MODULE 1: Getting Ready to Learn

MODULE 1:

GETTING READY TO LEARN

LECTURER:

PROF. MADYA DR. HALIL BIN PAINO

MAKING THE TRANSITION (FROM SCHOOL TO UNIVERSITY)

Making the move from being in a school/school to college is not a simple task. There is a requirement for understudies to make new companions, discover new things and make the fundamental way of life changes for them to feel at home in the new environment.

It’s finally happening: you are colleges student. Believe it or not, most people will consider you an adult now, which can be scary because with this “adult” label comes responsibility. Your responsibility. Professors might give you assignments, but they can’t really tell you what to do. You have an unprecedented level of freedom, with no parents, no siblings—wait, no parents?! Who will tell you when to get up? When to go to class? When your assignments are due? Yes, these new responsibilities can be a stressful part of the transition, but students have proven time and time again that they can survive it. You will too!

CHARACTERISTICS OF SUCCESSFUL STUDENTS

Most first year students do not know what it takes to be a successful college student. They know the differences between good and bad grades, but there is so much more to being a successful college student.

So, what do successful student look like? Successful students…

1. Attend All Classes. One of the best ways to be successful in college is to attend all classes. Although you will be tested on material from the course text, most of the test questions will come from lectures.

 2. Become an Active Learner. Unlike high school, in college, you can’t learn all of the material just reading over it a couple of times. You need to write and recite the information to get it into long-term memory.

3. Participate in Class. If you feel a bit uncomfortable participating in class, set a goal to either ask or answer one question during each class. Once you begin participating, you’ll feel more a part of the class and will become more actively involved in the learning process.

 4. Get to Know Your Lecturers. Take a few minutes and stop to talk with your lecturer before or after class or during office hours. Ask a question about the material or check on your progress in the course. If you get to know your instructors, you may feel more comfortable asking for help when you need it.

 5. Form Study Groups with Friends. Study Groups of about 3-4 people are known to be very effective. However, make sure that you include friends who are serious about doing well in their studies because only then they will contribute.

6. Stay Up to Date with Your Work. Many new college students have difficulty keeping up with all of the reading that’s assigned in class. If you get behind in your reading, you may never have time to catch up. The workload in college just increases as the semester progresses. Never procrastinate!

7. Be Receptive to Change. If the strategies that you used in high school aren’t working, ask your lecturer or tutor for suggestions for different ways to learn. Even though the strategies that they suggest may not seem like they’ll work, you must be willing to give them a chance. If you don’t make changes in the way you take notes, read your texts or prepare for exams, for example, you won’t see changes in your performance.

 8. Work Hard This Semester. Forget about doing all your assignments in the evening. If you’re taking fifteen credits this semester, you’ll need a minimum of thirty hours (two hours outside of class for every hour in class) to do your work. If you want high grades, if you work slowly or if you’re taking difficult courses, you’ll need more time to do your work well.

USING LEARNING STYLES TO ENHANCE PERFORMANCE

As a college student, we should know our learning styles and what is the importance of knowing the type of learning style we use to. For example, I always study in the morning because at that moment our brain is freshest and can receive good knowledge. Besides, we must use the i-learning app that has been provided by the university. This application has provided us with a lot of benefits. So let us equally use it for our good.