PGT STUDY SKILLS 19/20

TEACHING TYPES

• Lecture

• This is a lecture, ~50 minutes

• Computing Labs

• With computers, to support lectures / coursework

• Seminars - Small interactive lectures

• Tutorials - NOT with your personal tutor

• More practical time and more applied than lectures

ASSESSMENT

• Many of our courses have mixed assessment

• Written exams, computer based exams, coursework

• Remember: the pass mark is 50% for MSc

• Degree classification: course specs

• PENALTY for late submission: 5% per working day (may vary in

specific courses)

WORKLOAD

• You have all chosen 60 credits of study per semester across three semesters

• Each 10 credits is worth 100 hours (600 hrs per semester)

Activity Description Per Week Semester total

Lectures 2 22

Labs 1 11

Self Study 1 Reviewing 1 11

Self Study II Lab prep 1 10

Coursework 6 Weekly exercises (25%) 1 6

Coursework II Analysis investigation (75%) - 40

Totals 100

Credit to Max Wilson, 1st year tutorial

REALITY CHECK

Credit to Max Wilson, 1st year tutorial

EFFECTIVE LEARNING

• Listening, taking notes and reviewing

• Your own personal way of organising and taking in

information effectively and efficiently

• Effective notetaking [2, 3, 4]

• Make use of resources effectively [4]: online, Moodle

• Time management [1]

PLAGIARISM

• Know what it is - its heavily punished

• “representing another person’s work or ideas as

one’s own” [5]

• Especially because students often work together

• It's also the cultural norm for some countries

• We have specific definitions of it

• We always find this out - there are clues

• If you are struggling, we can help. Please don't do this.

Credit to Max Wilson, 1st year tutorial

PLAGIARISM

• What’s plagiarism?

• Submitting someone else’s work as yours

• Copying words/ideas without giving credit

• Lying about the source of a quotation

• Slightly editing someone else’s text

• Submitting work that is mostly not your own words/ideas

• Producing one piece of code between two people

• Paying (or not) for others to do your coursework

• Working together in groups to produce a single program / essay, and then each

member submitting a copy of this as their own work

Credit to Max Wilson, 1st year tutorial

PLAGIARISM

• Is this plagiarism?

• submit your friends’ work as a coursework,

he/she is fine with it

• take some paragraphs from a source, and

change some words in every sentence by your own words

• quote the exact sentences in someone’s work, declare the author

• copy and paste some definitions from Wiki, everyone knows it!

• submit the same work to two classes, it’s my own work, right?

AVOIDING PLAGIARISM• Plagiarism: How to avoid it? [6]

• Discuss ‘the approach’ to your coursework but produce individual work afterwards

• Add a citation to any source, citing text from the document or the source

• BUT - you don't get marks for other peoples work, it’s not your work

• You must stop other people from copying your work

• not leaving printouts lying around the printers, or leave your machine unlocked

while pop out

• showing other people your work is risky!

• do not email people your code

• If someone copies you, you may get the same penalty

Credit to Max Wilson, 1st year tutorial

WHAT TO EXPECT FROM A MSC IN

CS

• Between 15-20 hours of timetabled ‘contact time’

• Depends on your course selection

• Learn and build on your research skills to do independent ‘self

directed’ learning

• No more just learning the slides and handouts!

• Study subjects to an advanced level

• To be responsible for your own time management and motivation

• To complete an MSc dissertation which is an original piece of

research and much more intensive than an undergraduate dissertation

UNDERSTANDING THE GRADING

SYSTEM• The pass mark for courses is 50%

• The level of merit is given at 60%

• The level of distinction is given at 70%

• This means that the pass mark is higher than in undergraduate

degrees

• It also means that if you get a mark above 70 you are doing

exceptionally well in your degree

• This UK system of marking is very different to those in other countries!

• All information on the grading system is available in your Programme

Specification

SUMMARY

• Come to lectures and learn actively (not just checking your Facebook)

• Review your notes and spend time preparing, manage your time efficiently

• Look at the 100 hrs breakdown to guide how much time you spend on

things

• Develop a method for finding info above and beyond

• Avoid plagiarism at all costs - talk to us if you need help

Q&A’S

• Summer individual projects: Details in Feb, by Prof Andy Crabtree (good examples online)

• Timetables: Available after your courses are formally enrolled

• Communications: Emails

• Others questions?• Programme Specification / Course Catalogue

• Personal tutors

• Moodle

REFERENCES

1. Time Management is Life Management http://www.openeyre.co.uk/coaching/blog/blog-time-

management.aspx

2. Is the Cornell Note Taking Template Really the Best? http://www.learnu.org/is-the-cornell-

note-taking-template-really-the-best/

3. Lesson Planning Essentials, http://theenthusiasticteacher.blogspot.co.uk/p/reference-list.html

4. How to take notes in class: the 5 best methods, College Info Geek,

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AffuwyJZTQQ

5. Quality Manual: Academic Misconduct,

http://www.nottingham.ac.uk/academicservices/qualitymanual/assessmentandawards/acade

mic-misconduct.aspx

6. Plagiarism: how to avoid it? https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2q0NlWcTq1Y&app=desktop