The study-skills workshop

A concern for improving the study skills of individual students led the Student Counselling Service at the University of East Anglia to consider aspects of the learning environment as a whole, and particularly the relationship between faculty and students. From cautious beginnings the development of the study-skills workshop has enabled counsellors, faculty and students to share problems, experience and expertise in a non-threatening context. The work-shop with its emphasis on an experiential approach provides ample opportunity for developing empathic qualities in both students and faculty, and is often a springboard for change, faculty members being persuaded to reassess their teaching and tutorial performance in the light of student concerns and difficulties expressed during workshop sessions.