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Off to a Flying Start!

Supporting student

transition

Helen Howard

Learning Services Team Leader

o What is Flying Start?

o What have we found out

about student transition?

o What are the key

findings for all of us

supporting transition?

o What we are doing next

and why.

Flying Start

Aims to raise undergraduate student awareness of the importance of

building a foundation of academic skills to enhance their studies and

improve their grades and employability

An online interactive resource for students making the transition to

University, available prior to their arrival

Includes general content on independent learning, as well as School-

specific information: a set of webpages for each school.

General content

School-specific

information

http://flyingstart.leeds.ac.uk/history/contact-time/

http://flyingstart.leeds.ac.uk/history/contact-time/

• Pilot year: 11 schools

• 2,417 visits (no pageview data)2011

• Rolled-out: 34 schools

• 49,624 unique pageviews2012

• Repeated: 34 schools


• Repeated: 34 schools


Our findings about student transition to University

• Pre-development research

oSurvey and focus groups with year 12/13 students

oSurvey of first year undergraduate students

• Feedback from users

What is your biggest concern about going to university?

Finance: “not having enough money” 44%

Meeting new people

/ fitting in:

“not getting along with people I’m living with” 15%

Not doing well: “failing”, “it being too hard” 15%

Lack of ability / not

coping:

“struggling academically” 34%

Meeting new people

/ fitting in:

“being able to find myself comfortable there” 27%

Financial worries: “my finances and expenses” 7%

Year 12 /13 students

UG students with no FS

What is the biggest difference between study at school & university?

Independent learning: “I will be expected to organise myself” 53%

Greater volume of

work:

“the amount of work required outside lessons

/ lectures”

15%

Style of teaching: “the amount of contact time & how it is used” 15%

Independent learning: “the expectation to know where and how to

find relevant info and resources”

34%

Self-motivation & time

management:

“lots of free time for me to manage” 14%

Writing, reading &

critical thinking skills:

“the need for strong essay responses,

nuanced arguments, originality, referencing”

10%



What 3 things would be useful to know before you arrive?

Course format: Structure, timetables, assessment 43%

Finance: Budgeting, fees, debt 41%

How to succeed: Support on offer, how to develop skills, avoiding

plagiarism

30%

The need to be an

independent learner:

“how much work you have to do by yourself” 14%

How to make the most of

resources (VLE, Library):

“the basic skills to study such as how to use

the Library”

13%

How to make the most of

time here (study / social):

“you need to actively learn from lectures and

for this you need certain skills”

11%



What do you wish you had known?

Meeting people, conversation skills

Time management, online resources, reading lists

Feedback, assessment, groupwork, exams

Research skills, using the Library

What is referencing, and avoiding plagiarism

Types of contact, lectures, note-taking

Being an effective learner, reflection

Our findings about student transition to University

• Pre-development research

• Feedback from users

o4 surveys (immediately after use)

o1 post-use survey (Easter)

o1 non-user focus group

What did you find most useful?

Independent learning &

study skills, esp.

referencing & plagiarism

Making the grade:

feedback &

assessment

Student videos:

hearing directly about

their experiences

Contact time & making

most of lectures


“being an independent learner at

Leeds because the change from

school / college to university is

so humongous”

Making the grade:

feedback &

assessment

Student videos:

hearing directly about

their experiences


most of lectures





so humongous”

Making the grade:

feedback &

assessment

“the videos give you

an opinion from a

‘real’ student”


most of lectures





so humongous”

Making the grade:

feedback &

assessment


an opinion from a


“it helped having a breakdown

of what each kind of contact

time meant and what you

should expect of it”





so humongous”

“explanation of the types of

assessment and marking and

things, and how to learn

effectively :)”


an opinion from a


“it helped having a breakdown

of what each kind of contact

time meant and what you

should expect of it”

What did you think was missing?

Practical info: what to bring, issues

around accommodation,

money & budgeting

Local info: life in Leeds- the city,

University, buildings,

setting

Experiences & examples: students sharing their typical

week; a sample of work

More promotion and

reminders to use it

Lectures & note-taking:

more on the style and

structure of lectures and

how to take notes

Would you recommend we produce a similar

resource for next year’s students?

96.8%2011

98.5%2012

98.3%2013

99.2%2014

“I felt I was at an advantage over those who had not accessed it. I had a headstart in understanding referencing, plagiarism, using the Library etc.” (Healthcare student, 2013 survey)

“It made me feel a lot more confident about the transition to University and how to apply myself for studying, time management. etc.” (Law student, 2014 survey)

“It contained a lot of useful and important information and allowed me to feel more comfortable (and less nervous) about going to university.” (Medicine student, 2014 survey)

“I think you need something like this to encourage people to get into their studies and to reassure anyone with social or academic concerns.” (English student, 2014 survey)

“It's a brilliant way to update yourself with the new life at uni, introducing you to the new way of learning as well as good tips to help you get a head start.” (French student, 2014 survey)

Key findings and 5 suggestions for all

of us supporting transition

Students get an overwhelming amount of information during

transition and induction- they will miss things

Getting information beforehand is reassuring and prepares

them

Too much information is off-putting

Drip-feeding is good if you can

Promote resources through all channels, incl. social media

Content which is new to students is the most useful

Content related to the step up to studying at the HE level

was the most popular

Explain unfamiliar terms / phrases or those used

differently in the HE context

Students sharing their own experiences gets the

message across

Resources which are too basic or patronising are off-

putting

Content in transition resources can be useful through the year

Keep content available for students after they arrive at

University

Attitudes and priorities change as they settle in and

understand the context better

Students report that they will return to a resource later

Transition resources should be engaging

Visual images help students know what to expect

Videos are generally popular

Hearing from other students is very popular

Content shouldn’t feel heavy but fun!

Settling in generally (not just in terms of study) is important

Use examples / images of social aspects and local

settings

These can support learning or study-related content

Collaborate with other University sections engaging with

students during transition – check who’s doing what

New! Flying Start 2015

Resource will be totally updated, due to:

– Institutional changes

–Scalability issues

–Need to improve content and ‘look’, based on feedback received

over last 4 years

–Wish to link closer with our face-to-face offer

–Need to provide all-year round access, including pre-transition

and open days

Flying Start 2015 will highlight:

• differences between study at HE level and school / college

• key academic skills which support independent learning at Leeds

The first year

• What to expect

• Major HE differences

• Types of learning experience

Independent Learning

• Top study tips

• Managing your workload

• Planning your semester

Academic skills

• Referencing & research skills

• Types of assessment

Taking it further

• Your School

• Skills@Librarysupport

• Signposting to other help

Questions or Comments?

Skills@Library

http://library.leeds.ac.uk/skills

Click new students tab for list

of all Flying Start sites

http://library.leeds.ac.uk/skills

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