This introductory course is for people who are thinking about making changes in their lives, such as returning to study or taking a different direction at work. It will help you build on what you already know; consider the choices open to you; use your skills and qualities to achieve change; and make plans for the future. There are opportunities to develop your learning skills, such as active reading and using evidence, as well as your everyday skills, such as communication, problem solving and organisation.
Being unsure of what you want to do in life (or what you want to study) is not unusual. How to deal with the changes that we want in our lives can be more challenging. This course is for anyone who is uncertain about what might be the best starting point for them. You may be unsure about what subject you are interested in or whether you can cope with study at university level. You may be unsure about what path in life to pursue or you may have something in common with Karen, Levene or Shehnaz:
Karen left school as soon as she could and started work the day after. She had no qualifications and couldn’t see what she was going to do with her life.
Levene left school at sixteen and started work in construction but was made redundant and had to find a new career.
Shehnaz is the mother of two children, balancing family demands, study and work.
This course takes your life as its starting point. It helps you to think about what you can do already. It then uses this to build up your confidence in your abilities. It uses a mixture of personal reflection, case studies (including three real-life case studies) and ideas about how we learn. This combination equips you to move your life forward.
The course book is divided into 5 chapters which cover the following topics:
Chapter 1 Introduction – outlines how the course aims to help you to use learning to achieve change. The idea of learning as a journey is introduced. This journey is likely to have many challenges but it can also offer many benefits, such as enjoyment or excitement. The course focuses on your learning. It uses selected personal qualities and skills and encourages you to think about how you can develop these to achieve your goals.
Chapter 2 You and your learning – is based on the importance of having a clear picture of who you are and where you are at this point in time. The chapter aims to increase your awareness of what you already know, and what qualities and skills you already have. The chapter also encourages you to see how you have used different sorts of learning to add to what you know, to develop your personal qualities and improve your skills.
Chapter 3 Preparing to change – helps you prepare for change by introducing techniques that help you learn more effectively. The chapter offers opportunities to use these techniques in order to see if they are helpful. The chapter also develops your awareness of the importance of the wider social context in which your learning takes place.
Chapter 4 Where Next? – takes you through a sequence of steps that enables you to take forward what you have learned on the course. These start with you developing a personal vision. This is the basis for thinking about what might help you achieve this vision and what might get in the way. The chapter explores the ways in which you set about setting goals and planning for the future.
Chapter 5 Looking Back – is where you look back over what you have done and what you have learned as a result of your study on the course. It highlights how personal change becomes more likely when you can use different ways of learning.
Having decided on a direction for study during this Openings course, you could decide to go on to one of the subject-based courses offered within the Openings Programme. The approach and structure of this course is similar to some foundation degrees, so you could consider this as a possible option.
