SUPPORTING LEARNING MOTIVATION BY EMAIL
- suggestions for helping students ‘switch on their learning motivation’
by using email messaging
Ormond Simpson
ormond.simpson@googlemail.com
www.ormondsimpson.com
Recently: Visiting Professor - Open Polytechnic of New Zealand
Previously: Senior Lecturer in Institutional Research UK Open University
Contents
1. Introduction - ‘Motivational messaging’ in distance education…………………………………...........……2
2. ‘Motivational emails’ – using Keller’s theory to design emails………………….……....................………4
3. List of suggested motivational emails.......................................................………………………………..5
4. Examples of motivational emails – content………………………………………….….........…………………..6 on
May 2010
1
‘MOTIVATIONAL MESSAGING’ IN DISTANCE EDUCATION
1.1 Introduction
There has been interest in using written messages to enhance student retention in distance
education for a number of years.
Lya Visser (1999) was amongst the first to specifically identify enhancing students’ learning
motivation as a function of messages. She looked at a model of motivation due to Keller (1987) – the
ARCS model (Attention, Relevance, Confidence and Satisfaction) which suggested that any contact
must clearly catch the students’ Attention, must be seen to be Relevant to their needs, enhance their
Confidence and promote their Satisfaction with their experience.
Visser then used Keller’s model to devise a ‘Motivational Messaging System’ (MMS) of short
messages to students. She used a series of postcards on a course run by the International Extension
College. She claimed - albeit from a relatively small scale study - that such a system had significant
retention effects. Her findings were that short messages were as effective as long ones, and that the
source of the messages – tutor or institution (sometimes on behalf of the tutor) - did not seem to
make a significant difference to their effects.
As well as Visser’s work there are other developments in learning motivation theory such as the work
of Dweck, Anderson and Boniwell which may be useful, inn designing motivational messages - see
‘Guide to Proactive Motivational Support’ available from www.ormondsimpson.com
1.2 ‘Motivational emails’
The advent of email makes it much easier to send messages to students. So over the last three years
on a UKOU course on which I teach (’Starting with maths’ Y162) I experimented with sending a series
of ‘motivational emails’ based mostly like Visser on Keller’s ARCS theory.
Over the three years of the course the results were encouraging – Table 1:
My tutorial group
% pass
(number of students)
Whole course
% pass
(number of students)
Difference in retention
% points
(my group-whole group)
2006
93.3% (15)
71.1% (398)
+22.2%
2007
92.3% (13)
62.3% (403)
+30.0%
2008
73.3% (15)
58.4% (483)
+14.9%
Av.
86.3%
63.9%
+22.4%
Table 1 Comparative results on UKOU course Y162 ‘Starting with maths’
I cannot ascribe these results to the use of ‘motivational emails’ as I was using a motivational
approach – ‘Proactive Motivational Support’ (PaMS) using the phone at the same time and if the
results are significant (still to be shown) they will be due to the combination of these approaches.
2
Nevertheless the simplicity of this approach may make it worthwhile describing it in detail
for tutors who’d like to use it on their own courses. Some of the emails are specific to the Y162
course but they could be omitted or other topics could be substituted at the tutor’s discretion.
3
2. ‘Motivational emails’ – using Keller’s theory to design emails on the ‘Starting with Maths’ (Y162)
UKOU course.
I mix ‘News Emails’ with ‘Study Tips’ which contain what I hope are motivational elements. They are
sent at regular intervals to all students on the course as text emails, not as attachments. Where
students are not on email I am careful to see that they get them by post at the same time as the
others. I don’t refer to them as ‘motivational’ as I suspect that would create a reaction against them
as a kind of manipulation.
Like Visser I use Keller’s ARCS theory as a basis for designing the emails:

Attention - The emails are written in a deliberately light-hearted style. The humour is an
essential part as it helps to gain students’ attention and get the messages read, demystifies
learning and acts to lower stress levels (humour being the best de-stressor we have – I often
think we don’t use it nearly enough in distance teaching. I’m sometimes mystified why
learning should be treated so seriously – I’ve never had negative feedback from students
when I’ve used humour in teaching). I also use short anecdotes – psychologists suggest that
stories are a particularly effective way of getting attention, communicating points and
getting the messages remembered.

Relevance – However light-hearted the messages seem they always contain serious ideas
about learning and overcoming learning problems. The emails are always short so that they
do not impinge on students’ study time too much; I try to keep them down to the length of
an average newspaper feature – about 400 words.

Confidence - I address them individually, and copy and paste the message content. There is
psychological evidence that personally addressed messages are more likely to be read (even
these days) and inspire more confidence in the content. I believe I get a better response
than using a group email and it only takes a little more time. It would be a help if the OU
could develop a simple email merge system.
It also helps to make the messages sounds as authoritative as possible - if I had the cheek I’d
have the messages coming as if from the Vice Chancellor...

Satisfaction – I can’t guarantee satisfaction, but feedback from students so far suggests that
they enjoy the messages and are happy with the frequency. I aim to ensure that students
get something each week in a course starting in June and ending in October. I also try to use
recent news items each year to provide some freshness.
Bear in mind when reading through these emails that they are specific to Y162 and don’t all arrive at
once. Neither do I claim that these are the best possible messages – this is an ongoing experiment
and comments and ideas are very welcome.
Ormond Simpson
May 2010
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3. ‘Motivating learning by email’ - list of suggested emails
1. Introductory letter at start of course. Appendix - Are you fixed or malleable?
2. Study tip number 1 – Getting organised - a Funnel in your letterbox?
3. News Email 1
4. General email - What can you expect from studying at the Open University?
5. News Email 2
6. Study tip number 2 - A formula for success?
7. Study tip 3 - Finding your best Study method
8. Study tip 4 Activities and Formative Assessment
9. Study tip number 5 - World’s Shortest Guide To Catching Up
10. News Email 3
11. Study tip number 4 - Make lists!
12. News Email 4
13. Study tip number 5 “I’ve got those ‘why-the-heck-am-I-trying-to-study-blues….’”
14. News Email 5
15. Study tip number 6 - Survival Guide for You and Your Family
16. News Email 6
17. Study tip no 7 ‘Self-discipline’
18. Study tip 8 ‘Procrastinitus’
19. ‘Are you a lucky student?’
Appendix – other possible motivational emails
1. Study tip number – ‘Getting the most out of tutorials’
2. Study tip number – ‘Tactics In The Exam Wars’
3. General email – ‘Finished? – don’t go!’
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4. Examples of motivational emails – content
1. Introductory letter at start of course
This is sent by letter but could equally well be sent by email.
‘Dear Student
‘Starting with maths (Y162)’
Welcome to your Open University course ‘Starting with Maths’. I’m your tutor for the course and it’s
my job to help and advise you through the course.
I work for the OU full time in educational research and my contact details are above. I will
try to phone you sometime soon after you get this letter but don’t hesitate to contact me before
then if there’s anything you’d like to discuss with me. I’m happy to be contacted by phone, email or
texting. Note that emails sent to ormond.simpson@googlemail.com will reach me more quickly
than using FirstClass). If you have an email address I will shortly try to email you on it to check that
you’re happy to be contacted that way.
The quickest way to contact me is via my mobile and I’ll be happy to phone you back to save
your phone bill. Leave a message on that number if you like.
As a researcher I’ve been investigating how people learn and I’ve written a very brief article
about my findings which is overleaf. Have a look – I hope you find it interesting.
I very much look forward to talking with you – my warmest wishes for success on the course.
Ormond Simpson
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1a. Appendix to Introductory letter
Are you fixed or malleable?
Recent findings1 in psychology suggest that what we think about our own intelligence or IQ is the
most important factor in how successful we are when we try to learn something. Psychologists say
that people fall into two groups –
 ‘Fixed’ intelligence people – these people believe that their intelligence is fixed at birth and
can’t be changed by external factors or their own efforts.
 Malleable’ intelligence people – these people believe that their intelligence is not fixed and
that it can be changed through effort.
These beliefs affect how people learn, particularly when they run into difficulties or fail an exam.
People who believe that their intelligence is fixed may work hard. But when they run into difficulties
or failure they tend to believe that they’ve reached the limit of their intelligence and give up.
People who believe that their intelligence is malleable will see difficulties as a sign that they need to
try harder. This is because they believe that effort will overcome such difficulties in the end.
IQ is not fixed
We now know that (despite what psychologists used to believe) that intelligence is not a fixed
quantity for life. We know that it can be developed by a good environment and by personal
endeavour. As psychologists2 now say “People often overestimate the important of intellectual
ability. Practice and perseverance contribute more to accomplishment than being smart”. In other
words the malleable people are right.
We also know that this may apply particularly to learning maths. We are all hard-wired to be able to
do maths at birth. Unfortunately sometimes we’re put off maths at school or elsewhere and come to
believe that we can’t do it. That’s not true – with enough effort maths can be learned, even if you’ve
been put off it previously.
Malleability is the key
Malleable people don’t see something hard to understand or a poor grade as a comment on their
basic intelligence. They just see it as a sign that they need to ask for help and try again. So
remember – your intelligence is malleable! With effort and support you can succeed on this course.
Good Luck!
Ormond Simpson, Senior Lecturer in Institutional Research, Open University
1
Dweck, C. (2000) ‘Self-Theories’ Psychology Press
2
Hoppe and Stojanovic (2008) Sci Amer Mind
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2. Study tip 1 – Getting organised - a Funnel in your letterbox?
Dear
I hope things are going well. During this course I’ll occasionally be sending you short ‘study tips’ that
I hope will be helpful. Here’s my first one:
“So how would you sum up your experience of being an OU student so far?” I said. Pete thought for
a moment “Well Ormond” he said “ – it’s a bit like having the narrow end of a funnel jammed in your
letter and email boxes. And scores of people standing round the wide end chucking stuff in.”
Is that how it’s feeling for you? Are you already having second thoughts about study? Here are a
few suggestions:

Organise the stuff from the funnel into 3 real or virtual piles – one for course material, one
for admin guff and one for support information – stuff about your tutor, who to contact and
so on. Then throw the admin stuff away – no! I’m only kidding. Keep it somewhere safe –
you’ll need it.

Look at the course material – just skim through and get a feel for it.

Do make contact with me by phone, email, letter, text (I can’t manage carrier pigeons – yet)..
It’s not easy to phone someone out of the blue but really I’ll be really pleased to hear from
you – it can be a lonely job…. If you have the internet try the computer forum for Y162 in
order to contact other students. Again that’s not easy – they’re all much brighter than you
aren’t they….? No they’re not. They’re all in the same boat wondering what’s going to drop
out of the funnel next. [It must be a steam boat].

The first assignment – this is the biggest hurdle that all students face. Do your best and get it
in. I won’t mind if it’s not the greatest assignment I’ve ever read - ‘the journey of a thousand
miles starts with a single assignment calculating VAT on trousers’ as Chairman Mao used to
say.

Get the family and friends on side – their support will be the most helpful you get. There’s
an OU web page just for them – search for ‘Families and Friends’ on the OU’s website..

Now stop reading my meanderings and just get stuck in.
Best wishes
Ormond
8
3. Newsletter 1
Dear
It was good to have the chance to talk to you recently on the phone and I hope that you are getting
stuck into the course.
Do let me have your learning plan if you have time in the next week or so. It’s not for marking in any
way – it’s just to give me some background information about you. It’s not meant to be long – just
some notes. You can send it to me by email if you like – I attach it as a file you can complete and
send to me. Just add your name to the file name.
Remember to contact me at any reasonable time if you come across anything you don’t understand.
But don’t get stuck on anything – just skip it and go on. You might like to gather up several items
together and phone or email me about all of them in one go. The important thing to remember is
that you don’t have to understand absolutely everything as you go!
Finally here’s a small calculator puzzle to try on your family or friends if you have a moment:
Tell them to think of any three figures – eg 742 – but not tell you what it is
Say ‘Write down the same three figures again to give you a six figure number’ – eg 742742
‘Now divide that number by 7’ (it’s ok to let them use the calculator!)
‘Divide the new number you’ve got by 11’
‘Divide that new number by 13’
Hopefully they’ll be surprised to get back their original number. If you can explain how it works do
let me know. No prizes though! - I'll send an explanation in the next email.
All the best
Ormond
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4. General email - What can you expect from studying at the Open University?
Dear
I hope that you’re getting well stuck into the course by now.
Sometimes people ask me what the effects of studying through the OU are. So I checked back
through our research to see what students have told us about their experiences of having studied
with the OU.
I found on the positive side that they experience increased confidence, increased skills and – for
people in work – increased earnings, more than 15% on average.
On the downside they experienced some stress, a considerable loss of leisure and sometimes a little
guilt about depriving families and friends of their time. But actually our research suggests that
families don’t generally resent their students’ studies; on the contrary they’re often proud and
supportive. Indeed students tell us that families and friends are often their best source of help.
Of course not everyone benefits to the same extent. I remember being shown a returned
questionnaire from one of our graduates. In answer to the question ‘How would you say the OU has
changed your life overall?’ he’d put ‘I used to be happy’. I’m sure he was just kidding - many of our
students tell us how much they enjoy studying.
But perhaps in the end what people gain from the OU is something more intangible. In the past
month I’ve presented students at two graduation ceremonies. One was the official ceremony in Ely
Cathedral – a deeply moving yet intensely happy occasion. As I watched each graduate set off across
the stage to shake the hand of the Pro Vice Chancellor (after I’d usually mispronounced their name) I
was aware that for each of them it had been a hugely worthwhile and often pleasurable journey.
The other graduation ceremony was quite a contrast. It was in a high security prison and the student
was a man from the East End of London who’d struggled against the odds to complete a degree in
economics. His guest of honour was General Lord David Ramsbottom an ex Chief Inspector of
Prisons. In his graceful speech of congratulations Sir David revealed that he too was an OU student
having (he said) mostly studied in helicopters flying between postings.
And that contrast is what I think is the most important aspect of studying with the OU – its sense of
fellowship between very different people. You are joining the most varied learning community on
Earth in one of the greatest universities on Earth. Enjoy!
Best wishes - Ormond
10
5. News Email 2
Dear
That puzzle!
I hope things are going well as you get stuck into the course. Here's the answer to the little puzzle I
mentioned in my last newsletter where dividing a 6 figure number of the same three figures
repeated (eg 743743) by 7, 11 and 13 gives you back the original three figures
The secret is that 7x11x13 = 1001 and multiplying a three figure number by 1001 gives you the same
three figures repeated again - try it on your calculator. (This is just as multiplying a single figure by 11
gives you the same figure repeated - eg 6x11 = 66).
So dividing by 7, 11 and 13 brings a 6 figure number back to what it was.
Warmest wishes
Ormond
11
6. Study tip number 2 - A formula for success?
Dear
How are things going? Do get in touch and let me know how you’re getting on.
Sometimes students ask me if I have a formula for success. Well actually the answer is yes, I do. I
originally graduated as a theoretical physicist. It wasn’t that I was particularly bright - it was just that
after the third time I’d melted the Geiger counter and nearly electrocuted myself, my supervisor
decided it would be safer all round if I was trusted with nothing more dangerous than a pencil and a
piece of paper. [It’s surprising how dangerous the pencil turned out to be, but that’s another story].
Anyway that experience left me with a taste for formulae and I recently came across a formula for
student success by Dr Alan Seidman, editor of the US Journal of Student Retention. I’ve a adapted it
freely [partly in the hope that the Seidman-Simpson equation will one day become as famous as
Einstein’s E = mc2] and here it is
S = Acc + (E + I + C)CoT + ExS
where S = success, Acc = Accurate course choice, E = Early, I = intensive, C = continuous, CoT =
contact with your tutor, and ExS = External support.
Let me explain the terms:



Acc = Accurate course choice. The best thing you can do to ensure success is to make sure
you’re on the right course for you in terms of level, length and content. Next time you
choose a course use the OU’s resources to make sure of that – check the course description
on the web and in particular look at what other students and tutors think of it –
www.open.ac.uk/coursereviews , find a Taster Pack for the course if there is one, do the
diagnostic quiz if there is one. Don’t be afraid to change to another course if the one you
first thought of is unsuitable.
(E + I + C)CoT = Early, Intensive and Continuous Contact with your Tutor. In theory your tutor
should be contacting you regularly but in practice he or she may not want to bother you if
everything’s going well but has no way of telling when things aren’t so good. So take the
initiative and contact them. They’ll be glad to hear from you and if there’s something
holding you up no matter how seemingly trivial they’ll want to help.
ExS = External support. When we researched student dropout recently we concluded that
students who survived the life events that happen to happen (birth, death and everything in
between) were often those who had good support networks. These could be from families
and friends – (see the OU’s families and friends website http://www.open.ac.uk/family/
designed for them) - or from other students - find a conference for your course on the OU
website. Many students even find their employer a good source of support.
So there you go – the Simpson-Seidman formula for success – look out Einstein!
Best wishes - Ormond
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7. Study tip 3 Finding your best study method
Dear
I’m just emailing to see how things are going on the course and hoping that you’re well on with
Chapter 2. If you’re ahead of that then that’s great - just keep going as fast as you like. If you’re not
up there yet then don’t worry, there’s plenty of time but do get in touch if there’s anything holding
you up.
Here’s another Study Tip.
Study tip 3 - Finding your best study method.
One thing that educational researchers have found is that there’s really no one best way to study –
it’s whatever works best for you. You can try different methods – different times of day, different
places, different ways of reading and so on.
I have an old friend who uses a kitchen timer set to 20 minutes – “That’s as long as I can concentrate
in one go” she says. So when it goes off she takes a short break and then resets it and starts again.
Well it works for her. Another student I know works with the TV on. She explains “If what’s on the
TV is more interesting than what’s in my book then I watch it, and vice versa”. Sounds funny, but
there’s actually research which shows that if you’re fairly easily distracted from study (and who
isn’t?) then it can help to have a constant low level of distraction (like the TV) going on to blot out
more potent distracters. (You can see her and a couple of other OU students describing their
methods of study on YouTube http://uk.youtube.com/watch?v=jzTfxhrBV7U)
So there’s no right method of study – whatever works for you is good!
All the best
Ormond
13
8. Study tip 4 - Activities and worked examples
Dear
I hope that you’re now thinking about TMA01. Actually it’s a good idea to look at the Assignment
Booklet now if you’ve not done so already and work through chapter 3 with the assignment in mind.
Do get in touch if you need any clarification on what you need to do.
This week’s study tip is about doing assignments
Study tip – Activities and worked examples
1. Activities
Professor John Hattie of Auckland University did a huge ‘meta-survey’ (a survey of surveys) last year
and found that one of the best ways of increasing student success is to give regular feedback on how
people are doing. This is difficult to organise in distance learning! If you’re not sure you’ve
understood something you can help yourself by actually doing the ‘Activities’ in the book, and
resisting the strong temptation just to read straight through them.
2. Worked examples
Prof Hattie also found that going through worked examples of assignments was also particularly
helpful to students.
Now remember that in Y162 you only have to submit one assignment and it’s not marked pass or fail.
However if you’ve not done an assignment like this for some time you might find it helpful to work
through a couple of short assignment examples which will also give you a good idea about the best
kind of format for writing TMA01. Work through these examples making sure you understand each
step.
Example 1
“Last week I found 50 New Zealand dollars in my suitcase (yes, it’s taken me a year to finally
unpack). So I rushed down to the Post Office where there was one of those illuminated signs in the
window. Against NZ$ it said ‘We buy at NZ$2.72 to the £’. So how much did the man behind the
counter give me?”
Solution
Here’s a solution. I’ve tried to write it out as the course wants you to do. That means explaining
carefully what you’re doing at every stage and why you’re doing it.
“The statement ‘We buy at NZ$2.72 to the £’ means that for every NZ$2.72 I give the man he’ll give
me £1. So we need to know how many times 2.72 goes into 50 to see how many £’s I'll get.
Now 50/2.72 = 18.51851852. So the man gave me £18.52. (The post office doesn’t deal in less
than a penny of course, so he rounded it to the nearest penny).”
14
(This is actually an example of what my dad used to call a ‘gazinter’ problem. “No use knowing your
multiplication tables son, unless you can work out yer gazinters as well” he used to say. “F’r example
- 5 gazinter 10, two; 5 gazinter fifteen, 3; now you do the next one”. I was 27 before I worked out
that he was saying ’goes in to’ and that the answer was 5 gazinter 20, 4).
Example 2
The other day I was out walking in the Yorkshire Dales and missed a footpath turning. I looked at
my map and I could see that the turning was ¼ inch on the map back from where I was. The map
scale was 2½ inches to the mile. So how far did I have to walk back?
In fact I often measure the distance by the number of steps I have to take. I usually take 2000
steps to the mile. So how many steps did I have to count to get back to the turning?
Solution
The map scale 2½ inches to the mile means that 2½ inches on the map represents I mile on the
ground. If we know what fraction ¼ is of 2½ then that will be the same fraction of a mile.
So that fraction is ¼/2½ = ¼/(5/2) = ¼X(2/5) = (1X2)/(5X4) = 2/20 = 1/10 (remember that to divide
one fraction by another you turn the second fraction upside down and multiply – see p71-2 in the
book if you’ve not reached it yet). So a quarter is one tenth of 2½. (I could have seen that more
easily if I'd done it in decimals as ¼ is 0.25 and 2½ is 2.5 so 0.25/2.5 = 0.1 or one tenth)
So the answer is that the distance back on the ground was only 1/10th of a mile (thank heavens!).
Now I do 1 mile in 2000 steps
So in 1/10 mile I do 2000/10 = 200 steps. So it was just 200 steps back to the turning.
I hope those were helpful. Now just do the same thing for the TMA!
Best wishes
Ormond
15
9. Study tip number 5 - World’s Shortest Guide To Catching Up
Dear
Well done! You’re now nearly halfway through your course. And like 62.7% of OU students at this
stage you’re a bit behind (actually I made that figure up – but I bet it’s not too far wrong). So what
you need is a course on Time Management.
Well, actually no, because the last thing you’ve got time for is another course. So this is the world’s
shortest guide to how to catch up with your studies. Just remember the word SPUD:
S - stands for Simpson’s 3S study system (pat. applied for):
 Skim bits of the course - you don’t have to read everything thoroughly. You can sometimes
get a good idea of what’s important by skimming through a unit.
 Skip – you can actually skip some bits if you need to – ask your tutor’s advice
 Scrape – you don’t have to do well at everything – sometimes it’s ok to aim to scrape
through a bit of the course if you need to just to catch up.
P - stands for the slogan: ‘Perfectionism is the Enemy of Progress’ which is another way of saying it’s
ok to scrape. You really don’t have to get 100% on that assignment…
D - stands for various ways of finding the time:
 Defer – there may be things you think you have to do which you can put off for a while
 Delegate – there may be things you can get someone else to do
 Downgrade – there may be things you don't have you do so perfectly – see P.
 Decommit – a fancy way of saying there may be things you don’t have to do at all
U - ah; you noticed the absence of U. I couldn’t find a U – suggestions welcome. But I did find a
number of quite fascinating words – did you know that the rounded elevation in the tympanic
membrane of your ear is called the umbo? And that a uropod is an abdominal appendage of a
crustacean? And – oh sorry – I've just increased the number of students behind to 71.6%…
Best wishes - Ormond
16
10. News Email 3
Dear
I hope that everything is going well. Hopefully you’re looking at Chapter 2 and getting to grips with
numbers. Remember don’t get stuck on anything – if you come across anything you don’t
understand then make a note, skip it and go on and ask me by email or phone at some convenient
time.
(i) Negative numbers
One thing that I know always comes up in Chapter 2 is ‘Why does multiplying two negative numbers
make a positive number?’ Well I’ve always accepted that as one of the Great Universal Truths like
‘the photocopier will always jam when you’re in a hurry’. And indeed if ever two minuses stopped
making a plus then whole Universe will come to a sudden end in an enormous explosion of internal
contradictions. So you’d better believe it.
But if you’d like a better explanation than that I attach a sheet which explains if in terms of babies
crawling backwards...
(ii) Girls and boys
Talking of babies I came across an interesting piece of educational research last week. Many people
have believed that boys on average are just naturally better at maths than girls. But in turns out that
it depends on the levels of social equality. In societies where there’s a great deal of equality
between the sexes - such as Scandinavia - girls do just as well as boys. So doing well at maths is
nurture not nature, and women can do just as well at it as men.
Best wishes
Ormond
17
11. Study tip number 4 - Make lists!
Dear
How are things going? Do get in touch and let me know – just an email will be fine unless you want
to have a longer chat.
Are you keeping on top of everything you have to do? There is a little technique which might help
you. Let me explain. One day I’m going to write a best-selling sequel to the ‘Da Vinci Code’ called
‘The Baldock Cipher’. Baldock is a little town in Hertfordshire and I think the Holy Grail is buried
there. You see Baldock’s original name is ‘Baldac’, the Old French form of Baghdad (yes, really.
Would I kid you? Don’t tell the US marines). This is because the Knights Templar founded it in the
12th century as their English HQ, naming it after their international HQ in Baghdad. So when it came
to hiding the Holy Grail where better than Baldock?
This came to mind because I was looking at my ‘To Do’ list the other day and found ‘Find Holy Grail,
make million pounds, retire’ at number 438. But there may be a quicker way to make money. An
American, David Allen, has made a million dollars by – you guessed – writing about lists. He calls it
the ‘Getting Things Done’ system and charges $595 a seminar. Easy money you might think but there
is some sense in the idea. One of the difficult things about being an OU student is all the stuff that
competes for your time and attention alongside your studies. All this uncompleted stuff creates
distraction and stress just by being there. The best way to get rid of that stress is to get the stuff out
of your head and onto a list.
Start by writing down everything you’ve got to do. Divide your list into whatever categories you like
– mine has headings ‘Work’ (‘Write to Aunt Avril in Wales), ‘Home’ (‘fill hole in window frame’),
‘Deadlines’ (‘Next month - conference paper due’). Then I have subsidiary lists – ‘Things to be done
today’ (‘phone daughter’) kept by my phone, and ‘Things I’ve just thought of’ (‘make dentist’s
appointment’) on a scrap of paper in my shirt pocket. This sounds complicated but works for me –
you choose what suits you. If you like the Web you can use http://www.tadalist.com/.
Now the useful bit. You don’t have to complete one thing on your list before moving onto another.
When you’ve got a little time you just take some small actions on any of the things on the list that
will move them forward. For example this article has been written over several weeks in 5 minute
bursts. Now I can do the nicest thing with lists which is to scratch this item off completely.
And if you’re passing through Baldock late one night and see a shadowy figure at the crossroads with
a spade you’ll know that number 438 on my list has finally made it to the top…
Ormond Simpson
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12. News Email 4
Dear
Just a brief reminder to say that I hope you're thinking about TMA01. The due date is 18 July but this
is very flexible. If you need more time just let me know. Equally if you can get it in early that would
be very helpful.
I know that doing an assignment can feel formidable especially if you've not done anything like it for
a long time. But remember that to pass this course all you have to do is put the assignment in there's no such thing as failing it. It's main purpose is just to give you some practice and feedback
before tackling the ECA. So do get it to me - I won't be worrying about whether you get it absolutely
right!
Being the OU there’s a bit of admin to do. You just complete the TMA and then complete a ‘PT3’
form which you’ll find in your materials, attach it to the assignment and send it to me at 12a Abbey
Hill, Kenilworth CV8 1LU. Please don’t send it recorded delivery – I’m often out and then I have to
trek to the sorting office to pick it up which will delay it. And do check you’ve put the correct
postage on for the same reason.
You’re welcome to email the TMA to me if you can manage the word processing of maths or can scan
in your TMA. In that case please add a digital PT3 to it when you send it – attached to this email.
Do have a go at it – you’ve nothing to lose!
I’ll be phoning around over the next week or so but don’t hesitate to contact me if there are any
queries you have about the TMA or the course generally.
Warmest wishes – Ormond
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13. Study tip number 5 - “I’ve got those ‘why-the-heck-am-I-trying-to-study-blues….’”
So it’s summer at last – the long light evenings, the children playing, the garden flowering, the sun
shining – well, let’s not get carried away. Still it can be a difficult time to keep studying and an easy
time to say the hell with it and give up. But that might just be premature.
Indeed we did a small survey a couple of years ago and discovered that nearly half of the students
who withdrew between July and October had already done enough on continuous assessment to
have passed their course by just passing the exam. Of course many of them may well have wanted
to do more than just pass or may have had other excellent reasons to withdraw. But I do suspect
that some may have been the victim of mid-course blues, lost their motivation and have withdrawn
unnecessarily.
Losing motivation can effect everyone of course – I remember passing a door in a Walton Hall
corridor (it was the Vice Chancellor’s actually*) that had a sign on it - ‘Please do not disturb –
currently suffering Loss Of Will To Go On’.
So if you’re suffering from LOWTGO what can you do?
1. Check your progress. Remember on Y162 you only have to submit one TMA and pass ECA to
pass the course.
2. Remind yourself about your motivation. If you’re wondering why you’re still slogging away then
it’s often helpful to get back in touch with your motivation. Talk it over with your family, friends,
me, other students, even your boss, and remind yourself why you took this on in the first place.
You’ll find you’re not alone in feeling like this from time to time.
3. Deal with ‘Study Stress’. Another reason that students drop out at this time of year is the shear
stress of studying. It’s particularly hard to concentrate when the demands of the outside world
are more than ever. Then loss of concentration can lead to anxiety about study which can lead
to study stress which leads to even worse concentration and so on in a horrible downwards
spiral. If you feel yourself getting study stress here’s a few ideas that might help:
 Relax. Try the occasional physical relaxation when you’re studying – lean back in your chair,
let your arms dangle by your side, breathe out and say ‘stop’ to yourself. Then carry on
when the stress has dripped out of your fingertips [ugh!]. Or just go for a walk.
 Negative thoughts. Everyone has ‘negative thoughts’ – “I know I’ll never understand this”,
“I’ve not got enough time” and so on. What you need is a ‘coping thought’ that contradicts
the negative thought – “I’ve understood tougher stuff than this”, “I’ll just make the time” and
so on. I won’t tell you what my coping thought is though – it’ll only get me into trouble with
The Management.
 Lower your sights. I sometimes wish that I could change the OU’s motto [you do know the
OU’s motto? What? Shocking – it’s ‘Learn and Live’. Or ‘Learn and/or Live’ as one of my
students alleged]. Anyway I’d change it to ‘Perfectionism is the Enemy of Progress’ [it would
sound better in Latin]. You don’t have to learn everything and assignments don’t have to be
perfect. So stop worrying about it - skip what you have to and Get the Thing In. And don’t
think of that as skiving off – it’s ‘Strategic Study’ and Very Respectable too.
20
But if none of this works for you and you decide to withdraw then always remember that
withdrawals are never held against you, they don’t appear on your final transcript of studies and that
you are always warmly welcome back. As a colleague said to me, “ The only way to get out of the OU
is to die. Even then we only put in a change of address….”
Ormond
* alright no it wasn’t
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14. News Email 5
Hello – this is just to say that I’m back from holiday and hoping to get in touch again soon when I
recover from the jetlag (it seems to take longer the older I get…). I hope you’ve had/are having/will
have a good holiday yourself.
Thanks to everyone who got their TMA01 to me – if you sent it in recently then I’ll mark it as soon as I
can. If you haven’t sent me your TMA then don’t worry – see if you can get it to me in the next
couple of weeks if you can.
It’s probably worth reminding you that to pass the course you only need to submit one TMA and
complete the ECA. So once you’ve done TMA01 you can skip TMA02 and go straight to the ECA if you
wish. Of course if you feel you’d like to have the extra practice then by all means send TMA02 in.
But if time is getting tight then do feel free to skip TMA. Let me know if you’re going to do that.
So good luck whatever you decide to do. And - just to show that some problems are international whilst I was in the US I met a man wearing a T-shirt that read “5 out of 4 people have trouble with
fractions”. So we’re not the only nation with maths difficulties!
All the best
Ormond
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15. Study tip number 6 - Survival Guide for You and Your Family
In every survey, students rank the support they get from family and friends as among the most
significant factors in their success.
But how can you make more of this support by helping them to help you?
Helping them (advice for you)
 Right at the start negotiate together the time you’ll need to study so everyone is clear what is
study time and what is family time.
 Share your timetable so that you’re all aware of particular ‘pressure points’: when TMAs are due
or in the lead-up to exams.
 If your course includes a residential school prepare everyone for ‘re-entry’ syndrome: you’re
likely to be flying, but also exhausted after a week of academic highlights; partners may be
equally exhausted after ‘holding the fort’ and assume you’ve been away on holiday.
 Show them articles such as this one so they know they’re not alone in sometimes feeling they
may as well be doing an OU degree themselves!
Help you (advice for families)
 Offer practical help with tasks like proof-reading assignments, programming the video recorder,
taking the children out of the house at critical times, providing transport to exams and so on.
 Some students find it hard to seek help when they’re stuck. Encourage them to use the other
support systems that are available: their tutor, regional advisory services, first class chat rooms,
OUSA’s Student Support Links etc.
 Be prepared for the moment when your student wonders whether it’s all worth it and needs
your help getting in touch with their motivation again.
 Be willing to put your own needs second from time to time.
 And finally, if you can’t beat them, think about joining them…..and the many hundreds of
husbands, wives, sons, daughters, aunts, nephews and grandparents who have already signed up
to study alongside their loved ones.
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16. News Email 6
Dear
I hope all is going well. Summer is a particularly difficult time to study I think, with demands for time
out for holidays, children being around and the temptation of wanting to be out enjoying the fine
weather. Well skip that last temptation maybe but it's still a tough time to study. So well done for
keeping at it. Here are some reminders:
1. The ECA - If you're going onto the ECA now then remember that it doesn't come to me for marking
- it has to go to another tutor. You'll have had instructions about that or be getting them shortly.
The earliest date you can submit it is 15 September (otherwise the computer gets confused) and the
latest is 10 October (otherwise it won't get marked).
2. Those Learning Outcomes - To pass the ECA and course you have to get 'Just achieved' or better on
3 out of 4 LO's in each of the two groups. I've been having a discussion with the Course team about
LO's which I think are too many and not particularly helpful for a maths course. But that (for the
moment) is what we have to do. So my advice is to check back to your previous TMA's to see what I
said about LO's but be sure to do the following:
(i)
Lay out your work clearly, giving yourself plenty of space so it's easy to follow
(ii)
Explain what you're doing all the time - take nothing for granted. It's better to explain in
detail than leave stuff out.
If you follow those two rules then you'll fulfil the LO's without worrying.
3. The Y162 quiz question.
One of the puzzles in Saturday's Guardian was 'Is half of two plus two equal to two or three?' So of
course as is my habit I turned to the answers straight away and found that the answer given was just
'Yes'. This puzzled me for several minutes (well hours actually). Can you work it out? Answer below
if you're like me.
Warmest wishes - Ormond
Answer - It's the old bracket problem in disguise. The statement is ambiguous mathematically. It's
either (half of two) plus two which is one plus two = three, or it's half of (two plus two) which is half
of four = two. So the answer is that it's both two and three.
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17 Study Tip no 7 - Self-discipline!
Does the phrase ‘self-discipline’ send the same shudder through you as it does me? In my case it
goes right back to one of those school reports that I remember reluctantly handing over to my mum
and dad. Under ‘French’ Mr. Jenkins would always write something like, “Young Simpson will do a
great deal better when he learns some self-discipline” (Mr. Jenkins often seemed to write in italics).
There’s a gloomy sense in which Mr. J. was right of course. To succeed at almost anything (and
especially learning) you often do need some self-discipline – to get down to study, to read that
course material, to start work on that essay and stay at it until it’s finished and so on.
Now one of my old colleagues has a method for disciplining herself to get down to things. She has a
kitchen timer, which she sets to 20 minutes, and she doesn’t allow herself to get up until it goes off.
She then allows herself a 5-minute break and then repeats the whole thing again. This seems simple,
but as she’s just completed a Masters in Public Policy and now has a job as a Senior Adviser in the
Ministry of Education in New Zealand it obviously works for her.
Of course like all great but simple ideas, someone – usually an American –has found a way of
marketing it. So you’ll now find it on the web, Twitter, Facebook and iPhone apps and called the
‘Pomodoro Technique’ (www.pomodorotechnique.com). The Pomodoro is a tomato-shaped kitchen
timer and you set it for 25 minutes (a period called a ‘pomodoro’). When it goes off you stop work
for 5 minutes, then start again and repeat the cycle another three times before taking a longer break.
Apparently according to the online testimonials this really works well for quite a lot of people.
Psychologists theorise that it’s a kind of con trick on the brain: by setting the clock you fool the brain
into thinking that there’s no choice but to obey it.
If you’re working at a computer you don’t need a tomato-shaped timer to make it work – you can
download free timers from the web which can be set to your 25 minute period – put ‘cool timer’ into
Google or go to www.timeleft.info and customise a timer. Taking a break from your computer every
25 minutes is good for your backache too.
I’ve tried it myself and it does seem to work for me. Although the thought of Mr. Jenkins sitting on
his celestial cloud composing another end of year report also has quite a good effect....
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18 Study tip 8 ‘Procrastinitis’
Hi
Just a quick reminder to let me know when you've put your ECA in the post to MK. There's only 10
days to go and I suggest that you don't leave it until the last minute however tempting that is - the
post can get held up, dogs can attack postmen, swarms of locusts can eat the contents of pillar boxes
- well - you get the idea.
And if you've been putting it off you might find the note I wrote on procrastination helpful - below.
Good Luck! - Ormond
I've been putting off writing this Note....
Do you suffer from Procrastinitis? No it's not a disease of the lower bowel, it's the name I've
invented to describe the condition of people who, like me, chronically postpone and put off things
they know they should be doing – procrastinators in other words.
Procrastination is now a respectable subject for psychological study. Earlier this year there was an
international conference on procrastination in London (no, it ran on schedule). Apparently students
are particularly prone to procrastinitis because learning is often self-scheduled, performed alone and
to exacting standards, all factors that enhance people's tendency to put things off – especially when
writing assignments. Reports suggest that nearly 80% of students suffer occasionally.
Oddly procrastinitis seems to affect more academically gifted students. Procrastinators are
sometimes perfectionists, putting work off because conditions aren't exactly right or assignments
aren't as good as possible. And it can be difficult to overcome - "Telling a procrastinator to 'just get
on with it' is like telling a chronic depressive to 'just cheer up'" says one psychologist, "It simply
doesn't work". In other words if you suffer from procrastinitis then you've probably got it for life.
But there may be ways you can ensure that it doesn't affect your learning by managing your
procrastinitis. One Canadian university suggests a five-fold strategy – realistic goal setting, planning,
'making a molehill out of a mountain' (breaking down a big task into a set of smaller ones), working
out why you procrastinate (perfectionism, fear of failure, disappointing others and so on) and
seeking help. A study adviser at a UK university suggests linking up with another student (even
another procrastinator) to keep you both on schedule. So you could get together with other
students maybe via your tutor or the Course Conferences in FirstClass. But in my experience course
conferences seem full of people who are already working on TMA03 when you're still on TMA01
which can be very dispiriting. So I suggest you link up with just one other person. The OU doesn't
yet have a 'Find a Study Friend' website - we're working on that and hope to have something up this
October. Meanwhile you can visit the 'Find a Friend' conference in FirstClass (Desktop>OU
symbol>Campus Map>Info Centre>Advice>Find a Friend) where hopefully you can find a friend and
possibly fellow procrastinitis sufferer to email or phone.
And how did I manage to finish this note? Well there's another strategy – but it involves threats and
bribery from my nearest and dearest....
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19 Study Tip 9 - Are you a lucky student?
Dear
Hope all has gone well with your studies. Here’s my last study tip!
We all know that luck plays a part in being a successful student. Getting a question you can answer
in the exam, not getting ill at a crucial point in the course, having a really good tutor – I’ve heard
students use all these ‘lucky’ events as being responsible for their success. But it’s always seemed to
be a random business.
I’ve just been reading a book* which claims that luck isn't random and that to some extent it
depends on your attitude to life’s events. Now I don’t usually read ‘self-improvement books’ even
those written [as in this case] by a psychologist. But in this case there did seem to be some useful
ideas worth thinking about.
The author Dr. Richard Wiseman says that ‘lucky’ people are those who tend to see positive aspects
of even bad things that happen to them and that when bad things happen they tend to shrug them
off and don’t dwell on them but take practical steps to prevent bad luck in the future. Then in true
self–improvement style he claims that people can improve their luck by undertaking exercises in
order to develop a ‘network of luck’ by connecting with other people more, becoming open to new
experiences, developing a more relaxed attitude to life and so on.
Now I wouldn’t normally take too much notice of this kind of stuff but it does link it with some of
things that ‘student retention theorists’ think help students complete courses. These are ‘resilience’
– the ability to overcome setbacks, ‘self-efficacy’ – confidence in yourself as a learner and
‘networking’ - the ability to set up good support networks.

Resilience means that when a bad thing happens such as getting a low mark on an
assignment that you don’t dwell on it, that you can see the positive side of it, you can
use it to learn from and you can generally shrug the experience off.

Self-efficacy means that you have some confidence in how you study – for instance
that you trust your intuition more about what works best for you rather than
struggle on studying the way you were told at school.

Networking means that you will use the support available – not just from your tutor
but from other students and your family, friends and work colleagues.
You can’t change your own attitudes very easily but Wiseman claims that by concentrating
on these concepts you will become luckier. Maybe it might just be worth a try. And er – good luck!
Ormond Simpson
*The Luck Factor, Dr Richard Wiseman, Random House (2002)
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APPENDIX – other possible emails but not applicable to Y162
Study tip - Getting the most out of tutorials
Tuition is one of the most expensive aspects of OU study. It’s not only expensive for the University to
supply but for students to use. It’s not just the cost of travelling from Cromer to Cambridge or
wherever but in terms of precious study time – do you spend a four hours enduring the dark delights
of Anglia Rail or spend the time quietly studying at home [or decorating the front room].
Even if your tutorials are online there’s a cost – online interactions take longer than face to
face so the time taken out for an online tutorial can be even greater.
So if you are going to tutorials [and we hope you will as far as you can] then it’s important to
get the most out of them. I’m currently doing an evening class and this is Simpson’s patent 3I
method of getting the most out of tutorials face to face and online [not to be confused with
Simpson’s patent 3S Guide to Study Skills – ‘Skim, Skip and Scrape’ but more of that elsewhere].

I = Integrate – do use tutorials to talk to your fellow students; get to know them, exchange
phone numbers and email addresses. I’ve learnt more from my new evening class friend
Darryl over coffee and the phone than from the tutor.
 I = Interact – take as full a part in the tutorial as you can – talk with others, offer ideas
discuss, problem solve - don’t just lurk or let it wash over you hoping that some of it will sink
in by a ‘process of osmosis’ as my dad used to say. Your tutor should give you opportunities
to interact – if they don’t then rise up, take over the tutorial - long live student power!
 I = Interrogate – if you don’t understand something ask. My friend Darryl is really good at
this – if I find something difficult I just mutter it to him and he asks the tutor for me. Usually
my question is blindingly simple – but there’s always someone else who is grateful that I [or
rather Darryl] asked it.
If getting to the tutorial is just too demanding then don’t feel guilty or that you won’t do as well –
just get in touch with your tutor and other students by email, phone or letter. You can still
Integrate, Interact and Interrogate even if only one-to-one.
Ormond Simpson
Study tip - Tactics In The Exam Wars
Many years ago I was in the army cadet force. I used to be puzzled by the way the rifle range would
empty when it was my turn to fire off one of the WW1 Lee-Enfield .303’s with which the force was
equipped. This was until the day there were two of us shooting rounds at our individual targets. My
target came back as clean as the day it was printed. My friend’s came back with 16 bullet holes in it and he’d only fired ten. Presumably I’d been banging away at the wrong target… the story of my life.
But one thing that I always remembered from the lectures on military theory was the
importance of the difference between strategy and tactics. ‘Strategy’ according to military theorists
is all about the long term and large scale aspects of a military campaign. ‘Tactics’ are about gaining
an advantage having regard to the immediate situation of combat. Given that studying a course
28
sometimes feels like a war it’s not a bad idea to plan it like a military campaign and bear this
difference in mind.
Now if you’ve got your study strategies wrong over the length of the course then it’s
probably too late to do anything about it at this stage. But if you’re coming up to the End of Course
Assessment (ECA) having made it past the first Tutor Marked Assignment (TMA) you may still need to
treat the exam as a battle. You’ll need in other words to decide on your study tactics for this
particular and immediate combat.
This isn’t as obvious as you might think. You’ve very limited ammunition (the time you can
expend) so you need to aim this at where it will cause the enemy most damage (yes, yes,
metaphorically). Now many students tend to concentrate their fire on that last TMA in the hope that
the extra practice will help with the ECA. But you have to remember that to pass your course you
only have to submit one TMA and pass the ECA.
Now Practice may well Make Perfect. But Practice also Takes Time. And it’s time you may be
short of. So if you did reasonably well on your first TMA it may be best to either skip that second
TMA or at least not spend time polishing it, and concentrate your energies and time on the ECA. In
military terms your best tactics are to sweep round the Second TMA strongpoint after a brief
bombardment and then throw all your forces against the Orcist hordes of the ECA by concentrating
on that. This is a bit like the Wehrmacht’s tactics against the Russians in 1941 – well maybe that’s
not the best analogy…
Right comrade students: target - the Exams; range – in just a few weeks; OPEN FIRE!
Ormond Simpson
News - General ‘Finished? – don’t go!’
Many OU students space their studies out over a few years. Not as long perhaps as one OU student
who now appears in the Guinness Book of Records for the world’s longest time taken to get a degree
- 23 years. But his record is about to be smashed – there are more than 400 students out there who
started in 1971 and who are still chugging slowly towards their degrees, leaping aboard for a few
points and then jumping off for a while. Perhaps that’s what ‘lifelong learning’ really means…..
It’s actually ok to jump on and off as far as the OU is concerned. But it seems easier to jump
off than come back in - a problem that is worrying us. Up to 25% of our first year students don’t go
on to register the following year – in OU jargon they become ‘dormant’. This isn’t just an OU
problem – the same thing happens in the US where it’s called the ‘sophomore slump’.
We don’t really know why this should be so. In the US surveys suggest that it happens
because of changes in circumstances, disillusionment with study, loss of motivation and so on. I
suspect that some of the reasons are much the same here. In addition a recent OU survey showed
that some students who withdraw feel abandoned by the University, unsure of how to return and
not sure what support they need. So clearly we need to do better.
If you’re currently a dormant student or about to become one then there are lots of good
reasons to come back – recent research suggests that graduates make an extra £220,000 over their
working lives for example. But if this doesn’t effect you or £220,000 is loose change to you, then
there might be other good reasons to carry on - perhaps just for your own satisfaction? Or simply
because it’s there and you can do it.
29
If you withdrew or failed before that doesn’t matter in the least – that never appears on your
final record. And there may be help we can give you now that will make it easier to start again and
succeed – just contact your Regional Centre and discuss it with us.
Why are we so keen to persuade you to start again? Because I’ll reveal a badly kept secret –
the staff of the OU are intensely proud of our students. We’re delighted that you came to us to fulfil
your ambitions and we’d love you to continue. So don’t be a ‘sophomore slumper’ – jump back on
board and let us help take you where you want to go.
Ormond Simpson
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