Within the Gillette company, out of every forty-five carefully developed new-product ideas, three make it into the development stage but “only one eventually reaches the marketplace” (Armstrong and Kotler, 1999, 263). Planning your studies You may find it helpful to complete the following type of chart and to identify Module leaders and tutors are not expected to answer questions about personal timetables and schedules. This information is provided by the appropriate HUBS administrative office.

New chapters on managing stress and student wellbeing at university, learning in diverse and international contexts and writing essays rush off trying to locate vast amounts of information without having a clear understanding of what is being asked of you. give your work academic credibility • demonstrate how your work links into your subject area • prevent accusations of stealing other people’s ideas or words (plagiarism) Independent learners are able to monitor and reflect critically on how and what they learn. Through this they develop an awareness that helps them to learn with increasing effectiveness. They also demonstrate a more questioning attitude to what they are learning. The last point is an important one. In the UK education system students are expected to discuss and debate ideas with their tutors; you are not expected to accept passively the ideas and concepts presented by your tutor. Learning is an active process and you are expected to engage in it during seminars, tutorials and private study sessions. Chapter 10: Working in Groups Introduction .................................................................................................... 74 What is an effective student group? ............................................................... 74 First meet-up .................................................................................................. 76 The organisation of meetings ......................................................................... 76 Managing group work ..................................................................................... 78 Common problems in group work.................................................................. 79 Closing comments ........................................................................................... 80Occasionally conflict does arise between group members. It is worth remembering that conflict may lead to extremely creative and high quality work. However, it sometimes results in uncomfortable and awkward situations. Strategies for dealing with conflict include: having a cooling off period; discussing the situation and ways of resolving it; building on common ground and agreement; asking another person to mediate. David McConnell suggests that “students in cooperative environments perform at a higher level than those working in competitive or individualistic environments.” (2002, 19).

The group work was hard. All the other group members lived in hall and they began to meet up in hall and make decisions without me. I felt left out. In the end I spoke to the tutor and she raised it as an issue in the tutorial. The other students were upset as they hadn’t realised I felt left out and they would have preferred me to talk to them direct. After that we met on campus during the day and the group worked well together. Internet for Travel and Tourism – a tutorial on Internet information skills www.vts.rdn.ac.uk/tutorial/travel identifying what they want to learn, for example, reading the learning outcomes in the module handbook

A report is a formal and structured document normally used to present factual findings following some specific research. It differs from an essay in that it has a formal structure with headings and subheadings. Essays also usually include your opinions while essays do not. Reports tend to have a standard format. However different companies or academic departments might use different formats so you should ensure you are aware of the necessary format before embarking on the compilation of a report. Below we have provided you with two standard formats. Used during lectures or reading. Used when copying specific information, for example, advice on an assignment, details about room changes. outlined in your Module Handbook. You may be asked to prepare for the seminar by reading a particular article or book, working on a case study, or by making a short presentation to the group. David McConnell (2002) provides an overview of collaborative and co-operative learning and he identifies the following benefits:

Work in the right environment. You should be somewhere quiet where you feel comfortable. Choose a place where you will not be interrupted. Make sure that you are able to make good notes during the reading process. Words used by tutors in assignments, examinations and presentations Account for give reasons for, explain the causes of Analyse break up into parts, examine in detail the elements or Well organised – arrange to meet at the same time/place on a regular basis, everyone attends, keep a record of their activities and agreed actions, monitor their progress against the deadline. When it is time for questions handle them with confidence. If you do not know the answer to any question then be honest and say that you will find out. When you want to close the question session then signal this to your audience by saying ‘We have time for one more question.’

This involves making your own record of key information and ideas. You will use your own words. You may add your own ideas or questions, or make links to the work of others.

Critical reading involves evaluating the information source and criticising it. You may want to compare it with the work of other authors, assess the methodology, or criticise it in the light of your own experiences. Did you actually answer the question? • To what extent did you critically respond to the question and not just Decide when and where you will next meet. Most student groups find it best to have a regular meeting slot.Identify each individual task. • Manage the tasks – establish your priorities, identify when you will work on it There are standard methods of organising meetings in the workplace and this helps to make sure that the meeting is productive and there is no time wasting. How do I reference information from the Internet? The Internet is a source of two different kinds of information: firstly, it is used to distribute information that has previously been published in another source; and secondly, it is used to disseminate information that is only available on the Internet. It is very important that you take the trouble to find the proper reference for materials that have been obtained through the Internet. The first case, i.e. material that has been published elsewhere, is shown in the following two examples: Researching the presentation This involves identifying the main elements of the presentation title and identifying key topics or themes.