“What advice would you give to students starting your course?”
Congratulations on making the decision to become a student at university. This is the start of a very exciting time but no doubt you will have concerns and anxieties about your impending studies. This is normal and believe me you are not alone; you just do not know it yet.
On receiving my welcome pack I was so excited, I could not believe that in September I would become a student and starting my Foundation Degree. Thereby, beginning a five year journey of combining university with being a mum to two young children and working full time. However my excitement was soon replaced with worries- how was I going to fit studying into an already hectic lifestyle? Was I clever enough to study for a degree? Would I be able to complete the course?
Therefore, my key areas of advice would be to:
· Plan and prepare - after all we are entering a profession where planning and preparation is vital to the success of the lesson and the child’s learning.
· Complete an action plan focussing on your strengths and weaknesses, look at what might be potential threats to your learning and explore the opportunites that may be available. This is difficult at first as you automatically focus on weaknesses. Think again, there are so many things that we all do that we do not give ourselves credit for.
· Set some realistic targets of what you aim to achieve or an area in which you may feel you need to develop e.g. reading or academic writing, listing steps you need to take in order to achieve this.
· Review your action plan regularly, revising your goals and setting new ones.
· Devise a study timetable detailing tasks/activities which need to be completed each week. Do not be tempted to over plan, be realistic in what you can achieve and remember to prioritise.
During one of my first weeks at university a lecturer told us that we had to learn to be “selfish”. I was horrified, I could not do that. I am the sort of person that always puts others first. However, you soon realise that in order to succeed and complete all the work, you have to put yourself first. My family soon learnt that on set nights I would be studying and therefore ideally should not be disturbed. This was not easy for any of us but we seem to have adjusted.
I have learnt a great deal about myself as a learner and have been able to adapt to new ideas and strategies. I would encourage all new students to think about how they have learnt in the past and be open to a new way of learning. University students are self directed learners; this means that you have to do lots of independent research. This can be quite challenging at first but over time it does get easier.
To help in your learning always remember C R E A M.
C - creative. Have the confidence to use your individual strategies and styles, applying imagination to your learning.
R - reflective. Learn to think about your experience, analyse and evaluate your own performance and draw lessons from it.
E - effective. Organise your space, time, resources and be in the right frame of mind for learning to get maximum benefit.
A - active. Be personally involved in doing things to make sense of your learning.
M - motivated. Be aware of your desired outcomes; keep yourself on track by using short term and long term goals.
(Cottrell, 2003)
I found that making notes in a more creative way actually makes it easier for me to remember facts but I can still only make simple minds maps. I have learnt to reflect in more detail and analyse more deeply, exploring my feelings in order to maximise my learning. I have learnt to take ownership of my own learning and organise myself in order to make this as stress free as possible. Since using this strategy I have found that I have been able to broaden my learning, as a question will arouse curiosity in another area, which I then want to learn about. Most importantly, I never loose sight of why I am doing this in the first place. This is the biggest motivator of all.
Over the last semester I have learnt new study skills and have overcome some of my fears about studying for a degree. The lecturer for the study skills module has been fantastic at asking thought provoking questions which have led me to really discover myself as a learner and as a person. Using “EPortfolio” has helped me to formulate my thoughts and document my experiences. I have reflected on these and learnt from them. I feel that I have gained confidence in realising that intelligence is of my own making and using different learning styles that best suits me helps to maximise my full learning potential. I have started to automatically reflect on experiences and situations which have led to further action planning and goal setting.
I know I still have a lot to learn as learning never stops and my journey has only just begun. I have overcome lots of hurdles so far and have thoroughly enjoyed the experience. I know that next year will be just as exciting and I am sure it will come with a new set of worries and concerns. However, at least I have developed some useful strategies to help overcome them and feel more prepared for the future.
I sincerely hope that some of my experiences may have been of some help. University is exciting and I urge you to fully embrace the challenges which lie ahead. Remember, this is your time, this something you are doing for yourself. It is quite an honour being a university student and as I have been told many times, life will never be the same again. With all this new found knowledge the world really is your oyster!
Good luck!
Reference
Cottrell, S. (2003) The Study Skills Handbook 2nd ed., Basingstoke: Palgrave.
Lucia Terry