Abstract:

According to both danish and international studies (1), students have varying degrees of competences within study skills that are critical to help them navigate optimally through a higher education degree. Depending on the education, students may come with a plethora of different backgrounds, and in danish business academies such as Copenhagen School of Design and Technology (KEA), there is great variance between academical skillsets from student to student.

The transition to becoming a student at a higher education can be challenging, regardless of the starting point, and this can ultimately lead to increased dropout rates or unnecessarily elongated studies. The study competences concept at KEA aims to mitigate these challenges, by focusing on academic skills and competences that are not directly connected to subject expertise. Skills associated with studying in general, like research, source criticism, assignment writing, planning etc. are being pushed and implemented in a collective effort spearheaded by the library and backed by management, and the teaching staff at KEA.

The efforts are twofold, one part of the concept is focused on developing tailormade teaching materials for the teachers and educating them in the use of these; the other on a digital platform directly targeted at the students for self-studies and reference (2). The focus is on student centered learning (SCL), retention, completion and matching the complex requirements of the workplace of tomorrow. The materials were created with the goal of curriculum-integration, as both research and our own experience indicates that learning how to study effectively cannot be separated from subject content and the process of learning (3).

The pilot has undergone external evaluation based on interviews with faculty and the heads of program and was subsequently greenlighted by management. It was decided to approach the evaluation qualitatively, as it is very hard to measure the effects quantitatively in a meaningful way, due to the concepts long-term nature in a constantly changing environment.

The evaluation together with our own internal analysis indicates that the concept fills a genuine need, and that there is a strong interest from both students, teaching staff and management in developing these skills. It should be noted that the concept is still ongoing, and the effects have yet to be fully examined and evaluated.
 
References:
[1] Danmarks Evalueringsinstitut. Almene studiekompetencer blandt nye studerende på videregående uddannelser. Only electronic format www.eva.dk: Danmarks Evalueringsinstitut; 2018.
[2] Copenhagen School of Design and Technology (KEA Library). Study Skills. [Online].; 2022 [cited 2022 March 8. Available from: https://bibliotek.kea.dk/en/studyskills/study-skills.
[3] Wingate U. Doing away with ‘study skills’. Teaching in Higher Education. 2006; 11:4: 457-469.

Keywords:

Study skills, study competences, academic skills.