A reflection on how learners do their coursework

Stating this as an experienced practitioner, I can tell you that your instructors too have been there. They may have been much younger, at school or in the University, when we left it to the last minute. Stress and panic followed. In fact, it is best summarised by Learners' Law.

This stuff does not only apply to this assignment but to almost all projects you may come to tackle.

Learners' Law's five "P's" that are to do with assignments:

Procrastinate

Panic

Proceed

Plan

Perform

We firstly do nothing. Finally with around 80% of the available time past, we panic. Then we proceed - not necessarily in any direction. More in the manner of the famous headless chicken. With some luck, with only a few hours to go, we stop, plan what we have to do, and only then do we really perform. So what are you supposed to do?

Study and decide on the Assignment Objectives- The assignment is being carried out to establish the existence of some skills. For example, you may be being assessed to research a topic using a number of different sources, and present a sound case for a particular point of view. The Objectives are different to the topic. The topic is the material you end up with. The objectives are why you are doing the assignment.

Make sure you know what the deliverables are- Hopefully this will be easy to identify however sometimes it is a little vague and some further questions may be required of the person setting the assignment. Deliverables can be essays, models, presentations, speeches etc.

Ascertain the steps to generate the deliverables- List out the steps to create each deliverable. For example for an essay, there might be research, first draft, second draft, review etc.

Estimate the time for each step- Some of the estimates will be easy to make and some a guess. Just give it your best shot. When you have made your estimate, note down a confidence level. 0% means you know exactly how long it will take. 100% means it could take half as long, or twice as long as you estimate. Don't go over 100%.

Now pick the mid point between the estimate and the worst case based on the confidence level. If you said 4 days but confidence was 50%, the worst case is 6 days. The mid point is 5 days.

Work out your time available- You have a deadline. Work out how much time you plan to devote between now and the deadline. For example you might plan to spend 2 hrs a night on Tue/Wed/Thurs which gives 6 hours a week. Also note down the assumptions you are basing the estimate on.

Decide the sequence of the work- Look at your steps, and work out the order in which they will happen. Some steps can usually be performed in parallel.

Select Milestones- Probably the biggest problem we have in achieving time based goals is to focus on how long each task should take, rather than milestones along the way. A milestone is a black or white point where we deliver a component of the assignment. It may take the completion of one or many activities before the milestone is reached.

It is important that we pick a point that is easily measured - not something like 40% of the draft complete. It might be completion of research, finish the first draft, or have a layout in place. Ideally these should occur at least every 7 to 10 days to keep you focused.

Create the Schedule- Now comes the real work. This entails creating a schedule for the duration of the project. The inputs for this schedule are:

The activities or steps

The mid point estimated times

The sequence

The time available

Also focus on spare time each day or week. Get as much done early in the assignment, and leave the spare time until last. You will need it when the unforeseen occurs.

Manage Risks- What we need to do is to brainstorm what could go wrong before we start. When we come up with a risk, we need to look at:

Impact. What impact will it have on our project. (High, Medium or Low)

Probability. How likely is it to happen (High, Medium or Low)

Where a risk has two highs (It is highly likely to happen, and it will have a high impact) we need to look at what we can do about it. Depending on the size of the project, we might also want to look at high/medium and medium/medium risks.

Manage the schedule- A plan is not static. Things are bound to change. The schedule is not just something you file away and forget. As the weeks pass, constantly review the schedule. Enter the actual time you spend. Adjust the time estimates if you find they have changed. Manage yourself to the schedule. Importantly, focus on the next milestone. Work towards the next milestone and adopt the railway station approach. Provided you go through

each station on time, you will get to your destination on time.

Now practice your project management skills.