Open University
Milton Keynes
Would doing a free course help me prepare for the degree?
I am looking into doing a Psychology degree with OU. I am going to an open day on Friday but I have seen they have a couple short psychology courses. Do you think it'd be beneficial for me to do one, as a way to ease my mind back into learning and maybe get an idea of what the degree will be like? I saw someone left a review saying they did it to prepare them for their psychology degree, but how much can it prepare you? It says over 8 weeks, but you can do it in 24 hours, it appears.
Also, do you feel there's a real need to do an access module? I've been out of education for 2 years. I would prefer going straight into the degree but if it can improve someone's chances of succeeding at the degree or maybe feeling less overwhelmed to begin with, it could be worth it.
Also, do you feel there's a real need to do an access module? I've been out of education for 2 years. I would prefer going straight into the degree but if it can improve someone's chances of succeeding at the degree or maybe feeling less overwhelmed to begin with, it could be worth it.
Original post by hannxm
I am looking into doing a Psychology degree with OU. I am going to an open day on Friday but I have seen they have a couple short psychology courses. Do you think it'd be beneficial for me to do one, as a way to ease my mind back into learning and maybe get an idea of what the degree will be like? I saw someone left a review saying they did it to prepare them for their psychology degree, but how much can it prepare you? It says over 8 weeks, but you can do it in 24 hours, it appears.
Also, do you feel there's a real need to do an access module? I've been out of education for 2 years. I would prefer going straight into the degree but if it can improve someone's chances of succeeding at the degree or maybe feeling less overwhelmed to begin with, it could be worth it.
Also, do you feel there's a real need to do an access module? I've been out of education for 2 years. I would prefer going straight into the degree but if it can improve someone's chances of succeeding at the degree or maybe feeling less overwhelmed to begin with, it could be worth it.
It would be likely to help, especially as you've been out of education for a while. It could help you get back into learning and more acquainted with their own style of delivery before you start the degree. I wouldn't recommend doing it all in one day though, because that's not how you'll be doing the degree. Do the same amount of hours on it as you would the degree per week so you can see how well it fits with you and your schedule. Just because it can be done in a day doesn't mean it should be
Open University
Milton Keynes
It depends on the course, who's presenting it, and where it's being presented. The OU's own FutureLearn is probably best to avoid if you're interested in gearing up for proper study. They're strictly taster sessions, and not built at all like evaluated distance courses. edX MOOCs can be better, and I've heard of some good Coursera ones, but haven't taken any there personally.
I'd give serious consideration to looking at MIT's open courseware modules. They're not perfect, as they're developed around the lecture-and-contact-hours model and presented online, but the coursework itself can be exactly what you'd expect at university level. Other universities sometimes put their courses online, as well, but I'd look for ones which say they're the actual modules taught at the university. This can include requiring external texts, however.
I'd give serious consideration to looking at MIT's open courseware modules. They're not perfect, as they're developed around the lecture-and-contact-hours model and presented online, but the coursework itself can be exactly what you'd expect at university level. Other universities sometimes put their courses online, as well, but I'd look for ones which say they're the actual modules taught at the university. This can include requiring external texts, however.
I don't think you need to worry about it too much.
If you are going to do an undergrad then the first couple of modules at OU will have a strong focus on study skills and is excellent at doing so.
If you are you going to do psych my best prep advice would be to get an 'intro to psych' type of book and start to learn some of the definitions (e.g. Learning the difference between confounding, independent and dependent variables) as it's generally much easy to absorb info when you already have an understanding of technical terms.
Don't get too hung up on it, just get a general overview.
Also, investing in study skills books (e.g. From Palgrave) is useful. Reading them helped boost my grades at OU a lot.
If you are going to do an undergrad then the first couple of modules at OU will have a strong focus on study skills and is excellent at doing so.
If you are you going to do psych my best prep advice would be to get an 'intro to psych' type of book and start to learn some of the definitions (e.g. Learning the difference between confounding, independent and dependent variables) as it's generally much easy to absorb info when you already have an understanding of technical terms.
Don't get too hung up on it, just get a general overview.
Also, investing in study skills books (e.g. From Palgrave) is useful. Reading them helped boost my grades at OU a lot.
Original post by rempanda
I don't think you need to worry about it too much.
If you are going to do an undergrad then the first couple of modules at OU will have a strong focus on study skills and is excellent at doing so.
If you are you going to do psych my best prep advice would be to get an 'intro to psych' type of book and start to learn some of the definitions (e.g. Learning the difference between confounding, independent and dependent variables) as it's generally much easy to absorb info when you already have an understanding of technical terms.
Don't get too hung up on it, just get a general overview.
Also, investing in study skills books (e.g. From Palgrave) is useful. Reading them helped boost my grades at OU a lot.
If you are going to do an undergrad then the first couple of modules at OU will have a strong focus on study skills and is excellent at doing so.
If you are you going to do psych my best prep advice would be to get an 'intro to psych' type of book and start to learn some of the definitions (e.g. Learning the difference between confounding, independent and dependent variables) as it's generally much easy to absorb info when you already have an understanding of technical terms.
Don't get too hung up on it, just get a general overview.
Also, investing in study skills books (e.g. From Palgrave) is useful. Reading them helped boost my grades at OU a lot.
I bought that book a few weeks ago and it is fabulous!
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