Couldn't agree more Sandra. I was running a writing session for research students earlier this week and one of the activities is to get them thinking about differences between the writing they are going to do and have done. A point which raised the most affirmation and discussion within the group was when one of them said: We have to think for ourselves and that has been trained out of us through school and even as undergraduates so it is really quite hard to do.

It makes you weep!


-----Original Message-----
From: learning development in higher education network [mailto:[log in to unmask]] On Behalf Of Sandra Sinfield
Sent: 18 February 2013 17:07
To: [log in to unmask]
Subject: Re: Referencing 'tests' for new students

When part of LearnHigher we built these for students and staff - incorporating the Leicester 'Don't Cheat Yourself' resources and some referencing RLOs:
http://learning.londonmet.ac.uk/TLTC/learnhigher/Plagiarism/
http://learning.londonmet.ac.uk/TLTC/connorj/plagiarism/Staff/
All accessible from our writing space:
http://learning.londonmet.ac.uk/TLTC/connorj/WritingGroups/
The student version does have an exit test designed by Colin Neville, Bradford, who also produced the Referencing Resources and some excellent research upon referencing.

When I was a student back in the seventies - first we were encouraged to think and discuss and argue - and we were not even taught how to reference till our second year.

I assume this was so that we realised that academic writing was about having something to say - and justifying it - with referencing conventions seen as a 'threshold concept' - something that is problematic for students - but a barrier they can cross if it is approached in a positive way.

I wish that we still had the emphasis that way round - developing student voice - and their sense that they *can* write... and allowing clunky referencing as part of a development process...

Best,
Sandra


On 15 February 2013 15:26, Wilson, George <[log in to unmask]> wrote:
> Personally, I think this is just a wee touch too heavy.
>
> "Studying for a degree implies ................. understanding and being able to
> use the conventions of academic research and communications:
> essentially, professional training". Does it? Maybe it does, for you,
> but is that what it means for the students?
>
> It's an interesting idea, maybe others would like to pop in a
> one-liner about what studying for a degree implies?
>
> GW
>
>
>
>
>
> From: learning development in higher education network
> [mailto:[log in to unmask]] On Behalf Of Kim Shahabudin
> Sent: 15 February 2013 14:23
> To: [log in to unmask]
> Subject: Re: Referencing 'tests' for new students
>
>
>
> Dear Andrew,
>
> Thanks for this interesting reply. I may, perhaps, not have made it
> clear that my main concern is not whether students can set out
> citations correctly. There's plenty of good clear guidance available
> on how to do that and, as you imply, most students use automated
> reference generation either via MS Word or other software now anyway.
> (I can't share your enthusiasm for Endnote - the free web version is
> quite limited, especially in the styles of referencing that it offers,
> and I'm not about to recommend that undergrads buy the full version.)
>
> What I'm more concerned about is the failure to understand when, why
> and how references are used to build authority, rigour and integrity
> into academic writing. This in turn overlooks the debt of current
> researchers to previous research, and leads to a failure to grasp the
> key notion that all university learning and research (whether by
> students or staff) is a creative process of co-building new knowledge.
>
> As a learning developer, and as an academic, I believe that learning
> how, why and when to use citations correctly is an integral part of
> university study. much more than just learning about your subject. It
> is about understanding and being able to use the conventions of
> academic research and
> communications: essentially, professional training.
>
> Best wishes,
>
> Kim
>
>
>
> ________________________________
>
> Dr Kim Shahabudin, FHEA, Study Adviser, Study Advice & Maths Support
>
> 1st floor The Library, Whiteknights, University of Reading, RG6 6AE
>
> ( 0118 378 4645 : www.reading.ac.uk/studyadvice twitter: @unirdg_study
>
> Please note that I now work part-time and am not usually on campus on
> Mondays and Tuesdays
>
> ________________________________
>
> From: learning development in higher education network
> [[log in to unmask]] on behalf of Andrew Dykes
> [[log in to unmask]]
> Sent: 15 February 2013 12:39
> To:
> Subject: Re: Referencing 'tests' for new students
>
> Hi Kim
>
>
>
> Just teach them all how to use the EndNote software app - we did this
> at Southampton and not only did it help with all the student
> difficulties that you mention, it appealed to everyone rather than
> just the tech-savvy especially when they could see how easy it is to integrate with MS Word.
>
> Why bother to teach a load of stuff about an academic process that is
> obviously still very important but which can be almost completely automated?
> These students are busy enough trying to learn about their subjects
> after all.
>
> Anyway, EndNote still requires basic knowledge of the referencing
> process(es) as when entering info into the database manually,
> referencing protocols still need to be observed of course.
>
> When I was teaching it at Southampton, in showing students the
> software I used the opportunity to teach them search strategies for
> getting the best out of e-Journals databases for example, which at the
> same time helped to ween them off finding everything from Google or worse!
>
>
>
> That any help?
>
>
>
> Andrew
>
> Andrew Dykes
>
> Personal: +44 (0)7764 19 63 01
>
> Business: +44 (0)7719 64 25 19
>
> [log in to unmask]
>
> Southampton UK
>
>
> On Feb 15, 2013, at 12:02 PM, Kim Shahabudin
> <[log in to unmask]>
> wrote:
>
> Dear all,
>
> I'm currently working on a project on teaching referencing and
> avoiding plagiarism. One of the big problems we keep seeing is a
> failure of students to engage with referencing guidance early on in
> their academic career, then developing bad habits which are difficult
> to break later on. A recommendation we are considering is to provide
> the incentive to engage early by having a compulsory 'test' or quiz,
> with guidance as to where the answers might be found.
>
> I've been told by various people that other institutions already do
> this - Bath and Nottingham were two institutions mentioned, and I know
> Huddersfield are also putting something similar in place. If your
> institution uses a strategy of this sort, I'd be really grateful for
> any information on what you do, how it works, and whether you think it's effective.
>
> I'm sure other people on the list would also be interested, but do
> contact me directly off-list if you're prefer.
>
> Happy Friday!
>
> Kim
>
>
>
> ________________________________
>
> Dr Kim Shahabudin, FHEA, Study Adviser, Study Advice & Maths Support
>
> 1st floor The Library, Whiteknights, University of Reading, RG6 6AE
>
> ( 0118 378 4645 : www.reading.ac.uk/studyadvice twitter: @unirdg_study
>
> Please note that I now work part-time and am not usually on campus on
> Mondays and Tuesdays
>
>
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--
Sandra Sinfield
University Teaching Fellow
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