I have had the opportunity while filling in at Marist College Eastwood for the first part of this term to facilitate study skills seminars.
This week, I focused on Assignment Planning and Bibliographies.
Bibliographies was fairly simple, with students completing activities and notes based on the details that they need to include. I was impressed with what they know about plagiarism but also curious as to why particular details like publishers and the place of location must be included. One concern, they mention that only websites are listed. I had to remind them of the formats of sources that can be used.
The focus of this entry is on Assignment Planners. One habit I observe is the last minute rush that occurs to complete an assignment. Students easily fall into a trap in holding off assignments.
I focused on their purpose and the benefits of assignment planners. Then I got them to list the steps that they need to undertake to complete an upcoming assignment.
Once they had listed their steps, the information was transferred onto their Google Calendar. I guided them through the steps in posting each step and how Google Calendars can remind them of when other learning tasks are due. They can easily organise their time.
I even required students to list when they intend to visit the library and to see their teachers, because they are important steps in the research process. How will one obtain information if they don't visit the library? How can one get help at the last minute as opposed to when the task is handed out? As the assignment involves creating an object or model, I went a step further and asked them if they do their research before making the model or after they make the model.
We near the end of the week and yes some of them have dropped in to view the resources we have prepared for them. I look forward to seeing more in the days ahead.
