.  Facts or statements from reputable sources  Proper referencing! Harvard reference system is one choice. Bring in concepts cases and authours from your course.  Remember that essays are used to evaluate you. Show what you have learned that is relevant.

Essay writing Essays must have a structure A poor essay structure seems to go from paragraph to paragraph without any obvious sequence or direction. You have to guess what it's all about and whether it works. A good essay : you should think about the order in which you want to argue. It doesn't have to be clever, a simple structure is fine.

Essays Beginning:  A short, “punchy” opening. POW!  A quick scenario, and a provocative question.  Or just a question, followed by why this is of interest.

Essays Ending:  Briefly recap main flow of your arguments.  Conclude with how you have come to a conclusion of the issue/question raised at the start.  Crisp, direct, and to the point.

Essays USE YOUR OWN WORDS.  This is a crucial part of using writing to “learn”  It helps your teacher to give you credit for what you have done.  It makes studying much more interesting (though harder too).