Escolar Documentos
Profissional Documentos
Cultura Documentos
Learning Outcomes
1. Distinguish the characteristics of an independent learner
2. Recognise the value of reflective practice in self improvement
3. Evaluate how independent you are as a learner
Contents
1.0 How motivated are you to study?
1.1 Being responsible for your own learning
1.2 Setting goals
1.3 Leaving things to the last minute
1.4 Reflecting….
_____________________________________________________________________
Being an Independent Learner
The material in this guide is copyright © 2003 the University of Southampton.Skills
Permission is given for it to be
copied for use within the University of Southampton. All other rights are reserved.
2
Being an Independent Learner
Your attitude to your studies will colour your experience of university life and affect the
grades you get. In order to get the most out of your time at university, it is worth
thinking about how you can become an independent and assertive learner – qualities that
will be invaluable to you now, to your employer later and throughout your career.
Independent learners
If you are an independent learner you will (a) be motivated to learn; (b) manage your
own learning; and (c) reflect on your learning. These attributes will enable you to
become a successful learner and/or provide you with some insight into your learning
achievements that will enhance your motivation to continue learning. The responsibility
for this is yours.
1. 2. 3.
Motivated Manage Reflect on
to learn your time your
learning
This is influenced
by strategies of You actively You develop your
achievement: identify what is ability to reflect
important to you on your progress
Being responsible in your studies.
for your own You record how
learning. You balance you are
your studies and developing a
You set social life. wide range of
challenging but skills
attainable goals. You use your
time effectively You know what
You deal with and know where feedback you
procrastination. resources are. need from tutors
and peers and
You understand how to use it
how you learn
best
3
Being an Independent Learner
Skills
1.0How Motivated are you to Study?
As you are probably aware from previous experience, success and the feeling of
achievement is very motivating. It is important therefore to identify what achievement
strategies for success you already have in place as well as find some new ones.
Motivation to You predominantly respond to the You respond to the external pressures, but
learn pressures of the system through you are also seeking personal satisfaction
deadlines, penalties & marks. and what to learn as much as you can.
What you learn The content and resources are Although your tutors have given guidance
determined by your tutors on resources you need, you happily seek
out your own resources.
Managing your You follow your tutors instructions to You are keen to develop personal
learning letter and don’t go much beyond it. strategies for learning.
You find it sufficient.
Reflection on You find little opportunity in your You are keen to reflect on what and how
your learning studies to do this and you may not be you learn.
encouraged to do it either.
Tick the strategies you use now and indicate which ones you intend tick
to do:
1. I have checked out/will check out the Library, Computing Services, Departmental
Libraries and the Departmental Website.
4. I’m not afraid/will not be afraid to ask questions in or out of class regarding a
topic.
5. I generally organise my notes so I can keep on top of a subject.
6. I generally work with others and not alone whenever possible or appropriate.
If you ticked 1-3 you are familiarising yourself with the resources
available at University that are there to help you. Do this as early on in
4
your studies as possible and keep abreast of how these resources
develop. This shows how proactive you are.
If you ticked 4 you are aware that you need to develop self confidence in
order to become an independent learner; this is really important.
If you ticked 5 &6 you are managing your own learning by being organised
which makes it easier for you to keep an overview of your studies and
identify parts you are having problems with. Working with others let’s
you see how they think about particular topics. You can get support and
learn how to discuss your subject in a non-threatening way.
Remember to always reflect on how things are going and what you need to do to improve.
tick
If you ticked ‘1’ then either you are doing a grand job with your studies,
or you are doing the minimum and getting just OK or poor grades. If the
latter, consider how you could put in more effort to raise your grades.
Decide which category you fall into.
If you ticked ‘2’ then you are getting a lot out of your studies- you find it
challenging enough, but you are not overwhelmed by it. You have obviously
developed strategies to cope with challenging work, which will stand you in
good stead for the future. Can you articulate what these strategies are?
If you ticked ‘3’ you are capable of doing the work and probably getting
good marks, but you lack some confidence. You have probably developed
quite good strategies for chunking a large task. Next time you do this,
reflect on how you do it so you confidently use these strategies in other
work. Why don’t you compare your strategies with others – you may learn
some new ways.
5
Being an Independent Learner
If you ticked ‘4’ you are capable of doing the work but your Skills
confidence
and ‘nerves’ are getting the better of you. Analyse the task (with a
friend or your tutor) and break it down into attainable sub goals. Tackle
each small segment and feel confident with yourself as you check them
off. Finally, read through your work in its entirety (aloud or get a friend
to do this if appropriate) and ensure it really answers the question asked
and that it is coherent.
You ticked ‘1’ . If this applies to all subjects within your programme, then
you should consider changing your degree as it may just be wrong for you.
If it relates to one or two subjects within the degree, and you find they
bore you, try and find some aspect or good text book that could make it
more interesting even though it may never be your favourite subject. If
you find you just don’t understand the subject, then go and talk to a
friend, the subject tutor, your personal tutor, or a post graduate
assistant who might be taking some classes. Try and isolate which parts
you are having difficulties with.
You ticked ‘2’. Read the directions through carefully and isolate the part
you are having difficulties with then talk to your friends and see how
6
they interpret the instructions. You might check with your tutor by
sending a quick email for clarification.
You ticked ‘3’. Is this connected with writing? If so, check out the
guide: Writing Effectively. You may just need some writing techniques so
you can overcome this initial ‘getting started’ barrier. Maybe it’s not
about writing, but about motivating yourself to get going. Some people
find it helps to ‘strike a deal’ with yourself: for example, you can promise
yourself that once you’ve bullet-pointed a brief plan, or written the first
two sentences of the assignment, you’ll let yourself go and do something
else you really want to do. Once you have the beginnings of a plan, or the
start of the written assignment, it’s much easier to carry on. Anything
that gets you over that ‘blank page’ feeling will help.
You ticked ‘5’. Some people do work better under this condition and
actually enjoy it. Do you really enjoy this approach, or does your
procrastination leave you no choice? Remember, the ‘last minuter’ has
little time to reflect on the work they’ve done or edit it.
If you answered ‘Never’ I suggest you share your secret with your
friends!
If you just feel you can’t get organised, then look at Section 2.0 below on
managing your time.
1.4 Reflecting…..
The third strategy for achievement refers to your active involvement in your learning and
if you are using at least half of the above strategies then you are well on your way to
being actively engaged in your learning. A very important aspect of active learning is
your ability to reflect on your work (be this University work or extra-curricular).
Now think about how responsible you feel you are for your own learning, how good you
are at identifying and setting achievable goals and being an active learner. Which of
these do you think you need to work on most and which are you most happy with?
Actions - I intend to : (If you have a personal development planner, you may want to use it.)
7
Being an Independent Learner
Skills
IMPORTANT I II
• Crises • Preparation
• Pressing problems • Prevention
• Assignment deadlines • Clarifying values
• Preparations • Planning
• Lectures, seminars etc • Relationship building
• Creating
III IV
NOT • Interruptions, e.g. phone • Trivia, busywork
IMPORTANT calls, some emails • Junk mail
• Some meetings • Some phone calls
• Some pressing matters • Time wasters
• Many popular activities • ‘escape’ activities
Quadrant I is where we need to ‘manage our time’, actually produce and meet the
challenges set. It is for quadrant I that we need to develop strategies and ensure that
we don’t procrastinate in order to keep on top of the tasks demanded of us. If we are
not careful however, we could spend most of our time in quadrant I just reacting to
pressures. This is where we can easily feel ‘stressed out’.
Quadrant II is where we deal with important issues such as planning (to keep quadrant
I in check), creating new ideas and working towards our goals for both university and life
outside. Keeping fit, doing exercise, broadening our mind, making intellectual leaps in
our studies, charity work, reading, helping friends and family, and developing meaningful
relationships are all part of quadrant II. In this quadrant we feel empowered. We need
to spend a good deal of our time here for our own fulfilment.
8
Quadrant III is where we operate on an urgency basis, with things that are not
important for us. You may find you are reacting to other people’s priorities at the
expense of your – try and keep a balance.
Quadrant IV is where we generally waste our time. We might slump in front of the
television, read trashy novels etc. We are all in this quadrant from time to time, but try
to limit how much time you spend here. Very often when you procrastinate you will find
yourself in this quadrant.
Stop now and think of all the things you are doing in your life at present and try
putting them into a 4-quadrant box.
9
Being an Independent Learner
Skills
2.00-
4.00pm SPORT 2-3.00
Seminar
4.00-
6.00pm 5-6.00 SPORT
Seminar
6.00- Paid work
8.00pm
Understanding how you learn is one step. What kind of learner are you, how do you
learn best and what aspect of your studies do you prefer? For example, you may prefer
to learn through listening, through reading alone, through working with others or through
accessing visual aids. Your motivation towards your studies may also affect the kind of
learner you are.
10
Type of learner
Motivation Strategies
Where does your motivation lie – where would you place yourself on the chart above?
Find out more about your own learning styles and strategies by looking at the:
Understanding your learning styles Guide.
You need to know how you learn best, the strategies you use and the resources you have
available to help you. See Appendix 1 for an example of a set of resources that might be
available to you. Alter this to suit your own situation. Be smart, use your time effectively
and identify the resources you can use. Why not pin up Appendix 1 to remind you!
11
Being an Independent Learner
Actions: I intend to: (If you have a personal development planner, you may want to use it.)
12
3.1 Helping you to reflect
I got an essay back with lower marks than I was expecting, and with comments from my
tutor about my lack of background reading and muddled argument.
On my first day at the work placement I felt unclear about what was expected of me.
A seminar presentation I led went much better than I had expected and I was surprised
to find that I felt very confident and enthusiastic about my topic.
You may be asked to reflect on the skills you are developing during your studies and this
activity may even be part of your assessment.
Consider the following questions that could help you hone your reflective skills – i.e.
learning how to learn.
1. What resources (people or materials) have you ever drawn on, and
did they meet your needs?
2. How have you used feedback given to you by your tutor or your
friends?
3. What have you learned about your strengths and weaknesses as a
learner, a researcher or a professional?
4. What could you do to learn or act more effectively next time?
13
Being an Independent Learner
Skills
Some of the common faults with reflective assignments such as logs and self-evaluation
reports are:
• Being too descriptive and not evaluative enough (not commenting on the good or
bad things and the ‘whys’ of the situation)
• Not following up the implications of your own thoughts and comments
• Not reflecting on why you made certain decisions or encountered particular
problems
• Not referring to what you have learned about yourself, your own views and
values, as well as about approaches to the subject.
• Not commenting on what you might do differently next time, and why.
For the first three types of activity, your lecturer or tutor may give you guidelines about
what is expected. Make sure that you read these carefully, ask for clarification if you
need it, and refer to the questions in section 3.1 when ‘writing reflectively’.
You may be asked to complete a Personal Development Planner (PDP) File while at
university. Exactly how this document will look depends on your School, but you should
be able to:
• record the skills you are developing at university
• keep a record of your personal details and qualifications
• keep of record of your studies with marks and comments,
• note the skills you are developing from casual employment
• record your final grade.
You may wish to keep a record like this even if this is not requested by your tutors. If
you do this, you will be able to compile your CV easily and be aware of all the skills you
are learning. This is ideal for the job application letter and interview.
14
through friends at university who you have asked for feedback and from your tutors. A
great deal of the feedback we receive we process subconsciously. However, if you are to
become a responsible, reflective and independent learner, you need to use consciously
the feedback given to you by your tutors so you can create opportunities for
improvement.
Most students are interested in feedback as well as the grade, but very often don’t quite
know how to use the feedback they get.
Our ability to respond effectively to feedback needs to be developed and once developed
it is a skill to be nurtured, both for giving and receiving feedback. How do you feel about
receiving feedback?
Take some time to think about how you generally react to feedback and jot something
down. It may be good to come back to this in a year’s time and see if it is different.
15
Being an Independent Learner
Skills
A. .
I get marked down a lot, even
though I think I am doing a good
job.
B.
I get marked down a lot and I
know I have problems, but I don’t
know how to improve.
C.
I tend to get good marks, but I
don’t know why.
D.
I tend to get good marks and I
know how I manage to do it.
If you selected A you may find you have problems receiving feedback as you
feel that what you do is fine. When you receive feedback, try not to be
defensive about it, just listen or read the comments and try to stand back and
digest what is being said. Try to imagine in the beginning it is not your work
that is being discussed. Take on board the feedback, accept some and reject
other comments. Try to establish an action plan where you can put the
feedback you have accepted into practice.
If you selected B you may find you get disheartened by the feedback you get.
You may feel mortified if it is only critical – you really need feedback to be
constructive. You also need the feedback to be precise enough so you can do
something with it. Vague critical comments just make you feel worse. If you
are experiencing this, discuss the feedback you are getting with your tutor
and he or she will be able to help you.
If you selected C you are obviously doing very well and sailing through, but are
you getting the most out of your studies? You may not be challenged enough
and you may not know exactly how to improve. It may be worth finding out
from your tutor what makes your work good so you can transfer these skills to
a different task and also ask how your tutor thinks you could improve. If your
tutor is giving you this precise feedback, then do use it.
If you selected D you are obviously doing very well and you know why. This is
the ideal combination. This means you know what works and can work on it to
improvements. You are using the feedback you get to your advantage. If some
of your feedback falls short of the mark, you know how to question your tutor
for more precise comments.
16
Now look at some tutor feedback comments. Are you able to use these comments –
what could you get out of them? If you find them useless, can you identify why and
what you need to make them effective – your tutor may be interested to know how you
perceived his/her feedback.
Example comments from tutor What points could you take If you needed more
feedback from this comment? information, what would it be?
(you may enter ‘none’)
POSITIVE STATEMENTS
It is easy to read
A good essay
NEGATIVE STATEMENTS
Weak conclusions
17
Being an Independent Learner
Skills
Now identify the type of feedback that best suits your learning – this will help you
articulate what you want from feedback. Once you know this you should be able to
identify feedback comments that allow you to think of ways of changing your current
work. From each feedback you get, make a notes of things you need to work on. Also,
once you become proficient at knowing what feedback suits you and how you can use it,
you become an excellent ‘feedback giver’ – see the Guide: Working in Groups, section
3.2.1 ‘Helping a friend – coaching’.
I learn from feedback that is….. I don’t learn from feedback that is..
Do take advantage of any piece of work your tutor suggests you do, even if it is not
formally assessed. This is your chance to get feedback and see how you are doing.
Don’t let it slip away.
4.0Over to You…
Being a true learner can be a rewarding and frustrating experience. In order to truly
learn you will probably go through a very uneasy stage of not understanding, feeling
inadequate, frustrated and overwhelmed. This is usually a sign that you are learning –
although you don’t want these negative feelings to go too far, so you need to develop
strategies to get through this. To do this you need to:
• Be motivated
• set modest goals that
you can achieve
• manage your time
effectively
• reflect on what you
learn.
18
You will then experience that buzz of learning something new – it will be worth it. All this
makes you a responsible and independent learner – a set of skills that will remain with
you for life.
From the activities in this guide, what does your ‘independent learner’ profile look like?
Go back and collect your answers. Now draw a mind map, or make notes on the key
issues that are pertinent to you and that you will address this semester. Would you
regard yourself as an independent learner? If not, how can you achieve this?
An independent
learner is….
References
19
Appendix 1
Feedback
Utilise feedback from all sources: Learning Outcomes
Self & Peer Assessment Be aware what this means for
non-assessed & Being an Independent
assessed work, and Learner
Assess your own and a friend’s work to your study; *how is your learning
develop your ability to reflect on the peers - enables
Skills reflection of own
abilities and how to progress. progressing towards these
quality of own/peer work and application outcomes; *where can you get
of criteria. Avoid collusion. help; * what do you need to
improve on? *Reflect on gaining
competence at key skills and
Research Skills
You’ll need basic research skills for intellectual skills.
essays and more complex ones for 3rd
year projects. Ensure you have Learning Resources
information management skills,
Check out all resources available to you:
understand research methodology and
* support materials (Web?)
information handling skills.
* library (key texts, ref material etc)
Check out:
http://www.library.soton.ac.uk/infoskills/ * quiet work spaces
index.shtml * PCs (ISS, your School?)
* computer based training
* staff and friends.
Study Skills
Skills to empower your own quality of Teaching Methods
learning. Avoid plagiarism. Check out: Understand the importance of: *engaging
http://www.academic-skills.soton.ac.uk Taking responsibility for managing your own in class activities (develops your critical
learning. thinking), *preparing for class activities
(makes the session worthwhile for all),
Computer Skills *group work, *individual projects,
Essential skills for all work: Check *leading discussions, *on line seminars.
out the induction zone at:
http://www.iss.soton.ac.uk/i-zone/ Ground Rules Managing your own Learning
first_steps.html If you are working in a group make This is a vital key skill so get
sure you set ground rules that organised. Make a record sheet for
encourage responsibility within class work, assignments and group
the group to contribute fairly to meetings for projects and devise a
the work. working plan.
20