Academic Advice in MVLS
Students in MVLS can attend short classes, access slides and guides on Moodle, or make an appointment with the Effective Learning Adviser for the College (or one of her Graduate Teaching Assistants) to talk about anything related to their academic work.
Common topics include:
- academic writing (essays, lab reports, research proposals)
- critical analysis
- scientific presentations
- time and project management
- effective, evidence-based study and revision methods
Live classes
Academic Citizenship (for International Students)
This particular course will be led by the team of Effective Learning Advisers for International Students.
> Moodle page for this series (includes slides and any recordings) - https://moodle.gla.ac.uk/course/view.php?id=27830
| Date | Time | Class Title | Description | Building | Room |
| Tue 19th Sep | 14:00-15:00 | Transitioning to Academic Study @UofG | How to successfully transition to new academic institutions by better understanding expectations and some strategies for effectively managing change. | James McCune Smith | 745 (Lecture Theatre) |
| Wed 20th Sep | 15:00-16:00 | Becoming an Academic Reader | Strategies for effective academic reading to enhance learning, including how to select reading, manage reading time and read evaluatively. | James McCune Smith | 745 (Lecture Theatre) |
| Thu 21st Sep | 15:00-16:00 | Ownership of Knoweldge and Avoiding Plagiarism | Explains the definitions of plagiarism at the University of Glasgow and how to avoid plagiarism in academic work. | James McCune Smith | 745 (Lecture Theatre) |
| Tue 26th Sep | 14:00-15:00 | Understanding and Preparing for Assignments | How to effectively understand and fulfill assigment requirements | James McCune Smith | 745 (Lecture Theatre) |
| Wed 27th Sep | 15:00-16:00 | Introduction to Being Critical | What does it mean to be critical and analytical in academic work and how to achieve this. | James McCune Smith | 745 (Lecture Theatre) |
| Thurs 28th Sep | 15:00-16:00 | Academic Discourse | Explains academic discourse and discusses how to identify the ways your academic community communicates. | James McCune Smith | 745 (Lecture Theatre) |
Academic Community Workshops (for International Students)
This particular course will be led by the team of Effective Learning Advisers for International Students.
> Moodle page for this series (includes slides and any recordings) - https://moodle.gla.ac.uk/course/view.php?id=27830
| Date | Time | Session Title | Description | Building | Room |
| Tue 3rd Oct | 14:00-15:00 | Planning to get the most from your studies | Developing skills to effectively plan your time to complete assignments and study effectively wihile maintaining work-life balance. | James McCune Smith | 745 (Lecture Theatre) |
| Wed 4th Oct | 15:00-16:00 | Becoming a Critical Reader | Developing skills to analytically read and evaluate academic texts. | James McCune Smith | 745 (Lecture Theatre) |
| Thurs 5th Oct | 15:00-16:00 | Reading for Structure | Developing skills to identify the structure of academic texts to better understand them and enhance your writing. | James McCune Smith | 745 (Lecture Theatre) |
| Tue 10th Oct | 14:00-15:00 | Reading for Language | How we can use our academic reading to develop and strengthen our academic writing, style and tone. | James McCune Smith | 745 (Lecture Theatre) |
| Wed 11th Oct | 15:00-16:00 | Creating Context in Essay Writing | How to effectively contextualise and frame your academic work to strengthen its coherence and argumentation. | James McCune Smith | 745 (Lecture Theatre) |
| Thurs 12th Oct | 15:00-16:00 | Demonstrating Authority in Writing | Explores why and how to demonstrate your authority and credibility in your work to produce convincing assignments. | James McCune Smith | 745 (Lecture Theatre) |
Maths Drop-Ins (for any UofG student)
This particular course will be led by the Maths Adviser.
> Moodle page for Maths & Stats advice - https://moodle.gla.ac.uk/course/view.php?id=140
| Date | Time | Description | Venue |
|---|---|---|---|
| Mon 25th Sep | All 14:00 - 16:00 | Weekly open drop-in class | All McMillan Reading Room 319 |
| Mon 2nd Oct | |||
| Mon 9th Oct | |||
| Mon 16th Oct | |||
| Mon 23rd Oct | |||
| Mon 30th Oct | |||
| Mon 6th Nov | |||
| Mon 13th Nov |
Graduate Numeracy
This particular course will be led by the Maths Adviser.
> Moodle page for this series (includes slides and any recordings) - https://moodle.gla.ac.uk/course/view.php?id=140
| Date & Time | Title | Description | Venue |
|---|---|---|---|
| Fri 3rd Nov 13:00 - 14:00 |
Session 1 | More detailed description to follow shortly! | Joseph Black Building A504 |
| Fri 10th Nov 13:00 - 14:00 |
Session 2 | More detailed description to follow shortly! | Joseph Black Building A504 |
Stats for Scientists
This particular course will be led by the Statistics Adviser.
> Moodle page for this series (includes slides and any recordings) - https://moodle.gla.ac.uk/course/view.php?id=140
| Date & Time | Title | Description | Venue |
|---|---|---|---|
| Wed 4th Oct 14:00 - 15:00 | Introduction to R - Part 1 | This session introduces R and R Studio. Have a look at the "Downloading R and R Studio" video below before class starts (see Moodle link above). | James McCune Smith 639 |
| Wed 11th Oct 14:00 - 15:00 | Introduction to R - Part 2 | This session will introduce more complex functions and various plotting capabilities. | James McCune Smith 639 |
| Wed 18th Oct 14:00 - 15:00 | Descriptive Statistics | This session covers measures of central tendencies, dispersion, and position. | James McCune Smith 639 |
| Wed 25th Oct 14:00 - 15:00 | Probability | This session covers the basic rules of probability, discrete probability distributions, and continuous probability distributions. | James McCune Smith 639 |
| Wed 1st Nov 14:00 - 15:00 | Hypothesis Testing | This session will cover defining the null and alternative hypotheses, and deciding which probability distribution suits different situations. | James McCune Smith 639 |
| Wed 8th Nov 14:00 - 15:00 | Simple and Multiple Linear Regression | This class uses various R functions to generate a best fit line to pairwise ordered data, and then also generate a more complex linear model. | James McCune Smith 639 |
Science Writing: Advanced Criticality
This particular course will be led jointly by the Effective Learning Advisers for MVLS and for Science & Engineering.
> Moodle page for this series (includes slides and any recordings) - https://moodle.gla.ac.uk/course/view.php?id=10315
| Date & Time | Title | Description | Venue |
|---|---|---|---|
| Thu 19th Oct 14:00 - 15:00 |
Sourcing Evidence from the Literature | We will look at how to get the most out of academic databases, and what to look for when sourcing evidence from the literature. | Adam Smith Building 916 |
| Mon 23rd Oct 11:00 - 12:00 |
Critical Reading | This class explores the next stage of critical analysis: reading your sources. We look at the questions you should ask and ways of keeping your records organised. | Adam Smith Business School and Postgraduate Hub (new building) 584 |
| Thu 26th Oct 14:00 - 15:00 |
Writing a Critical Review | In this clas, we focus on how to structure and write a critical review of a single study. | Adam Smith Building 916 |
| Mon 30th Oct 11:00 - 12:00 |
Writing a Literature Review | This class looks at putting together a review of several studies that address a common topic. | Adam Smith Business School and Postgraduate Hub (new building) 584 |
Science Dissertation Writing
This particular course will be led jointly by the Effective Learning Advisers for MVLS and for Science & Engineering.
> Moodle page for this series (includes slides and any recordings) - https://moodle.gla.ac.uk/course/view.php?id=12843
| Date & Time | Title | Description | Venue | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Thu 2nd Nov 14:00 - 15:00 |
Your Dissertation from Beginning to End | This class examines what the whole dissertation process looks like, from choosing a title to handing in your finished product. | Adam Smith Building 916 | |
|
Mon 6th Nov |
Writing a Literature Review | This class will explore the process of finding and critically analysing journal articles, as well as how to incorporate academic literature into your writing. | Adam Smith Business School and Postgraduate Hub 584 | |
| Thu 9th Nov 14:00 - 15:00 |
Developing a Methodology | We outline things to consider when designing your research methods and discuss how to write your methods chapter. | Adam Smith Building 916 |
|
| Mon 13th Nov 11:00 - 12:00 |
Presenting your Findings | This class looks at the most effective way of discussing your data and writing about your results in the context of your field. | Adam Smith Business School and Postgraduate Hub 584 |
|
| Thu 16th Nov 14:00 - 15:00 |
Editing and Proofreading | The class looks at the stages of editing and proofreading that you need to complete in order to achieve a polished and professional dissertation. | Adam Smith Building 916 |
|
Science Communication: Beyond Essays and Dissertations
This particular course will be led jointly by the Effective Learning Advisers for MVLS and for Science & Engineering.
> Moodle page for this series (includes slides and any recordings) - https://moodle.gla.ac.uk/course/view.php?id=12927
| Date & Time | Title | Description | Venue |
|---|---|---|---|
| Tue 3rd Oct 10-11 |
Academic presentations | This class covers designing and delivering an academic slideshow using Microsoft PowerPoint. | St Andrews 202 |
| Tue 10th Oct 10-11 |
Academic posters | We'll look at some academic poster examples, as well as how to present one at an event (either in-class or at a conference) and how to manage audience questions. | St Andrews 202 |
| Tue 17th Oct 10-11 |
Presenting data | This class looks at making tables and figures clear, and techniques to deconstruct dense visual data to highlight the most important parts to your audience. | St Andrews 202 |
| Tue 24th Oct 10-11 |
Defining your audience | We'll look at the different levels of science literacy you might expect across audiences (peers, experts, public), and how to cater to those differences. | St Andrews 202 |
| Mon 30th Oct 3-4 |
Persuasion, argumentation, and rhetoric | This class looks at techniques to communicate the meaning of data - e.g. analogy, demonstration, infographic, common misunderstanding, etc. | St Andrews 202 |
| Fri 3rd Nov 3-4 |
Q&A Online Live session | This live Q&A session will be an opportunity to ask any outstanding questions that you have about the different types of scientific communication or the main principles of effective communication. |
Pre-recorded classes and online materials
Science Writing: Fundamentals
> Moodle page for this series - https://moodle.gla.ac.uk/course/view.php?id=10316
| Title | Description |
| Planning and structuring an essay | A well structured essay will ensure that your writing is clear and concise with logical flow. In this class, we'll look at how to plan your essay and structure your argument. |
| Lab report writing | A lab report usually follows a standard format, with each section of the report fulfilling a unique job. We'll work through these sections and tell you what the expectations are for each. |
| Reflective writing | In many science degrees (particularly in clinical subjects) you are required to reflect on your practice and communicate your learning. We'll look at how to write reflectively for an academic audience. |
| Referencing and plagiarism | This class will show you how to cite according to the University's requirements so that your writing is professional and credible. |
Academic Development
> Moodle page for this series - https://moodle.gla.ac.uk/course/view.php?id=10317
| Title | Description |
| Lectures, labs, and tutorials | We discuss how to approach your classes in a strategic way so that you get the most out this valuable time with your lecturers. |
| Working in groups | Group work is an integral part of many degree courses. This class will show you how to get the most out of assessed and informal group work. |
| Exam revision strategies | We will show you the best revision strategies, and how to combine them to the best effect in the weeks before an exam. |
| Avoiding procrastination | Procrastination is normal! But this class will help if you feel that it is getting in the way of your studies. |
Appointments
Undergraduate and PGT students can make an appointment with one of the advising team (GUID required). The booking diary shows appointments available in the next 21 days only.
Dr Rosalind McKenna
Rosalind has a PhD in Biology from the University of St Andrews, during which she used the ladybird-aphid predator-prey system to study behavioural interactions and search strategies. During her postgraduate study (2018-2022), she taught extensively in labs and tutorials, delivered lectures, and designed teaching materials. In 2019, Rosalind also designed and co-presented a course on data visualisation, delivered to secondary school science teachers for the Scottish Schools Education Research Centre (SSERC). From April 2022 to June 2023, Rosalind gained experience in the University of Glasgow Undergraduate Medical School in her role as the MBChB1 Teaching Administrator. She is now the Effective Learning Adviser for students in the College of MVLS.
Teaching Requests
Rosalind currently lectures on every undergraduate degree and most postgraduate degrees across MVLS. To find out what teaching she can offer on your course, email her: rosalind.mckenna@glasgow.ac.uk
Publications
Rosalind is the co-author of Presenting Scientific Data in R (Oxford University Press). This book, primarily written for students embarking on undergraduate bioscience degrees, aims to provide an accessible, straightforward, and approachable guide to data presentation using R.
Rosalind has also published a range of research and review papers on a variety of behavioural ecology topics.
rosalind.mckenna@glasgow.ac.uk
Room 316
McMillan Reading Room
University Avenue
University of Glasgow
G12 8QQ
