Tuesday 9 August 2011

University study advice: how to take charge of your education

Know what to expect from your university professors and bridge the gap between school and university education. 

By Paul Bray 09 Aug 2011

Remember the friendly teachers – OK, then, the teachers – who kept your nose to the grindstone at school? Nagged you about handing in your coursework? Spoon-fed you with handy facts? Droned on about how to satisfy examiners? Told your mum if you played truant?
You may not believe it, but you’re going to miss them when you get to uni. Because your lecturers will have better things to do than play nursemaid.
“You’re very much expected to organise your own life and manage your own work,” says Rosie Weatherley, president of Keele University Students’ Union, who herself graduated in 2010. “No one will come after you if you don’t hand work in, and the only person who’ll lose out is you.”
The more prestigious the institution, the more independent you need to be. “You can expect less support from the ‘better’ universities, who expect more from their students,” says Philip Davies, assistant director of higher education at Bournemouth and Poole College.
“Paradoxically, you often get more support and lecturer time as you go down the league table, and the best support is probably found in further education colleges that run degrees, because they specialise in helping less academically minded students.” 

The quality of teaching can vary within the same institution, adds Weatherley. Some lecturers are really committed to teaching and their students; others seem to save their enthusiasm for private research.
There’s also a lot of self-study outside lectures and seminars, which takes commitment, dedication, focus and good time management, says Jayson Short, student advice, employability and careers service manager at London South Bank University.
“It’s important to organise your week so that you know when you need to attend lectures, and then set aside additional time for self-study and working on assignments,” he adds.
The department should publish a timetable well in advance to help you plan your life – and paid employment – around it. But the operative word is “around”. Lectures and classes cannot be repeated, and there may well be a register to ensure you turn up.
Don’t expect uni to be a part-time occupation, either. Your timetable may appear to have relaxingly large gaps, but fill these with the required amount of private study – which usually exceeds the time spent in lectures and classes – and you’ll probably be working around 30 hours a week. That’s almost equivalent to a full-time job.
But if uni isn’t as cosy as school, there are compensations. “The aim of a lecturer is to create an environment that’s conducive to learning,” explains John Hammond, associate dean at St George’s University of London. “If it’s too hierarchical, it doesn’t work. You need a set-up where students can challenge, be creative and think outside the box.”
“You’re a group of adults who treat each other with mutual respect,” says Weatherley. “There’s also a tacit understanding that it’s not just down to the lecturer to tell you stuff, and that everyone has to contribute.”
Simply because you call lecturers by their first names, though, doesn’t mean you’ll be bosom chums. “Lecturers should be seen as friendly teachers, not friends,” says Davies. “If you met them in a pub, it would only be once at the end of the year, and only as a group.”
“Students and lecturers will never be mates,” adds Hammond, “because ultimately they’re assessing your work.”

Article on: http://www.telegraph.co.uk/education/universityeducation/8689482/University-study-advice-how-to-take-charge-of-your-education.html

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