Introduce first-year students to the study of science subjects and the acquisition of a study method.

To assess and align the academic skills of students who may come from different backgrounds (written and oral communication; computation; information seeking; group work) upon arrival at the university and ensure that these skills develop to an appropriate level during the first few months.

Stimulate reflection on how to study and gain self-awareness of which learning style is most appropriate for the individual student (test on own learning style).

To develop transversal skills (synthesis of concepts, written and oral communication) that will be useful for synthesizing and studying lecture material in notes and notes as well as for coping better with the exam; these skills will also be useful in the preparation of the dissertation and for entering the world of work.

To enable students to fit into a group with other students, thus learning to study both in groups and independently, and to get to know those who may be the academic mentors of reference during their course of study.

1.  Introduction to University, research and appropriate communication. Course implantation.

Students will be divided into small groups and assigned to two academic tutors. Classes will be conducted in small groups and will involve group work and discussion.

2.  Getting to know each other. Types of learning (visual, auditory etc) with tests. Introduction to essay writing. Organization of subgroups.

3.  How to write an essay and identify sources (lecture with slides and practical demonstration and examples).

4. Finalizing topic choice with discussion and source research. Formation of subgroups of students who will write the essay together. 

5.  How to prepare an oral presentation.

6.  Reviewing drafts of written essays (group discussion)

7.   Essay writing

8.  Oral presentations

9.  Oral presentations

10. Feedback on the written essay

none

Knowledge and understanding skills - Acquisition of tools for understanding scientific information and how to take notes.

Ability to apply knowledge and understanding - Written and oral communication.

Autonomy of judgment - Being able to read and understand scientific information and summarize it in a written or oral paper. Ability to evaluate the level of scientific evidence.

Communication skills - Ability to understand and explain a research topic, essential for professional activity in the biomedical field.

Ability to learn/understand: How to organise the study and how to learn from written sources

The teaching material prepared by the lecturer in addition to recommended textbooks (such as for instance slides, lecture notes, exercises, bibliography) and communications from the lecturer specific to the course can be found inside the Moodle platform › blended.uniurb.it

Support will be represented by the presence of the academic tutor Luca Mancini

Teaching

The course focuses on writing an essay (short) with a scientific topic and an individual oral presentation in powerpoint. This will be followed by a group discussion on the choice of topics and how to find biblical sources to use for the essay writing or oral presentation.

Lectures are provided by the lecturer and academic tutors on how to find information (sources) for text writing and oral presentation, how to write a short college-level text, and how to make a presentation. 

Written texts to oral presentations will be evaluated in groups.

Innovative teaching methods

Flipped classroom

Attendance

Writing a scholarly text following specific instructions that will be given and an oral presentation. Students must have attended at least 80 percent of the lectures to acquire credit.

Course books

Material uploaded on the blended platform (No course book).

Assessment

Preparation of a written text by the due date that will be announced in class and oral presentation in the week scheduled on the calendar

Disability and Specific Learning Disorders (SLD)

Students who have registered their disability certification or SLD certification with the Inclusion and Right to Study Office can request to use conceptual maps (for keywords) during exams.

To this end, it is necessary to send the maps, two weeks before the exam date, to the course instructor, who will verify their compliance with the university guidelines and may request modifications.

Attendance

For non-attending students, exam sessions will be scheduled where, in addition to submitting the written essay and powerpoint presentation, questions related to the topics covered in the course will be asked.

In the blended learning area you can find detailed instructions on the format of the exam and how to prepare a written essay and an oral presentation.

Students will need to submit a written text and the oral presentation (powerpoint), and pass an oral examination where the student will be assessed for their knowledge of the topics taught in the course.

Course books

Material uploaded on the blended platform (No course book).

Assessment

The written assay and oral (powerpoint) presentation will be assessed as descibed during the course (available with the slides). Additionally the student will be assessed for their knowledge of the topics described in the course

Disability and Specific Learning Disorders (SLD)

Students who have registered their disability certification or SLD certification with the Inclusion and Right to Study Office can request to use conceptual maps (for keywords) during exams.

To this end, it is necessary to send the maps, two weeks before the exam date, to the course instructor, who will verify their compliance with the university guidelines and may request modifications.