Lesson 1 Topic: Study skills basics

Lesson 1
Topic: Study skills basics.
Types of independent work, how to present independent work.
Time: 80 min
Module: 80 min
Objectives:

• 
  to introduce the notion of learner autonomy
  
• 
  to raise students' awareness of the importance of moving from teacher dependency to learner autonomy in Higher education
  
• 
  to let students be aware how much teacher dependent or independent they are and plan further actions
  

Materials: handouts based on:
Cottrell S. (2003) The Study Skills Handbook. Palgrave, p.12
ELA Guide (2009) Introduction to Autonomous Learning /Counsellor's Pack
DUET Trainer's notes. (2008) Learner Autonomy.
Time:80 minutes
Materials: handouts, video, power point presentation Procedure:
Activity 1 Metaphor
Objective: to let students uncover their beliefs about being a pupil and a student through a
metaphor
Time: 10 min
• Show the picture (Handout 1 - taxi driver and a passenger) and ask SS:
~ What are the roles of the passenger and the driver in the picture? Which of the roles is active/passive?
~ In a typical classroom situation in school, what role does a pupil have, passive or active?
~ Do you think the role of a pupil is different from a role of a student in HEI?
Possible answers:
~ The driver's role is active because he chooses the route to the destination. The passenger has a rather passive role; he just accepts the decisions made by the driver.
~ In a typical classroom situation the teacher usually makes all the decisions and students follow what has been said, so pupils are passive.
In a HEI students are expected take more active part in their learning.

• 
  Summarise the discussion by saying that the given metaphor shows a typical situation in schools, where pupils are usually very dependent on their teacher. They are often passengers rather than drivers. However in HEI students are expected to become more independent and responsible for their own learning.
  

Activity 2
Objective: to let students reflect on to what extent they are independent learners
Time: 30 min

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  Give handout 2 and ask SS to underline all the words they associate with the phrase "independent study" and add any other ideas.
  
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  Ask volunteers to share their answers.
  
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  Summarise the discussion by saying that independent study can be all the things they would like it to be. University learning expects students to take an active part in their own learning. Development of study skills will help them to make best use of their independent study.
  
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  Distribute the handout 3 and students to do the quiz and find out to what extent they are ready for autonomous learning.
  
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  Ask them to share their results with their peer and provide examples.
  
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  Summarise the activity by saying that taking more responsibility by making decisions about learning and becoming more autonomous as a learner can help them become more successful.
  

Activity 3 A learner's roles in the learning process
Objectives:

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  to raise learners' awareness of the respective roles of a teacher and a student
  

Time: 15 min

• 
  Tell learners that becoming an autonomous/independent learner is a gradual process and learners might need support and help at some stages. Teachers will help them learn how to make decisions about their learning.
  
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  Distribute Handout 4 to each pair. Invite learners to look at Worksheet 4 and identify the roles of a teacher and a student. Tell them to put 'T' for a Teacher's role, 'S' for a Student's role and 'B' if they think the role can be shared by both a student and a teacher in the columns T, S or B. Allow 5 minutes for them to complete the task.
  
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  NB! Some roles in the Worksheet 4 may be difficult to understand, so make sure you walk around and observe learners at work. In case there is a difficulty in understanding some words you might wish to help them either by explaining or translating these words into their native language.
  
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  Invite learners to share their answers with the whole group. Go through 4-5 role items together and ask learners why they decided to put T /S or B. Encourage them to bring in examples.
  
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  Establish that most of the roles in the learning process can be shared between a teacher and a student. Students are expected to take more responsibility for all the roles.
  

Activity 4|
what do students say

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  Tell students that non-traditional students posted in students' blog where they said they prefer autonomous learning to dependent and authoritarian learning. They tend to get more out of studies and feel more appreciated when the learning environment allows them to be critical and reflective.
  
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  Distribute handout 5 and ask students to get into groups of three and read different student's ideas about autonomous learners and highlight interesting ideas.
  

"I am more critical in my learning, looking for different independent sources. I think that learning creates more new questions than answers. I can see learning in several more situations than before. I often use other people when I learn. " (Student, Sweden)
"I learn best...when I can determine the learning objectives, learning content and way of assessment self-reliantly or collaboratively (in a group) and when the learning environment supports this very self-directedness." (Student, Germany)
"What I like most here is that you can be very creative during classes, that you can say something wise on the basis of your own experiences or on the basis of read literature, you can show your creativity, you can create a theory which will be adopted by the others or which can be discussed. We do not base our ideas only on a concrete bibliography and literature we have to read, the truth still takes place on the basis of a free discussion and this is the nicest as we learn most from this."
"Now that I have done work experience in various places I notice that I sort of think about my own actions more. And especially what are the good sides of an exam or a group work or something. So I do a lot of reflection all the time." (Student, Finland
"At my first course the teachers said 'You should question everything.' That made a great impact on me, because then I had to learn to think on my own and to analyse. In my home country the attitude is that the teacher is always right." (Student, Sweden
"I think that it is of added value that there are older people in the classroom, because they contribute a level of reflection which is more involved, in order to specify more content or to give different levels (...) while at the same time they contribute to myself and to my colleagues a great deal of knowledge and interesting issues." (Lecturer, Spain)
Activity 5 Watching Video
Ask learners to watch a video about autonomous learners and take notes.
Activity 6| Taking the first step

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  The purpose of this exercise is to give a chance to discover the positive as well as the negative aspects of yourself. Tell learners if they want to make the exercise worthwhile, they should do it with courage.
  
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  Some people suggest that looking at negative aspects is counter to positive thinking. Well, perhaps. Positive thinking is a great technique. So is seeing the truth, especially when we see the whole picture - even though a realistic picture of ourselves may include some extremely negative points.
  
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  If you admit that you can't read, and that's the truth, then you have taken a strong positive First Step to becoming a successful reader. On the other hand, if you say that you are a terrible math student, and that's not the truth, then you are programming yourself to accept unnecessary failure. The point is, tell the truth.
  
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  This exercise is similar to each Journal Entry - Discovery Statement appearing throughout this text. The difference is that in this case, for reasons of confidentially, you don't write your discoveries in the book.
  
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  Be brave. If you approach this exercise with courage, you are likely to write down some things you don't want others to read. You may even write down some truths about yourself that could get you into trouble. Do this exercise on separate pieces of paper; then hide or destroy them.
  

To make this exercise work, follow these three suggestions:
be specific. It is not effective to write, "I could improve my communication skills." Of course you can. Instead, write down precisely what you can do to improve your communication skills. For example: "I can spend more time really listening while the other person is talking, instead of thinking about what I'm going to say next."

1. 
   Look beyond the classroom. What goes on outside school often has the greatest impact on your ability to be an effective student.
   
2. 
   Be courageous. This exercise is a waste of time if done halfheartedly. Be willing to risk. Sometimes you may open a door that reveals a part of yourself that you didn't want to admit was there. The power of this technique is that once you know what the "it" is, you can do something. Part 1
   

Time yourself, and for 10 minutes, write as fast as you can and complete the following sentences with anything that comes to mind. Complete each sentence at least 10 times. If you get stuck, don't stop; just write anything - even if it's crazy. It is ineffective when I ... It doesn't work when I ... I could change.
Part 2
When you have completed the first part of the exercise, review what you have written and cross off things that don't make any sense. The sentences that remain represent possible goals for your experience as a master student.
Part 3
Here's the tough part. Time yourself, and for 10 minutes, write as fast as you can. Complete the following sentences with anything that comes to mind. As in Part 1, complete each sentence at least 10 times and just keep writing, even if it sounds silly. I am very good at... It is effective when I... Something very positive about me is.
Part 4
Review your list and circle the things that really fit. This is a good list to keep for those times when you question your own value and worth. Activity 7 Action planning
Objective: to let students plan their further actions on how to become a more independent student Time: 5 min

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  Ask students to make a plan what skills they need to develop to be more autonomous.
  
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  Ask them to share their plans with their peer.
  

Summarise by saying that most of the independent study skills will be discussed in this course (like time management, self-assessment, goal setting, dealing with tasks, etc.

Activity 2
Handout 2. What does 'independent study' suggest to you?

Activity 1 Handout 1. Picture
Underline all the words you associate with the phrase 'independent study'.

F reedom failure	working without a teacher