Embedding academic skills
Academic skills are those skills that allow students to be successful in their studies. Many of these skills sit on a continuum with graduate skills, which will allow our students to be successful employees and citizens.
Academic skills (PDF*) can be grouped in a variety of ways and include:
- communication skills
- working with others
- assessment skills
- academic numeracy
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- critical analysis/problem solving
- reflective/self monitoring skills
- managing university
- study management
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Information literacy is another important skill for success. The differences between academic skills and information literacy are discussed on video** by Lindy Kimmins (LTSU) and Kaye Cumming (USQ Library).
Academic skill development in your teaching
Student academic skills can be developed in a variety of ways. The most effective way is through explicit development in your teaching linked with assessment. Their development does not have to mean extra work for you, rather to designed to build student success and enhance the development of some graduate qualities.
A series of templates for communication skill development (essay structure; grammar and style; oral presentations; paragraphs; question analysis; reading at university; referencing; report writing) have been developed in ICE. These are flexible and can be easily adapted to your course.
Information flyers
USQ exemplars of good practice
Communication skills |
Various academic skills |
Critical thinking and reflection |
Information literacy |
Audio-visual resources
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Dr John Willison: Research Skills Development (RSD) framework and examples for academic skills development, seminar, interview and online resources.
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Lindy Kimmins (LTSU) and Kaye Cumming (USQ Library) discuss the differences between academic skills and information literacy
on video**.
Resources for students
The Learning Centre provides a suite of online and face-to-face resources, which can refer students to or incorporate in your teaching. Specially useful are:
Contact
If you have any queries, contact a LTSU representative.
*This file is in Portable Document Format (PDF) which requires the use of Adobe Acrobat Reader. A free copy of Acrobat Reader may be obtained from Adobe.
**These video files will stream using the Windows Media player, and will play over a broadband (or better) connection. Some users have reported that their institutional ICT policies do not allow streaming-video content. Please check with your local systems administrator if you are unable to connect to this streamed-video presentation.