Academic Support for International Students in the Department of Psychology at the University of York Presented by: Kim Manderson, International Student Support Tutor Sheffield Hallam University, 9 th June 2006

Some role responsibilities:  Arranging and delivering an induction for new international undergraduate and postgraduate students  Quickly identifying students with language problems; arranging and helping to provide appropriate support for them  Providing additional support as necessary for international students in all years

1Electronics 2Management 3Economics 4Computer Science 5Environment 6 Social Policy and Social Work 7Psychology 8Mathematics 9Biology 10Politics 2003/04 International student proportion of total undergraduate students ranked by department at the University of York: 2003/04 1Electronics 2Management 3Economics 4Computer Science 5Environment 6 Social Policy and Social Work 7Psychology (8.61%) 8Mathematics 9Biology 10Politics

1Electronics 2Management 3Economics 4Environment 5Psychology (11.11%) 6Computer Science 7Mathematics 8 Social Policy and Social Work 9Educational Studies 10Biology 1Electronics 2Management 3Economics 4Computer Science 5Environment 6 Social Policy and Social Work 7Psychology 8Mathematics 9Biology 10Politics 2003/ /05 International student proportion of total undergraduate students ranked by department at the University of York: 2004/05 1Electronics 2Management 3Economics 4Computer Science 5Environment 6 Social Policy and Social Work 7Psychology 8Mathematics 9Biology 10Politics

1Electronics 2Management 3Economics 4Computer Science 5Environment 6 Social Policy and Social Work 7Psychology 8Mathematics 9Biology 10Politics 1Electronics 2Management 3Economics 4Psychology (17.95%) 5Mathematics 6Environment 7Computer Science 8Educational Studies 9 Social Policy and Social Work 10Biology 10 Educational Studies9 Social Policy and Social Work 8 Mathematics7 Computer Science6 Psychology5 Environment4 Economics3 Management2 Electronics1 2004/05 International student proportion of total undergraduate students ranked by department at the University of York: 2005/ /06 Politics10 Biology9 Mathematics8 Psychology7 Social Policy and Social Work 6 Environment5 Computer Science4 Economics3 Management2 Electronics1 2003/04

Graph indicating the current number of international undergraduate students on the undergraduate degree programme in Psychology

3 rd Year Student Mentor Program 2 nd Year Student 1 st Year Students

3 rd Year Student Mentor Program 2 nd Year Student 1 st Year Students

3 rd Year Student Mentor Program 2 nd Year Student 1 st Year Students

3 rd Year Student Mentor Program 2 nd Year Student 1 st Year Students

Psychology undergraduate schedule: AutumnSpringSummer Year 1Term 1Term 2Term 3 Introduction to Psychology as a Biological Science Developmental Psychology Personality & Psychometrics Scientific Skills for Psychologists Data Analysis IData Analysis II Year 2Term 4Term 5Term 6 Social PsychologyCognitionComparative Cognition PerceptionCognitive NeurosciencePsychopathology Year 3Term 7Term 8Term 9 Literature SurveyResearch Project Advanced Module 1Advanced Module 3 Advanced Module 2Advanced Module 4

Psychology undergraduate schedule: Advanced Module 4Advanced Module 2 Advanced Module 3Advanced Module 1 Research Project Literature Survey Term 9Term 8Term 7Year 3 PsychopathologyCognitive NeurosciencePerception Comparative CognitionCognitionSocial Psychology Term 6Term 5Term 4Year 2 Data Analysis IIData Analysis IScientific Skills for Psychologists Personality & Psychometrics Developmental Psychology Introduction to Psychology as a Biological Science Term 3Term 2Term 1Year 1 SummerSpringAutumn

Scientific Skills for Psychologists: Objectives Students will be able to:  demonstrate an understanding of the basic sources of evidence, methods and ethical issues in studying Psychology  demonstrate skills in finding, reading, summarising and critiquing scientific papers

Scientific Skills for Psychologists: Objectives (cont.)  demonstrate skills in planning, writing and presenting essays and reports in Psychology  demonstrate an understanding of basic concepts in experimental design and the presentation and analysis of simple data  demonstrate practical skills in the use of technology required to meet the objectives listed above, including basic use of communication and productivity tools and search facilities

Scientific Skills for Psychologists: In addition to lectures Practical Sessions:  Introduction to Computing  Library information skills & researching information using the web  Word processing  Manipulating graphics and images  Excel I - Basics  Excel II – Functions and graphs  Presentations using PowerPoint  Web page design Tutorial topics:  Critical thinking  Structuring an argument  Abstract writing  Quoting, referencing and plagiarism  APA basics  Revision techniques

Scientific Skills for Psychologists: In addition to lectures Practical Sessions:  Introduction to Computing  Library information skills & researching information using the web  Word processing  Manipulating graphics and images  Excel I - Basics  Excel II – Functions and graphs  Presentations using PowerPoint  Web page design Tutorial topics:  Critical thinking  Structuring an argument  Abstract writing  Quoting, referencing and plagiarism  APA basics  Revision techniques

Scientific Skills for Psychologists: In addition to lectures Practical Sessions:  Introduction to Computing  Library information skills & researching information using the web  Word processing  Manipulating graphics and images  Excel I - Basics  Excel II – Functions and graphs  Presentations using PowerPoint  Web page design Tutorial topics:  Critical thinking  Structuring an argument  Abstract writing  Quoting, referencing and plagiarism  APA basics  Revision techniques

Scientific Skills for Psychologists: Assessment  Essay  Practical report  Assignment portfolio  Library literature search exercise  Mini Literature Survey  Essay writing exercise  Create wiki (web page)  Method writing exercise  Results writing exercise  Multiple choice quiz  Mini-project

English Language Support: York English for Academic and Research Purposes (EARP) Programme  Allocation of 100 free English Language Points (ELPs) for all international students good for:  one academic skills course  8 weeks at 2 hours/week or  a series of five 3-hour workshops or  up to 100 minutes of individual consultations with an EFL tutor

English Language Support: EARP programme application in the Department of Psychology ELS course offered in-house:  Based on the EFL Unit’s Advanced Academic Writing course, but with foundation in Psychology including:  Paragraphing & coherence  Writing effective introductions  Paraphrasing & quoting  Final assignment marked for both the use of English and the Psychology content

Scientific Skills for Psychologists: Assessment  Essay  Practical report  Assignment portfolio  Library literature search exercise  Mini Literature Survey  Essay writing exercise  Create wiki (web page)  Method writing exercise  Results writing exercise  Multiple choice quiz  Mini-project

English Language Support: EARP programme application in the Department of Psychology ELS course offered in-house:  Based on the EFL Unit’s Advanced Academic Writing course, but with foundation in Psychology including:  Paragraphing & coherence  Writing effective introductions  Paraphrasing & quoting  Final assignment marked for both the use of English and the Psychology content

English Language Support: Student feedback What part of the ELS course was the most helpful?  “analysing everyone’s writing (both practice after class and the final essay)”  “giving a good example writing by the teacher on the topic that we’ve done before” Do you think that taking the ELS course was generally helpful to you? Why?  “Yes, from vocabulary to a whole essay/report, it covers almost everything we need to know in writing”

English Language Support: Student feedback (cont.) Please provide any general comments or feedback on the ELS course. “It’s a very helpful course. Thank everyone who arranged it for us. Students from other Uni are very jealous of us... I think the best way to improve writing is to read more, write more, and most importantly, to have someone check the writing and give us professional opinions. This course did so. I hope we can have more chance to do this.”

Additional Academic Support: An example from a first-year module Personality & Psychometrics:  Lectures  Practical sessions  Tutorials  Assessment  Questionnaire Design (essay)  Practical Report  Examination

Graph demonstrating the interaction between international student marks and year of teaching on the Personality & Psychometrics course and a comparable first-year course

Contact information: Kim Manderson Department of Psychology University of York Heslington, York YO10 5DD

Thank you for your attention