1. education
2. homework and study tips

SECTION 2:
ACTIVITIES AND MATERIALS FOR
ENCOURAGING STUDENTS TO UNDERSTAND
THEIR OWN LEARNING
Some guidelines
All the ideas and materials in this section have been devised, adapted and tested
by a team of ALs working on courses at all levels in all Faculties and Schools,
during one OU academic year. All were trying to encourage their students to
become more aware of their learning and to understand what works best for
them in various contexts. Encouragement was through tutorials, correspondence
tuition, and individual contact by phone, letter or e-mail. During the testing and
at the end of the year, the group came together to share their experiences. From
their feedback a few guidelines emerged as advice to those ALs who want to
begin to introduce this approach to learning with their students:
•
•
•
•
introducing the learning how to learn approach is easiest with students who
are new to the university
the approach must be introduced right at the start of the course, preferably in
your first contact with students
everything you do about learning skills should be related to the course or use
course materials (that’s the priority for most students)
always give the rationale for what you encourage students to do
•
adapt the approach, activities and materials to suit your personal style as a
tutor so that you feel happy about using them (but sometimes be prepared to
take risks or try something new)
•
even if you are trying things for the first time, be convinced that it is a
worthwhile approach – your conviction is important for students
recognize that not all ideas will work for every student – finding out what
works for them is important (but they don’t know that until they give it a
try)
stress from the outset that how you learn is as important as what you learn
take a positive view of continuous assessment as part of the learning process
(this is true of exams too, although students may not be convinced).
•
•
•
Using the activities and materials
In this section are thirty-two suggestions for activities that you might like to use
with your students (Table 1). Twenty-five of the activities have materials
provided as Handouts. You will find the handouts inside the back cover of this
toolkit; they are all designed for use by students. You are certainly neither
expected nor encouraged to use them all.
Individual use
Many of the suggestions can be used by students on their own as part of their
study process or as a one-off activity. You can send material to your students in a
mailing, electronically or with marked TMAs; it can be returned to you, as
appropriate, by post, electronically, with the next TMA or at a face-to-face
meeting. Some responses do not need to be returned or shared with you, or with
other students; for others this is optional. Some can be used or modified for use
with an individual student as part of a special session, especially if that student
needs help with learning skill development.
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Table 1 Activities and materials included in this toolkit
Handout
number
Group
activity
Individual
activity
Related to
assessment
Related to
whole course
Induction
Initial letter (A103)
✔
✔
Tutorial timetable (A103)
✔
✔
Some brief details of your experience
as a student
1
✔
✔
Initial questionnaire
2
✔
✔
Student telephone contact sheet
3
✔
✔
Preparing
Analyse the task
✔
Taking an overview
Review prior learning
Developing skills through experience
4
✔
✔
✔
How people learn
5
✔
Setting learning goals
6
✔
Action plan
7
✔
Setting targets for your next assignment
8
Looking at past experiences of learning
✔
✔
✔
✔
Make a plan
✔
✔
✔
✔
✔
✔
Identify learning style(s) and strategies
Analysing a learning session
9
✔
✔
✔
Study habits questionnaire
10
✔
✔
✔
Learning styles questionnaire
11
✔
✔
✔
Exploring
Identify and access sources of help
Assignment planning and reflection
✔
12
✔
Improve the skills required
Learning habits
13
✔
✔
✔
Audit of learning skills
14
✔
✔
✔
Learning skills to develop
while studying
15
Skills audit
16
✔
✔
✔
✔
✔
✔
✔
Monitor progress
✔
How’s it going?
Mid-course review
Keeping a learning journal
16
✔
17
✔
Keeping a learning diary for a week
18
✔
✔
✔
✔
✔
✔
✔
Handout
number
Group
activity
Individual
activity
Related to
assessment
Related to
whole course
✔
✔
Implementing
Monitor performance
✔
Running commentary
Check guidelines or criteria again
Criteria for reviewing
your assignment
19
Self-assessment using
a marking scheme
✔
✔
✔
✔
Make a self-assessment
Learning from assessment
20
✔
✔
Your assessment of your TMA
21
✔
✔
22
✔
✔
✔
✔
Reviewing
Take action on feedback
What to do when your TMA
comes back
Explaining my comments
Review the process
Reflection on learning in a tutorial or
study session
23
How did you do it?
Revision and examinations:
interviewing your partner
24
End-of-course learning skills checklist
25
✔
✔
✔
✔
✔
✔
✔
✔
✔
✔
✔
Face-to-face sessions for groups at day schools, tutorials or skills workshops
Table 1 (page 00) shows which activities are designed for a group situation with
your facilitation and support. You will be able to decide which would be useful
and for what purpose. Some assume an on-going relationship with the student
and therefore would be best for tutorial use; others, especially those that may
take longer, would be more appropriate in a day school session or workshop.
The tutors who devised and used these activities – and some ideas are well
known – do stress how important it is to be sensitive about the feelings of
individuals within the group, and to be aware that not all will want to share their
feelings with others. If you are someone who does not enjoy group activities that
have a personal or affective component, use only those activities with which you
feel confident and with groups that you know well. All the activities and
materials that involve group work have been tried and tested, even with groups
of students who are new to the university, new to the course and to each other.
Linking learning to assessment
Some tutors have found that some students initially resist activities that are
about learning skills even when they involve using course material and many
tutors feel constrained by time especially in tutorials. One ideal way of
introducing the whole approach of learning how to learn is around a current
assignment. If you are clear about the rationale and can show that time spent
preparing, exploring, implementing and reviewing an assignment will be
productive, most students are willing to try. In Table 1 we have indicated which
particular activities and materials relate directly to assessment.
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Learning how to learn throughout the course
Some of the activities and materials have no direct link to assessment but take a
wider view of the learning cycle and relate to specific points during a course –
the start, mid-year, revision and exams. Others can be introduced at any time,
either in response to individual need or as a group exercise that relates well to a
particular part of a course. In Table 1, suggestions that apply the process to the
whole course are indicated.
Activities and materials in this section
The following activities and materials are presented in a sequence that follows
the process outlined in Section 1 but with an additional induction stage that is
concerned with your early contact with your students and the importance of
starting to encourage an awareness of learning right from the beginning of a
course, particularly if the student is new to OU study (Figure 4).
Induction
Preparing
Reviewing
Exploring
Implementing
Figure 4 The five phases of learning how to learn
In
Induction
P
R
E
Im
All ALs are expected to make contact with their allocated students before the
start of the course. Most Regions give you advice about this and sometimes an
example of an introductory letter. There are several reasons why this first contact
is important in encouraging students to engage in the process of learning how to
learn:
•
•
•
•
•
it shows your students that you are interested in them as individuals and as
learners not just as students (and feedback from students shows that a
personal relationship with their tutor is important to them)
it tells students what to expect in tutorials and possibly in TMA feedback
it enables you to ask for more information about your students
it allows you to begin to identify them as individual learners not just as a
group
investment of time before the course begins is worthwhile because it makes
tutorials and other contacts run more smoothly.
All the examples below relate to one or more of these reasons. For some, there
are several examples so you can choose a model that suits your purpose.
First here are some comments from an AL who tutors both an Arts Level 1
course and a Level 2 course. Her initial letter (sent before the start of the
course) and tutorial timetable (handed out at an introductory session) follow.
Notice how learning issues are introduced and emphasized in both her letter
and the timetable.
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Rationale
It has become clear from monitoring my own tutorials, both for A103 and U210,
and also speaking to other tutors, that efforts to involve students in their own
learning in tutorials were often ineffective. Students seemed to feel that time spent
on topics such as target setting, reviewing their progress, and planning future
study was less important than discussing content issues. When parts of the session
were devoted to activities relating specifically to learning how to learn, students
would only give it cursory attention, and rarely use the activities on their own after
the tutorial session.
A1O3 welcome letter
Having discussed the above situation with fellow tutors, I decided that students
needed to be briefed more clearly on what to expect from tutorials. Most students
studying A103 are new to the Open University and have little idea what attending
a tutorial entails. So, I used the welcome letter to explain what might be expected of
them in tutorials, and also the type of activities we might be doing, both in relation
to the content of the course and learning how to learn. This gave me the
opportunity to explain why the learning how to learn activities were important,
and allowed students to think this through before they attended the tutorials.
Tutorial timetable
I followed up my introductory letter with a tutorial timetable, which I handed out
at the introductory session. In this, I specified which particular learning how to
learn activities were scheduled each week. I tried to co-ordinate them, so that
students could see some progression towards preparing them for their first essay. I
also tried to accord them equal importance with the more content-focussed sections.
When planning the tutorials in detail, I try to ensure I vary the time when I
introduce the learning how to learn activities, so that they are not always at the
end, and liable to be left out if time runs short.
Welcome letter to U210
Although most students to U210 are not new to the Open University, they also
need guidance about what to expect from tutorials. These differ from course to
course and tutor to tutor, so again I used the welcome letter to set out what
students should expect. I anticipated that most of them would be aware of the
importance of monitoring their own study, and also that study techniques could
help to improve TMA grades, so there was less emphasis on the learning how to
learn activities than for the Level 1 course, but it was still mentioned. I did not,
however, mention particular topics to be covered in the tutorial timetable, as I
would expect to negotiate these with students at an early stage to meet their needs.
While I will negotiate topics with A103 students, I do this at a later stage, as they
gain confidence at tutorials.
Results so far
The A103 students have settled into the pattern of working in groups noticeably
more quickly and easily than in previous years. I have introduced the idea of target
setting, and approximately 50% of the first TMA submissions are including selfassessment forms with their TMA which is a considerable increase on previous
years. When students miss tutorials, they have called to check what topics we
covered and have expressed an interest in learning how to learn topics as well as
content-based topics. Students have reacted to learning how to learn topics more
favourably than previously in tutorials, and I have therefore felt more confident to
spend time on this.
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Initial letter (A103)
Dear (Student),
I am writing to welcome you to my tutor group for A103
this year. I hope by now you will have received your
preparatory materials and details about contacting me.
Although the formal start of the course in February may
seem a long way off, the preparation period between now
and February can be particularly important in getting
your study off to a good start.
First, can I encourage you to get started on the
preparatory reading activities …
You will also notice that you need to acquire …
For those of you who haven’t studied with the Open
University before (and that’s most of you!) it may be
helpful for you to know a little about your contract
with me …
The tutorials serve several purposes, but probably the
most important one is for you to meet your fellow
students and me. This means that tutorials may be
different from other educational experiences you have
had in the past. Tutorials will not be lectures, but
will involve lots of structured small group work, where
students work on a topic and share their ideas about
relevant subjects. This can be a bit daunting at first,
and some students feel more confident to join in than
others, but as the weeks go on discussion becomes more
lively and is often very rewarding. Previous students
have said how this type of activity is really helpful
for people who are studying in isolation, and enables
them to get the most from their course. It also prepares
you for what will be expected of you at summer school.
Tutorials don’t just focus on the content of the course.
A considerable amount of time is spent on helping you to
acquire the skills that will help you to maximize your
marks for A103 and also cope with the study demands of
higher level courses. We will spend time working on
essay writing skills, reading and note taking, use of
English, and learning how to learn, to name but a few.
These skills are considered in the context of key topics
for A103, and work of this sort can often help you to
show consistent progress in your assignments.
I do hope you will let me know a little more about
yourself before the beginning of the course – you could
write, phone or e-mail and of course I shall look
forward to meeting you on 14 January at our introductory
meeting. (Bucks College, High Wycombe 7pm–9pm). Here are
just a few details about me. I have tutored for the OU
for the last five years, and as well as teaching A103,
I also tutor U210 English language, past, present and
future. My degree is in English Language and Literature
although my work now is mainly focused on education.
I am in my third year of an MA in Education with the
Open University, so I know what it feels like to be a
student too!
You are always welcome to contact me (details of when
and how follow) …
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Tutorial timetable (A103)
14 January
Introductory tutorial
21 January
Block 1 – Seeing
Please bring Block 1 course unit Form and Reading and Illustration
booklet.
NB In order to give us a week each on art, poetry, music, and reasoning,
we need to start working on topics before the formal start of the
course. It would be a good idea to try to read the appropriate section
in the course unit before attending the first four tutorials, although
not doing so will not prevent you from taking part in the tutorial.
In the first tutorial, we will practise the techniques of looking at
paintings and considering the relationships between form and meaning.
We will also consider how to approach this year of study with the Open
University taking into account of your long and short-term aspirations.
We will specifically address time management and target setting.
4 February 1999
Block 1 – Form and meaning poetry
Please bring Block 1 course unit Form and reading and Resource book 1.
In this tutorial, we will work specifically on poetry that has been
written in the sonnet form. We will look at techniques used by a variety
of poets to convey meaning. Be prepared for this session to be fairly
technical – this will introduce a way of looking at poetry that may be
new to you.
In preparation for TMA 02, we will consider techniques for planning to
write TMAs. We will consider how to make getting started easier, and how
to organize what you want to say.
11 February 1998
Block 1 – Listening to music
Please bring your Block 1 course unit Form and reading. Also please let
me know if you can play a musical instrument, and would be prepared to
do so to the tutorial group.
In this session, we will practise listening to music and using a
particular technique to describe and analyse what you hear. Please do
not worry if you feel you are ‘tone deaf’ – you won’t be alone and those
of us who do not know a great deal about music will be able to learn
from those who do.
We will also briefly look at the more technical issues related to essay
writing, which may be concerning you, such as spelling and using
paragraphs and punctuation to clarify your meaning.
18 February
Block 1 – Reasoning
Please bring Block 1 course unit Form and reading and Resource book 1.
In this session, we will tackle the topic of reasoning. Be prepared to
discuss some controversial topics in a measured and logical way! Many
people find this section of Block 1 particularly challenging, but group
discussion can help to make it more accessible.
At this tutorial, we will review your target setting, which we began in
January, and see how far you have achieved what you set out to do. If
this method of working appeals to you, you can then set new targets for
the period after the return of your first graded TMA. We will consider
how you should approach this anxiously awaited moment to get the most
benefit for your future study.
21
Now here are some examples of what tutors do during the induction stage to get
to know their students as individuals and to encourage students to think about
their learning. The responses can be filed with the student allocation sheet and
any other information you have on each student.
Some brief details of your experience as student
1
This form, sent with a welcome letter to students as soon as I receive details of my
student group, was designed for two purposes. The obvious one is to obtain a little
more information about each student and give them space to tell me about
themselves and any possible difficulties they envisage. The second purpose is to
start them thinking about themselves as a learner, their strengths and weaknesses
etc. This not only makes them think a little about this but also alerts me to possible
areas of difficulty. They are almost always returned to me, either by post or at the
first tutorial. I file them in the ring binder in which I keep all their PT3 copies and
notes about their assignments.
This tutor also includes a pen-portrait of herself with some details of her own
history as a learner, as well as some other factual and light-hearted comments.
This models a possible response from students and she usually gets some very
useful replies that help her to identify and feel she knows something about each
student. She also begins to build up a picture of each student as an individual
learner as well as part of the tutor group.
Initial questionnaire
2
This form can be tailored to the requirements of your students and your course.
Questions 1–6 are of a general nature and are designed to help you understand
your students’ overall needs and aspirations. Questions 7–10 tell you in a general
way about your students’ perceptions of their anticipated needs, based on past
experience. Question 11 is designed to help with tutorial planning for the current
group of students. The topics listed in question 12 are chosen from those which
students have had problems with in past years on this particular course.
The information collected helps build up a profile of each student in the current
group so that individual needs can be addressed both in your planning and in
the personal contacts you have with students. If students highlight needs that
you cannot personally address, you can refer them to the most appropriate
person or skills workshop if available.
Student telephone contact sheet
Here is what the AL who devised this handout has to say.
3
This is simply a starting point for building up a picture of the student through
telephone contact. I don’t necessarily restrict myself to these questions as there is
plenty of room on the back for extra comments. It depends on the student. I feel that
by the time I meet them I do have a bit of a picture and it is always nice to refer to
some personal bit of knowledge if appropriate during the first meeting. This sheet:
• is particularly useful for Level 1 students who appreciate early contact
• provides a starting point for building up a picture of the student before
face-to-face contact
• enables the tutor to deal with issues prior to the start of the course
• acts as a reminder to students of set books/preparation/access to
computers/FirstClass etc.
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Preparing
One way of introducing the idea of learning how to learn to students is to get
them to try both a selected activity in an early tutorial, and a suggestion for their
first assignment. In both cases, explain the rationale.
One of the difficulties for students who want to take a more planned approach to
their learning is that they do not know what to expect, especially if they are new
to the OU. Even students who have done several courses do not know what lies
ahead in the course they are just starting. It is worth taking some time to
encourage students to take an overview – if possible of the whole course and
certainly of each block or unit as they approach it. Unless it’s your first year
tutoring a course, you will have that overview – you already know what’s
coming and how it all holds together. Many students just start reading or
working at the beginning and plod steadily on, following any instructions they
are given and never stopping to see where they might be going. This suits some
courses and some students, especially those who are serialists and prefer to build
up the big picture in gradual steps adding a bit at a time, like doing a jigsaw
piece by piece until it is complete. However, some like to have the picture on the
lid close by – these are the holists those who need to see the whole thing before
assimilating the parts. If you are interested in this aspect of different learning
styles, have a look at work by Pask (1976).
In
P
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Analyse the task
Here is a tutorial suggestion from an AL.
Taking an overview
I thought I would share a very basic thing that I use in the first tutorials. It’s a way
of getting into the material and using it as a way summarizing key points from the
first parts of a course. It is something people can do no matter how far on they are
in the course or whatever their previous abilities, so it is a suitably non-threatening
way to open up an initial session. It also introduces the students to a technique that
is recommended in various study skills publications and having tried it, they can
take it away and use it or not as they wish.
I ask them to spend a few minutes reading through the contents page of the first
course unit. I also ask them to look at the headings used in the first unit and the
questions that are asked in exercises so that they can see what the key ideas of the
text are. They can then work in pairs to discuss what they’ve found and finally pool
results with the group as we reform. I point out that as well as getting at the key
ideas in the session, it is a technique that they can use to get into texts quickly and
is also one that they might like to use for revision purposes.
Many tutors recommend that students also look at the TMA question(s) before
starting to study the relevant course material; that way they have an idea of the
tasks they have to complete. It’s worth discussing this with students,
encouraging them to think about their preferred way of working and giving
them the rationale.
At this point, it is also important for the student to check the requirements of the
actual assignment task(s) – often done in tutorials. You may want to emphasize
the importance of the student notes and any marking schemes or criteria that are
provided for students. These may give students an indication of what skills they
are going to need if they are to complete the assignment successfully, what
techniques are required, as well as what content needs to be covered. This can be
a part of preparation for study as well as for assessment and will help to inform
the subsequent planning stage.
23
Review prior learning
There are many techniques and activities that encourage students to think about
their learning and so try to identify what works best for them. Here we give three
examples: two for use in a group situation at the start of a course or OU career,
and one to be completed by individual students, then shared in a group. We
believe that these activities are best introduced in a shared setting so that
students are not left with a list of skills or learning experiences they have
identified, but not knowing why they are doing it or what to do with the results.
The ideas underpinning these activities are:
•
•
•
•
students learn skills and knowledge in a variety of contexts
looking back over their personal learning histories can help students identify
how best they learn, but the context of the learning is also important
it is useful to pause when a leaning experience has been completed (whether
alone at home or with others at a tutorial) to consider both what was learned
and how it was learned
not all learning experiences will be successful – students may need to try
alternative ways of studying or develop new skills for learning.
Developing skills through experience
The AL who devised this activity has the following comments.
4
This activity aims to build student confidence by identifying existing skills as a
starting point to study. It is a useful icebreaker for a first session, particularly with
students who are new to the OU. Students are often very modest when they
introduce themselves. This activity enables them to draw out each other’s strengths.
Students should work in pairs and interview each other using the handout as a
checklist for skills they already have or would like to develop. This information can
then be used to introduce partners to the rest of the group.
The tutor could take the opportunity to link some of these skills – for example,
organizational skills, working with others, managing time – to OU study, and to
encourage students to share ideas on managing their learning.
Tutors may (with permission) like to collect the forms since they provide penportraits of the students.
How people learn
Students can do this activity individually or in groups depending on the tutorial
group size and the time available. As a group activity, this is an ideal ice-breaker
for an induction meeting or first tutorial. It encourages students to understand
their own learning and establishes the importance of using feedback to improve
learning. However, it does need to be handled sensitively in case any students
have had very bad learning experiences.
The activity uses Phil Race’s ideas about how people learn in ‘Never mind the
teaching, feel the learning’, SEDA Paper 80, June 1993.
The outcomes of this activity are that students will identify:
•
•
•
the importance of learning by doing
the usefulness of using feedback from others
issues which inhibit learning.
You will need a supply of post-it notes.
24
Stage 1 First you need to give each student or group three post-it notes and then ask them
to:
• think of something they are good at
• decide how they became good at it (if working in groups, allow a few minutes for
students to discuss this)
• write their answers on their first post-it.
Now, collect the post-its and stick them on the white board, flip chart or wall.
Answers invariably include ‘practising’ or some variation. You should read out the answers
emphasizing the ‘doing’ aspect and relating this to student participation in tutorial activities.
It provides an opportunity to stress that learning isn’t something that just happens, it has to be
worked at by the student.
Stage 2 Now that students have identified something they are good at, ask them to:
• think about how they know they are good it (again, this is an opportunity for students to
talk to each other if they are working in groups)
• write their answers on their second post-it.
Again collect and stick up the post-its and read out the answers emphasizing the focus on
feedback from others. This provides an opportunity to talk about feedback on assignments
and how it can be used to improve learning.
Stage 3 Having established that students learn by doing and that feedback from others is
an important part of the process, you can now ask students to:
• think of a bad experience where they were unable to learn or they never became good
at something
• think about what went wrong (again, this is an opportunity for discussion if working in
groups)
• write their answers on the third post-it.
Collect and stick up the post-its. You can use these answers to discuss the process
of learning. This will provide you with the opportunity to focus on how you will be running
tutorials, student participation, self-help groups, reflection, and using feedback.
Looking at past experiences of learning
Like the previous activity, this also needs to be handled carefully in case any students
have had very bad learning experiences. Usually, it goes well as long as you stress the
underlying rationale at the end of the exercise – that all students learn differently and
can identify ways that worked for them, although there may be (and often are) some
common themes. How we feel about our learning experiences depends on lots of
different factors – the context, the circumstances, our motivation, the teacher etc. On
most occasions, this activity also demonstrates that we all have feelings about our
learning experiences – before, during and after them. Trying to recognize and identify
any negative feelings (for example, the feeling often associated with exams) and then
finding a coping strategy is part of learning how to learn.
5
The AL who designed this activity has the following comments.
This activity is useful as a first exercise for students returning to study after some time.
Students are encouraged to think about examples of learning (for example: riding a bike,
driving a car, learning a skill or new job, as well as academic work).
First, students should list a few things they have learned, then pick one they found
difficult, uncomfortable or unsuccessful, and consider why that was so. Were they
interested in the topic? Did they get on with the teacher or fellow students? Did they
have sufficient time to study? What other pressures were they under? Finally, students
should identify a good experience of learning and say what made that one a success.
These personal written notes are then discussed – preferably first in pairs, and then in a
plenary session when common themes can be identified and related to OU study.
25
Make a plan
The terms ‘goals’ and ‘targets’ are often used as though they are interchangeable.
However, in terms of learning, a useful distinctions is that a goal is more likely
to indicate a general direction for progress or achievement and may have a
longer time scale (e.g. completing a degree), whereas a target is probably more
short-term with a deadline (e.g. get the next TMA in on time). It should be
possible to check if and when a target is met while progress towards a goal
may be more gradual and sometimes may not be achieved. It may be that the
journey towards it becomes more important than the arrival but having a
destination in mind is useful.
Making a plan involves action planning and defining learning goals and setting
targets. These can be simple statements of what a student hopes to achieve and
how they intend to go about it. They can be very specific or very general but, in
this context, they should relate to the current course or relevant learning skills
needed for successful OU study. To be useful, the student needs to revisit their
plans to monitor how they are progressing and to check what has been achieved.
One way to encourage this is to ask students if they would mind letting you have
a copy of their plans, goals and targets. Writing them down and sharing them
gives an opportunity for discussion and for supportive suggestions to be made,
whether by you or by other students. But do note the need for sensitivity here;
there are students who would find this extremely invasive of their privacy. If you
have a copy of students’ intentions filed with their TMA materials, you can refer
directly to any that are relevant or give them the opportunity to make changes.
Setting learning goals
The AL who contributed this activity made the following comments.
6
This activity is best used in the first session of a new course. You can discuss the
ideas behind learning goals – that they are unique to each person, but it helps to
have an aim in view when studying. The bullet points on the handout can be used
to give the main ideas in the discussion.
Students should be encouraged to ask questions at this point, then discuss in pairs
what their own goals are. They can help each other to develop a suitable learning
goal for their own needs. You may well need to go round and help with this, as it
can be difficult.
Each person takes away a note of their own learning goal, which they can re-visit as
the course progresses to see whether or not it has been achieved, has developed, or
what still needs to be done.
Action plan
The AL who designed the action plan has this to say about it.
7
This is a simple form that you can encourage students to use at various points in
their course. They may want to keep it private or share it with you. Good times to
use it are:
• at the start of a course
• at the beginning of a new unit
• when a TMA is returned
• at the end of a tutorial.
You can adapt this model, devise one of your own or get students to create their
own, individually or in a group. Or you could use it as part of a general discussion
on study methods or learning development.
Setting targets for your next assignment
8
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Here is another way in which you can encourage your students to begin thinking
about setting targets. This activity relates to TMA work and you can give your
students the option of sending in the form with their TMA so that you are aware
of their targets.
Identify learning style(s) and strategies
The three activities in this section focus in greater depth on encouraging students
to identify their preferred learning styles and strategies. Two were used in a
series of skills workshops organized for students in the South Region; the third is
a version of the well known questionnaire designed by Honey and Mumford
(1986), whose approach builds on the work of Kolb (Kolb and Fry 1975).
There is some controversy about introducing diagnostic tools such as these to
students. There is a danger in identifying study habits or learning styles for
students who feel that the patterns cannot be changed or that labels explain why
they appear unable to operate in certain ways. Knowing a preference or a
strength and using it well is fine as long as it is appropriate to the task concerned
but most higher level learning calls for a range of styles and strategies that can be
selected, used and developed further as required.
Analysing a learning session
Here’s what an AL has to say about using this activity.
I introduce this activity at the end of a tutorial or day school session that has
included a range of different activities. I prepare, or suggest they draw up, a simple
grid that includes all the different learning activities we have used in the session.
Then, each student considers their own learning from each activity and rates its
effectiveness for them as a learner. We have a brief discussion of people’s responses
to the different learning activities, and I then encourage them to complete the final
column, which asks them to consider how they might transfer the effective activities
from a group situation to their private study.
9
This activity also provides an opportunity for you to give the rationale for each
activity in the session and to explain that everyone will have preferred ways of
learning, thus a variety of approaches are needed. This can be extended by
encouraging students to try to enhance their learning from a range of activities.
Often knowing the rationale helps students to see the point of a particular
approach and reduces their resistance to it.
This handout can be customized for use by students after a study session on their
own. The results could be shared in a face-to-face session where different
approaches to study are discussed and techniques shared. The resulting handout
can circulated to those who did not attend with a note explaining how it can be used.
Study habits questionnaire
The designer of this questionnaire has this to say.
This was designed for students to use part way through a course and then again at
the end. It is to encourage them to stop and review their study habits. It is possibly
more useful for students who may have taken one or more OU courses but who feel
they are not studying effectively. As with all diagnostic material, the rationale
needs to be clear and the process supported, either in a group session or with
follow-up and feedback from you. The scoring is optional.
10
This very detailed questionnaire may need to be adapted for particular groups of
students by removing irrelevant sections (e.g. on essay writing if assignments do
not require this) or adding extra sections that relate to the course concerned. If
you decide to use the scoring (and experience shows students like having scores),
please do advise students to treat it as a guide. Although the scoring is weighted
towards what appears to be good practice, there may be very good reasons why
the zero option is actually the most appropriate for some people on some courses
or occasions. Recognizing and explaining this can, in itself, help a student to
understand more about how they learn.
Learning styles questionnaire
Here are some comments from an AL who uses this questionnaire regularly.
11
This well known questionnaire can be used in several ways. One way is to hand it
out for students to complete in the session or at home, leaving them to analyse it
themselves after emphasizing that there are no ‘right’ or ‘wrong’ answers. The way
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I prefer to use it involves first re-typing the statements by learning style (you can
identify which is which from Handout 11B), so that all those which apply to one
style are on one sheet, evenly spaced so they can be cut into ‘cards’. The resulting
four sheets can then be photocopied onto four different colour sheets and cut up. I
give each student an envelope containing a complete set of 40 questions and ask
them to sort the statements into two piles: ‘me’ and ‘not me’. (You might want to
allow a third – ‘occasionally me’). Students then make a note of how many of each
colour are in each pile. At this stage, they are invited to compare results with a
neighbour or in a small group, producing a count for the whole group too. We then
discuss what the different colours signify. I start this discussion by asking what
each of the statements have in common with the others of the same colour.
Eventually we get round to the terms ‘activist’, ‘pragmatist’, ‘reflector’ and
‘theorist’.
The overall style revealed for each student shows a tendency to prefer an approach
and should not be seen as a way of labelling students. I tell my students that by
including a variety of methods in tutorials and thus providing for a variety of
styles, there is something for everyone. We also discuss how it may be appropriate
for them to adopt different learning styles at different points in their studies, in
order to get the most out of their learning. For example, studying the course,
reading materials and thinking about a TMA question might involve a period of
reflection, while revision before an exam may benefit from being more active.
Having fairly equal piles might suggest that a learner can do both.
If you introduce students to this diagnostic material it is useful to refer back to it at
intervals, checking to see if they have used the insights it provided and tried to
develop new approaches.
In
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During this phase of the cycle, students will be studying their course material or
working on their skills. Some activities in this section can be linked to a
particular assignment or introduced at an appropriate point during the course.
All of them can be used in a tutorial followed by discussion on skills
development. Or they can be sent by post or with a returned TMA. Sending one
of these self-analysis sheets to your students part way through a course, with a
covering letter giving the rationale and asking for it to be returned, is a useful
way of making contact with students when there are infrequent tutorials or with
students who are unable to attend.
Identify and access sources of help
Thinking about the skills required for an assignment can help students to
identify those for which they may need help.
Assignment planning and reflection
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This is a form for students to complete as they start work on an assignment and
send to you with their script if they wish. You can use it as a prompt to your
feedback, giving the student ideas on how to develop the skill they have
identified as being one they are less confident about and indicating what other
sources of help might be available.
Improve the skills required
Study habits and learning skill vary enormously, but identifying areas for
improvement is essential for progress.
Learning habits
13
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This is a simple questionnaire that encourages students to think about their study
habits while providing them with a list of suggestions they might try. You
should stress that these are only suggestions and that some may not be
applicable to them. Students should tick the box in each line that best describes
their study pattern, then look at all those for which they have ticked the ‘rarely’
column. Would it be useful for them to be able to move any of those ticks to the
left (i.e. to do it ‘sometimes’ or even ‘usually’)? You could suggest they use a
different coloured pen to tick the response they would like to achieve. If you ask
your students to put their name and a date on the sheet and give or send it to
you, you will have a better idea of each individual’s learning habits and where
they would like to make changes. Later in the course, perhaps in a final review,
you can encourage them to look at the list again and comment on any changes
they have made. If this is done in a tutorial, it would be useful to discuss the
differences, decide if they still have habits they would like to change and share
suggestions for how this could be achieved.
Audit of learning skills
This questionnaire serves a similar purpose to the one above, but is designed for
courses where assessment through essay writing is the norm. Again, it provides
you with useful insight into your students’ study habits as well as being a tool
that can encourage students to change. One way of using this handout is to ask
students to complete it honestly reflecting on what they currently do and then to
change colour and complete it as a wish list. Finally, get them to choose two (or
more but not too many) items they really intend to change and mark those.
Giving or sending it to you may help you to diagnose where they have problems.
One tutor used it before offering a special skills session for those who wanted to
improve their writing skills and used the responses to help plan the session. It
could also be useful in a special session with an individual student.
14
Learning skills to develop while studying
If you think some of your students prefer something less structured than a
numerical rating and want to express their skill requirements more fully, you
might prefer to design your own form. The tutor who devised this form sends
it to his students with a covering letter in which he says the following.
15
I thought the enclosed list might be a useful way to think about improving your
skills as a learner at the same time as learning about the issues in the course.
If you would like to consider this list and note down skills you feel you would like
to build on in the next eight or nine months, I would be very interested to know.
It would help me to give you feedback and advice on particular skills in the context
of what you are doing as we go through the course. I have included a form for you
to use that might be of help – but if it isn’t please write to me in whatever way
seems best.
Skills audit
Here are some comments by an AL who uses this activity.
If you have done some skills auditing and development work early in your course,
this is a good tool to use in a tutorial part way through the year but leave enough
time for any changes to be made. I get my group to brainstorm a list of skills needed
for the course we are studying because this makes us really think about what is
required. (I have used it at the start of the course, but then I filled in the first
column with skills I knew were needed if a student was to be successful on that
course). In pairs, I ask them to rate themselves (column two) while their partner
challenges their rating by asking ‘How do you know?’ This then supplies the
answer to column three for each of the skills they have identified. Individuals decide
on their priority and then I suggest ways of improving each skill in general terms,
using course material or other ideas. Finally, each student decides what they will do
about it. I don’t usually ask for a copy but rely on the student to take action.
However, on a later occasion I might remind them of the activity and suggest they
look again at their ratings.
16
Monitor progress
The main aim of this section is to encourage students to monitor their progress
while they are actually studying or working on the early stages of an assignment.
Providing activities that ask students to pause and reflect on their progress as
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learners while they are actually in the process of learning encourages them to
develop this important skill. For some, the process will be intuitive. Experienced
and effective learners have a range of learning strategies on which to draw as
well as the skills needed to implement them. But students who have not had the
opportunity to develop effective ways of studying or who are set in a routine
that might be inappropriate for OU study need to be encouraged to pause and
consider not just what they are learning but also how they are learning it.
How’s it going?
The AL who suggested this activity has this to say.
This is a simple short activity for a tutorial group part way through the year. In
pairs, ask your students to talk through a list of questions such as those below –
you can change these or add more (or less) as you choose.
• What topics have you found most interesting? Can you explain why?
• Did you find any of the course boring or confusing? Can you say why?
• Are you finding enough time to study the course? How do you do it?
• How do you pace your study? Do you reward yourself?
• How do you cope with distractions? What are the main ones?
• What have you got out of it so far? Where do you need help?
• Is there anything you want to discuss? With other students or with the tutor?
• Can you identify any changes or action points for future study?
In the whole group, get one or two pairs to respond to each question if there is
insufficient time for all pairs to feedback on all the points. Look for areas of common
concern as you try to gauge the feelings of the group as a whole, as well as any
individual issues.
Mid-course review
Here are some comments by an AL who regularly uses this activity.
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After about three or four months of the course, it is helpful for both students and
tutor to stand back and think about the work so far. Students have experienced
enough course work and tutorials to have identified recurrent difficulties or
anxieties about their work. They may have started the course with expectations of
being brilliantly successful or, more often and based on prior experience, of being
hopelessly inadequate. By this stage, they have received tutor feedback to see
themselves and their work in a more realistic light.
As a tutor, I find I learn a lot from this activity. Every tutorial group is unique,
and I find it takes me a few tutorials to get the feel of how best to work with a
particular group. By the mid-course stage, I am usually feeling more relaxed, and
perhaps there is a danger of drifting along in a comfortable way – especially if I
have taught the course a number of times before. The response of students in this
form can stimulate me to think more carefully about tutorials. Conversely, if I am
feeling anxious and unsure of a group, it can be reassuring to receive positive
feedback! I think it is a good idea for the form to be regarded as a private and
confidential communication from student to tutor. Sometimes, I have been
surprised at the depth of anxiety expressed by an apparently confident student.
Certainly there will be a number of students who will be inhibited if they feel that
others might be told about what they have written.
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When to give out the form
The main concern is that there should be enough time for the forms to be returned
and for you to respond to them before the summer break. Ideally, the exercise should
be carried out in May, so that students might have a few tutorials and at least one
more TMA to work on, in light of what they have learned. By September, the focus
is on exams or the end of the course.
Should you comment on giving out the form?
You may feel that the form is self-explanatory; but this does carry the risk that it
will be hardly noticed, put in a folder, and immediately forgotten. Students may
pick up the message that you don’t think much of it yourself. It is worth taking a
short time in a tutorial to explain and promote it. In itself, this will be a valuable
reminder to students that learning how to learn is an activity that is cyclical:
reflection and activity follow on from each other. The most valuable moment to
think about how one learns is when one is actively engaged in learning, and can
temporarily stand back from it, learn from what has happened, and plan ways of
doing things differently.
It may also be a good idea to convey your own interest in knowing what they have
to say, and encouraging them to use the back of the form if there is not enough
room. Occasionally students feel they must fit each comment into one line.
Return of forms
Getting forms back may be a problem. You could suggest that they are brought to a
particular tutorial, or sent attached to a TMA. It is likely that there will be a
minority of students who will determinedly ignore the form, and one must respect
their choice to do this.
Your response to returned forms
First, think about individuals. Note severe or unexpected problems and consider
what would be most helpful. In some situations, you may need to ask advice from
colleagues at the Regional Centre or at Milton Keynes. In others, you will need to
decide on appropriate responses. These might include a telephone call, a brief
conversation before or after a tutorial, perhaps after a special session has been
agreed. In many cases, there is no immediate response that you need to make. If
help with a particular study problem is requested, it is important to contact the
student fairly quickly. But never discuss the problems of an individual in front of
the whole group.
Secondly, reflect on your own tutorial planning. In the light of students’
comments, would it benefit from an adjustment of the balance of different
activities? Should there be more time for discussion? Or more tutor input? Or
more focus on preparing for a TMA?
Thirdly, give some tutorial time to sharing the experience of mid-course reflection
on learning: how well or how badly it is going, what can help, and what can hinder
learning. This can produce a helpful sharing of problems and suggestions for
tackling them. It may work better if students start by talking in pairs.
This activity may or may not be successful with your particular tutorial group, but
it will not have a chance of success if you do not convince them of your belief in its
value. In most learning how to learn, the success of the exercise is directly related to
the tutor’s commitment to it. This is because students do not see in such work the
obvious link to TMA success that they find in focusing on course content.
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Keeping a learning diary for a week
The aim of this activity is to encourage students to record their learning
experiences and to learn from them during one week of study.
Stage 1 At a group session (or by designing a handout and posting it) suggest
that students each keep a learning diary for at least one whole week. In it, they
should record:
• the timing of each study session
• the place of each study session
• the content and process of each study session ( ‘What I did …’)
• what went well and what didn’t go too well
• their intentions for the future ( ‘What I’ll do next time …’)
• a rating for each study session on a scale of 1–10 (1 = a waste of time,
10 = really beneficial) and a comment on why they gave it that rating.
Remind students to bring their diary to the next group session.
Stage 2 In the next session suggest that students:
• work in pairs showing their diaries to each other and, by focussing on the very bad
and very good scores, try to establish why some study sessions worked well and
others did not
• work in a group to generate a discussion on what makes for good study sessions,
acknowledging individual circumstances but looking for positive, practical points
(e.g. planning what to do in a session means you probably will do it; flicking
through the units means you may retain very little).
Keeping a learning journal
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This is a valuable resource for some individuals, but is not likely to appeal to the
majority of students. Because of its potential value, you may feel you want to let
the whole of your tutor group know about it. On the other hand, you may decide
to keep it as a resource that you can offer to students with study difficulties, and
who you think may find this a congenial activity. Those to whom it is most likely
to appeal are students with a little more free time, a sufficiently reflective
approach or strong motivation to improve study skills.
Here are the comments of an AL tutoring an Level 1 arts course.
Value of the journal for isolated students
For various reasons (e.g. living alone, unable to attend tutorials, living overseas),
some students suffer from a lack of opportunity to talk about their work. As they
grapple with some tough reading, or an essay that refuses to be knocked into shape,
they long to tell someone how hard it all is, or how pleased they are when it starts
to go right. In such circumstances, writing a journal may be a poor substitute for a
living person, but it does provide a way of expressing feelings – and it doesn’t
eventually tell you it’s getting rather tired of hearing about the Open University!
In fact, the writing doesn’t just disappear into a black hole; the student can make
use of this record of their experience in telephone conversations with their tutor, or
with fellow students, and at the end of the year it can be a reminder of battles
fought or of steady patient work.
Tutor involvement with the journal
This depends on the wishes of the student and on the way that you are teaching
learning skills in your group. If a student tells you they plan to keep a journal, it is
safer to assume that they want it kept as a private matter, although they may
appreciate an occasional question as to how it is going when you are having a
private conversation with them.
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In introducing the idea of the journal, it would not be wise to encourage frequent
individual contact with you on the subject of the journal, as a dependent or
demanding student could see this as an invitation to take up an unreasonable amount
of your time. However, you do want students to draw on what they learn from the
journal in group discussions of study techniques, or in asking your advice on
particular study skill issues.
At the end of the year, it would be a good idea to encourage those who are keeping
journals to look back and review the year, and to look forward to what they hope for
in their next course, and how they will approach the work. Keeping the journal up in
the next year may be an excellent way of maintaining continuity.
My experience of this activity
I encouraged all eighteen of my Level 1 tutorial group to keep a journal, and
distributed the handouts. Only a vague and reluctant interest was expressed, and I
got the impression that no one was going to do it. However, when I visited the home
of Mr B in order to give him some additional support in an individual tutorial, I
found that he had been keeping a journal for some weeks. He is a rather frail man
with disabling arthritis, and very lacking in confidence. He was determined to keep up
with the demands of the course, but found it very difficult. He said that the journal
had been a great help in giving him a sense of where his study difficulties lay, and it
certainly made the tutorial a useful experience because he knew what he wanted to
work on. Unfortunately, his arthritis became worse and as any form of writing was
increasingly difficult, the journal had to be dropped so that all his effort could go into
his coursework. However, even for a short time, the journal had given this student a
greater awareness of his own learning process.
It was not until the course was completed that I learned that Miss C had kept a
learning journal throughout. She is a fit and active woman who had worked overseas
in a responsible post in the business world. At the end of the course, she wrote to tell
me how she had found the experience of keeping a journal. One feature had been that
as the work progressed, she found there was considerable repetition of her experience,
so she made less frequent entries in the journal, mainly noting new developments. She
identified three main areas where the journal had helped with her learning. The first
was in coming to identify the best way for her to read and remember course material.
This included learning from mistakes made in trying other methods. The second was
particularly interesting as it involved a recognition of ways of thinking and opinions
she had learned in her business career. She said she became aware of her own
prejudices and that they were sometimes an obstacle to learning. And the third was
the fairly straightforward problem of finding she was not sufficiently clear about the
meaning of some words, and that this was causing other problems. She solved it by
buying a good dictionary and referring to it when necessary.
It is, perhaps significant that both these students were over retirement age and were
not struggling to fit study around a full-time job. However, their experience does
indicate that keeping a learning journal can be a useful activity, even if it appeals to
only a few students.
Implementing
The exploring and implementing stages can merge or overlap, but generally
implementing is the phase in which students produce their assignments.
Monitor performance
Getting students to be more aware of their leaning while actually engaged in a
task like writing an assignment is difficult. One way is to get students in a tutorial
to actually work on a course-related task.
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Running commentary
This activity aims to encourage students to become aware of their own learning
processes during a specific task. It can be applied in many different contexts and
subjects.
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Decide on a short task that is directly relevant to the students – a numerical calculation,
a particularly significant in-text activity from the course material, an analysis of an
assignment question.
Working in pairs, one student completes the task, the other acts as their alter ego or
‘shadow’.
There are two ways of doing this, either or both can be used.
Method 1 As the student works on the task, the ‘shadow’ keeps asking questions
about the process.
• Why did you decide to do that?
• What are you doing now?
• How do you know that’s the solution?
Method 2 As the student works on the task, they keep up a running commentary for
the benefit of the ‘shadow’.
• First, I am going to write out the formula in two different ways … now I am trying to
identify the initial input …
• My plan for the essay is to start with a brainstorm on all the possible reasons for
crime … so I am listing and classifying them …
Then the two can swap roles and repeat the process, preferably with a different but
similar task.
After the exercise, the pairs should de-brief each other by discussing how the task was
tackled, what went wrong, what seemed the best way to do it, and so on.
Finally, in a group, students can discuss the process of trying to monitor one’s own
performance and being aware of learning processes while engaged in the task.
After this activity would be an appropriate time to introduce the two-page or
two-column approach. Here a learner tries to work through a task and at the same
time make notes alongside on what they are doing and how they are progressing.
A variant on this is to suggest that students try this while taking notes from a
text: they use one column for the notes and the other for comments on what they
are reading or questions they want to raise about the material.
You could devise your own handouts for your students relating the instructions
to tasks from their course. It also makes a good activity for a self-help group or
for two students who meet together on occasions. It works just as well when the
‘shadow’ is studying another course or is not an OU student at all, especially if
the second version is used.
Check guidelines or criteria again
One reason why some students have difficulty in improving their work is that
they do not know what really makes an assignment good or excellent. For
example, what makes one essay score 90% while another gets 50%? Some course
teams do provide explicit criteria against which a student’s work is assessed and
these criteria are available both to tutors and students. Others provide guidance
for the tutor in the form of confidential tutor notes that cannot be disclosed to the
students. In other cases, where no formal criteria or specific guidelines are
provided, tutors give their own students some indication of the criteria they use.
All the evidence on learning from assessment shows that students are unlikely to
improve their performance unless they understand what is expected of them and
have clear criteria against which to self-assess and reflect.
Here are two examples of criteria provided by tutors for their own students. Both
can be used while a student is planning an assignment, producing it, selfassessing before submission or reflecting on its return. (Please note that if clear
criteria are provided for every assignment for both you and your students, you
will not need to use either of these ideas.)
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Criteria for reviewing your assignment
If your course team do not provide you with clear criteria for assessing your
students’ work, you might want to create your own. One way of doing this is to
get students to think what criteria might be used to judge a given assignment and
then, in discussion, develop this so that it does reflect the scheme you will use in
your marking. It is only fair that this list should then be shared with any of your
students who were not present. If there is not an opportunity to discuss this in a
group, you can still provide criteria to all your students so they can use them for
self-assessment.
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Self-assessment using a marking scheme
Here a tutor from the School of Health and Social Welfare describes a model that
she uses for assessing essays.
This scheme originates from the AEIOU model in use for many HSW Courses. It has
been modified to give students a clear framework for comparison from essay to essay, to
enable them to see where progress in each area has been made as the course progresses
and to identify both strengths and weaknesses for each individual essay. It is also
useful for the tutor as repeated weaknesses in the same area may be identified and
addressed in ways pertinent to the particular student’s writing styles and means of
understanding. I try to make equality the key determinant here and be consistent in the
way I respond to individual writing styles in apportioning marks in this framework.
In this scheme, I give each section equal weighting – five sections each with a 20-marks
maximum (unlike the usual AEIOU system). I did this after discussion with students
about what felt most helpful and clear for them. Before marking the first TMA, I give
the students an explanation of how the marks will be apportioned.
Analysis
This assesses how well a student has considered and balanced each
component part of the essay; how well they have balanced narrative, description,
exposition and argument overall; what starting point they have gone from and how
effectively they have travelled to their conclusion. It is in essence, an overview of the
essay and its structure.
Effort
This focuses on the way in which the student has tackled the essay and
assesses, for example, the use of course material. It also reflects on the student’s use of
references and the accuracy and appropriateness of these.
Individuality
This especially focuses on a student’s ability to demonstrate how
they have synthesized what they have read and how they manage theory-to-practice
aspects of their writing, especially in the use of example and personal experience. This
is especially important as a reflective tool for social work students.
Organization
This comments on the structure of an essay and reflects on the
strengths (or weaknesses) of argument that the structure chosen by the student creates.
The purpose here is to explore with the student the concept that different structures
can be used when addressing different types of assignment while reinforcing the notion
that organization is essential, no matter what.
Understanding
This provides an overall assessment of how the student has
expressed their understanding of the question, its component parts and its implications
for practice. Again, this is essential for courses where developing a practice perspective
is one of the major aims of the course.
Sometimes I might add some general comments that I feel may help an individual
student, this may be in the form of a kind of pep talk and may respond directly to a
situation I have been made aware of in their lives. However, in this instance, this
dialogue is couched expressly in terms of ‘essay writing performance’ and ways they
might consider approaching their next assignment to reduce the impact of crisis.
Make a self-assessment
The ability to self-assess, both accurately and honestly, is one of the key
components of Learning how to Learn but many students – indeed most people –
find it is not easy to do. If a student can look at their assignment and identify both
the strengths and areas of weakness they are already beginning to use the process
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of assessment as a learning experience. Having completed an assignment they
need to be encouraged to pause for a moment and reflect on their performance.
Some tutors ask their students to do this before submitting their work; other
recommend that this should be done anytime before their work is returned. Here
are two possible pro formas that you could give your students to submit with
their TMA. They are designed so that they can be returned to the student with
their marked script and PT3 to encourage reflection on your feedback. The
second example asks students to complete the final section after the return of
their assignment. Although both pro formas seem straight forward you may
have to help students by giving some completed examples but most students do
improve their ability to judge accurately how well they have done and what
changes they might make next time. You need to remind them that comments
can be about how they worked on the assignment, as well as how well they think
they have done.
Learning from assessment
The AL who provided this handout has this to say about it.
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The form for this activity is designed to encourage students to keep notes on their
progress. Although it is very simple, it does take the student through the process of
acting, reflecting, planning for improvement and testing new ideas. The
advantages of this form are:
• it is simple to complete
• it is positive in that strengths as well as weaknesses are identified
• it encourages the student to use the feedback from their tutor
• it encourages the student to reflect
• students who have learned to self-assess are more likely to be able to improve.
Your assessment of your TMA
Students who have used this kind of form regularly say such forms are valuable
because they know that their tutor will respond explicitly to anything they raise.
This version invites the student to identify specifically where they would like
feedback. We recommend that you give these to your students right at the start
of the course for use with their first TMA. Some tutors supply enough for the
whole course; others include a blank one with each returned TMA.
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Tutors who encourage students to use these forms comment on the usefulness of
the forms in assisting tutors to learn more about how students see their progress
and what problems they perceive. This can provide you with a valuable insight
into your students’ learning.
If you are particularly interested in the implications of learning through
assessment and activities that enhance it, you will find an excellent review of the
research in Black and Wiliam (1998).
In
Reviewing
P
R
E
Im
While the reviewing phase is probably best demonstrated with reference to
assignments, there are many other contexts in which your students can be
encouraged to review the process and reflect on their learning and the progress
they have made.
Take action on feedback
The return of an assignment is important to every student because this is where
they are given individual feedback on their performance. Even a grade provides
some feedback, though it does not indicate where or how a student might
improve. And such an indication is the main purpose of your comments on the
script and on the PT3. It is important that students, particularly when new to the
OU, are taught how to benefit from your comments in a way that enhances their
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learning. You need to explain the significance of your comments and how
students can use them to develop learning skills. Just as with their selfassessment, you may be able to comment on the process of learning as well as on
the product (e.g. the TMA).
Although there have been many studies of the positive effects of good feedback,
very few have looked at written feedback in distance learning. All feedback
needs to be appropriate and will only be effective if it also recognizes the
sensitivity of having work assessed, graded and criticized. If you want to look at
studies that examine the effects of feedback, both cognitively and affectively, you
should read Sadler (1989), Ames (1992) and Dweck (1999).
What to do when your TMA comes back
This is a simple sheet that can be given to students at the start of a course
although you may need to remind them to use it each time you comment and
return their assignments. The ten tips provide a possible routine, but you need
to make sure that students understand the rationale for it. Some tutors have
devised their own version of this form, either to make it shorter, to provide
questions rather than tips or (most importantly) to customize it for their own
course assignments.
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Explaining my comments
Feedback from some new students on the TMA advice they receive from their
tutors indicates that some students do not understand either the criteria or the
terminology used in commenting on their work. For example, one student was
mystified by her tutor’s comment ‘Your argument is not clear’ when she didn’t
realize she was having an argument at all. The conventional essay-writing use of
the term ‘argument’ had totally confused her.
Rather than write out each comment more fully on every assignment, some
tutors provide a handout for their students that explains the terms they use. This
is particularly useful for students who cannot attend tutorials. Here’s an example
from a tutor who produces a handout for his students after each TMA, to explain
some of the terminology he used in marking them. You can easily customize this
for your own subject.
To make the most of the distance tuition you get from comments on scripts, it is
important that you are clear about what comments mean. I have tried to explain
some of the comments I wrote on people’s scripts for TMA 01. Each time I mark a
TMA, I will discuss the comments I use on scripts in an appropriate tutorial. I
have enclosed a blank sheet so you can record these comments and keep them if you
would like to.
Spellings
I will correct these even if they are just typing errors. If you keep getting the same
one wrong I will correct only the first few. You will not be penalized for one or two
mistakes, but might if you have so many errors that they make your meaning
unclear. If you make a lot of mistakes, try learning a few each week. Writing them
out several times can help.
You need to analyse rather than describe
I mean that instead of telling me about a particular thing in your essay, you need to
look more deeply into it. This may involve breaking it down into sections and
giving more detail – perhaps consider why something happens or what the effects of
something happening are. For example, in TMA 01 you might have described what
your education was like. If you analysed it, you would perhaps have thought about
what effect being in a single-sex school had on your outlook on life, or you might
have described the pros and cons of the selective education system, which you
experienced.
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You need to develop and extend this point
When I ask you to develop or extend a point I mean that your initial point warrants
further thought or exploration. This means that if you have an idea, you need to
push your train of thought a bit further. For example, you might have mentioned
that selective education favoured bright children. You can develop and extend this
by thinking about specific ways in which you think this happened, or by
considering that if it favoured bright children, what happened to those who did not
pass their 11-plus.
Review the process
One important way of stressing the need to review, reflect and evaluate is to
encourage students to do this at the end of a tutorial. This not only reinforces the
message to students but also provides valuable feedback to the tutor.
Reflection on learning in a tutorial or study session
The AL who devised this handout wrote the following comments.
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This document is a useful way of evaluating tutorials and study sessions. When
used in tutorials, the purpose can be for the students or for the tutor:
• students can reflect on their learning and not share their notes unless they wish
to do so – used in this way, it forms part of a learning diary (students can be
invited to contact you if they want to discuss any of it with you)
• the evaluation can be useful to a tutor if the forms are collected in – used it in
this way, it will enable you to reflect on what you might do to help students
learn and reduce some of the contributors to hindering learning (factors
hindering learning might be at an individual level or more general and be
relevant to the planning of future tutorials)
• an alternative method of using this form to help you, is to ask students to write
down one good thing, one not so good thing and one interesting thing about the
session (I explain to my students that in my tutorials I need to hang on to the
good things and do what I can to prevent the bad things and that I appreciate
their help in enabling me to do this).
How did you do it?
Ask your students to review individual learning after a particular section of the
course using Handout 23. If done in a tutorial, approaches can be shared. Here is
one way of structuring a review; you could make this into a worksheet.
In a tutorial at the end of a specified section of the course (e.g. a block, or a unit)
suggest that students:
• individually – spend five minutes looking back at the block they have just completed
and note how they studied it (advise students that it may be useful to have a
checklist of components such as reading patterns and notes taken of the course text,
other reading, TV and radio programmes, TMA preparation and completion)
• in pairs – share their notes, identify the difference in their approaches, and decide
if the other person has any ideas that might be worth trying
• in a group – quickly go through the main components of the block and identify any
problem areas (remind students that it is the method of study, not the content, that is
under discussion).
A concept map might be useful for the group work.
You can make a note of any real problems that may need further attention.
End the session by asking everyone to write down one resolution about their method of
working through the next block.
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The aims of this activity are:
•
•
•
to encourage students to reflect on their own learning processes during a
specific part of the course
to encourage students to share their practice with other students
if necessary, to decide on new patterns for the future.
Revision and examinations: interviewing your partner
The most obvious time to review learning and reflect on progress is at the end of
a course, either just before the revision and examination phase or after the results
are known. The Open Teaching Toolkit Revision and Exams includes many
suggestions for helping students develop effective learning strategies during this
phase. The most appropriate of these for this toolkit is ‘Interviewing your
partner’. Even though it is unusual to get feedback on examination performance
other than the score, going over the process of revision and looking again at
examination techniques might help a student identify more effective ways of
preparing and performing.
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End-of-course learning skills checklist
This final checklist is designed to encourage students at the end of a course to
look back and review the way they studied, the skills they used, and the use they
made of the various components of the course and any learning support they
experienced. Using coloured pens enables them to identify any changes they
intend to make for the next year or course (good resolutions). You might like to
give this checklist to your students at the last tutorial or post it with any
greetings or congratulatory card or letter you send when the results are known.
When you first meet your next group you could ‘close the circle’ by asking if any
of them were given one by their previous tutor and, if not, suggest they might
make their resolutions now as their new course starts. It can be a fun activity
(Who’s a super-student?) with a serious purpose and leads gently into a
consideration and explanation of why how they study is as important as what
they study – and perhaps the importance of learning how to learn.
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References
Ames, C. (1992) ‘Classrooms: goals, structure and student motivation’, Journal of
Educational Psychology, vol. 84, pp. 261–271
Black, P. and Wiliam, D. (1998) ‘Assessment and classroom learning’, Assessment
in Education, vol. 5/1, pp. 7–73
Dweck, C. S. (1999) Self-theories: their role in motivation, personality and development.
Psychology Press
Honey, P. and Mumford, M. (1986) The Manual of Learning Styles. Maidenhead,
Honey and Mumford
Kolb, D. A. and Fry, R. (1975) ‘Towards an applied theory of experiential
learning’, in Cooper, C. L. Theories of Group Processes. John Wiley
Pask, G. (1976) Conversation theory: applications in education and epistemology.
Oxford, Elsevier
Sadler, D. R. (1989) ‘Formative assessment and the design of instructional
systems’, Instructional Science, vol. 18, pp. 119–144
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