Isabella Henman is a tutor and skills trainer with the Open University. She tutors in science and health sciences from Access to level 2 and has been the main presenter of the Student Hub Live online workshops since they began in 2017.
I still remember my 1st Freshers week at Medical school, rather longer ago now then I would like to mention! It was very much a traditional Freshers week, being focused around social activities and a lot of alcohol. I have never been someone who has drunk alcohol (dark chocolate is my committed vice!) so I felt a little bit left out when so many things centred on drinking.
I was excited by the prospect of being able to learn and being independent although being away from home was going to take some getting used to. I didn’t have any family members who had been to university so hadn’t really got anything to go on. Looking back, I would have preferred a little bit more about the what and how of my university study. It’s great meeting people but if you are anything like me, you like to get a bit of practical information too. Even once we started it was very much in at the deep end as there were so many facts to learn. The only ‘skills’ were more related to dealing with patients. It was only because I had done A Level English that I felt even slightly confident being able to write the multitudes of essays we were asked to do.
In retrospect, the skills of study were very much assumed and not at all taught. We had a ‘mum’ or ‘dad’ from the years above but those invariably were not about skills but more about social guidance or simply passing on notes. Even then I remember being frustrated that I was being offered someone else’s notes but not any suggestions on how to actually make effective notes myself. Even though I wouldn’t have known the terms then, I was looking for study skills advice.
That is something that I think we do really well within the OU, and at Student Hub Live (SHL) in particular. One of the best things about being involved with the SHL workshops is the chance to focus on those study skills and really get to grips with ways of study. I am passionate about skills development as, if you know as a student how to take notes, or research information, or interpret a question then this knowledge allows you to approach modules much more effectively. When I am working on new workshops I keep going back to the ‘what would I have liked to have known?’, ‘what have I picked up?’ and, ‘how can I try and help people not to go down the rabbit holes I did!’ It is not a case of ‘do as I tell you’ though, but instead ‘here are some ideas to look at and suggestions from others – see what works for you’. SHL online workshops are always interactive and include lots of sharing of ideas and stories, not just from tutors but others students too.
There is always loads to look at and find your way around when starting anything new, and Student Hub Live is one of many university offerings you will see. I do hope you will join us for some of the Freshers offerings so that you can start your study journey in an effective way.
Our Freshers Week sessions take place at the end of September, and tickets for those sessions will be made available at 9am on Monday 6th September. You can find more information on all Student Hub Live sessions on our website here.