Welcome to the Study Skills online display. We've got resources here to help you sharpen your writing, explore strategies for neurodivergent learners, or figure out the best way to succeed in university. Browse our online selection here or visit the Nanaimo campus library to see the display in person. Start your semester strong!
This engaging, student-friendly book debunks major myths about studying and provides practical tips for studying smarter, not harder. Written by expert psychology teachers who also conduct the very research that these tips are based on, this book outlines clear steps students can use throughout their high school and college careers to plan, monitor, and evaluate their learning.
Provides students with research-backed strategies from cognitive science for studying effectively and efficiently - Includes concrete examples of the ways students can use each strategy and questions and activities for retrieval practice - Provides a wealth of illustrations to explain complex concepts and to make them memorable - Written by 'The Learning Scientists', stars in the education arena. - Includes an ISR with author videos, sample answers to the questions in each chapter, links to additional information and blogs.
Offers transferrable problem-solving ideas and skills applicable for other disciplines and future careers. Provides new students with support and inspiration for their college experience. Includes guidance for successful interactions with professors, peers, professionals, and others. Encourages thoughtful determination of desired outcomes from the college experience and shaping ones actions toward accomplishing those objectives.
This book provides a vital guide for students to key study skills that are instrumental in success at university, covering time management, academic reading and note-taking, academic integrity, preparation of written assignments, teamwork and presentations. With each chapter consisting of sub-sections that are titled with a single piece of fundamental advice, this is the perfect 'hit the ground running' resource for students embarking on their undergraduate studies. The book uses evidence from psychology to account for the basic errors that students make when studying, illuminating how they can be addressed simply and effectively. Creating an 'insider's guide' to the core requisite skills of studying at degree level, and using a combination of research and practical examples, the author conveys where students often go fundamentally wrong in their studying practices and provides clear and concise advice on how they can improve. Written in a humorous and irreverent tone, and including illustrations and examples from popular culture, this is the ideal alternative and accessible study skills resource for students at undergraduate level, as well as any reader interested in how to learn more effectively.
Falsehood and Fallacy shows students how to evaluate what they read in a digital age now that old institutional gatekeepers, such as the media or institutions of higher education, no longer hold a monopoly on disseminating knowledge. Short chapters cover the problems that exist as a result of the current flow of unmediated information, Fake News, and bad arguments, and demonstrate how to critically evaluate sources - particularly those that appear online. Kilcrease provides a range of tools to help students evaluate the legitimacy of what they read. She discusses how to be on the lookout for bad arguments and logical fallacies and explains how students can produce clear and convincing academic writing. Exercises are included throughout the book to test student knowledge. Written in a positive style and full of useful tools and exercises, Falsehood and Fallacy embraces the idea that everyone is a writer and has aptitude for further growth.
Study Skills for Nursing and Midwifery Students has been carefully structured to be used throughout a nursing career. It is key reading for all fields and levels of nursing, as well as qualified staff who aim to enhance their professional development.
This is one of three short booklets designed to be given to graduate students as they begin their studies. They explain the purposes of the dissertation and the criteria by which it will be assessed. They help students understand the context of their course work; the need to take an active role in shaping their studies; and the importance of thinking ahead about the components of the dissertation and the quality of scholarship they will need to demonstrate.These booklets are intended to support the dissertation research and writing process by providing faculty and advisors with guidelines for setting clear expectations for student performance, and with a model for helping students produce the desired quality of work. They encourage dialogue between faculty and students about the quality of the components of their dissertation project. They include rubrics that students can use to self-assess their work and that can aid faculty in providing focused feedback.Setting explicit targets and benchmarks of excellence of the sort advocated in these booklets will enable departments and universities to respond to demands for accountability with clear criteria for, and evidence of, success; and will raise the overall quality of student performance.
Learning how to do research well is not easy, and for newer scholars the process can feel overwhelming. Using clear and supportive language, this book is designed help graduate students and early career professionals in psychology develop skills to effectively work through the research process. Chapters cover the essential character traits and skills that are necessary to become an effective researcher, walk through the main steps for completing a research project from start to finish, and discuss considerations when building a career and research program. Rather than the nitty-gritty of research methods, authors Joshua N. Hook, Don E. Davis, and Daryl R. Van Tongeren focus on the big picture of what is required in research.
The unwritten rules of success that every student must follow to thrive in collegeThe Secret Syllabus equips students with the tools they need to succeed, revealing the unwritten rules and cultural norms and expectations not included in the official curriculum. Left to figure out on their own how the academic world works, students frequently stumble, underperform, and miss opportunities. Without mastery of the secret syllabus, too many miss out on the full, rich experience available to them in college.Jay Phelan and Terry Burnham share the essential lessons they have learned from struggling, unfocused students as well as award-winning college instructors and researchers. The Secret Syllabus draws on Phelan and Burnham's experiences with thousands of undergraduate and graduate students. Weaving engaging storytelling with practical, actionable advice, they illustrate both productive and counterproductive approaches to achieving academic excellence, and highlight the importance of setting and attaining goals, nurturing strong relationships, developing resiliency, and more.This fresh, funny, and boldly innovative book enables students to develop the consistently winning and effective behaviors that will equip them to thrive on campus and beyond.
Receiving a college education has perhaps never been more important than it is today. While its personal, societal, and overall economic benefits are well documented, too many college students fail to complete their postsecondary education. As colleges and universities are investing substantial resources into efforts to counter these attrition rates and increase retention, they are mostly unaware of the robust literature on student success that is often bounded in disciplinary silos. The purpose of this book is to bring together in a single volume the extensive knowledge on college student success. It includes seven chapters from authors who each synthesize the literature from their own field of study, or perspective. Each describes the theories, models, and concepts they use; summarizes the key findings from their research; and provides implications for practice, policy, and/or research. The disciplinary chapters offer perspectives from higher education, public policy, behavioral economics, social psychology, STEM, sociology, and critical and post-structural theory.
College Mindfulness Training is a ground-breaking book that carefully combines selected meditation exercises with guidance explaining the background, scientific context, and practical applications of mindfulness practice. More than just a meditation manual, this book details how and why personal mindfulness practice is essential for the college-aged student. In addition to extensive practical exercises for both beginner and intermediate-level meditation students, the author explores the kinds of institutions and organizations that have arisen out of the popular mindfulness movement and what career options in the field may be available in the future. Throughout the manual, the author provides readers with insights into basic meditation techniques; active and passive meditation techniques; Focused Attention Meditation in both guided and self-guided forms; Open Monitoring Meditation; informal meditation exercises; a brief history of the MBSR program and Koru meditation; a survey of current apps and meditation-supportive technology platforms; and detailed instructions for self-driven practice, and a semester-long outline for teachers. A captivating read, this book covers many of the essentials of mindfulness meditation and self-care of interest to college students, making it an essential tool for those of college age seeking to practice mindfulness meditation as well as college educators seeking a guided system to enhance their students' emotional well-being and academic performance.
This photocopiable activity book helps teens and tweens who are feeling voiceless, ineffective or fearful in response to events at a world, community or individual level. It incorporates exercises using art and craft, nutrition, mindfulness, yoga and other movement based activities.This book offers dozens of suggestions, interventions, and activities for ways that tweens and teens can care for their physical and mental health, including managing life's stressors, how to recognize 'red flags' in a relationship, and listening to their body's intuition more often. Ideal for mental health counselors, social workers, program coordinators, and other providers working with this age group, it can also be used by parents.
Are you among the 22 million students now enrolled in college? Or a high school student thinking of joining them shortly? Or perhaps a parent of a college-bound junior or senior? Then this book is just for you. Written by college professors and successfully used by tens of thousands of students, The Secrets of College Success combines easy-to-use tips, techniques, and strategies with insider information that few professors are willing to reveal. The over 800 tips in this book will show you how to: pick courses and choose a major manage your time and develop college-level study skills get good grades and manage the "core" requirements get motivated and avoid stress interact effectively with the professor or TA prepare for a productive and lucrative career New to this third edition are high-value tips about: undergraduate and collaborative research summer internships staying safer on campus diversity and inclusion disabilities and accommodations …with special tips for international students at US colleges. Winner of the 2010 USA Book News Award for best book in the college category, The Secrets of College Success makes a wonderful back-to-college or high-school-graduation gift -or a smart investment in your own college success.
If you are embarking on a university nursing or midwifery degree, the books in this series will help you acquire and develop the knowledge, skills and strategies you need to achieve your goals. They provide support in all areas important for university study, including institutional and disciplinary policy and practice, self-management, and research and communication. Tasks and activities are designed to foster aspects of learning which are valued in higher education, including learner autonomy and critical thinking, and to guide you towards reflective practice in your study and work life. Critical Thinking Skills for your Nursing Degree provides you with a sound knowledge and understanding of: the nature of critical thinking, and of its relevance and importance in HE how to adopt a critical approach to all aspects of your nursing study the importance of active, critical reading, and how it allows you an efficient, principled, effective assessment of the literature in your field the need to adopt a critical approach to writing, characterised by analytical and evaluative use of sources and the development of your own 'voice'
Supporting students on placements in health and social care settings, this accessible guide provides a framework for understanding the theory behind successful practice as well as the critical skills needed to apply it. A Student's Guide to Placements in Health and Social Care Settings takes theory beyond the classroom and apply it to real settings, enabling students to recognise their own learning journey and develop their own distinct professional identity within a wider interprofessional context.This is a key resource for placement experience with insights from experts and advice direct from students who have already been on placement. With clear guidelines, and structured so that you can dip into different chapters as needed, it responds to the unique nature of placement opportunities and is the first line resource students should turn to.Whatever course you're studying in the caring profession - Social Work, Health and Social Care, Youth Work, Nursing or Counselling - this is essential reading to help understand how theory can support and improve your placement experience, ensuring you get the very most out of it.
Decades of research demonstrate how important the relationships with peers and professors are for students academically, personally, and professionally. Yet many students lack the strategies to develop educationally purposeful relationships in college. Connections Are Everything shows students the simple steps they can take to make their own college experience meaningful and transformational. In short, practical chapters, this guide helps readers learn how to build relationships through various strategies, including using "relationship accelerators" like internships and mentorships, undergraduate research, and campus employment. Undergraduate demographics have changed dramatically as students of color and first-generation students become the new majority at colleges and universities across the United States. Connections are particularly significant for these students; the positive—and negative—impacts of peer, faculty, and staff relationships are magnified. Higher education cannot meet students' needs or achieve equity, justice, and inclusion without relationship-rich education. This book empowers students to seek out relationships by demystifying the varied ways they can cultivate significant connections.
All the tips, ideas and advice given to, and requested by, MA students in Media and Communications, are brought together in an easy-to-use accessible guide to help students study most effectively. Based upon many years of teaching study skills and hundreds of lecture slides and handouts this introduction covers a range of general and generic skills that the author relates specifically towards media and communications studies. As well as the mechanics of writing and presentations, the book also shows how students can work on and engage with the critical and contemplative elements of their degrees whilst retaining motivation and refining timekeeping skills. Of course the nuts and bolts of reading, writing, listening, seminars and the dreaded dissertation and essays are covered too. In addition advice on referencing, citation and academic style is offered for those with concerns over English grammar and expression. Aimed primarily at postgraduate students, there is significant crossover with undergraduate work, so this book will also prove of use to upper level undergraduate readers whether using English as a first or second language.
How do you know which college is right for you? And what should you do during college to make the most of your time there? In "Doing College Right," dean of undergraduate studies Joe O'Shea helps readers to both choose a college and make key decisions throughout their higher education journey. O'Shea harnesses the latest research on how students develop and showcases award-winning programs from across the United States that are making a difference in the lives of students. "Doing College Right" is filled with helpful case examples, practical rubrics, and guiding questions to help readers evaluate colleges based on key dimensions of student success, both before and during college. This guide is important reading for prospective students and their families, as well as college admissions staff and high school counselors. This book features: (1) Offers a comprehensive, evidence-based framework to help students and families make decisions about college; (2) Translates the innovations and lessons of the recent student success movement; (3) Examines how colleges can support students, including those from underrepresented and underserved populations; and (4) Illustrates the critical roles of higher education institutions in enabling the success of students.
This is the first book to be written by autistic college students about the challenges they face. Aquamarine Blue 5 details the struggle of these highly sensitive students and shows that there are gifts specific to autistic students that enrich the university system, scholarship, and the world as a whole. Dawn Prince-Hughes presents an array of writings by students who have been diagnosed with Asperger's Syndrome or High-Functioning Autism, showing their unique ways of looking at and solving problems. In their own words, they portray how their divergent thinking skills could be put to great use if they were given an opportunity. Many such students never get the chance because the same sensitivity that gives them these insights makes the flicker of fluorescent lights and the sound of chalk on the board unbearable For simple--and easily remedied--reasons, we lose these students, who are as gifted as they are challenged. Aquamarine Blue 5 is a showcase of the strength and resilient character of individuals with Asperger's Syndrome. It will be an invaluable resource for those touched by this syndrome, their friends and families, and school administrators.
This practical skills guide helps young people with who learn differently including those with dyslexia, DCD/dyspraxia and ADHD, study for their exams. Students who learn differently can often find exams challenging and can experience a good deal of anxiety around exam time, leading to exam results that may not accurately reflect their capabilities. Much exam stress arises from a lack of confidence with the ability to learn and retain information in a meaningful way. This engaging workbook is designed to help students to overcome these issues. It not only shows students how to develop a positive success attitude towards study and exams, but also aims to equip them with powerful strategies and techniques for learning and remembering. The book offers strategies for learners whose methods of learning are multisensory. When learning is active rather than passive, it happens faster, and is easier, more enjoyable and more effective. As you progress through the fun, engaging activities, so your confidence and belief in your ability to learn will increase. Struggling students will become confident, successful learners, with a positive attitude and access to a wide range of effective strategies, and in this way, you will achieve the results in exams that you have worked for and deserve.
Providing expert yet accessible guidance to parents of young autistic people who are going to college, this book helps parents support their child from application through to graduation. Covering social issues, independent living, academic challenges, student services and emotional wellbeing, this is the one-stop shop for advice on the transition from school to college or university. The book examines the skills that students need to live and function at college, and the skills parents need to let their teens navigate college without a parent as intermediary. It offers ways to combat common problems that affect the mental health of people on the spectrum, such as keeping up with homework, fast-paced classes, and complex social expectations. This book is for any parent considering college as an option for their child, disability service providers in colleges and for autistic students themselves.
The STEM fields (Science, Technology, Engineering and Math) attract many students with autism, ADD, affective disorders and related invisible disabilities who are highly intelligent and analytical, but who, upon entering higher education, may find that they struggle with independent living and a different way of learning. This is a preparation guide for students and their families that explains everything they need to know about the university experience including classroom behavior, study skills, self-reliance, accessing support services, and when parents should and shouldn't get involved. Offering practical advice and strategies, this is a useful handbook that students can refer to again and again throughout their college years guiding them on their paths to becoming the inventors, scientists, engineers, and computer entrepreneurs of the future.
Colleges and universities are seeing increasing numbers of students with a range of disabilities enrolling in postsecondary education. Many of these disabilities are invisible and, despite their potential for negative impact on students' academic and social adjustment, some students will choose not to identify as having a disability or request support. Approaching disability from the perspective of difference, the authors of this new volume offer guidance on creating more inclusive learning environments on campus so that all students--whether or not they have a recognized disability--have the opportunity to succeed. Strategies for supporting students with specific learning disabilities, attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder, autism spectrum disorder or who display learning and behavioral characteristics associated with these profiles are described. A valuable resource for instructors, advisors, academic support personnel, and others who work directly with college students.
The BASICS College Curriculum presents a hands-on approach to learning essential life and study skills for college students with Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD). This book focuses on the transition to college, developing key academic skills, navigating campus social life, and living away from home for the first time. Ideal as a textbook for ASD college programs and suitable for students to use for self-study, it teaches independence skills, self-advocacy, organization, stress management, and social skills. Each chapter has a lesson-based progressive structure, providing valuable information and advice for the student, useful diagrams, practical exercises and workbook components that can be filled in at home or in class. Self-assessment tools ensure the skills from each chapter can be reviewed and adjusted as necessary.
This book is for graduate students--and others--who want to become more productive writers. It's especially written for those who want to: * increase their motivation, focus, and persistence to move a project to completion * overcome procrastination and perfectionistic tendencies * reduce (or write in spite of) their anxiety and fear of writing * manage their time, work, energy (and advisor) for greater productivity The process or craft of sustained writing is not a matter that's taught to undergraduate or graduate students as part of their studies, leaving most at sea about how to start a practice that is central to a career in academe and vital in many other professional occupations. This book grew out of conversations Jan Allen has held with her graduate students for over 30 years and reflects the fruit of the writing workshops and boot camps she has conducted at three universities, her own and numerous colleagues' experiences with writing and advising, as well as the feedback she receives from her popular Productive Writer listserv. While Jan Allen recognizes that writing is not an innate talent for most of us, she demonstrates that it is a process based on skills which we can identify, learn, practice and refine. She focuses both on the process and habits of writing as well as on helping you uncover what kind of writer are you, and reflect on your challenges and successes. With a light touch and an engaging sense of humor, she proposes strategies to overcome procrastination and distractions, and build a writing practice to enable you to become a more productive and prolific writer. Jan Allen proposes that you read one of her succinct chapters - each devoted to a specific strategy or writing challenge - each day, or once a week. When you find one that increases your concentration, motivation or endurance, make it a habit. Try it for two weeks, charting the resulting increased productivity. It will become part of your repertoire of writing and productivity tools to which you can progressively add.
Moving away from a traditional 'one size fits all' approach, this thesis guide encourages readers to find their own path to submission, demonstrating that the process of writing is as unique as the individual candidate. This book shows thesis writers how to embrace the individual nature of writing, bringing their own unique identities and skillsets to their thesis. Each idea is presented as one that has multiple solutions, depending on who the readers are and what they want to achieve. The book guides the reader on identifying their own ways of working, their own particular strengths, as well as their unique voice and how to use these as tools to navigate the process of writing and surviving the thesis. It also provides practical guidance on elements such as the literature review and methodology, considerations around language and how to deal with life after submission. Offering a unique perspective on the process and experience of completing a thesis, this book will be an essential companion for students completing a thesis at Honors, Master's or PhD level.
This book is published open access. The field of English for Academic Purposes (EAP) developed to address the needs of students whose mother tongue is not English. However, the linguistic competence required to achieve academic success at any university where English is the medium of instruction is a challenge for all students. While there are linguistic features common to academic literacy as a general genre, closer investigation reveals significant differences from one academic field to another. This volume asks what good writing is within specific disciplines, focussing on student work. Each chapter provides key insights by EAP professionals, based on their research in which they bring together analysis of student writing and interviews with subject specialists and markers who determine what 'good writing' is in their discipline. The volume includes chapters on established disciplines which have had less attention in the EAP and academic writing literature to date, including music, formal linguistics, and dentistry, as well as new and growing fields of study such as new media. The ebook editions of this book are available open access under a CC BY-NC-ND 4.0 licence on bloomsburycollections.com. Open access was funded by Knowledge Unlatched.
Fully updated and packed with new material, the second edition of Thesis and Dissertation Writing in a Second Language is the ideal guide for non-native speaker students and their supervisors working on writing a thesis or dissertation in English. Considering the purposes of thesis and dissertation of writing alongside writer/reader relationships, this book uses accessible language and practical examples to discuss issues that are crucial to successful thesis and dissertation writing. This edition offers: Insights into the experience of being a doctoral writer, issues of writer identity, and writing with authority Typical language and discourse features of theses and dissertations Advice on the structure and organisation of key sections Suggestions for online resources which support writing Extracts from completed theses and dissertations Guidance on understanding examiner expectations Advice on publishing from a PhD Suitable for students from all disciplines, Thesis and Dissertation Writing in a Second Language is essential reading for non-native speaker students looking to complete a thesis or dissertation in English.
Writing is a daunting activity not only for language learners; it is, in fact, challenging for everyone who wants to communicate their thoughts persuasively and accurately. When students engage in speaking activities, they communicate extraordinarily interesting ideas and thoughts. However, when asked to write these ideas down into coherent texts, they seem helpless. This book is intended to help students tackle their writing challenges by proposing a different approach to writing. It incorporates grammar, vocabulary, literature, and writing into a simultaneous and coherent whole, presided by reflective thinking. There is hardly any doubt that writing and reading are related activities, and that both rely on creating meaning. When we read, as well as when we write, we find ourselves in the process of becoming. We change our knowledge and understanding along the way. In truth, today more than ever learning a language needs to be perceived as a deeply meaningful process. This book is meant to make that possible by rendering learning both enjoyable and meaningful.
Are you struggling to meet your coursework deadlines? Finding it hard to get to grips with your essay topics? Does your writing sometimes lack structure and style? Would you like to improve your grades? This text covers everything a student needs to know about writing essays and papers in the humanities and social sciences. Starting from the common difficulties students face, it gives practical examples of all the stages necessary to produce a good piece of academic work: * interpreting assignment topics * drawing on your own experience and background * reading analytically and taking efficient notes * developing your argument through introductions, middles and conclusions * evaluating and using online resources * understanding the conventions of academic culture * honing your ideas into clear, vigorous English. This book will provide you with all the tools and insights you need to write confident, convincing essays and coursework papers.
The first book that literature students should read, this guide reveals the distinct set of skills, conventions and methods of essay and dissertation writing. Taking students through the various stages of writing, from planning to final submission, it offers specific guidelines and a lively, detailed commentary on actual examples of student work at each stage.
Today's research world demands a variety of different abstracts to serve different purposes. As a result, writing abstracts can be a difficult task for graduate and international students, researchers, and even practiced authors. Abstracts and the Writing of Abstracts is designed to demystify the construction of this essential writing form and to equip scholars with the skills to summarize their work in clear and compelling ways. This volume represents a revision and expansion of the material on writing abstracts that appeared in English in Today's Research World. The Abstracts volume focuses on abstracts for research articles before addressing abstracts for short communications, conferences, and PhD dissertations. It also covers keywords, titles, and author names. Wherever appropriate within the text, Language Focus sections discuss options and provide tips for meeting specific linguistic challenges posed by the writing of different types of abstracts.
The second edition of this successful guide to writing for graduate-and undergraduate-students has been modified to include updates and replacements of older data sets; an increased range of disciplines with tasks such as nursing, marketing, and art history; discussions of discourse analysis; a broader discussion of e-mail use that includes current e-mail practices. Like its predecessor, this edition of Academic Writing for Graduate Students " explains understanding the intended audience, the purpose of the paper, and academic genres. " includes the use of task-based methodology, analytic group discussion, and genre consciousness-raising. " shows how to write summaries and critiques. " features "language focus" sections that address linguistic elements as they affect the wider rhetorical objectives. " helps students position themselves as junior scholars in their academic communities. The Commentary has also been revised and is available.
Written specifically for undergraduate students, this guide describes the basic elements of scientific writing as well as the elements of grammar and punctuation fundamental to all good writing. Clear, concise explanations and examples.
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