The Skills Edge

Dr Steve BriggsDr Maria KukharevaKat Koulle

Session Overview

1. Consider what is meant by the term ‘advanced academic skills’

2. Feedback from focus groups

3. Overview of learning materials that were developed

4. Discuss feedback from pilot session attendees

5. Discussion and questions

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What are advanced academic skills?

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Project Overview

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Create a bank of learning materials that can be used by academics to develop advanced academic skills sessions

Work with students as co-creators

Resource legacy for academics to use

Challenges 1. Advanced academic skills means different things to different people

2. Scalability (generic vs. subject specific)

3. Cross stage delivery

4. Identification of students (self-select vs. directed)

5. Access to examples that are relevant

6. Involve students as creators

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Opportunities for Student Co-Creation

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Student interns

Focus groups

Pilot sessions

What was highlighted in focus groups?

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Advanced information literacy

Planning larger & more complex work

Developing a writing style and finding own voice

Information capture and synthesis

Information Literacy

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Selecting “best” literature

Using sources that attract ‘high marks’

Working more effectively and efficiently

Narrowing / broadening searches

Mind mapping / similar

Information Capture and Synthesis

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Capturing complexity in writing

Through note taking

Constructing own argument

Generating evidence – when to use theory / policy / etc

Planning larger and more complex work

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Weighting and structure

Reading to improve own writing

Linking text / sections / parts

AnalysisConnecting theory / practice / policy / research

Writing larger assignments / sections

Writing style and finding own voice

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Expanding academic vocabulary within discipline

Critical analysis / analytical / reflective writing

Making meaningful cohesive connections

Developing own scholarly voice

Text deconstruction

Speaking through literature

Resource Development

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• Based on focus group feedback we attempted to develop a series of template sessions

• A major challenge was how to make content relevant to students studying different subjects (e.g. selecting exemplar texts)

• We arranged a second wave of focus groups to get student feedback

2nd Focus Group Feedback

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Not relevant to my subject area! Can’t see personal

relevance!

Some of this is too easy so not interested! Rethink!

Resource Development (rethink)

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• Focus on using L7 or L6 student assignments as exemplars

• Focus on elements that can be pick and mixed to create sessions rather than complete sessions

• Brought in student interns to help co-author

‘Elements’ approach - examples

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• Breadth of knowledge

• Depth of knowledge

• Critical / analytical writing

• Reflective writing

• Creative writing

• Scientific writing

• Developing scholarly ‘voice’

• Discipline-specific terminology

• Synthesis

• Discipline-specific connections between theory, policy and practice

1. Discussion

2. Example of work

3. Identify other examples

4. Personal application

Example of work: How does the author link theory, policy and practice in this report?

Is Garland’s (2001) “culture of control” theory evident in current policy in dealing with young people who offend / at risk of offending with regard to Anti-Social behaviour (ASB) in Luton? If evident how does this impact on implementation and type of offending behaviours?

Garland’s theory of “culture of control” is evident in the current policy and legislation regarding ASB. Garland states that control and surveillance to monitor communities, spaces and people is used in a way that prevents opportunities for offending. These changes in legislation and policies affect the way the CJS deals with offenders. Since 1998 young people can be arrested for disorderly behaviour and be subject of a civil order and in some cases have a custodial sentence if breached.

This blurs the line between criminal and ASB and could be arguably criminalising “youthful behaviour” (Haywood 2002). What is perceived as ASB could vary as subjective and DO’s could encourage the displacement of ASB to other areas. Solutions state that a reduction of 2% in anti-social behaviour is successful; however there is little evidence to measure the effectiveness of impact on anti-social behaviour initiatives (YJB 2006, The Children’s Society 2011).

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Pilot sessions

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Applied Social Studies

Education

Business

Co-delivered with Academic Liaison Librarians.

Invites sent to students via academics in three target areas.

In total, 20 students participated in pilot sessions

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Feedback from Pilots

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Feedback from Pilots

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What three things did you learn?

Feedback from Pilots

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Was one thing particularly useful?

Other topics to include?

Feedback from Pilots

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“Thank you very much for delivering the Higher Level Skills seminars to our level 5 and 6 students last week.

Students were highly engaged with the materials and the level of discussion engendered was indicative of the resources and your lead. The Level 5 students really did not appear to want the session to end and stayed behind for quite some time talking through their ideas for their next assessment in light of your input”.

Senior Lecturer - Education Studies

Student Intern Feedback

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Working with the PAD team on the Skills Edge Project is a great experience. Working as an intern allows me to observe how the Skills Edge Project develops and how it is being run by the Team.

More than that, I contribute to the Project by providing the Team with academic writing examples taken from my own assignments which were given an A grade.

Going through my own work once more, however with a different approach, allowed me to see my own strengths and weaknesses in academic writing which I was not aware of before.

And I think this is exactly the way students can benefit from the Program.

Having a real example in order to analyze it and apply the principals in the future assignments seems to be an effective approach to enhance academic writing.

Next Steps

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• Continue to develop elements

• Further pilots with other courses

• Prepare materials for academics explaining how to tailor resources for use with students

• Add resources to our Academic Skills Teaching Toolkit

• Provide training for academics

• Extend engagement through future course enhancement projects

• Follow up evaluation

Do you provide advanced academic skills training in your institution?

If so, how?

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Questions

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