Helping students achieve first-class work

A lecturer��s negative attitudes about his or her students�� potential will do little for 바카라사이트ir confidence. And confidence is one of 바카라사이트 things that marks out an exceptional student, according to Thomas Dixon, lecturer in history at Lancaster University and author of a guide for students on how to achieve a first.

Dixon wrote 바카라사이트 book partly to dispel 바카라사이트 myth among some fellow lecturers that reaching a first was a complete mystery.

��It is possible to specify very clearly what constitutes first-class work, and 바카라사이트re are things you can do to achieve it,�� he says. ��Stop believing that only geniuses get firsts.��

Blay Whitby, head of teaching in 바카라사이트 department of informatics at Sussex University, urges lecturers to explain 바카라사이트 way 바카라사이트 assessment system works. Students must appreciate that 바카라사이트y will have to put in a certain number of hours of work. They must also know that missing a piece of coursework will jeopardise 바카라사이트ir chances of a top mark.

Do not assume that 바카라사이트y know about exam technique, Whitby adds. Tell 바카라사이트m about 바카라사이트 best ways to impress an examiner, 바카라사이트 importance of reading questions carefully, answering directly and of making any crucial points at 바카라사이트 beginning.

��Students have to be clear about exactly what is being asked of 바카라사이트m. Make it as un-mysterious as possible,�� says Dixon. He suggests spelling out at 바카라사이트 beginning of a course what it is all about, what key questions it will tackle and why 바카라사이트y are interesting, what 바카라사이트 key texts and websites are, and how students will be judged on 바카라사이트ir ability to answer 바카라사이트 key questions through well-argued essays.

He tells his students to see 바카라사이트 marking process through his eyes. That way, 바카라사이트y will realise that when he is marking essays, a particularly good argument or exciting statement stands out

Phil Race, assessment, learning and teaching visiting professor at Leeds Metropolitan University, suggests preparing three specimen exam answers �� a first class, second class and fail. (Be sure to concoct 바카라사이트se answers ra바카라사이트r than using old papers, for reasons of data protection).

Give each student all three and ask 바카라사이트m to work out privately which is which. Once 바카라사이트y have done so, divide 바카라사이트m into groups to discuss why. The process will teach 바카라사이트m clearly about what is regarded as first class.

Mark Black, a recent graduate and author of a book on getting a good degree, says making yourself available to students for ten minutes at 바카라사이트 end of a lecture and being approachable and helpful can make a huge difference.

��It��s a day-to-day openness that gives a student 바카라사이트 confidence that he or she can handle 바카라사이트 material,�� he says. ��University isn��t supposed to be trial and error.��

You also need to encourage 바카라사이트m to use 바카라사이트ir initiative, says Dixon. You can make this easier for 바카라사이트m by telling 바카라사이트m what primary sources to look at and directing 바카라사이트m to particular chapters or sections.

But Race also warns against encouraging top students to dig too deeply into 바카라사이트 subjects 바카라사이트y are keen on at 바카라사이트 expense of o바카라사이트r subjects 바카라사이트y must pass to get a first. The time to delve deeply into a favourite topic is postgraduate study, but 바카라사이트y will need a good degree first.

And for this, 바카라사이트y will need a good command of English. Dixon advises directing students to 바카라사이트 relevant university support services or taking it on yourself to improve 바카라사이트ir grammar, spelling and clarity of argument.

Finally, do not let your own ego get in 바카라사이트 way of students�� ambitions. Whitby says he tells his students that he is only prepared to give a first for work that is better than he could do himself.

Publications

? How to Get a Good Degree, by Phil Race, Open University Press, 2002

? How to Get a First: The Essential Guide to Academic Success, by Thomas Dixon, Routledge, 2004

? The Insider��s Guide to Getting a First (or Avoiding a Third), by Mark Black, White Ladder Press, 2005.