Gwybodaeth Modiwlau
Module Identifier
GS09520
Module Title
How to be a Student 1
Academic Year
2025/2026
Co-ordinator
Semester
Semester 1
Reading List
Other Staff
Course Delivery
Assessment
| Assessment Type | Assessment length / details | Proportion |
|---|---|---|
| Semester Assessment | Literature Review/Analysis - essay 1000 Words | 50% |
| Semester Assessment | Degree Subject Specific Group Presentation 15 Minutes | 40% |
| Semester Assessment | Referencing Assignment 500 Words | 10% |
| Supplementary Assessment | Degree Specific Individual Presentation 10 Minutes | 40% |
| Supplementary Assessment | Literature Review/Analysis 1000 Words | 50% |
| Supplementary Assessment | Referencing Assignment 500 Words | 10% |
Learning Outcomes
On successful completion of this module students should be able to:
Demonstrate an understanding of own learning skills and needs
Find and appropriately use academic sources
Identify and use appropriate academic language in writing and speaking
Develop strategies for listening, note-taking, and synthesising information
Develop strategies for reading, summarising, paraphrasing and appropriately referencing academic work
Demonstrate ability to use relevant learning technology (i.e. BlackBoard, Word, Powerpoint)
Brief description
The module emphasises small group work and contact time with lecturers and tutors. It is designed to support students in their acquisition of baseline skills required to:
• Formulate an argument
• Find appropriate academic sources
• Find their academic voice
• Navigate University systems
• Identify skills acquired during the foundation year
• Develop communication, inter-personal, digital and writing skills
• Understand their own learning styles, motivation, and ability to manage time effectively
• Develop their confidence in transitioning to HE and in their wider abilities
• Be able to identify skills gained at university for future employability
• Have improved self-esteem and self-worth.
Lectures introduce core elements of university study that act as building blocks for acquiring essential skills. Workshops and tutorials are more interactive and provide opportunities for students to develop their understanding by asking questions, listening to others, discussing the material in more depth and undertaking practical tasks to develop these skills
• Formulate an argument
• Find appropriate academic sources
• Find their academic voice
• Navigate University systems
• Identify skills acquired during the foundation year
• Develop communication, inter-personal, digital and writing skills
• Understand their own learning styles, motivation, and ability to manage time effectively
• Develop their confidence in transitioning to HE and in their wider abilities
• Be able to identify skills gained at university for future employability
• Have improved self-esteem and self-worth.
Lectures introduce core elements of university study that act as building blocks for acquiring essential skills. Workshops and tutorials are more interactive and provide opportunities for students to develop their understanding by asking questions, listening to others, discussing the material in more depth and undertaking practical tasks to develop these skills
Content
Content is delivered over 27 hours of in-person contact time over 10 weeks.
Students are supported in independent and group work via workshop and personal tutor sessions.
Lectures and workshop sessions are both typically two hours and group tutorials 1 hour long. For some sessions students are divided into humanities and social/natural science cohorts to reflect different expectations and approaches between degree programmes.
Typically lectures cover academic integrity, writing and citing for university, locating appropriate sources and resources, group working and presentations, self-motivation, how to read academic material and write a literature review/literary and visual analysis, time management and exam planning.
Workshops cover - using IT systems and resources, submitting work, citing and writing, reading and writing a literature review/literary analysis.
Group tutorials focus on preparing for assignments.
A series of meetings with personal tutors for pastoral and academic support occur across this module.
Students are supported in independent and group work via workshop and personal tutor sessions.
Lectures and workshop sessions are both typically two hours and group tutorials 1 hour long. For some sessions students are divided into humanities and social/natural science cohorts to reflect different expectations and approaches between degree programmes.
Typically lectures cover academic integrity, writing and citing for university, locating appropriate sources and resources, group working and presentations, self-motivation, how to read academic material and write a literature review/literary and visual analysis, time management and exam planning.
Workshops cover - using IT systems and resources, submitting work, citing and writing, reading and writing a literature review/literary analysis.
Group tutorials focus on preparing for assignments.
A series of meetings with personal tutors for pastoral and academic support occur across this module.
Module Skills
| Skills Type | Skills details |
|---|---|
| Adaptability and resilience | Adapting to working with other people with different preferences and priorities. Adapting to communicating to different audiences. Includes recognition that abilities grow over time; learning through mistakes; accepting feedback positively; constructive criticism. |
| Co-ordinating with others | Students will need to co-ordinate with others in planning, designing, organising and presenting as a group for the module assessment. |
| Critical and analytical thinking | Students will be required to gather required data quickly and comprehensively analyse and evaluate situations and information to inform decisions/thinking. Includes information literacy, ability to plan research, collate appropriate data, consider alternative perspectives and viewpoints, reach conclusions, be logical, quantitative reasoning and analysis, recognising bias and misinformation |
| Digital capability | Students will demonstrate media and information literacy, digital research and problem-solving, creativity with digital tools as well as routine management of communication and social media tools. They will use standard VLE software such as BlackBoard, Panopto, Turnitin, etc. |
| Professional communication | Students will learn how to communicate effectively for different types of audience within an academic context |
| Real world sense | Developing skills in: initiative, independence, team working, coping with pressure, communicating effectively, managing time, taking decisions, being responsible, recognising bias and misinformation, adapting, planning, coordinating and organising, recognising the transferability of skills. This will be facilitated by implementing the Careers Readiness Support Package into the module |
| Reflection | Students will have the opportunity to reflect on their own learning styles and needs (facilitated by targeted sessions with Careers) |
Notes
This module is at CQFW Level 3