Queen’s Register of Support Providers
Providing Study Skills Support to Students
Some disabled students have difficulties with particular aspects of their learning and will be
recommended for support from a Study Skills Tutor. Those in this group would include
students with mental health issues, students with hearing, mobility and visual impairments,
specific learning difficulties (SpLDs), dyslexia, dyspraxia or Asperger’s Autism syndrome.
The primary aims of study skills tuition are therefore:
• To help students develop effective learning strategies and approaches to overcome the
difficulties associated with their disabilities.
• To remove or minimise the learning barriers caused by their impairments.
• To maximise their academic potential.
• To encourage students to develop independent learning and studying so they may take
ownership of their own academic experience.
What is Study Skills Tuition?
Study skills tuition takes place on a one-to-one basis with the student and is directed by the
Learning Plan which you and your student should develop together at your first session /
meeting. Remember to be both informative and enthusiastic so that your student feels
confident about utilising this type of support.
The Learning Plan is used to help students identify their goals and targets and to tailor these
to their individual learning needs and styles. The Learning Plan should be monitored and
reviewed jointly and should be regarded as a flexible tool that may be adapted as necessary
to meet with the changing needs of the student and the demands of their course. It is
important to take a structured approach to your student’s support and to consider the work
they are doing in a planned manner over a given period of time, usually the 12 weeks of a
semester.
As a Study Skills Tutor, you should not provide subject-specific support or
supplementary course tuition. This is outside of the remit of a Study Skills Tutor because
your main aim is to help students develop learning strategies to overcome the difficulties
associated with their particular disabilities. Learning strategies are generic and are not
subject-specific, so to provide course-related tuition to your student would be putting other
students at a disadvantage. Students seeking extra tuition should arrange and pay for this
type of support themselves. In case of misconceptions, it is essential that you establish
this at the very beginning of your support relationship, and let Queen’s Register of
Support Providers know if your student stops utilising your support after these parameters
have been established.
Suggested Study Skills Activities
Disabled students will need study skills tuition because general advice and guidance may not
take into account the students’ different and unique learning abilities and styles. Students
with dyslexia for example, would be more suited to learning where teaching is made in small
steps using a multi-sensory approach, building on the levels of understanding they have
already acquired. Students may have difficulty transferring skills learned between
assignments so the aim of support tuition should be to move students forward at their own
pace and to encourage independent working.
Study Skills Support is not and cannot be additional subject tuition, although of course,
you may work with a student using their course matter as a focus for the support. The
underlying principle is to enable a student to become more independent in their studies.
The following are just some of the study skills activities you may like to use with your
students:
1. Developing Note Taking Skills
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Developing appropriate note-taking style including abbreviations.
Use of diagrams and mind mapping.
Dealing with handouts.
Referencing references.
Coping with poor spelling, use of IT, work on key words.
2. Developing Researching/Library/Internet Searching Skills
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Locating relevant sources.
Explanation of index, contents page, introduction and conclusion.
Undertaking library Internet researches.
Scanning
How to store, sort and use material.
Plagiarism and how to avoid it.
Developing referencing skills using accepted referencing convention.
Developing researching skills / searching techniques.
Discrimination of sources.
Appropriate use of journals and newspapers.
3. Developing Writing Skills for Assignments and Dissertations
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Getting started.
Question analysis.
School / Departmental guidelines.
Identification of module learning outcomes, marking scheme and planning of work
accordingly.
Demonstrating writing skills.
Scribing a student's thoughts when necessary.
Leading or focusing a student’s thinking by using questions but do not give answers.
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Planning of longer pieces of work e.g. dissertation.
Plagiarism and how to avoid it.
Developing skills with assistive technology where appropriate.
Using feedback from assignments in a positive and constructive manner.
Just remember that as a Tutor, you are not there to teach theory or analyse research data.
The understanding and interpretation must be the student’s own.
4. Developing Editing Skills
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Reading the student’s work aloud to see if student can pick out clumsy phrasing and
poor construction.
Grammatical errors - pointing out any errors of grammar and sentence structure,
explaining why it is wrong and working with the student to encourage them to use
alternatives.
Working towards and editing to fit word count limits.
Checking and clarifying ideas and teaching proof reading skills. Just be careful not to
engage in extended proofreading. Any proofreading undertaken should be used to
assist the Study Skills Tutor to acquire an understanding of the student’s difficulties
and to develop a student’s ability to identify / avoid their own errors. Tutors should
discuss and offer exemplar corrections only.
5. Improving Time Management & Organisational Skills
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Identifying time restraints on assignments.
Working out timetables / study plans.
6. Developing Independence Through the use of ICT/Assistive Technology
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Promoting and encouraging independence through the use of assistive technology
available to support learning. Significant funds are spent on technology but some
students fail to make effective use of it. Regular encouragement to use assistive
technology software and outlining the benefits associated with it can be useful,
particularly when such resources are demonstrated with real work.
7. Improving Performance in Examinations
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Planning revision.
Revision techniques.
Time planning in examinations, use of additional time and need for planning.
Styles of questions.
Role of the Exam Scribe and explanation of system.
8. Developing Numeracy Skills
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Helping with very basic mathematics if necessary and encouraging the student to seek
assistance from their Maths and Statistics Tutor if they have one.
9. Developing Presentation Skills
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Preparing presentation materials.
Practicing presentation skills.
10. Stress management and Relaxation Techniques
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Identification of the most beneficial time and stress management techniques for your
student to use in periods of academic stress such as the approach of assignment
deadlines, class tests or examinations.
Interim Reports
To allow the service to monitor the uptake of support and the students’ progress, all Tutors
(Dyslexia, Study Skills, Mental Health, Maths & Statistics, Foreign Language, IT and
Asperger’s/Autism) should complete for each student allocated, an Interim Report proforma
(see www.qub.ac.uk/directorates/sgc/disability/SupportProviders/GuidanceNotesforSupportWorkers/). The
Interim Report(s) should be signed off/returned, at the end of each reporting period (see
proforma), to Queen’s Register of Support Providers, so there is a maximum of 4 reports per
student per year. This feedback is particularly important in cases where your allocated
student(s) has not been making contact as it will allow our Disability Officers to follow up with
individuals and to explore any support issues or problems.
Recommended Support
Please note that the support recommended for students follows from an extensive one-to-one
needs assessment interview with a Needs Assessor. During the needs assessment, the
various types of support available and their advantages and disadvantages will have been
discussed and the student will have agreed to their particular support package. Support
Providers, especially those in Tutor roles, should not therefore suggest to their students that
they are ‘entitled’ to particular software, alternative assessment, extensions on assignments
etc. It is unfair to raise a student’s hopes of accessing a particular type of support if the need
cannot be justified. However, if your student’s support needs change or they would like to
review their current support package at any stage, please encourage them to make an
appointment with their Disability Officer as soon as possible to discuss what options are
available to them. It is the student, not the Support Provider, who should approach the
Disability Officer about issues with their support or to request additional support
hours.
Student Responsibilities
Your student should share information about their specific difficulties to allow you to
consider the impact of them on their academic work. This will help you identify the most
appropriate study strategies for them. Your student must be committed to meeting with you at
the agreed times and to participating in the support sessions. He/she should appreciate (and
if not, be encouraged to understand) that Study Skills Tutors cannot offer supplementary
subject / course teaching or simply act as proof readers.
In the unlikely event that your student has had an alcoholic beverage before your session,
perhaps with their lunch, and they are having difficulties focusing/concentrating, it may, in
such circumstances, be better to re-schedule the session to another date.
Recommended Texts
The Study Skills Handbook
Stella Cottrell
Please note that we have a couple of copies of this book so just contact us on Tel: 90 972727
or at Email: supportprovider@qub.ac.uk if you would like to borrow one. This is also the core
text used by Queen’s Learning Development Unit. It has been distributed free-of-charge to
new students in the last couple of years so your student may have their own copy.
The Mind Map Book
Tony Buzan with Barry Buzan
500 Tips for Students
P Race
The Good Study Guide
Andrew Northedge, Open University Press
The Arts Good Study Guide
Ellie Chambers & Andrew Northedge
Developing Essential Study Skills
E Payne & L Whittaker
Successful Study for Degrees
R Barnes
The Student Skills Guide
S Drew and R Bingham
Excellent information is also available via the Queen’s Learning Development web site at
www.qub.ac.uk/directorates/sgc/learning/DownloadableResources/.