6.3 Developing a strategy

In developing a strategy for improving your IL skills you are aiming to:

• identify the opportunities you can use to develop and practise your IL skills;

• establish the outcomes you hope to achieve and the targets for meeting them;

• identify the resources you might use for developing your skills, including people who might be able to help you as well as books, study guides, tutorials, specialist training, databases, libraries, the Internet, computer conferencing or online support;

• establish a timetable for developing and practising your skills, including deadlines for any assignments you must submit as part of your course or targets you must meet at work;

• consider how you intend to achieve the outcomes you want, and when you intend to complete your work.

In this stage you are laying down the foundations for your work over the next 3–4 months. Planning takes time and thought, so don't rush it. Make sure you allow yourself enough time – perhaps over a period of a week or two – to think about and work on your strategy for improvement. Use the ‘Improving own learning and performance’ key skill to identify your strengths and weaknesses in using IL, and what you hope to achieve as you work on this skill.

The notes that follow guide you through the process of developing a strategy to improve your IL skills. Use the Time outs to help you plan, implement and evaluate your strategy. Finally, at the end of the stage, you should use the records in your Skills File to complete the activity ‘Developing your IL skills strategy’ and pull together this first stage in your IL skills development.