Enhancing Study Skills: Development of an Institute Wide Website

Purpose
To develop a centralised study skills resource, to be used to support students across disciplines through independent study as well as within personal academic tutoring sessions.

Rationale
A key aspect of effective learning is the development of core study skills (Gosling 2009). Given the current focus on promoting excellence in teaching in higher education (DBIS, 2015), it is essential that students are provided with high quality support to enable them to develop these skills. Support was previously embedded within individual programs, however there was no centralised facility for sharing resources and expertise across disciplines in IHS.

Methodology
Funding was gained from the IHS L&T fund to employ a recent graduate who consulted students and completed market research, to gain an understanding of student needs and the resources already available. Resources were developed and collated leading to the development of a new study skills website, which draws together existing resources and produced a series of talking head style videos involving staff and students across disciplines.

Results
The website has been positively evaluated by both staff and students via an online survey. Working across disciplines has enabled resources and expertise to be shared, providing valuable opportunities for networking, creativity and collaboration.

Implications
Students and staff in the IHS value having a centralized study skills website, however there is a need for a University wide resource, which addresses the needs of the wider student population and draws together the expertise of the staff as a whole.