Skills for Learning: Skills for Learning Workshops

Good critical thinking skills are essential to academic success at university. This interactive workshop focuses on those skills in detail. It examines the differences between descriptive writing and critical writing and offers students an opportunity to improve criticality in a writing activity.

You can watch a recording of this Workshop below:

This workshop looks at critical thinking in more detail, focusing on the processes involved in critical reading and critical writing. The session is useful to all students but is particularly suitable for final-year students and postgraduates. Before watching this workshop, you should watch the ‘Critical Thinking I’ workshop.

You can watch a recording of this Workshop below:

This workshop is particularly useful for final-year undergraduates, but is also of interest to those at other levels looking ahead to their dissertation or major independent study. The session, which includes practical activities and peer learning, focuses on the function, structure, language and style of dissertations. In particular, it encourages you to think deeply about your own dissertation project and reflect on the processes of writing and research.

You can watch a recording of this Workshop below:

This session helps you to develop a strategy to help you focus that can be applied to your university studies. Initially, it defines what multitasking is and considers how we use it. Then, it will set out and apply a method for supporting concentration during study sessions, using a series of exercises and discussions to explore how managing environmental factors can improve your effectiveness. 

You can watch a recording of this Workshop below:

In this interactive workshop recording, you will gain an insight into what makes a successful essay. You will learn how to break down an essay question, how to develop an argument and how to present your argument clearly in your writing.

You can watch a recording of this Workshop below:

This session helps you find the high-quality academic and professional information you need to get good marks in your assignments. It includes a briefing on key search tools available from the University, and how best to use them alongside standard search engines like Google. There’s also an opportunity to look for information for your assignments.

You can watch a recording of this Workshop below:

This interactive workshop is designed for international students and helps you to improve your Academic English. It explores how the English used for university study is different from everyday English; how to improve your academic language skills (speaking, listening, reading and writing); and the importance of working within the university’s academic integrity guidance. Although this is aimed at International students, all students are welcome to watch the recording.

You can watch a recording of this Workshop below:

This interactive workshop helps you understand the role of the literature review in academic writing. Discover strategies for collating your research and planning the structure of your work. This workshop also focuses on how to read and write critically for your literature review.

You can watch a recording of this Workshop below:

Many students are required to deliver a presentation at some point during their studies - whether it's as part of a group or individually, assessed or unassessed. In this workshop, we look at examples of presentations and discuss what works. We also cover preparing for the presentation, planning content, creating effective slides and delivering with confidence.

You can watch a recording of this Workshop below:

In this workshop you learn how to cite and reference using Leeds Beckett's version of Harvard for books, articles, websites and other sources you might use in your assignments. Please note: this workshop is not suitable for Law students, who use OSCOLA, or Psychology students, who use APA.

You can watch a recording of this Workshop below:

This interactive workshop is for students completing reflective writing assignments as part of their degree courses. Learn how to combine your experiences and ideas with your wider subject knowledge to produce reflections that demonstrate critical thinking skills. You will be introduced to various models of reflection to help you to structure your writing. There is also the opportunity to practise academic reflective writing during the workshop.

You can watch a recording of this Workshop below:

A report is a piece of academic writing that presents research or information on a specific topic. Reports are common in subject areas such as Science, Technology, Engineering, Maths, Healthcare and Social Sciences. If you are studying one of these subjects, it’s likely you will have already seen this type of writing in academic journal articles.

This interactive workshop focuses on the skills you will use to write reports at university. The workshop covers the following key areas: purpose, structure, language and critical analysis. Detailed guidance is provided on the information required to complete a report. In addition, interactive activities will enable you to apply your learning.

You can watch a recording of this Workshop below:

This interactive workshop focuses on improving your academic writing and on learning more about the research process. You will learn to recognise different voices in academic texts and be more confident in expressing your own voice in writing. It will also help you assess your knowledge of the key aspects of independent research projects and be signposted to useful resources which you can refer to throughout your course. This workshop is designed for students on taught postgraduate courses. Those on MRes and PhD programmes should consult the Research Training Programme, which is accessible via SAM.

You can watch a recording of this Workshop below:

You may be doing a systematic review as an assessment or for your dissertation. This workshop will cover:

• What a systematic review is, and how it is different from a literature review
• Developing your research question
• Creating a search strategy and choosing databases
• Managing and documenting your search results

Before watching this session, please check that you have actually been asked by your lecturer to do a systematic review. The difference between systematic reviews and literature reviews is a common source of confusion!

This workshop helps you to learn how best to organise your time and align it with specific tasks to boost your learning potential. Through a series of short exercises and discussions, it will build a study model for your week, considering what free time you have, when you perform specific tasks well, how to ringfence time, and how to establish a clear focus for each of your study sessions.

You can watch a recording of this Workshop below:

This workshop explores the appropriate use of Artificial Intelligence (AI) tools such as Chat GPT in academic studies. It considers ways in which such technology can aid you in your studies, as well as potential issues, consequently providing useful general guidance on good academic practice.

You can watch a recording of this Workshop below:

This interactive workshop provides guidance on effective writing at university level. Learn how to improve your formality and style, develop methods for thinking objectively, and understand how to structure your work.

You can watch a recording of this Workshop below:

This is a drop-in session for students with any short academic skills-related queries. An Academic Skills Tutor will be on hand throughout to answer general questions about how to approach university assignments.

You can book onto the next one of these events via MyHub.

This workshop covers formatting your dissertations in Microsoft Word including setting line spacing and margins, inserting page breaks and section breaks, adding heading styles, inserting table of contents, inserting captions, creating list of tables, figures, or images, and tidying up your document.

See the timetable and book on to this workshop via MyHub.

This workshop is aimed at students who are already familiar with using SPSS and provides students with an understanding of more advanced features in interactive mode. The workshop covers: Chi-squared test of association, t-tests, correlation and scatter plots and transforming variable using record command. Please attend the ‘Introduction to SPSS’ workshop prior to attending ‘Intermediate SPSS’.

See the timetable and book on to this workshop via MyHub.

This workshop covers the basics of using Excel including how to enter, edit, and format text or data, use formulas and apply commonly used functions such as Sum, Min, Max and Average. The workshop also covers relative and absolute cell references, sorting data, and applying conditional formatting to the data. Suitable for beginners.

See the timetable and book on to this workshop via MyHub.

SPSS is a powerful computer program widely used in the academic community for doing advanced statistical analysis of data for research and other projects. This workshop will introduce you to using SPSS for your own statistical analysis.

See the timetable and book on to this workshop via MyHub.

This mini-workshop is aimed at new students and those seeking to refresh their knowledge. If you’re just not sure where to start with your studies, the workshop offers some expert advice and tips! The workshop begins with a 5-10 min introduction to the topic. The remainder of the workshop takes a Q&A format, where skills tutors will be on hand to answer your questions on the topic. Finally, there is some further information about how to access further academic skills support. You can watch a recording of this workshop below:

This mini-workshop is aimed at new students and those seeking to refresh their knowledge. Discover new tips and strategies for taking notes from your academic reading. The workshop begins with a 5-10 min introduction to the topic. The remainder of the workshop takes a Q&A format, where skills tutors answer questions on the topic. Finally, there is some further information about how to access further academic skills support. You can watch a recording of this workshop below:

This mini-workshop is aimed at new students and those seeking to refresh their knowledge. If you need some advice on how to approach the reading for your course, this is the session for you! The workshop begins with a 5-10 min introduction to the topic. The remainder of the workshop takes a Q&A format, where skills tutors answer your questions on the topic. Finally, there is some further information about how to access further academic skills support. You can watch a recording of this workshop below:

The Study Café is a chance for you to focus on your own work in a friendly environment. You will come together with peers, experiencing a supportive atmosphere in the virtual classroom. An Academic Skills Tutor will be on hand throughout to guide the session. You will be led through a series of 25-minute work periods, with opportunities in between to chat and share study tips with one another. All are welcome!

You can book onto the next one of these events via MyHub.