WEBVTT 1 00:00:15.400 --> 00:00:19.952 I am Chief Adviser of Studies for Science and a Senior University Teacher in Physics and Astronomy. 2 00:00:26.765 --> 00:00:29.699 Panayotakis is such a long surname so many people know me as Costas. 3 00:00:29.699 --> 00:00:35.783 At the University of Glasgow I am a Professor of Latin and Classics more generally. 4 00:00:51.545 --> 00:00:56.899 An Adviser of Studies is the first point of contact for students arriving at University. 5 00:00:56.899 --> 00:01:01.283 They're there to be the go-to person for all students with any issues 6 00:01:01.283 --> 00:01:04.700 whether its academic, pastoral, financial, health. 7 00:01:04.700 --> 00:01:11.000 My role as Chief Adviser in the College of Arts is to lead the Arts Advising Team 8 00:01:11.000 --> 00:01:15.150 and to be the first port of call, first contact point 9 00:01:15.150 --> 00:01:19.299 for all students in the College of Arts for any kinds of issues. 10 00:01:19.299 --> 00:01:22.200 All Level 1 and Level 2 Science students 11 00:01:22.200 --> 00:01:25.099 are required to meet with their Advisers at least twice a year 12 00:01:25.099 --> 00:01:27.799 and it allows the students to raise any concerns they might have. 13 00:01:27.799 --> 00:01:33.152 If they want to check "am I doing okay?" the Adviser can check in with them, 14 00:01:33.152 --> 00:01:34.799 If the results are good they can let them know they are good 15 00:01:34.799 --> 00:01:36.900 If they are bad they can find out if there is anything going on. 16 00:01:36.900 --> 00:01:43.500 Our students will always have someone to speak to them, someone to welcome them, 17 00:01:43.500 --> 00:01:45.841 to receive their query and deal with it. 18 00:01:48.915 --> 00:01:53.200 Level 1 students at Univeristy will encounter various different forms of teaching. 19 00:01:53.200 --> 00:01:57.400 There's lectures, laboratories and tutorials, those make up the main three groups. 20 00:01:57.400 --> 00:02:02.200 The lecture is the dominant form, it's how most information is conveyed in first year. 21 00:02:02.200 --> 00:02:05.799 These are 50-minute sessons running from 5-past-the-hour to 5-to-the-hour, 22 00:02:05.799 --> 00:02:11.098 and they can take place in usually large lecture theatres, anything up to 350 people. 23 00:02:11.098 --> 00:02:16.098 One of the biggest changes students have to adapt to is taking charge of their own learning. 24 00:02:16.098 --> 00:02:18.771 They will receive a lot of information in the lecture but they are going to have to 25 00:02:18.771 --> 00:02:21.250 put their own work into really absorb that afterwards. 26 00:02:21.250 --> 00:02:24.800 Roughly two hours of thier own learning for every hour of lecture. 27 00:02:24.800 --> 00:02:27.750 A laboraroty session is very different, it's a lot more hands on. 28 00:02:27.750 --> 00:02:31.250 Usually much smaller numbers. Most labs have a capacity of around about 50 with 29 00:02:31.250 --> 00:02:37.223 students working on their own, or usually in pairs, to tackle practical experiments. 30 00:02:37.949 --> 00:02:42.750 Tutorials are very flexible. They vary a lot from school to school. 31 00:02:42.750 --> 00:02:47.750 They can be one member of staff to 5, 20 or 25 students. 32 00:02:47.750 --> 00:02:50.890 The seminar or tutorial has a dual function; 33 00:02:50.890 --> 00:02:55.057 it will help the student consolidate the knowledge about the lecture and 34 00:02:55.057 --> 00:02:59.295 it will also facilitate the students getting maybe a deeper understanding 35 00:02:59.295 --> 00:03:01.150 of particular elements of the lecture. 36 00:03:01.150 --> 00:03:05.062 It's a smaller scenario, so can be quite friendly, but your tutor will still expect you 37 00:03:05.062 --> 00:03:08.848 to prepare so there are sometimes readings to do in advance of your tutorial 38 00:03:08.848 --> 00:03:12.721 and we would expect you to do that, because if all the students turn up having not prepared 39 00:03:12.721 --> 00:03:15.250 the seminar doesn't really work. We can't get conversation going, 40 00:03:15.250 --> 00:03:18.997 so there's a massive difference between when a tutorial doesn't go very well and when it does. 41 00:03:18.997 --> 00:03:23.449 And when it doesn it's down to the students getting involved as well. 42 00:03:23.449 --> 00:03:28.030 If I can facilitate the students to have a conversation or a debate themselves 43 00:03:28.030 --> 00:03:34.639 and if a lot of them are talking freely; for me that's the best and that's the way it should be. 44 00:03:36.901 --> 00:03:40.649 When students come in to Level 1, they will quite often run into problems. 45 00:03:40.649 --> 00:03:42.747 That's perfectly normal. 46 00:03:42.747 --> 00:03:46.049 Students should realise that it's very hard in the early weeks 47 00:03:46.049 --> 00:03:49.235 for students to realise that they are not the only ones struggling. 48 00:03:49.235 --> 00:03:52.626 Often your tutor is the person you will see most in first year 49 00:03:52.626 --> 00:03:55.626 so if you are having any trouble you can come to them. 50 00:03:55.626 --> 00:04:01.747 I always try to get students to speak to me right at the end of class, I think 51 00:04:01.747 --> 00:04:07.049 face-to-face is best, but if that's not possible then by email. 52 00:04:07.049 --> 00:04:09.247 I'm always keen for them to just email me anything, perhaps 53 00:04:09.247 --> 00:04:14.949 if there were further issues I'd suggest one of the Universtiy's modular services 54 00:04:14.949 --> 00:04:18.192 but we should always be the first point of contact for subject material. 55 00:04:18.192 --> 00:04:21.848 You also have your Adviser of Studies, so keep that in mind. 56 00:04:21.848 --> 00:04:25.449 For things like long periods of absesnce they are a good person to contact as well. 57 00:04:25.449 --> 00:04:30.848 If you have a problem, do not hide. Get in touch with the Course Convenor. 58 00:04:30.848 --> 00:04:35.848 That is the person responsible for bringing the module together. 59 00:04:35.848 --> 00:04:43.548 Get in touch with an administrator if it is a technical issue that you cannot resolve. 60 00:04:43.548 --> 00:04:48.348 If it is a general academic issue, get in touch with the Effective Learning Unit. 61 00:04:48.348 --> 00:04:57.215 If it is a course issue; 'I'm not enjoying this course' 'Can I change in the second semester?' 62 00:04:57.215 --> 00:05:00.658 'Can I change direction in my studies?' 63 00:05:00.658 --> 00:05:04.649 Then they would need to get in touch with their Adviser of Studies. 64 00:05:04.649 --> 00:05:09.149 If I had one piece of advice for a new first year student it's not to be daunted. 65 00:05:09.149 --> 00:05:13.848 It's very different at University. By getting to Glasgow University you are smart 66 00:05:13.848 --> 00:05:20.221 and capable of doing a degree here, but you're not going to necessarily feel that from day one. 67 00:05:20.221 --> 00:05:25.115 But the univeristy is there to support you and you will be fine if you put the work in.