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Help your students: offer extra support with the skills platform

A new course is often challenging enough for students. But in addition to the new subject matter, they also face all kinds of additional challenges: how do I write a report, how do I find reliable sources, or how do I pitch a research proposal? The e-learning skills platform offers an online learning environment to develop these skills. Would you like to include the available modules in your current course schedule? The skills team would be happy to help!

The skills platform is available free of charge to all 6000 students of the Faculty of Science. Online, they can practice skills that are indispensable during their studies. As a teacher, you can include modules in your course to provide students with targeted help on skills assignments they come across during the course.

‘We have already helped more than twenty lecturers from seven different studies,’ says Marjo de Graauw, the project leader of the e-learning skills platform. ‘With our advice, lecturers can link relevant chapters to existing course schedules and assignments. This way, students improve exactly those skills they require during your course.’

Packed with information and useful tools

The skills platform consists of no less than 90 chapters spread across 24 different skill modules. Each chapter contains useful background information, a step-by-step approach and a checklist for assignments.

Many of the chapters contain templates that students can use, for example, to prepare assignments or meetings. You can refer students to these templates during the lectures. Students can then discuss completed templates during a meeting with their supervisor.

The use of the skills platform is always voluntary and is therefore never included in the assessment and grading.

The first users were positive

Several students have already tested the platform during the first pilot studies. First- and third-year bachelor students of Biopharmaceutical Sciences and students of the Biology minor Molecular Biotechnology were the first to test the platform and were very enthusiastic about it.

After the official launch of the platform, the skills team asked the first users for an evaluation. These students were also very positive and indicated:

  • That they felt more competent after using the modules
  • That they found the modules more useful than expected
  • That they would recommend the platform to fellow students
  • That the information on the platform was easy to read and very relevant
  • That they would use the modules and the templates in other subjects as well

Teachers about the platform:

'I've only just found out this platform exists. I used it for a course last year (where there was a lot of appreciation for this platform), but now I'm going to use it more, for example with students who are on internships.'

‘The platform helps us to put students on the right track during the course. The content on the platform was completely in line with our course. I received very good feedback from my students.’

Keep improving

The skills team also closely listens to feedback. Students for example indicated that more examples are needed from different fields of study. In this way, the team can continue to improve the platform and provide it with everything students need to successfully complete their studies.

Want to know how you can implement the platform in your teaching? Mail with the skills team via skills@science.leidenuniv.nl

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