How To Promote Effective Research and Reading Strategies

* Target Research and Active Reading and The Reflexive Student

Students at British Universities have the opportunity to plug into the best research in the world and to emerge from undergraduate study with cutting-edge knowledge, skills and aptitude that they can take with them into the world of work or further formal study. But given the complex nature of HE with students have to get to grips and given that our universities lecturers are typically not teachers but rather researchers who may teach well, adopting targeted research and active reading strategies may be a very useful way to start developing as an active, reflexive student. Reflexivity in the student is of paramount importance not just to obtain good grades but also to foster the conscious development of a graduate identity (Holmes, 2001). This does require the student to be critical not only of the course material but also of themselves. This is a difficult task for any student, but for the non-traditional student this can be more threatening. Within our HE system the non-traditional student often feels more criticised than criticising, and hence feels poorly placed to critique the material with which we expect them to engage.

* Research In A Changing Assessment Environment

Students today are assessed across a broader range of skills and knowledge than ever before. Presentations, group work, reports, journal, articles, reflective logs or diaries, portfolios, etc., are some but not all that a student will be assessed upon. For the student who is chasing a good degree, or is just trying to stay sane and not fail, these tasks are daunting. Although tutors now typically reveal assessment criteria, individual lecturers may assess differently: where one will give a pass mark another will fail, where one will give 2:1 another may give a 2:2 or even a third. With many students in paid employment and student debt accruing, obtaining a high quality degree is important, while to fail is demoralising - tore-sit expensive. Moreover, one bad mark in one assignment can drag down a whole degree once that mark has been aggregated. Further, not only does success have to be achieved in 12-week modules, students may at the same time be getting to grips with HE orientation while struggling with the knowledge content of their study programmes.