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The Open University

Are you ready for postgraduate study?

The Open University via OpenLearn

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Overview

This free course is for students interested in a postgraduate Open University module. If you have not yet enrolled on an OU postgraduate module, you will not be able to access this course. If you don't meet this criteria, but feel you would benefit from studying this course, please contact [email protected]. Alternatively, you should visit the public OU website to find out more about our modules.There are many different reasons for and routes towards studying for a postgraduate qualification. You may have recently completed your degree, or maybe you graduated several years ago. Perhaps you have gained your expertise through practical experience and are new to academic learning. You may want to study in order to further your career, for personal reasons or possibly both. Whatever your background or motivation for studying, few learners start with all the skills they will need to study at this level.This free course, Are you ready for postgraduate study, will help you to become familiar with the requirements and demands of postgraduate study and ensure you are ready to develop the skills and confidence to pursue your learning further.On completion of this course you can download and print your OpenLearn statement of participation. This course is intended to be studied over two weeks and is designed to work alongside, and assumes you have already completed, the badged open course, Succeeding in postgraduate study. If you haven't already studied that, please do so as soon as possible.If you have any questions regarding this course, please contact [email protected]

Syllabus

  • Session1Session 1: Identifying skills needed for postgraduate study
  • Introduction
  • 1 Communication
  • 1.1 Asynchronous versus synchronous communication
  • 2 Keeping a learning journal
  • 3 Note-taking
  • 3.1 Comparison of note-taking techniques
  • 3.2 Choosing a note-taking technique
  • 3.3 Further reading
  • 4 Identifying skill needs
  • 4.1 Time management
  • 4.2 Transferable Skills
  • 4.3 Communication
  • 4.4 Collaboration and group working
  • 4.5 Academic writing and reading
  • 4.6 Searching literature and evaluating content
  • 4.7 Critical thinking
  • 4.8 Keeping up to date with your subject
  • 5 Summary
  • References
  • Further reading
  • Acknowledgements
  • Session2Session 2: Developing good academic practice
  • Introduction
  • 1 What is meant by good academic practice?
  • 2 What is meant by academic integrity?
  • 3 Acknowledging sources and using academic conventions
  • 3.1 Developing your understanding of OU Harvard style
  • 3.2 A quick guide to citations and references in OU Harvard style
  • 4 Why is good academic practice important?
  • 5 Reflection
  • 6 Academic writing
  • 6.1 An approach to academic writing
  • 6.1.1 Prewriting and planning
  • 6.1.2 Drafting
  • 6.1.3 Reflection
  • 6.1.4 Completing the academic writing process
  • 6.2 Academic writing summary
  • Example: Avoiding plagiarism
  • 7 Summary
  • References
  • Acknowledgements
  • Session3Session 3: Searching for and evaluating academic literature
  • Introduction
  • 1 Searching for academic literature
  • 1.1 Where to search?
  • 1.2 Simple searching using Google
  • 1.3 Thinking about advanced searches
  • 1.4 What to do Google Scholar results tell you?
  • 1.5 The Open University library
  • 2 Evaluating academic literature
  • 2.1 Evaluating the usefulness of search results
  • 2.2 Reading sequences and patterns
  • 2.3 Peer review
  • 2.4 Assessing validity using PROMPT
  • 2.5 Evaluating content
  • 3 Summary
  • References
  • Acknowledgements
  • Session4Session 4: Applying critical thinking to your subject area
  • Introduction
  • 1 Critical reading
  • 2 Critical writing
  • 3 Summary
  • References
  • Acknowledgements
  • Session5Session 5: Using reflective practice to improve your work and study
  • Introduction
  • 1 More on learning journals
  • 2 Theories of reflective practice
  • 2.1 Experiential learning
  • 2.2 Learning styles
  • 2.3 Reflective learning
  • 3 Reflecting on your reflection
  • 3.1 Reflective practice
  • 3.2 Sharing experiences of reflection
  • 3.3 Team-based reflection
  • 4 Using reflection to make choices about postgraduate study
  • 5 Summary
  • References
  • Acknowledgements

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5.0 rating, based on 1 Class Central review

5 rating at OpenLearn based on 3 ratings

Start your review of Are you ready for postgraduate study?

  • Profile image for Yankuba Camara
    Yankuba Camara
    This is a great course that can help me develop and advance in life. Thank you for the help and opportunity presented with care.
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