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.

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.

Online Academic Writing Short Course

If you are unable to attend the Academic Writing Workshop on campus on Saturday 4th August, The Learning Centre are also running a series of live online sessions in Week 1.

Upon registration you will receive a link to participate in the online session. You will also receive a reminder email closer to the actual time of the online session.

Blackboard Collaborate will be used to facilitate the live online sessions.

To use Blackboard Collaborate you will need the following:

• Internet access (broadband recommended) and a current web browser (Chrome recommended)
• Headphones/speakers and microphone
• Webcam or inbuilt camera (if using video)
• Review the advice on getting started

Visit a student practice room before the live session.

Workshop overview

Part 1: Unpacking the essay question and critical note-taking

Learn effective strategies for understanding your essay question and taking effective notes. Have a copy of your subject outline and one of your subject readings on hand for this active learning session.

Part 2: Planning your assignment

Learn how to structure and organize your first academic assignment and explore live student assignment samples.

Part 3: Summarising and Paraphrasing

One of the most important learning and assessment tools at university is the writing of essays. These essays differ from the essays you wrote at school. Firstly, they are written in an academic style, and secondly, the content is often a synthesis of ideas you have collected from a wide variety of readings. Learn how to summarise and paraphrase research and readings.

Visit the JCU Writing LibGuide for additional academic writing 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 Workshops

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

Self-Study Workshops

• Study smarter not harder (PDF, 2339 KB)
• Effective reading (PDF, 2864 KB) and note-taking (PDF, 394 KB)
• Studying for exams (PDF, 531 KB)
• Exam tactics (PDF, 416 KB)

Getting the most from your readings

One of the most important activities you will have to do as a university student is read. You read to inform yourself about your discipline, the subjects you are studying and to inform your writing.

To become a better reader means you have to be able to gather information efficiently from what you are reading and also be able to interact creatively and critically with the information you have read.

Therefore, this workshop will focus on:

1. using the structure of the whole text to help you read more efficiently;

2. the strategies to use while reading to aid your understanding of the text

If you have a journal article to read in preparation for one of your lectures, please bring it to the workshop.

If you missed the getting the most from your readings workshop, you can download the workshop presentation slides. (PPTX, 1155 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. These sessions focus on the fundamentals of writing (paragraphing, using evidence, etc.) with reference to discipline specific typical text types / genres.

Self-Study Workshops

Writing in the Sciences (PDF, 2210KB)

Writing in the Humanities (PDF, 1010KB)