New tricks?Librarians teaching study skills

at Loughborough

Elizabeth GaddAcademic Services Manager (Engineering)

Study Skills Coordinator

Outline of the session

How we found ourselves teaching study skills

What we offer

Challenges faced

A modest proposal?

How we found ourselves teaching study skills...

Historically study skills support offered by Learning & Teaching Centre Change of focus onto staff

Library rescued study skills Advice sheets 1-hour workshops

Roberts funding for FT AL post Increased generic support Offered embedded support Online tutorial development

What we offer – Advice sheets

Learning at University Personal Development Planning Studying at a distance Time management Minimising stress Taking notes Reading efficiently What does the question mean? Essay writing Report writing

Oral presentations Working in groups Revision and exam skills Doing a literature review* Questionnaire Design* Citing and referencing* Developing mathematical skills Using Word in assignments* Using PowerPoint in oral

presentations *

Library workshop for PhD Research Training Programme

What we offer – Generic skills workshops

• Creating your future (PDP)  • Writing better essays 

• Working smarter not harder (Time management)

• Speaking your mind (Presentation skills) 

• Focus your reading • Making your point (Writing reports) 

• Deciphering your notes• References and citations explained 

• Excelling in your exams• Could do better (Revision skills)

What we offer – Embedded skills teaching

Topic

Sessions 2008/9(12 months)

Sessions 2009/10 (9 months)

Intro to study skills/ learning 3 6

Group work 2 3

PDP 1 1

Poster design 0 1

Presentation skills 3 0

Revision & exam skills 3 1

Time management 2 2

Writing skills 4 3

Total 18 17

What we offer – online tutorial

“Studytrail” Available on VLE (Moodle) 6 skills modules Due to be merged with our

“Infotrail” tutorial Writing skills & time

management most popular modules.

Challenges faced: The need for joined-up support

“We suggest that librarians and staff supporting IT, careers, widening participation, accessibility and learning development need better opportunities to learn from each other as the nature of successful study changes. There is background evidence that literacies transfer poorly across boundaries, a finding the makes joined-up support all the more critical.”

Learning Literacies in a Digital Age. (2009) JISCURL: http://www.jisc.ac.uk/publications/briefingpapers/2009/learningliteraciesbp.aspx

Solution: Skills Forum Student Hub &

Employability Award

Challenges faced – internal overlap

Challenges faced – academic resistance

“Loughborough students already have study skills”

Solution: “Transferrable skills in

the curriculum” course Information Science

MSc students project

Challenges faced – 1-2-1 support

International and DANS students have access to 1-2-1 skills support

Nothing for able-bodied home students

Solution: Working with English

Language Support to improve provision

Survey of LLOs

Challenges faced – teaching the teachers

No formal training amongst Academic Librarians to teach study skills

Absence of external “study skills teaching” courses

Solutions: Observation & Team teaching “Teaching a topic from scratch” session HEA pathway Reading... SDR process

East Midlands “Skills share” network A skills teacher from one HEI observes

a workshop at another HEI The observed teacher then

reciprocates Result: Good practice shared Outcome: improved student

experience across the sector! Any interest?

A proposal

Contact details

Elizabeth Gadd Tel: 01509 222342 Email:

e.a.gadd@lboro.ac.uk