How to take control of your academic future
Friday August 28 2009
Unlike any other time in your education career, the third-level experience will offer you the opportunity to manage your own workload and become a self-reliant learner.
Simply put, for the first time in your life, you will be asked to study not because you have to, but because you should want to.
In order then to help you take control of your academic future, here are some points to consider:
Know thyself: Use your strengths, explore your weaknesses
It may sound strange, but in many ways, the best students are not those who know everything, but those who know themselves.
This concept, which can be traced back to ancient Greece, continues to be a vital component in third-level education today.
To begin this process, ask yourself the following:
- How have you revised in the past?
- What lessons did you enjoy at secondary level?
- Do you remember song lyrics easily?
- Do you draw or doodle when thinking?
- Did you leave homework to the last minute?
As your first step into the third-level mindset, this exercise in self-reflection will allow you to explore what styles of learning have suited you in the past and perhaps will outline what areas you may want to improve upon in the future.
To support this process, each incoming student at National College of Ireland is given the opportunity to identify and reflect upon their learning preferences, which in turn can help each person to create an individual learning strategy.
Creating a strategy that fits
Gone are the days when revision simply meant re-reading text books and writing out essays. With the growing usage of technologies at third level, every student can now choose to create individual learning strategies that cater to their own preferences.
For example, if you prefer aural learning, then why not try creating audio notes for your mp3 player, iPod, or mobile phone? If you favour more visual preferences, why not try drawing a mind-map or spider-diagram? Perhaps you like to study with others. If so, why not form a small study group on campus?
Incidentally, a study group can be a great way to share information and reinforce the learning experience. It does however require commitment. Therefore, if you are a part-time student or cannot attend regular meetings in college, then perhaps you and your classmates should consider setting up a virtual study group. The process of setting up a virtual classroom for shared study has recently become as easy as sending an e-mail. All you need is a headset, the internet and an email list of willing group members.
Whatever strategies you decide always remember that the best learning strategy is to start early; no amount of technology will ever replace commonsense and preparation.
Getting to grips with your chosen course
Third level is not just about memorising material; this is not the Leaving Certificate Part 2. As an intelligent and self-aware person, you will be expected to think critically about the texts you are reading. Moreover, you will be expected to write critically, by forming opinions based on several perspectives.
Worried? Confused? That's ok . . . The good news is that you will not face these new experiences alone. You will be surrounded by peers who are facing the same tasks as you, so support each other, share notes, form study groups and don't forget . . . We are always here to help.
Michael Goldrick is the learning support tutor at National College of Ireland and author of 'The National Learning Support Manual'
