The Academic LORIC

Once you start your post-16 journey you will be busy with your academic studies but did you know that universities and employers look for something extra when looking at application forms and deciding who to accept? They look for specific academic skills that cannot be evidenced in a formal exam – this is where the Academic LORIC will help you.

The Academic LORIC is a set of skills that you need to be able to demonstrate before you apply to a university course, a degree, higher apprenticeship or job. Using the time you have now, you can be ahead of the game in demonstrating that you are open-minded and have a love of learning outside of the classroom; using the resources provided, you can prove at interview/application that you have completed the reading and research that makes you a critical thinker and, most importantly, interesting to teach.

We have produced a set of resources to help you explore the subjects that you will be studying post-16. By using these resources and completing the Academic LORIC work, you will have the best start when you return to school/college.

Resources

MOOCs – these are Massive Open Online Courses written by the world’s top universities and organisations. These MOOCs are free of charge and, on average, take 2-3 hours per week over 4-6 weeks. MOOCs are an excellent addition to any application form or CV as they give you a chance to fully explore a subject or area of interest. Admission tutors love to see these on application forms!

Podcasts/Radio programmes – links are given to radio broadcasts or podcasts for you to listen to at your leisure.You will hear from world renowned experts in their fields, helping you to gain an understanding outside of the classroom.

Articles – these short articles, written by academic experts, are to help spark your wider reading and interest around your chosen subjects. They will hopefully lead you to research the topic or author further.

TED Talks – these talks are a maximum of 18 minutes and a chance to hear different takes on subject areas and to discover thought-provoking questions you may never have thought of before. Take 40 minutes, listen to the talk, make notes and then update your Academic LORIC log.

Subjects Covered

Social Sciences and Humanities: Psychology, Sociology, Law, History, Geography, RS, Criminology

Maths, Science and Engineering: Maths, Further Maths, Engineering, Design and Technology, Biology, Chemistry, Physics, Applied Science, Health and Social Care

English and MFL: English Language, English Literature, English Language and Literature, French, Spanish

Sports: Sports Science, PE

Creative and Performing Arts: Art, Dance, Drama, Music, Performing Arts

Business, IT and Computer Science: Business Studies, ICT, Computer Science

How to Use the Resources

Universities and employers are impressed when students have completed wider reading and research but they want to know what the students havedone as a result of the wider reading.They want to hear what the reading and research has led to, e.g. led to further reading, led to starting a society etc. What they don’t want is just a list.

Whichever resource you are using, you must make the most of it by using the Thinking Hard IT sheets or Cornell notes to record what you havelearned and what you are going to do next as a result.

You can then talk (online) to your teachers/parents/carers about your findings and what you will do with this as a result. We would highly recommend that you then complete an Academic LORIC log which consolidates your learning. This can be an electronic log or a separate notebook.

This will really help you to get a head start as you start your next educational chapter. Go for it!

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