A Learning Companion: Your guide to learning independently Custom Book

A Learning Companion is a comprehensive guide to help students learn independently. The text is a collection of practical exercises that consider and discuss who a student is and the skills that they need at university.

The exercises are designed to help students develop their study, literacy and critical thinking skills and can be systematically integrated with the content and requirements of most disciplines and units of study.

The book is designed to be a student’s companion for learning and can be used alone or in combination with its companion volume, Marshall & Rowland, A Guide to Learning Independently 4e.
 

Acknowledgements
Introduction
1. Getting Started
 1. Keeping a learning log
 2. Transferring learning strengths into university study
 3. Planning your approach to study
2.    Learning about your learning
 4. Examining reasons for studying
 5. Organising and planning study
 6. Concentrating
 7. Remembering information
 8. Preparing for exams
 9. Evaluating your learning
3. Learning from lectures and discussion
 10. Learning from lectures
 11. Learning from Discussions
 12. Preparing and giving an oral presentation
4. Reading
 13. Understanding your reading habits and skills
 14. Keeping a reading log
 15. Previewing a book
 16. Previewing edited books
 17. Note making from reading
 18. Reading in depth
5. Numeracy
 19. Numeracy in everyday life and in study
 20. Reading quantitative information
6. Writing essays    
 21. Understanding the nature of university essays
 22. Understanding tutors’ expectations and your objectives
 23. Choosing and essay question
 24. Analysing an essay question
 25. Researching information
 26. Writing the first draft
 27. Editing the final draft
Appendix
References

• Chapter 1 is designed to help students use the book independently and to begin by applying the exercises within it to their unit of study. It introduces the ‘learning log’ and helps students to assess their current learning skills and strengths.
• All exercises follow a specific format:
  - an introduction
  - the objectives
  - the approximate time it should take to complete the exercise
  - a list of log entries to guide your writing
  - a list of materials required to complete the exercise
  - any required reading
  - a series of learning activities to complete.
• This formatting of the exercises allows students to learn independently of their teacher and therefore accommodates both on-campus and external students.
• It is not necessary to complete all the exercises within the book or in the order they are presented. Students are therefore able to choose the exercises most appropriate to their individual needs.