Teaching and learning

Teaching & Learning at university can be quite different from learning at school, especially if you are an international student like me. Because whilst studying at university, you're in charge! Unlike school, you build your own resources and manage your study.

However, you will not be alone. Throughout your time here at Sheffield Hallam University, you'll collaborate and exchange ideas with other students on your course, and your professors, tutors and advisors will assist you. Sheffield Hallam encourages you to take part in a variety of activities that allow you to learn about your topic in new and interesting ways. You are involved in conversations regarding how you will be taught, what you will study, how the course will be designed, and the learning places you will study in.

It is critical to take advantage of every chance and to strive to improve as much as possible. Hallam is an incredible place for this. It provides you with numerous chances and assistance, and it is up to you to determine whether you require it.

Below are some of the services offered by the University that I personally found useful.

• The Skills Centre
  The Skills Centre is the academic skills development centre which offers a range of individual and group study support sessions. It includes academic skills development sessions, a language advisory service, help with maths and stats, web-based tutorials and specialist study skills for students with specific learning differences, such as dyslexia. Using the skills centre wisely proves to be really helpful in understanding your approach towards various module tasks like literature reviews, referencing, report writing, as well as your dissertation. You can visit blogs.shu.ac.uk/skillscentre to understand how the skills centre can help you.
• Academic Advisor
  Each student at Sheffield Hallam is provided with three personal advisors that help you with your studies, employability, and wellbeing respectively. An academic advisor is allocated to you, with whom you can book a 1-1 or a virtual appointment to discuss about various issues related to your studies like working on an assignment, trying to develop critical writing skills, structuring your reference lists, finding information on a new topic, etc.
• Studiosity
  Done with an assignment but not confident about your work? You can use the Studiosity feedback receiving service to receive written feedback on your writing. It is a live chat service that is open 24 hours a day, 7 days a week, and 365 days a year. You can use the Studiosity service for free up to eight times each academic year - for either written critique or online conversation.
• The University English Scheme
  The University English Scheme provides free English language lessons to assist you in improving your academic English. It is ideal for international students. The lessons focus on academic language skills such as reading, writing, listening, and speaking.
• Career Services
  As mentioned above, the university provides every student with a personal career and employability advisor. You may meet with a career advisor, participate in their programmes, visit job fairs, and do a variety of other things. The Careers Centre is a fantastic resource hub with a wealth of tools, templates, video lessons, and other things to help you prepare for a job search and get a job. I learned how to create a good CV and cover letter, as well as how to prepare for an interview, thanks to my career advisor. Even after graduating from the university, you can still always use the employability service, which is definitely a bonus.
• BlackBoard
  Blackboard is a very important tool for your studies, especially in times of COVID-19. It is Hallam’s online teaching platform, accessible via MyHallam. It is where your professors exchange course materials and assessment information, as well as where you may monitor your marks and feedback. It may also be used for online conversations, providing course-related alerts, and online group work. It will be a very useful tool during your studies.
• Turnitin
  Turnitin compares your submitted work to other academic papers in a database. When you upload your work to the Blackboard site's Turnitin area, you will obtain an originality report. This provides you with an in-depth look at any identical text as well as other aspects such as inadequate citation. The originality report is available on the Blackboard site to both you and any tutors and your tutors can give you feedback on how you can improve the citations and avoid plagiarism.

Florentina Mirela Tanase – BA International Tourism Management