BSc Geography with International Study / Course details

Your tutorials support your other core modules in human and physical geography. The tutorials assist you  in enhancing and gaining confidence in all the fundamental skills that you learnt in Semester 1, such as essay-writing, communication skills, successful time-management, independent and group working. As in semester 1 you will also work on a group assignment. Here you will you will critically engage with a research geographer, by reading selected pieces of their work and interviewing them to further understand their research background, including trajectory, methods, and critical approach. The interview and your analysis will be conducted, written and submitted as a group. Support will be provided through your tutorial programme, however careful time project and time management skills will need to be employed in this student-led piece of work.

Note that tutorials run through the whole year. In Semester 1 the unit code for your tutorials was GEOG12011.

• Further develop and reinforece general study skills
• Further develop skills in essay writing and writing persuasive academic arguments.
• Enhance oral communication in tutorial discussions and debates.
• Explore ideas, theories and concepts from compulsaory course units.
• Further develop group, team-working skills.
• Increase understanding of the research process by interviewing a Geographer.

Tutorials are group sessions where discussion is the key to sharing ideas and developing Geographical knowledge.  A key teaching process is your engagement and preparation; you will learn a lot more if you really participate in the sessions. There will be lots of opportunities to receive personalized feedback and reflect upon your performance, both in tutorials and in the one-to-one Academic Advisory sessions. You will meet with your group and tutor in a regular timeslot most teaching weeks. Tasks will vary each week, but you will be expected to come to each tutorial prepared for discussion with your peers. You will also have a one-to-one meeting with your Academic Advisor to review your examination papers from Semester 1 and to support your personal development.  In study weeks you will have work to complete, but you will not have a tutorial or any other lectures. 

Tutorials are largely student-led, so will be tailored to assist your academic performance wherever possible – if you would like to spend a little more time on referencing, for example, just ask your tutor.  In addition to tutorials, you will continue to meet with your Peer Assisted Study Session (PASS) Mentors regularly through the semester.   

Course and assignment information will be made available on Blackboard or from your tutor. All assignments will be submitted via the Blackboard.

• Consolidate knowledge and understanding of your course units through both oral and written work.
• Reflect on feedback to improve performance.
• Understand the geographical research process.

• Be more confident about your contributions to tutorial discussions. 
• Source, select, and cite appropriate academic material. 
• Demonstrate experience of empirical data collection through the profile of a research geographer interview

• Demonstrate the use of a range of skills relating to referencing, plagiarism, reading and note taking, essay writing, time management, active listening, revision techniques and examination skills.
• Discover, select, source and cite appropriate material including journals and periodicals.

• Display critical thinking, evaluation and reflection skills.
• Source, collect, analyse and use information.
• Demonstrate experience of working in a team to fulfil a number of tasks.
• Exhibit self-directed learning.

• Extensive verbal feedback through Q&A, discussion and interactive activities within tutorials;
•  Detailed written feedback on all of your submitted work;
•  Formative feedback both written and verbal during the tutorials;
• Verbal feedback on any tutorial issues – academic or pastoral – through emailed consultation or office hours;
• One-to-one meetings with your tutor;

          Detailed written feedback on the book review presentation.

Kneale, P.E. 2013. Study Skills for Geography, Earth and Environmental Science Students. Taylor & Francis, London, p 317. (ebook available from  UoM library)

For information and advice on Link2Lists reading list software, see:

http://www.library.manchester.ac.uk/academicsupport/informationandadviceonlink2listsreadinglistsoftware/