Teaching staff are there to facilitate your learning, to help you to find things out for yourself. This means that they design programmes, activities and assessments, and guide you towards appropriate resources. Their aim is to ensure that you learn strategies so that you can study the subject independently.
The diagram below shows some of the teaching methods you might come across. Some are more common than others, but most students can expect to encounter several of the examples represented here.
Lectures
Lectures are used to give an overview of a topic. They are a common feature of most modules, units or options within a course. Students are usually expected to listen and make notes while the lecturer speaks. However, in some courses lectures may be interactive.
Seminars
Seminars usually involve a group discussion of material presented in a lecture or in set reading. Often a student, or a small group of students, will be asked to begin the seminar by giving a presentation. It’s important to prepare for seminars in advance by reading through lecture notes or set materials, even if you are not asked to give a presentation.
Tutorials
Tutorials are used to give personal feedback on your work and to discuss general progress. This may be the only time a lecturer is able to help you with study problems so it’s important to come prepared.
Workshops
Workshops offer an informal environment for discussing a specific topic or problems with an expert.
Demonstrations
Demonstrations are a useful way to learn a practical skill, such as using computer software, by watching someone else perform it. If you have the opportunity to try the activity yourself, have a go while guidance and supervision are available.
Groupwork
Groupwork could involve working on a joint project as part of your course, or you may wish to form your own study groups for revision and support.
Group projects enable you to practise working with others and develop communication and co-operation skills that will be useful throughout life
Practical work
Depending on your course, practical work can take a number of different forms including:
- lab work for science students
- studio work for art students
- field work, such as interviewing people, for social science subjects.
VLE
Many institutions use Virtual Learning Environments such as WebCT, Blackboard or Moodle to provide additional opportunities for interactive learning. As well as being useful for distance-learning programmes, VLEs are often used to supplement face-to-face teaching.
Blended learning
Blended learning combines conventional face-to-face learning with electronic learning technology. This can provide a personalised approach to learning, as these technologies can be used to enable participation, communication, active feedback and sharing in a user-friendly way.
Online resources
Online resources, such as skills4studycampus, can provide guidance at any time – day or night. Online resources available to you might include library resources, online journals, podcasts of lectures, lecture notes, reading lists, self-assessment material and much more. These may be accessible through your university’s VLE.
Mobile learning
Some tutors use text messages to remind students that essays are due or to communicate about changes to teaching rooms or cancelled classes. As technology improves, mobile learning is becoming more commonplace.
Podcasts
A podcast is an audio or video file that can be downloaded from the internet onto your computer or a portable device. Lecturers may make their lectures or other study resources available as podcasts.
Social networking
Social networking refers to a particular set of web-based resources that encourage the user to participate. This creates an online space for people to communicate, and share feedback and resources as part of a community. This is used increasingly to encourage students to discuss course topics and offer support to each other.
Online support
e-communications such as emails, message boards, instant messaging and social networking have many features that make them potentially useful for online support. They:
- enable communication in spare moments
- save you having to travel
- afford you some time to gather your thoughts and compose responses
- are relatively informal, so that you can express yourself in your own way.
Work-based learning
Foundation degrees and vocational courses require students to be employed or to undertake work-based learning. During this time, you will be supervised by a lecturer, by somebody at the workplace – or a mixture of the two.
Arranging work-experience placements can be a good way to gain first hand knowledge of a job and the skills it requires.
Independent study
Universities and colleges expect students to work on their own, outside of lectures, tutorials and seminars. Most independent study is spent researching the subject, reading and thinking critically about the material, making notes, preparing for seminars, planning, and writing assignments for assessment.
skills4studycampus has resources to help you in each of these areas. Request a free trial to find out more.
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