The Importance of Study Skills

Study Skills (or Induction Week) is specifically designed to help students get off to a flying start in the Postgraduate Diploma programme. It is important to note that whilst this is an optional module to take, it is highly recommended that you do so.

Students who complete their Study Skills week are getting a headstart with their programmes.

Please read below for further information:

This module is just 5 days in length and aims to help you:

• Understand the level of skill needed to successfully complete your course.
• Transition back to academia
• Become familiar with how we do things, and the high standards to which we work.

Throughout the week you will discover:

• How to use and access our learning platform
• Our teaching and assessment methods
• How to effectively use your reflective journal and about reflective practice
• How to write scientifically; and 
• The nuances of referencing versus plagiarism

Why should you do this module?

People who have good study skills are more likely to stick with their programme, and ultimately pass. These are skills that have to be learnt - they are not inherent in all students. So, learning (or indeed brushing up) on these skills at the beginning of your studies can literally mean the difference between a pass or fail. You will also have a clear understanding of how your programme is structured, delivered and assessed. 

You have access to the whole week's material but we suggest you work through it day by day, starting on Monday, to get the most out of the module and to fully participate in each day's discussion forum. This will be excellent practice for your programme, as you will want to log in most days to participate in the Academic Forum and other activities.

Please see below for a list of what each day covers:

Day 1 - Using Moodle

We understand that the idea of studying online can be daunting, therefore this section has been designed to prepare you to be competent and confident in navigating the Moodle learning platform.

Day 2 - Course Format and Teaching Methods

Dr Karl New gives an overview of the courses and talks in detail about module format and assessment points. He describes how your tutors will engage with you and how to perform well in the Academic Forum.  This includes examples of low and high-scoring work. He discusses how you can engage with, and enhance your learning, by participating in the sharing of professional experiences through peer-to-peer interaction. Dr Karl New also gives advice on tackling your module activities and making the most of your independent reading and research. 

Day 3 - Reflective Practice 

Reflective Practice should be part of a healthcare practitioner’s everyday schedule. It is also an expected component of your PgDip/MSc and contributes to your final grade. Please watch/listen to the presentation about this important topic, you will learn how reflective practice not only benefits you by allowing you to improve your practice but can subsequently impact outcomes for your patients.

Day 4 - Levels of Evidence and How to Write Scientifically

Dr Simon Williams discusses how you can make the best use of the available research and evidence to support the elements of work that you have to submit as part of your course.

Day 5 - Academic Best Practice

There will be a number of short presentations explaining how to access and make the most of the reading resources and how best to use them in your work and reference them correctly, and important advice about plagiarism.

Final Assessment

This final assessment element is an examination that contains 15 case problems in the form of ‘single best answer’ questions.  It is 30-minutes in duration. The questions are based on what you have learnt during this Study Skills Module.  We believe this is a great opportunity to test what you understand already and identify gaps in your knowledge so you can learn more.

You are not graded on this component and you will have unlimited attempts to complete this exam

Please Note: This module is open for students to refer back to throughout the duration of your course, so if you need any information, please feel free to revisit this module as required.