Study Skills
It may be many years since you last undertook any formal learning and you may be daunted by the idea of having to remember and understand new information. Enjoy the challenge, use your life experiences to enhance your studies and remember it gets easier the more you do!
When you are starting an open learning course, whether it includes tutor taught sessions or not, one of the most important features of your study is finding the time and motivation to complete your work within deadlines. This section aims to help you make the most of your studies.
Although flexible learning allows you to continue to work and be involved with family life, it can be difficult to prioritise your study within a busy lifestyle. However, now that you have chosen to undertake a course, it is important to make allowances in the rest of your daily routine to fit in study time.
Firstly, look at your normal weekly routine to see where you can best fit your study time in. Then plan how, when and where you are going to work on your course. A couple of hours to organise yourself now, will save time and frustration while you are studying.
Setting up a study timetable
This will help you to organise your time and prioritise your study.
To help you plan your study timetable, think about the following questions:
- What time of day to I study best?
- How long can I concentrate before I need a break?
- Where do I study best?
- What helps me study? For example, a quiet environment free from distractions, or with music or noise around me?
- Do I work well under pressure?
- Do I work better alone or with others?
Planning study time
If you plan to commit one or two evenings a week to your studies, tell your friends and family that you cannot be disturbed during this time.
Make study targets to help you use your time effectively. Your tutor may have already discussed your learning plan with you, including deadlines for completion for assessments, but your own study timetable will help you break down your course into small, achievable chunks.
Remember that you have support throughout your course from your tutor and from your local learning centre staff, who are available to answer questions or provide assistance and guidance to help you successfully complete your course.
We strongly advise any applicant who has a disability or learning need to let us know at the initial stages of enrolment to ensure that additional support is available if needed. Extra time can be given for most courses or tests if you have any learning difficulties.
On the following page we have included a monthly timetable to help you organise your time.
Use the chart to plan times for study and to set targets for completing units or assessments.
You may want to book time in the centre or plan your study time at home, or a combination of both. Simply record times you plan to study and what you want to achieve in that time.
You should aim to complete a typical 40-hour Unit over 13 weeks. This equates to approximately 3-4 hours of study a week. Your course may have specific start and end dates, so please pay attention to deadlines.
If you feel that you will require more time than this or need to extend your learning plan, please speak to your tutor or centre manager.
If you feel that setting up an organised study planner will help you complete your course on time, please ask your centre manager for extra copies of the following study timetable.
Additional Study tips:
- Set aside a place for study. Make sure that you have everything you will need at hand.
- Plan your study time; using the timetable supplied may be helpful.
- Organise your course work and keep it separate from personal paperwork. If you are working on more than one Unit, keep each course in separate folders and divide your study time between the two.
- Sort out arrangements with family and friends to allow time to study without being disturbed.
- Make sure that you know what your tutor is looking for, and if uncertain, ask for clarification.
- Keep to deadlines and re-submit corrected work on time.
If you would like to find out more about study skills, the learning centres have books available on this subject.
There are also a number of websites that you may find helpful; these are included at the end of this section.
