Academic skills support for staff

The work we do in teaching key academic and information literacy skills, and supporting our learners with these essential skills, is reflected in the University’s Four Pillars of excellence in education and student experience by:

• Helping students develop key skills necessary to succeed in the world of work and as active citizens
• Providing individualised and student-centred learning and support to meet the needs of our diverse learners
• Continuing to develop our provision to ensure that our students are gaining skills relevant to society and the world of work
• Engaging “students in skills development that will support their ability to achieve their own goals”

Helping students to develop “wide-ranging higher-level skills … so that they can effectively develop and market themselves to future employers.” ¹

The Teaching and Learning Support team are student-centred professionals who work alongside students to make sense of and get the most out of their time spent at university. Through partnership, and collaboration we are committed to making sure all students meet their full potential and enjoy their learning at Queen Mary. Our teaching sits within the areas of learning development and the support of key study and transferable skills, which underpin the interrelated components of the University’s Approach to Education.¹

Our team of information specialists can help develop skills in discovering, accessing, and using information well: for learning, teaching, research, and for life. We provide teaching and guidance on these skills that is professional and trusted by students, researchers, and staff. We aim to foster confidence in these key skills which helps the Queen Mary community to thrive in their studies, research, and work whilst at the University and in their lives beyond.

Academic Skills Advisers can provide students with general support in developing their scholarly practice. They are also able to assist colleagues with embedding academic skills within their courses in a variety of different ways. Alongside our generic offering to students, we can help colleagues with resource development, co-teach on your module, or provide resources to help improve your students’ academic literacy.

Academic skills and information literacy teaching for taught students is most effective when fully embedded in academic programmes, and we can work with academic staff to provide bespoke teaching at key points within the curricula.

Whilst our fully interactive hands-on group sessions are best delivered face to face, we can also deliver teaching fully online, in a blended format, or via mixed mode education.

We provide academic skills and information literacy teaching in a range of formats in line with the interrelated components of the University’s Approach to Education ¹:

• Induction sessions to introduce students to the resources available and how to use them effectively 
• Standalone independent learning activities delivered via QMplus, such as our Find It! Use It! Reference It! Module, which is a great introduction to some of these skills for new students. A certificate of completion is available for students who complete the full module.
• Independent learning activities delivered as part of a blended approach to underpin facilitated sessions
• Large and small group interactive sessions encouraging ‘learning by doing’
• Drop-in sessions and one to one appointments to provide additional support and enable individualised learning at the point of need.