A new dawn...

This blog is about to come back online, with a focus on Autonomous (or self-directed) learning. Watch this space.

On Hold

Sharon's Electronic Resources Blogs are currently on hold while I focus on work projects.

Back in the Saddle.

So, you're back for another semester of fun and games?

You've got a handle on everything by now, surely? You've done the whole sorting-out-lectures-researching-assignments-sittings-exams thing and now you know what to expect for this coming semester?

Well, there's good news and bad news. The good news is - you're kind of right. You do know what to expect from university/college life, which gives you a great advantage. The bad news is - every semester, the expectations get higher.

Knowing what you're doing is only half the battle won. If you really want to get ahead in this game, you have to know how to do it well.

So, let me ask you: what were your weakest points last semester? Was it your writing? Your research? Your attendance at lectures?

If you think your writing could be stronger, you should find out if there are any workshops run by learning advisers to help you with that. If you think your research let you down last semester, then get thee to a library and see what the librarians are offering by way of training and support. If it was attending lectures, I'm afraid you'll have to sort yourself out for that.

Try to look at this semester as a chance to "beat your Personal Best". Go a little bit further, try a little bit harder, aim a little bit higher... but don't kill yourself. If there is one piece of advice I can give you for this semester, it's to make sure you get a good night's sleep. It's amazing what that can do for your performance.

Exam Tip #5

Make something

Okay, you've got a really complex subject that has a lot of "hard" facts to remember... and there's an exam coming up.

You know you are going to have to remember that formula/definition/date, so you write it down on a piece of paper and read over it as often as you can - saying it out-loud to a mirror to help you memorise it.

But it's so very similar to another formula/definition/date that you have to remember for the same exam, and you aren't sure if you'll remember exactly which one is which when it comes to the crunch...

While memorisation is great, and learning things by rote can really help you recall things later on, the best thing you can do to remember something is to engage with it.

If you know what that formula does (and what happens if you change one part of it), if you use that definition in context, if you remember something else that happened on that date... well it might mean more to you. When it means something to you, you stand a better chance of remembering it.

One of the best ways to engage with the facts is to make something out of them. Anything at all.

It could be a study guide for a Sixth Grade class, which makes you rethink the way you present the information so that twelve-year-olds can understand it. It could be a series of slides created for your own class - as if you were going to teach your peers a lesson on the subject. It could be a short story in which the facts form crucial plot points. It could be an interpretive dance, in which each movement represents a core concept.

Whatever makes you happy. Play with it - come up with something that gets you not just thinking about the information but actively using it.

This also helps you work on an important skill - synthesis. It's one of the higher order thinking skills Bloom lists in his taxonomy, and it can help you improve the quality of the work you produce.

When you make something new with the facts you have on hand, you're more likely to remember them later, and more likely to be able to use them effectively.

Exam Tips #4

Don't be so sure

Is there something on your revision checklist you are so confident about that you skip it every time?

Do you feel that a particular subject is so easy and obvious that you don't have to waste time looking at it?

That's usually a sign that you weren't paying attention. You'll probably find there are a lot of aspects you didn't consider, a lot of nuances you haven't appreciated.

You probably think it's easy and simple because you don't know what you don't know.

One of the best "tricks" you can master when it comes to study and revision is to learn to recognise where these gaps in your knowledge are - to know what you don't know.

Take a look at everything you have covered in your notes. Some areas will obviously stand out to you as things you need to know more about, and you will feel compelled to give most of your study time to covering those topics. But make sure you pay close attention to the areas you feel completely confident about.

Why are you so confident? Is it because you have put a good amount of work into those areas, you have done a reasonable amount of research and you already know what the main issues are and how different theorists have addressed those issues?

Or, is it because "everyone knows about that"?

"Everyone knows" a lot of things - except they don't know them very well. In fact, they usually have a very poor and ill informed understanding, which leads to a lot of bad decisions and unfounded judgments. It's obnoxious in casual conversation - it's downright dangerous when going into an exam.

"Everyone knows" how to run and throw a ball, but that doesn't mean there isn't a lot of information you could learn about these activities - and a lot of "hot-topics" you might not be aware of.

If it bores you, you probably don't know enough about it. If you can't be bothered looking it up, you probably don't know enough about it. If, every time you see it, you are sure you've got it under control... you probably don't know enough about it.

That's the topic that's going to trip you up on the exam, because you're not worried enough to make sure you know as much as you could.

Go through everything on your revision sheet and make sure you can write down a list of the major issues and theories regarding those topics. Don't skip anything, and watch to see where the gaps in your knowledge might be. Nothing is as simple as it seems.

Using References effectively #2

Did you know that your lecturers look at your reference list to see if you've done enough research?

You should think about doing the same thing. Think about what you want your reference list to look like, and then make sure you find enough resources to use in your assignment so that you can create a "killer" reference list.

Here are a few things worth keeping in mind:

1. Basic rule of thumb – have at least eight works in your list, with at least two of each:

• Journals


• Books


• Web pages

2. "Journal articles are Kings, Books are Presidents and Web Pages are Prime Ministers (although they could be con men)."

• The latest and greatest stuff is usually published in a journal article long before it gets to a book, so make sure your reference list has a lot of journal articles.


• Books usually contain the most reliable facts, so they should take up the next largest chunk of your list.


• Web pages (particularly government and educational sites) can often have the most easily digestible information, as well as containing the information that people working in the field "should know"... but make sure you always take a close look at who is responsible for that web page, and ask yourself if you think you can trust them.

3. "Something old, something new, something borrowed, something blue"

• Something old = at least one text from before 5-10 years ago to show you’ve researched the history of the subject


• Something new = Most of your work should be from the last 5 years – try to be as cutting edge as possible


• Something borrowed = Make sure you use at least one text from your recommended readings


• Something blue = A text that’s there to add ‘colour’ – it’s not what someone would normally expect (but it must be relevant. An example would be an article on verbal negotiation from a police journal for a nursing assignment looking at communication.

Remember, unless your lecturer has specifically told you to only reference your required readings, you should assume they want you to research, and they want you to prove you’ve read widely. This is your chance to show off how much work you've done.

Using References effectively #1

You should remember that the reference list at the end of your assignment is actually a reflection of the research you have used throughout your assignment.

That may seem unnervingly simple, but it can help to keep those last couple of pages in mind before you start researching.

Your reference list should be a flag to your lecturer/marker to show them at a glance how much research you've done - and how widely you've researched.

At an undergrad level, you should try to have at least eight works in the reference list of any assignment (the bigger the assignment, the more works), and they should come from a variety of sources - journals, books, webpages... The wider the range, the better.

The largest percentage of your reference list should be taken up by recent journal articles (recent = about the last five years or so). The next largest percentage should be taken up by recent books (published less than ten years ago, preferably also within the last five years). The rest should be a mix of reliable, web pages and some older journals and books.

The people marking you are largely obsessed with recent work. Try to avoid having more than a couple of texts that are more than ten years old. However, including one or two can show that you have researched the back ground of your topic, and you have a better understanding of the overall context in which your topic sits.

In the next "chapter" of this section I'll give you some helpful memes to keep in mind when trying to build a "killer" reference list.