Study Support

Stephen Fry wrote a letter to himself, aged 16.

Hiya! Im studying ED209 (Child development) at the mo, and aiming for a degree in psychology plus more! just wondering if there´s anyone out there who´s doing the same and perhaps would like to chat.

I was far from happy with my last course, for which I am awaiting the result. I felt the content, organisation and general support was not up to the quality one expects (and pays for) from the OU.

Many of you who are current students may feel like you´re losing steam as you reach that mid-course point so this could be the ideal time to take a step back and reflect on how things are going.

You could be feeling the pressure of completing Tutor Marked Assignments (TMAs), or may be worrying that you’ve missed one. You may have concerns about your course or you may feel a little daunted at the prospect of your impending exam or End of Course Assessment (ECA). Then again, you may be thinking about where to go next with your studies, or how your study actually fits into your long-term career plans. We hope that a mid-course checklist will help you on your way to success. 

Here´s some tips:

Check your progress

Check your progress on StudentHome by accessing your Course Record and clicking on the Assessment Calculator.  If you combine this with the assessment strategy for your course, you should be able to work out what grades you need to get to meet the course requirements successfully. 

If you need any help with this, please contact your tutor in the first instance, or you could contact your Regional or National Centre whose details can be found via your Profile page on StudentHome.  If you are having concerns about course materials or TMAs, your tutor will be in the best position to help you. You and your tutor may decide that individual support would be beneficial; again please talk to your tutor about this or call your Regional or National Centre for further advice.

Study Skills

Studying is not just about learning who, what, and why presented by the course materials. To become a truly successful student you also need to learn how to study effectively. How well you manage your time, how efficiently you read, how succinctly you take notes, will all make a very real impact upon your TMA scores.  So, if you feel that you are not achieving your full potential, or that your TMA results do not do justice to the hard slog that went into producing your assignment, you may need to brush up your study skills. 

The Open University has four booklets in its ‘Skills for OU Study’ series: Reading and Taking Notes, Develop Effective Study Strategies, Preparing Assignments and Revising for Examinations.  These are available for download via the Skills for OU Study website at www.open.ac.uk/skillsforstudy where you can also find a wealth of online and interactive resources covering a wide range of skills.  You may also find it helpful to speak with your tutor or your Regional or National Centre to discuss whether local support is available.

End of Course Assessment

As you are now some way through your course, the examination or end of course assessment is not such a distant proposition. Make sure you don’t get any unwelcome surprises by finding out now what will be expected of you.  There may be a specimen examination paper for your course on StudentHome, and past examination papers are available to purchase from the OU Students Association at: http://www2.open.ac.uk/ousa/p10_2.shtml Your tutor will be pleased to help with more specific advice. If you are re-sitting an examination or resubmitting an end of course assignment you will be offered advice and help from your Regional or National Centre to support you through the process and to answer any queries you may have.

Course Choice – next steps

Although you still have a way to go to your exam or ECA, it is already the time to begin thinking about your next course. Many students believe that it is better to wait for their results before beginning to contemplate ‘what next’ – it isn’t! You can start by exploring your options online, browsing different courses on the ‘Study at the OU’ website www.open.ac.uk/study. You can also find more detailed degree information at www.open.ac.uk/learning/planning-studies 

If you would prefer to have a chat with one of our Advisers you may find that there is a course choice event happening nearby. You can find out where these are held via your StudentHome page. Log into StudentHome and click on the Courses tab at the top, a drop-down box will show the link to Choose Your Next Course, where you can find information about nearby events. You can ring our Registration and Enquiry Service on 0845 300 60 90 Monday – Friday, 8.30am to 9pm, who will be able to reserve a place for you on your chosen course, or provide further information.  Should you need more specialist or in-depth advice or guidance, you will be referred to an Educational Adviser at your Regional or National Centre.  Alternatively, you may find it more convenient to email us at general-enquiries@open.ac.uk, remembering to quote your personal identifier number.

Careers Advice

You may be wondering about your future career prospects as well as your future study plans. Whether you are studying towards a particular career or thinking more generally about a change of direction, you will find it useful to explore what the OU’s Careers Advisory Service can offer you at www.open.ac.uk/careers and Platform´s Careers pages (see the Careers tab on the left). In the OU Careers site, you can access information on career planning, job-seeking and CV-writing tips and you can find details of useful publications and downloads. The OU Study and Your Career section highlights a range of career areas and points out which OU qualifications might be most appropriate. You can also request an individual appointment with a Careers Adviser, or you can access careers advice online.

Platform

Use this site, especially the groups and forums where you can discuss your concerns and progress with other students.  

The Open University wants to collect a string of advice, tips and helpful pointers - either in written or video form - directed at new students.

I live in a flat in my mums house with my partner. We have a moniter that we watch films on, but we dont have it conneceted to the T.V.

Isn´t it about time we called a halt to immigration into our tiny Islands?

At the moment, I am downloadig the 2nd Season of Dad´s Army along with the first season of Star Trek - The Next Generaton (already have The original Series downloaded).

I´m sure we all have that feeling of anticipation a while after sending the finished (was it really? I´m sure I missed a bit out!) product off, in my case via the eTMA system.