Short Courses and Workshops

Maths Refresher Short Course

This 10-hour course is held over the weekend following O Week and is designed for students who have not completed senior maths or who are returning to maths as adults. You will be able to work through modules at your own pace with support and guidance from our facilitators.

This course is particularly helpful for students intending to study courses where mathematics and statistics are required.

Download the Maths Refresher Short Course workbooks in PDF (hard copies will be provided at the workshops):

• Maths Refresher Workbook 1 (PDF, 1053.06 KB)
• Maths Refresher Workbook 2 (PDF, 1301.59 KB)

Academic Writing Short Course

Academic writing is very different to the writing you might be familiar with outside of university. This informative and hands-on course is designed to address the skills needed to research and write various academic texts such as essays, reports and annotated bibliographies.

Bring along your subject outline and get a head start on your assignments with help from our facilitators.

Visit the JCU Writing LibGuide for additional support.

'Studying in Australia: Connect³' Short Course

This half day course is intended to assist students from diverse cultural and language backgrounds to understand the Australian academic context. You will be able to participate in activities that explore key ideas such as critical thinking, academic integrity, and learning and using English for academic purposes.

Unistart

Unistart is a a two-day program to help you with the transition to university life. It provides additional tips and tools that are not covered in O Week and you will meet other students enrolled in your course!

The aim of Unistart is to reduce anxiety levels and provide an insight into basic study skills, learning technologies, academic writing and time management, as well as introduce you to aspects of university practice and support services.

Unistart is facilitated by experienced, trained student mentors and includes input from Lecturers and Learning Advisers.

Unistart for Australian Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Students

Australian Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander students' Unistart is a one-day program facilitated by student mentors.

We focus on providing holistic support that specifically targets the academic and cultural needs of Australian Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Students, whilst also introducing you to the Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islanders community on campus. The facilitators will help you access information about the university, course subjects, support services and scholarships to help you succeed.

This program is an extension of the two-day Unistart program, and Australian Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander students are encouraged to attend all three days.

Basic Statistics Workshops

Come along to these workshops to revise some basic statistics concepts that will support future learning in statistics related subjects.

Workshops commence in Week 2 of each semester and run weekly for 10 weeks.

Workshop Notes

• 1 - Collecting data (PDF, 1420.35 KB)
• 2 - Representing data – graphing (PDF, 2846.73 KB)
• 3 - Describing data – measures of central tendency (PDF, 1871.44 KB)
• 4 - Describing data – measures of spread (PDF, 2171.65 KB)
• 5 - Normal distributions (PDF, 1321.75 KB)
• 6 - Sample vs. population distributions (PDF, 1334.39 KB)
• 7 - Probability and confidence intervals (PDF, 1052.1 KB)
• 8 - Hypothesis testing (PDF, 1358.88 KB)

Active Learning Workshops

Learn valuable organisation and study skills to maximise your learning, make the best use of your time and thus achieve better grades.

Workshops run in Weeks 2, 3, 9 and 10 each semester.

Workshop Notes

• Week 2 – Study smarter not harder (PDF, 2339.38 KB)
• Week 3 – Effective reading (PDF, 2864.42 KB), notetaking (PDF, 1138.11 KB) and study techniques
• Week 9 – Studying for exams (PDF, 655.11 KB)
• Week 10 – Exam tactics (PDF, 531.64 KB)

Academic Writing Workshops

Develop your understanding of writing for academic purposes by learning how to organise and express your ideas. Explore a variety of assessment types to help you succeed at university and beyond.

Workshops run in Weeks 4 and 5 each semester.

Writing in the Humanities (Repeated Sessions)

These sessions focus on the fundamentals of writing (paragraphing, using evidence, etc.) with reference to discipline specific typical text types / genres. You will have the opportunity to discuss your specific assessment task at either session.

Writing in the Sciences

These workshops have a general focus. No matter what type of writing you are doing, there are consistent language and contextual features, and you can use them to help you with your writing.