Key skill assessment: Communication
Communication is part of everyone's life. Being able to communicate clearly and effectively orally, visually and in writing underpins nearly everything we do. This free course, Key skill assessment: Communication, will help you recognise your strengths as well as the areas where you could improve. In developing and assessing your communication skills, you will learn to recognise, adapt and use your skills confidently and effectively in different situations and contexts.
Teaching secondary music
This free course, Teaching secondary music, will identify and explore some of the key issues around teaching music in secondary schools. Through coming to understand these issues and debates, you will reflect on and develop your practice as a music teacher and develop a greater awareness of the wider context of music education and how this affects music in the secondary school curriculum.
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Leadership: external context and culture
Through studying this free course, Leadership: external context and culture, you will develop your understanding of the impact of external context and culture on the practice of leadership. The course begins by exploring the nature ‘societal culture’, identifying how culture, at a number of levels, impacts on leadership. We then explore how the external context within which an organisation operates impacts on the factors that leaders need to take account of and consequently the exercise of l
Early years team work and leadership
This free course, Early years team work and leadership, explores aspects of teamwork and leadership for early years practitioners. First published on Thu, 15 Nov 2018 as Early years team work and leadership.
Being an OU student
In the course, you’ll get a flavour of what OU study is actually like, learn about how you’ll be supported, the technologies you’ll use and start to develop the skills you’ll need to succeed. First published on Wed, 08 Aug 2018 as Being an OU student. To fi
Beginners’ French: Food and drink
Improve your language skills by learning to communicate more easily and effectively in French. In this free course, Beginners' French: Food and drink, you will also gain an insight into French societies and cultures through focusing on food and drink. You will listen to French speakers in a variety of situations, and you will be provided with some skills for coping with reading texts.
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5.1 Anxiety management techniques You may find that exams provoke levels of anxiety which are highly uncomfortable, and that you do not produce your best work under such pressure. If you tend to be a perfectionist, an exam can be particularly stressful because it has a set time limit which limits lengthy planning, rewriting and checking. Even revision can be difficult if you are constantly worrying about whether you will remember and understand your material when you are in the exam room. Anxiety management techniques w
3.12.4 Modern Languages In modern languages courses, as you would expect, the emphasis includes listening and speaking skills as well as reading and writing skills. To learn to be creative and spontaneous in the language you are studying, you need to practise listening and speaking throughout the course and in revision. Working through t 3.11.3 Maths, sciences and technology The additional points we would want you to be aware of as you plan your revision in these subjects relate to the different ways in which you are called upon to present your answers. These might be: short reports multiple-choice answers dif 3.11.2 Answering a question in exam conditions Write out a few exam questions on pieces of card, shuffle them and then pick out a question at random and try to answer it in the time the exam allows. Doing this can give you a sense of the amount you can reasonably write in an exam. You should also get an idea of whether or not you are being too ambitious about what you can cover within the time constraints of an exam. You should be wary of overshooting the timeslot for an exam answer, and not leaving enough time to complete the remaining a 3.10 Thinking about the exam It is worth noting the difference between exam answers and assignments. Inevitably, a much lengthier and more polished answer can be produced in an untimed assignment. In the short time available in the exam, you need to move quickly through your main points, without paying too much attention to your style. Examiners are fully aware of the constraints exams place on the writer. Focus on the question you have chosen, and underline or highlight the process words or instructions in the question. 3.9 Understanding process words 3.6.4 Using a computer Besides other things, a computer offers the opportunity to organise, reorganise, and delete material, without having to write everything out every time you make a change. It also allows you to make notes as you go along, file them easily, and add and update them in your revision period. You may even find that one of your software packages supports a facility for making notes. You will certainly have a range of layout facilities and graphics to enhance your notes. 5.2 Thinking for yourself These are the kinds of questions you need to ask in order to read critically. As a higher-level student, you don't read simply to ‘find out facts’. It is assumed that you will think for yourself and question what you read and hear. The ‘truth’ is taken to be uncertain, so you weigh up ideas and arguments as you read about them. According to Marton and Saljo (1997, p. 49) research shows that successful students read as if they are constantly asking themselves questions of the kind: ‘ References 7.5 Mind-maps Mind-mapping can be a particularly powerful visual tool for shaping thought. The basic principle here is to note down the central topic or idea in the centre of a piece of paper and work outwards adding the points which flow from and connect to it. It is particularly helpful for seeing the different levels of thought discussed above. Figure 7 Giving structure to thinking Two common thinking problems are: a feeling of not being able to 'see the wood for the trees', and difficulty in being logical and orderly. The key to solving them is being able to think about ideas and information in a conceptual and systematic way so that you have ways to structure your thinking. This can involve: looking at the broader context developing mental models and frameworks to hang ideas and information on bein 3.1 Thinking in a higher gear While we can all think, it is important to recognize that the thinking skills we have looked at so far are not all required or equally valued in academic work. Common to all subjects and levels is the concept of higher and lower order thinking skills. Higher order skills are considered to be more complex than lower order skills. The triangle model (Author(s): Acknowledgements In writing my assignments, I think I do the following things well: I am fairly satisfied with: I need to work on: The first thing I am going to when I finish this toolkit is: Good luck! Except for third party materials and otherwise stated 7.4.5 The conclusion Having come so far with your drafting, how will you bring it to a close? The conclusion should summarise the content of the main body of your assignment clearly and concisely. A final reference to the assignment title is often useful, emphasising to your tutor that you have indeed answered the question. Your concluding paragraph should not include anything new, though it may suggest what needs to be considered in the future. It should emphasise the key elements of your argument. W
Table 2
Process word
Meaning
Account for
explain, clarify, give reasons for
Analyse
resolve into its component parts examine critically or minutely
Assess
Appendix 1 Action Plan
