This is the link to the Harvard Referencing tool I showed you all again in the final class.

Hello all,

I recommend that you bookmark this for all future writing assessments where you need to list your sources. It really is easy to use.

Free Harvard Referencing Generator - Harvard Style (uwslondon.ac.uk)

Final reflections on the Academic Skills class - the last post!

Hello everybody.

I wanted to pop a few final words up on our blog where I can say what I feel about our class and you can add your valuable comments in too.

So here goes, right now, right here. We lecturers learn too. Never forget that!

Here are the questions I would like YOU to note in the comments section, and anything else you would like to add. Your words are really helpful for any future classes I may be asked to teach Academic Skills to. Thank you in advance. You decide what you want to write, but please write something. 

• What skills have you developed by coming to my Academic Skills classes?
• Are you more confident as a person than you were in August when we first met?
• How has my teaching and feedback helped you?
• Did you like the variety of content we covered in the classes?
• What did you learn afterwards, that you didn't know BEFORE you started your research?
• What could you have done better in my class or how you approached your research project?
• Anything else you would like to write - positive, negative or somewhere in between!

Here is a selection of the things we did in classes, as a wee memory jogger. We did pretty well...

1. Icebreakers - getting to know each other
2. Looked at two oral presentations via TED and you gave them a score out of 10 using my prompts
3. Short writing exercise introducing yourself to me - this was only read by me
4. I provided individual feedback to you all on your writing
5. Used the blog to choose subjects
6. Group working activities
7. Effective and ineffective oral presentation delivery techniques
8. Planning a research project on a hypothetical subject (conflict, diversity, employability, equality, care)
9. Report writing skills
10. Time management discussion
11. Referencing techniques - Harvard Generator 
12. Introduction to College resources with Dale from the Learning Resource Centre (library!)
13. Choosing a suitable vocationally relevant subject and logging these ideas onto the blog
14. Distribution of planning sheets and examples of how to fill them in
15. One to one progress interviews with me to see how you might complete your research project
16. Time to work on your presentation or report
17. Feedback on your oral presentation delivery
18. Feedback on your report
19. Feedback on your planning documents
20. Reflecting on what we have learned

I have been impressed how everybody has developed as learners. I have seen development in the way you have worked on your research, planning and seeing how a subject you THOUGHT you knew a lot about develops.

I have learned a lot about you. 

I thought I might encounter a number of nervous learners at the start, and to an extent, that was probably true. But it is the development of you as individuals that has been the most evident thing to me. This has been really pleasing. The skills I have shown you are there to help you in the future, such as research, time management, oral presentation, writing skills, confidence and much more. Many of you really engaged with my way of working and that was fantastic to see.

I trust you feel that I gave you my very best attention at all times and that you enjoyed coming to classes at 9 on a Friday. Although I have to get up at 5.40am to get to college on a Friday from Edinburgh, I always looked forward to coming in to work with you. We had the added bonus that although I gave you tasks to complete, they weren't SQA assessments so we didn't have to rush them through. We also had to contend with train strikes, cancelled trains at times and my dental implant at the start when I was unable to speak, but we made all the necessary arrangements as soon as we could. Being proactive and providing effective communication is always at the heart of my philosophy when working with students. Always. 

This has been a blast. I look forward to reading your thoughts and responding to them.

Please use Google Chrome to do so, that should be the easiest way to comment, and if you are posting anonymously, please say who are you at the end of your thoughts so I can reply by name! 

All the best, and thank you for being a fabulous class.

Mark

Provisional topics for research

Hello all,

Here are the topics which you have provisionally chosen in today's session (4/11/22).

Emma - presentation - ADHD

Fatima - report - Is home-schooling good or bad?

Katline -

Steph B - report - Childhood cardiac

Rachael -

Kelsie -

Victoria - report - Benefits of play

Chloe D -

Bethany - report - Social care

Louise - report - Child development

Stephanie F -

Ona -

Christine - report - Endometriosis

Chloe McC - presentation - Conflict art

Tate - report - Child neglect

Samantha S - presentation - Autism

Elizabeth - report - Abuse

Martyna - report - Forest schools

Brilliant list and we will fill this up each week as more topics are picked.

Well done,

Mark

Possible topics for the presentation or report task

Today we (you) will look at possible topics for research for the remainder of my classes.

In pairs / small groups I asked you to come up with some Care / Playwork type topics to present. They can be loosely connected to your Programme, but they should have some academic merit.

I have started you off with a few below, all the options from Child protection down came from you, a fantastic range too:

• Development of children
• Benefits of play
• ASN
• Child protection
• Forest schools
• SHANARRI
• GIRFEC
• Legislation and policies
• Responsibilities of adult in a nursery
• Conflict
• Play work 
• Different childcare settings 
• Different external environments
• Skills and qualities
• STEM development
• Development of different skills
• outdoor and indoor play  
• child development 
• different types of play/different ages 
• different resources for different ages
• childhood cardiac
• autism
• abuse
• additional support needs
• endometriosis
• childhood trauma/neglect
• child protection
• different play opportunities for different age groups
• is home schooling good or bad? 

Effective and ineffective oral presentation skills session

Hello all,

This morning we will be looking at effective and ineffective oral presentation skills.

We will do some group working and some information from me too, using my PP slides as well as the comments from you.

These are the comments about effective presentation skills that your groups came up with today. Most of these were in my slides too, so well done all.

• Body language
• Introduction
• Knowing what you are talking about
• Visuals
• Q and A
• Getting the tone right
• Research
• ...and MUCH more!

Mark

TED Talks overview

Today we looked at two TED talks.

TED talk 1

Why does a failure seem to stick in our minds so much longer than a success? According to social psychologist Alison Ledgerwood, our perception of the world tends to lean negative, and reframing how we communicate could be the key to unlocking a more positive outlook. In this sharp talk, Ledgerwood shares a simple trick for kicking negative thinking to the curb so we can start focusing on the upside...

TED talk 2

What can we expect our kids to learn if they're hungry or eating diets full of sugar and empty of nutrients? Former White House Chef and food policymaker Sam Kass discusses the role schools can play in nourishing students' bodies in addition to their minds.

The reason I picked these two talks were to look at two important issues through the eyes of presenters who have the stage to deliver their thoughts. Being positive is such an important facet to the way I think and of course, feeding the minds and bodies (especially, but not exclusively) of children is also incredibly important. 

Which was your favourite of the two and why? Note your thoughts in the comments box below, using your notes from the class if you want. Using Google Chrome is always a good way into the blog and to provide feedback.

I look forward to your thoughts!

Mark

Welcome to the Academic Skills class - officially!

Hello everybody,

Just a quick note to say that was a great first class we had there on Friday, so thank you for your input. 

We now know a lot about each other and I was gratified to speak with some of you at the end of the class who said they had enjoyed the session.

Don't forget to either e mail me your writing piece (unassessed remember, nobody else sees this) or bring to class on Friday coming - typed or handwritten, either works well.

I will send a post class e mail each week with any documents, rather than using Moodle as we agreed. Remember, this isn't a class with formal assessments, but lots of interesting things to develop your skills.

All the best,

Mark