Short Courses and Workshops

Unistart

Unistart is 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.

Second Year Success Seminar

The transition into second year can often be a challenging one as academic expectations are higher than first year, and some students can experience a middle-year slump if they are unprepared.

To help kick-start your second year, we have designed a half-day skill development program to prepare you for the next stage in your academic journey. This event will focus on advanced writing and research skills, as well as providing helpful tips about how to become ‘career ready’ while you are in second year. You will also hear tips from students who have just completed second year, and from academic staff who teach second-year students.

A brunch will be provided and various support services will be on hand to answer any questions and provide advice.

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 experienced facilitators, who will be on hand to assist you to work through mathematical concepts.

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

Maths Refresher Rerun

A Maths Refresher short course rerun will be offered to students who miss the February course. This one-day course is an opportunity to clarify maths concepts that may be hindering your progress.

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

• Maths Refresher Workbook 1 (PDF, 944 KB)
• Maths Refresher Workbook 2 (PDF, 1227 KB)

English for Academic Purposes Short Course

This half-day course is intended to assist students from diverse cultural and language backgrounds to develop English for academic purposes and 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.

If you are interested in the content of this workshop but cannot attend, see our two-part video series on active learning at JCU. See the Active learning tab at Getting Started.

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.

If you missed the Academic Writing Short Course, you can download the workshop presentation slides (PDF, 2974 KB), or you may be interested in the Academic Writing in the Disciplines Workshops (see below).

Basic Statistics Short Course

Come along to this short course to revise basic statistics concepts that will support future learning throughout your degree. You will learn how to collect, organise, analyse and interpret information.

If you missed the Basic Statistics Short Course, you can download the workshop presentation slides (PDF, 2683 KB).

Active Learning Self-Study Workshops

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

Workshops

• Study smarter not harder (PDF, 2339 KB)
• Effective reading (PDF, 2864 KB) and note-taking (PDF, 728 KB)
• Studying for exams (PDF, 531 KB)
• Exam tactics (PDF, 416 KB)

Academic Writing in the Disciplines 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 Week 4 each semester.

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.

Writing in the Humanities

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.