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KAREN FOLEY: Welcome back to the Student Hub Live. We had a planning meeting about things that we thought students would really need to know about when they were starting out are continuing. And our colleagues in STEM, Science, Technology, Engineering, and Maths, had this fabulous idea, which I love, which is about studying around the holidays.
Now, over Christmas, I'm not sure if you're like me, but I thought, two weeks of work, this will be absolutely amazing. And I had this to-do list of all these things that I would start to do. But then, of course, I got sick. And then there was the wrapping and all this other stuff going on, and it became really problematic. And I got to January feeling a little bit deflated. So, I'm really looking forward to finding out how we can work around studying around the holidays.
And so, to discuss this, I have Katie Chicot and Sally Crighton from our maths department. And this is one of two of your sessions this afternoon, which I'm really looking forward to. You're going to talk a little bit later about study intensity, which, I guess, to some extent, maps onto this. And we've got David Healy back in the break between these two sessions.
We've got some widgets. Do you have school-aged children? Do you have childcare cover arranged for the summer holidays? And have you booked a summer holiday yet? So, some summery themes coming up, but also we're talking about, I guess, managing this workload.
KATIE CHICOT: Yeah, that's right. So, when the title of Study Around Holidays was discussed, the reason I wanted to talk about it today is that we're at the start of the February presentation of the modules. And there was a time when the Open University just delivered February presentation modules in the maths department.
And then, we introduced some October modules. And to our surprise, students had a increase in success on the October presentation modules. Not large, but significant. And these Maths Boffins. They want to know the reasons why, they want to look at the data.
And so, lots of careful analysis of the data between the cohorts of students was conducted over years. And taking out all other factors, there still is an advantage to starting in October. And so, you have to wonder why and the big material difference between a February presentation and an October presentation is the summer holidays. You've got that great, big holiday in the middle. Well, it's not in the middle, it's kind of towards the end.
So, we really need to get people thinking, especially if you're a February starter, about your summer holiday. What you're going to do about it, how are you going to get yourself ready for it.
KAREN FOLEY: Brilliant. And I bet you've got some lovely, structured advice, coming from the maths department, famed for its logic and precision and tables.
SALLY CRIGHTON: I think we've got some good, sensible advice for people, actually. And we have a link to a planning tool, which we'll discuss with you later, and we can share with the students. But, I think it's all about planning from now, thinking, as your widgets will show, thinking about your summer holiday, if you haven't. And just trying to get organised from now. So, when summer holiday comes along, it won't be too much of a shock.
But like you say, Karen, I also think that there's two big things to take into account. One, the reality that you just have to be realistic. You may plan to take lots of things on holiday with you to study, which I always do. But, the reality is that you come back with them, and you haven't actually looked at them.
And the big thing, and there's quite a lot in the general education literature about this at the moment. The big thing is that, if that happens to you, not to be too hard on yourself. And just think, OK, I enjoyed my holiday, and it was fantastic. But I might have got a bit behind. What do I do now? So, this is a great link to your next session.
And Karen, the big thing is always to keep in touch with your tutor about every kind of eventuality like that. And one of our student's supportive advisors this morning was saying that that's the big thing when they have lots and lots of students speaking with them. And the big thing, the big piece of advice to people, is contact your tutor at the first instance you might have anything you want to ask them here.
KAREN FOLEY: Now, if the university knows this, and if it's been statistically proved, then what I want to know is what they've done about it. And in particular, I've seen some of these study planners that have breaks for Easter, for example, and over Christmas. So, there might be some built-in breaks that unlikely, in particular if you're on a February presentation, to give you the summer off. An October one, you may be a bit luckier to have some time off in between, if indeed you are doing that. But what has the university then done about this fact?
KATIE CHICOT: So, the very first thing they did, so, for example, in the maths department, is we moved all our modules to October starts. Except for level one, where people still need a choice. You still need multiple entry points, because people don't want to wait a whole year to get started. Fine, you've still got a good chance of success. But we do want students to have an awareness that there is something to take into account, there's something they need to think about.
So, first of all, yes, we moved the modules we could move. But, we still do have some February starters. So, what we want to say to students first of all is, step one, you need to be planning your time. And this is something students need to do anyway. And I think it's the biggest piece of advice we could give to students.
If we were trying to teach them maths, the first thing we'd want to teach them is workload planning. Now, we have got amazing students. We have students who they are working, they are looking after families, they're taking care of their lives. They've got hobbies as well, I don't know how, and they're studying. So, they've got to juggle a lot of things. But to do that, they have to plan their time.
With your students, you must see as well that the students who do well are those who have planned their time, and they know how to fix a lot of things in.
KAREN FOLEY: Yeah, it's amazing, because there's no such thing as a typical student. I've got students who are going in the army, and they're off for a few months of the year. And so, then they have to fit everything in around that. And sometimes that can be extended or pulled back. And time can be a variable that sometimes you can plan, and sometimes you can't have much control over.
KATIE CHICOT: Yeah, and I think this is the kind of eventuality we can plan for. We know summer is going to be there.
So, the things I would say are, first of all, draw up your workload plan. Then be realistic, like Sally was saying. You know you're going to get to summer holidays, and things might go awry. So, can you get ahead? Yeah you know can you give yourself that cushion, rather than waiting to fall behind?
Don't be hard on yourself if you do fall behind. Get in touch, do a catch-up plan. But first of all, can you get ahead? Have you planned you time, and have you given yourself that cushion?
KAREN FOLEY: Now, time is not always the same, marks are not always the same. And often at the end of a module, there might be something more substantial, like an end-of-module assessment, or even an exam. So, sometimes that very thing that's happening is a little bit more important than it was at the start.
What could you tell students about maybe identifying, I guess, where they might be able to plan their time? And if indeed it is something that is maybe overarching that they couldn't necessarily learn very early on, how might they allow some time to be able to spend thinking through those things?
KATIE CHICOT: I think you're right. I think it's good to look at the assessment guide, and to see which assignments, tutor-marked assignments, TMAs, have what weighting. Which ones should you be giving more importance to. Be aware that you've got the end-of-module assessment or the exam. So, you are going to have to allocate time to that. And yes, allocate time accordingly. There really isn't a substitute for allocating time to a task.
There isn't a shortcut. People might want a magic formula. There isn't a shortcut. Allocate time to the task. That's what you have to do.
SALLY CRIGHTON: And especially if it's an end-of-module assessment or an exam, as you said, Karen. Don't plan it to do anything else before that, because you will need that time to focus on, I've made this mistake very many times as a student myself, thinking, yes, it will be fine to have some other thing planned in your diary. But it's good, just as Katie said. You know it's coming, so make sure that, if you can, and it's not always possible, but if you can, keep that time for yourself.
KAREN FOLEY: Now, we've asked people whether or not they have school-age children, and whether they do things over the school holidays, and whether they've booked the school holidays. If you haven't voted on that, do that now. Just click on the one that you want to let us know your thoughts on, select the item that applies to you, and press Submit. And then your results will send, and you can see what everyone else is doing as well.
Now, this is a mistake I make every year, pretty much, as I think of, ah, summer holidays are years away. Years. And then I never plan anything, and I think, I can fit all of this in. And then, surprise, surprise, I find I can't. And then I think, oh, I wish I'd planned some of this.
And I see some of my friends who are a bit more organised than I am, and sometimes I do manage a little bit of it. But they'll book kids into summer clubs, or they'll do sort of things, or they'll swap, or they'll make some arrangements so that they have some time. And it is one of these things that, like you say, there is no substitution. Time takes time, and you can't actually think that you can do more.
So, some of it is managing these expectations, and I guess being kind to yourself, that you probably can't entertain a whole group of children all day, and then study for eight hours at night, and be OK.
KATIE CHICOT: And I think maybe what, well, I know I've fallen into this trap. And I've seen other people in my position fall into this trap. Thinking you can do things simultaneously. Now, children will always come and ask for your help. Pick up the phone, and your child is by your side immediately.
So, I don't think you can plan, say, for example, in the summer holidays, to be able to have the children around you in the house, and work at the same time. So, it is planning your space as well as planning your time. I think because people are studying for their own goals, people often put their own goals to the bottom of the heap. So, I think people will need to prioritise their study.
If they are going to have the success they want, they are going to have to keep it as a priority, and give it that space and time. And not just put their own priorities to the bottom of their heap. Be kind to yourself, is what I'm saying.
KAREN FOLEY: And I think, in my own experience, I can only talk for myself. But as a mother, often my own priorities do get landed at the bottom of the heap. Below the ironing, perhaps, there's or something else hidden underneath it. But often it is difficult, and you think, it's my study, it's my thing, but actually it doesn't really matter to the well-being of the family. Although it does, but it's very easy to make that not matter.
Most of our audience right now don't have school-aged children. 64% don't. Worryingly but not on unsurprising. I haven't done this either. No one's planned childcare cover the summer holidays yet. But 58% have booked a summer holiday, so that's good.
SALLY CRIGHTON: Great news, yes.
KAREN FOLEY: Booking childcare, though, it is only one of these options. Other options, I mean, from your own experience, what sorts of things have you seen either working for you or your own students about how to negotiate some of that time? Because for our February starters, let's think. Over the summer holidays, they're going to be probably having a fifth TMA, if they're on a 60-credit module, and perhaps studying for an end-of-module assessment.
So, two, perhaps, substantial pieces of work. And not forgetting that the end-of-module assessment, not wanting just to worry anybody, but they are slightly different, and they are overarching. So, they are a little bit more complex than perhaps an individual TMA that may be more focused. What other things have you seen working for people in terms of how to manage that time over those last two months?
KATIE CHICOT: You know, I don't know, I have to confess that I'd be a bad person to advise on this, because I have just tried lots of things which have degrees of failure. So, I think you find pockets of time, in that sense.
The people who have done it well that I've seen really have used structured, paid-for care. Or a very helpful relative who can give you a block of time. It really is getting blocks of time rather than tiny snippets that are successful.
SALLY CRIGHTON: And figuring out how you're going to do that. I also think that it's, again, and this is going to be a big theme running through everything we say, keeping in touch with your tutor. Because if, for example, you've got two TMAs during the summer, it might be that you think to yourself, well, I just can't manage to do absolutely all of them. I can't manage to study absolutely all of the material for absolutely all of the assessments. And perhaps having that conversation with the tutor to manage the workload, because it's always possible.
It's always possible to get to work with your tutor, and possibly also with the student support team, to get a survival idea for through the summer. So, if you haven't actually managed to plan your time, or you have planned your time, and it hasn't worked like that, it's still OK to have a different plan, and to regroup, and to be kind to yourself. And so keep in touch with your tutor for that sort of survival plan to the end of the module.
And I think it's a really good idea, Katie and I are very, very keen on the idea of a growth mindset, to believe that you can do this. Not to panic, just to say we can regroup, and we can keep on the module. We can enjoy the module. Please enjoy your module. And still plan but not stick rigidly to your plan, as Katie has already said.
KATIE CHICOT: Yeah, I'd like to back that up, because one of the two key ways that you can fall off a maths module is if you start too high. You jump in at too high a level, and you try and do it too fast. And then you can quickly believe that you're not good at maths, because you've hit an obstacle.
But in fact, if you start at the right level, and give yourself enough time, and it's very important to have the belief that you can learn. Which actually we rediscover a lot of our students do have that belief in themselves, and know that they can grow and learn. Then you will progress through your module.
But if you set yourself too tough a challenge, as in you try and do the work in half the time that's suggested, then you will hit an obstacle and begin to believe you can't do the maths. But the problem isn't the subject, the study you're engaged in. The problem is giving it the time it needs.
But, I do think it's very important to remember, as Sally said, everybody has plans that go West. You just need to be able to get in touch with your tutor, and possibly, we don't want you to think about this at the start of the module, but possibly think, OK, I will omit that chunk of that unit, because I will just take that hit on those points. But, I'll make sure I have all the understanding of the other parts, and I'll have a path through the module that will take me to the end.
KAREN FOLEY: Now, that is a brilliant point, because so often TMAs are worth, and it's different on every module, but often, they have a very heavy weighting. Sometimes, they can be what half the overall grade for a module. So, they can sometimes matter a lot more than TMA 5, which may be worth 20% of a 50%, so a relatively small amount. But, people can say them as two main tasks.
And I know the student support team can help students prioritise. And maybe, again, take a strategic approach, and say, OK, I'm going to maybe carve off a bit of that to really focus on the end of module assessment. So, I want to go to Frank and Stephen, and see if this is something that you often find that you're advising students on making those tactical decisions, and also what's going on in the chat.
STEPHEN: Well, at the moment, we're talking about ironing, actually.
KAREN FOLEY: Oh no, sorry.
STEPHEN: There is method to this. Elizabeth, she was just talking about managing time. And she stopped doing the ironing. So, she said if her husband and children want anything ironed, they've got to do it themselves. So, that gives her the time she needs to focus on her studies.
And also, talking about ...
KAREN FOLEY: And have they been helpful with that?
STEPHEN: I believe so, I believe so.
FRANK: Yeah.
STEPHEN: I believe so. Actually, they've said they've been very helpful with the housework. So, there we are. That's really good. And PDFs, you can read a PDF on any smart device these days. And you can sit in the bath, or take an idle moment wherever you can, and just absorb the material but in a convenient location. It doesn't have to necessarily be about sitting in that set study location that you have.
We had an interesting question from Juliana. She said she's got a two-week vacation planned in Norway, which sounds wonderful. She said, how is it I get into books when I've got all that beauty around me? And if a student asked me that question, the first thing I would say is, enjoy your holiday
Life is life, and that comes first. Your Open University study should fit in with your life and blend in with that. It shouldn't be all consuming. So, that's the sort of thing that I would advise somebody who's going on a holiday, particularly over the summer holidays as well.
But on the contrary, Davin, he said he likes to use holidays to read ahead a little so that it gives him a bit of a buffer, just in case things go wrong a bit further on in the year as well.
KAREN FOLEY: It's nice to be plausible. One of the things I love about OU material is that sometimes, like at an airport, for example. You've got three hours. I don't necessarily want to commit to taking my books, but sometimes you get that dead time where you think, I just want something interesting to read. And those can be good times, where you can maybe get a bit ahead if you want to.
But I'm not sure, Juliana. I'd enjoy the scenery, I think. Sometimes having a break is really important at coming back to things.
And equally, with things like the ironing, sometimes those household tasks are important. Sometimes I find, myself, they can give me a break from something. So, sometimes if I'm been working all day, and then I've got to do something in the evening, I'll just say something really menial. Allows my brain to switch off.
And then sometimes I do things, this happened the other night. I was like, oh my goodness, I've got to write. And at 9:30 at night, I was rearing to go. And then I just went with the flow of it, which was great. But it doesn't happen very often. But sometimes that break from things and just doing something else can actually help shift that flow, I find.
KATIE CHICOT: Yeah, I think that's right, and I think that has to be part of your workload planning. I completely disagree with you about the ironing.
[LAUGHTER]
KAREN FOLEY: Oh, no.
SALLY CRIGHTON: We're not fans of ironing in my house.
KATIE CHICOT: I haven't ironed for 10 years. You know, what's wrong with creases? So, some things you can just ditch.
I also find that online shopping saves me loads of time.
KAREN FOLEY: Yes, yeah.
KATIE CHICOT: If you're just thinking of practical tips, I'm a maths person, this isn't my expertise. But shaving corners off time is something that I do do.
KAREN FOLEY: Yeah, no, absolutely.
KATIE CHICOT: Online shop and see if anyone can help you.
SALLY CRIGHTON: I also think a good treat to myself as a student is getting a notebook. So, you're doing something like washing the dishes, for example, and you're thinking of something completely different, like, oh my goodness, why are my children not helping. And then you think of something about your module that you'd just like to write down. So, I always find that having a notebook handy is a good thing.
KAREN FOLEY: Stationery's a very dangerous topic here at SHL.
SALLY CRIGHTON: It's just such a thing. And I also, as a mathematician have a pencil with a rubber on the end of it so that I can rub out the many mistakes that I'll make. It's OK to make a mistake.
But just the idea that when you're on holiday and all relaxed, you might be looking at the beautiful sights in Norway, and then somehow you think of things that ...
[INTERPOSING VOICES].
KAREN FOLEY: Actually, it's a really good way to be able to sort of test, not your recall. Not that people would do this in a formulaic way. But sometimes if you're just mulling the stuff, you can think, oh, I don't really remember what I remember about what I was reading last week. Maybe I should have a look back at that, et cetera. Or you might start making connections with things that can be useful.
KATIE CHICOT: Yeah. I think in maths as well that, like Sally says, if you're just doing something completely different, that processing is going on in your subconscious. I wish it would do it all the time. But every now and then ...
SALLY CRIGHTON: You can't make it happen.
KATIE CHICOT: ... something will pop forwards. And you'll think, finally, I understand. So, that processing time, that dead time, doing menial tasks, that can really help. Your brain is a muscle that you can exercise, but it also needs to rest as well.
KAREN FOLEY: Oh, thank you, Sarah. Sarah loves my shoes. And Casey says, what is this holiday thing of which we speak? And Libby says that she hasn't had a holiday, I think, for quite a while. So, we need holidays, for those of us who haven't booked their summer holidays yet.
I wanted, though, to talk about, in addition to holidays, which I imagine everyone's going to talk about in the chat now, this idea of chunking time. Because I think it's sort of at odds with some of the other things we say, which is that you should often do everything in 20-minute bursts. And this is something I, and I love the way you say, after many failures. Because, I do think it's a way of sort of trying things. And you don't learn and get the hang of things until you try.
I'm failing all the time, but my latest endeavour is to try and chunk time up. And what I try and do is I've sort of figured out that around three or four hours is a good thing to try and capture. And then I'll try and gear up for that before I do it, and think about what I might try and achieve in that time.
But still, I've got those little chunks that I can't work for long for that amount of time. But it's a sort of funny thing when we're looking at study planners, where things are chunked up into specific blocks. And then sometimes you might say I've got a whole day. And I'm sure we can all identify with how easy it is to have a whole day where you think, oh, I'll just go make a cup of tea, and I'll just go and do this, this, and this. And then, before you know it, that whole day is gone.
So, for those students who may not have that organised childcare, or they might want to swap things, how might they try and chunk that time? And what should they maybe aim for in terms of what to perhaps ask for from people who may be able to help them?
KATIE CHICOT: I think I would say, first of all, about the 20-minute bursts. I think that's correct. But, that doesn't mean if you've got a three-hour slot, only study for 20 minutes of it. It might be that you do 20 minutes, and you do have a cup of tea. It helps enormously. Do 20 minutes, and have a walk around.
Or another way that I found that I can get through quite a volume of work is if I do 20 minutes, and I change tasks. So, I do a different kind of work for 20 minutes. I think our materials are structured to give you that kind of learning pattern so that you can read, and then do some activities. Or you can read, you can watch a video, so that you are switching activity. So, yeah, the concentration is in 20-minute bursts. But do make use of the time that you've got, the time pockets you know you can find.
KAREN FOLEY: And you said that you can't do two things at once. But the one thing I often do if I'm sort of cooking is I will have a piece of paper and think about the things I'm going to do. And sometimes I'll order them and prioritise them so that when I do get my time on my own, at least I've got some ideas and a strategy. Because sometimes thinking about that strategy can sort of be time on its own.
SALLY CRIGHTON: I think one thing that we'll all know as Open University students is when you have got that TMA coming up, you know you've got to do something, you certainly want to tidy a cupboard or something, just as you said. So, actually, I really don't want to tidy cupboards. I've never got as bad as doing the ironing.
So, if you have a chunk of time, just start off with your study. Start off doing it. It's like we've got devices that we have to walk a certain amount of time. And at first, it's really hard. But you just have to make yourself do it. So, studying's the same thing.
Sometimes you just have to make yourself do it until it becomes something you do. And start off with the studying.
KATIE CHICOT: And I think your idea of making a list, like a to-do list, I think, well, that's a nice way of bringing nice stationery. I find that if I get myself some nice stationery, and I write my to-do lists in it, and I give myself the reward of crossing off those items, it's been shown that you can greatly reduce anxiety about something you have to do just by writing it in a list so that it's there, recorded, instead of taking up part of your memory, your access memory, that you keep having to remember to do it.
Write it down. Get it on your to-do list. And then give yourself the pleasure of ticking it off.
KAREN FOLEY: Well, this is a fabulous session. But unfortunately, it needs to end. However, you're back in half an hour, so we can pick up on this after we've had David coming on and talking to us about two modules. Which I think will be very nicely into our study intensity session next.
Libby says that she can give up many things but not watching Student Hub Live. Well done, Libby. That's brilliant to hear. I'm very pleased.
All right. Frank and Stephen, we'll be back. Oh, look at your hats, I say.
FRANK: We're making an effort.
KAREN FOLEY: You are indeed.
STEPHEN: I'm a cowboy.
KAREN FOLEY: Well, we have a lovely David joining us back when we're going to look at a very challenging problem, which is when students are studying two modules, and they love one more than the other. Or perhaps you're starting a new module, which you're really excited about or less excited about than the one you were last on. So, this emotional attachment we have to what we're studying, and how we might be able to work with that to get the most from it.
We'll be back in a few minutes. We're going to have another video, which is about Katherine Mansfield. So, I'll see you in five minutes for our next session. And Sally and Katie will be back after that, again, this afternoon. See you soon.
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