Study Skills for Higher Education: A Comprehensive Guide

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STUDY SKILLS FOR HIGHER EDUCATION
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Table of Contents
Task 1...............................................................................................................................................3
Task 2...............................................................................................................................................7
Reference List................................................................................................................................12
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Task 1
Introduction
Education is an essential component for learners to gain experience in the academic field. The
prospect of gaining skills through academic degrees is applicable for learners in the educational
field as it enhances their ability to assert their views critically. Knowledge gathered from higher
institutions is observed to be beneficial in succeeding in their professional and personal aspects.
Discussion
(1) What are the main reasons for studying a degree at university?
Learners decide to acquire education from higher institutions such as universities in order to
develop better academic skills. The need for developing their knowledge in specific field of
study is another major cause for them to continue with higher education. Observing the findings
accumulated by Holdaway and Kelloway (1987) it can be stated that learners from different age
groups and educational backgrounds aim to enhance their communication skills through higher
education. A degree earned from any university would enhance the ability of the youth to get
better jobs and earn better from the competitive market scenario. Learners seek to improve their
oral and written skills as well by enrolling in degree courses at universities.
It has been observed that students wish to acquire better knowledge in basic general education
that university degrees would provide them with in their professional lives as well. According to
the views generated by Simm et al. (2011), it can be stated that students aim to gather better job
prospects in their professional endeavours. The aim of the learners to acquire better academic
degrees from universities is to gain knowledge regarding interesting topics that would be
beneficial for them in their future prospects. The availability of gaining knowledge and
appreciation regarding topics that are in adherence to recent aspects of the environment and job
opportunities are other reason learners decide to pursue higher education from universities.
(2) What are the core academic skills that can be developed and why are they important?
The need for developing academic skills in the field of higher education through better training
and practice interactions are effective in the realm of education and professional development.
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According to the observations of Krutkowski (2017), the need for core academic skills in higher
education is based on the need for gaining better advantage for the professional development.
Core academic skills are necessary for students to achieve their goals in life, as it would help
them to gain better oral and written skills. It can be stated that academic skills comprises of
various techniques that enable the students to possess authenticity in their writing and ability of
expressing thoughts.
A prominent and popular academic skill is learning the art of paraphrasing which is an aspect of
writing skills that would allow students to create academic writing without having issues with
plagiarism (Rabiner et al., 2016). Paraphrasing and providing appropriate credits to the original
author is in adherence to academic writing. The need for properly citing and paraphrasing
original texts is achieved through the development of this skill. The craft of note taking is
another essential academic skill that benefits the students to collect information efficiently
(Latimer, 2018). This enables the learners and pursuers to generate running notes within any
environment for acquiring relevant information.
The skill of being able to recognise particular learning styles would enable the students to
develop an effective understanding of the type of learning they need to follow in order to achieve
better procedure for gaining knowledge (AlHassan and Wood, 2015). The development of
learning styles enhances the ability of the students to gain better ideas from a learning
environment. It is observed that the skill of academic writing is essential in educational sector.
The need for this skill is related to the development of views and improving their writing skills in
the professional as well as educational endeavours (James, 2018). The ability of the students in
presenting improved academic materials that are justified and articulate would enhance their
credibility in the academic field.
(3) Develop a study plan that includes short term and long-term goals that will help
in acquiring and developing the skills and knowledge mentioned in (2).
A study plan would help the learners to identify the ways they can develop their academic skills
while pursuing their educational degrees.
Academic skills Methods to acquire Monitoring methods Time span
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skill
Paraphrasing Activity sessions,
training and
workshops would
enable the students to
develop this skill.
Increase in
vocabulary and
sentence construction
as well as improved
writing skills would
allow the learner to
monitor their
development of this
skill. Tutor remarks
and reduction in
plagiarism issue in
academic writing
would also provide
the learner with the
scope of recognising
the level of
paraphrasing skills.
6 months, short-term
Learning styles Workshops for
identifying individual
learning style would
enable the learner to
acquire this skill.
Training the students
regarding specific
learning patterns and
styles through group
discussions and
individual training
would be effective as
well.
Development of
learning styles would
be monitored by self-
evaluation through
improvement in own
learning abilities. The
skill would be
monitored through
professor feedback
and other evaluation
techniques.
1 year, long-term
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Academic writing Learners could
develop this skill by
participating in
various workshops,
training and group
discussions.
Practicing the art of
academic writing
would influence the
learners to improve
their writing skills as
well.
Tutor and peer
feedback regarding
the improvement in
writing style would
present the learner
with the knowledge
of development in
this skill. Enhanced
ability to present
accurate and
articulate write-ups is
another marker for
identifying the
development in this
skill.
1 year, long-term
Note taking Workshops and
training sessions
would enable the
learner to improve
this skill.
The learner, through
their success in
taking relevant
information
efficiently, would
measure
improvement in note
taking ability.
6 months, short-term
Table 1: Study plan for gaining academic skills
(Source: created by the learner)
Conclusion
It is observed through the study that gaining degrees is an essential factor for learners to garner
better opportunities in their professional objectives. It is deliberated through the study the need
for gaining academic skills that would prove beneficial for the learners. An appropriate study
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plan has been developed for providing the learners with the opportunity to gain advantage in
their professional lives.
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Task 2
Introduction
In the United Kingdom, it has been seen that there are number of minds that are generally based
on deficit. These people do not go through proper education that is required for them to apply for
a degree in the University level. The report will provide a brief description of what the
foundation year stands for. This will also give a description of the importance of the foundation
year for the students those will apply for a degree in the University level. These will cover all the
important points of the topic foundation year for the students.
a. Identify the importance of the foundation year for students from wide participation
backgrounds and explain why it is important.
Foundation Year
The foundation is termed as that that year of the student in the United Kingdom, where the
student gets proper training to improve their knowledge before applying for a University degree.
This is necessary for those students, who have not completed the thirteen years of study that is
necessary for them to apply for a University degree (Best and Kahn, 2016). There are number of
importance of the foundation year to the students. These will be pointed below:
Providing intermediate and professional level skills
The foundation year gives a good knowledge related to the intermediate and the professional
level of skills. These help the students to develop the skills that are present within them (Johnson
et al., 2016). The students get all the knowledge about the missing years within the foundation
year.
Providing a progression route for the honours degree
The foundation year is also responsible to give progression to the students who wish to appear
for the honours degree. These are necessary for the students, as they need to develop the
knowledge that is present within them. This reason makes the point important for the foundation
year in the life of the people.
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Improving the skills for academics
The foundation year helps the students to improve the skills for the academics that are present
within them. This enables the students to improve the knowledge that they posses. This ensures
the students get proper knowledge about the academics that allows them to appear for the
University degree.
Getting credits on further study
The foundation year helps the students to get proper credits on the study that is necessary to be
conducted in the future. These are essential for the students to get proper completely developed
knowledge and help the student to perform well (Joksimović et al., 2015). This improves the
basic knowledge of the students so that the knowledge is developed.
Helps in getting the stream of the choice in the University
The foundation year guides the students to choose the stream they want to take in the University
degree (Sternglass, 2017). This can be performed as because the students get a brief idea about
all the streams that are being studied in the University degree.
b. Explain the key challenges facing foundation year students.
Students who pursue foundation degree face plethora of deficit in their respective careers.
Moreover, students face various gaps in their former schools regarding infrastructure and quality
of education (HEFCE, 2000) Thus, they face lack backs while being promoted to higher sections.
In foundation degree, most of the students are first generation learners. Thus, they carry little
knowledge regarding every aspect of education. It has been noted that students are facing these
issues on daily basis thus their holistic development is getting lowered (HEFCE, 2010).
Foundation students have low interest regarding attending educational institutions because lack
effective knowledge. Students of foundation year also fail to interact with the teachers because
they lack interaction skills (Krutkowski, 2017). The educational background of foundation
students is weak as compared to the students whose educational background is strong.
Foundation students do not understand the importance of education and subjects in their life
because they are first generation learner (Midgley, 2002). They also fail to connect with the
subjects. Foundation students lead a difficult university life because they fail to communicate
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with other students and teachers (Krutkowski, 2002) Foundation course is considered as
important as compared to honours course. Foundation students have plethora of employment
opportunities as compared to other students. Thus, scholars have mentioned that it is better to
pursue foundation course rather than general courses (Krutkowski, 2002). However, some of the
students prefer to conduct foundation course so that they need to invest less amount of capital.
Further, some of the HR hesitates to recruit employees who have pursues foundation course
(Midgley, 2002).
Students of Foundation course also faces identity crisis within the university because they fail to
interact with other students and teachers due to lack of knowledge. At times, they face issues due
to cultural and religion lack backs. Students also fail to reveal their present condition. For
instance, if some of the students are facing from health issues they are unable to express it to
their teachers and friends because they consider it as pity issues (Simm et al., 2011).
At times students feel isolated because natives does not communicate to them due to cultural and
religion issues. Moreover, they have a feeling that their peers isolate them because they are not
regular students.
The students of FD face technological issues because they are unable to use equipments such as
projectors, laptops and computers. They often face issues in understanding PowerPoint
presentations and other virtual learning notes. Presently education institutions have decided to
provide training to students pursuing FD. The students feel that it is better to communicate to the
tutor directly because they can share their issues. They face issues while modern study
equipments due to lack of knowledge. Teachers also, face trust issues with the foundation
students because they do not attend educational institutions on regular basis.
In education institutions, foundation students also face infrastructural issues because teachers do
not refer to provide all facilities to them. The parents of foundation students also do not
understand the importance of education. Therefore, they often force their wards to drop
education in mid way. Students have often planned to ditch the program because they are treated
as marginalised in the education organisation.
c. Discuss how study skills in higher education can help foundation year students overcome
some of these challenges.
Study skills are approaches that are being used by the education institutions in order to motivate
the students pursuing foundation sources. Presently, the teachers have decided to conduct
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teaching methods as per the requirement of the foundation students so that their interest level can
be successfully retained. Study skills are effectively selected so that they can cater the need of
the students. In the above section, it has been stated that foundation students face plethora of
issues while pursuing higher education from primary section. Thus, it is recommended that
teachers need to motivate their students so that they can overcome their issues successfully. The
education institutions needed to point out what is wrong in their system so that they can attract
large number of students within the education organisation (HEFCE, 2000)
The schools and colleges need to felicitate the students so that they can feel that they will
perform better in future. The students can be indulged in training process to improve their
technological skills. For instance, after the training process, they will be able to use digital
gadgets such as projectors, computers and laptops. The listening and writing skills of students
needs to be redefined in order to improve their academic results for the present session (Simm et
al., 2011)
The parents of the students also need to be making understand that education is important for
their wards in order to secure their professional life. Practical assignments need to be included
within the curriculum so that their importance can be well understood by students. Other students
of colleges and school should interact with foundation level students so that their level of
isolation can be mitigated. Teachers can prepare groups so that regular and foundation students
can be brought together to develop their mutual feelings. The regular students have to should not
criticize the foundation students because they feel left alone. Assessment needs to be
undertaken by teachers so that intellectual level of students can be predicted. The students can be
awarded appraisals for performing better results.
However, test-taking strategies need to be different in order to hold back the interest level of
students. Excursions can also be conducted so that the students get time to spend together. This
will also develop cooperation level among them.
Thus, in this study deficit faced by foundation students have been discussed so that their lack
backs can be visualised. In addition to that, it has been noted that foundation students lacked in
educational field because they are discriminated by the educational authority.
d. Draw conclusions based on these key points.
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There are number of key points that are being discussed in the report. From the reports, it has
been analysed that the students do not get proper education that is required for them to enter the
University level. This is the main reason for which they are advised to take a foundation course
that explains different courses that will be taught in the University. The foundation course is
provided by a number institutes that guides the students to develop their mindset. This improves
the knowledge that is present within the students. These are essential for them to get admission
in the University level. It has been found out from different reports that there are maximum
students who do not complete full thirteen years of study that is necessary for them to perform
before they enter the University level. The completion of this course helps the students to enter
in the University to get an honours degree. These are beneficial for the students as this course
enables them to get all the knowledge that is missing within the students. The students get proper
training within the period of year when he receives the foundation course. This needs to be
performed by the students in order to improve and develop all the knowledge that are present
within the students.
All the necessary activities need to be performed by the students in order to get admission in the
Universities for further studies. Further studies help the students to get better jobs in the future.
Various jobs require higher studies to be selected. These bring out the importance of the
foundation course in the life of the students. All the studies of the foundation year need to be
incorporated within the students in order to get admission in the University level. This ensures
that the students are developed properly so that all the aspects are performed at the same level.
These give good quality studies for the students so that they get very much used to the courses
that are being studies in the University level. These help the students to get better jobs in their
future after they complete their studies. The students get proper training from the institutes that
guide them to be successful in their life. These are significant for the career of the students that
enables them to have developed knowledge. This helps the students to get proper education that
is the main objective of the foundation course.
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