MAKING THE TRANSITION TO UNIVERSITY LIFE

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MAKING THE TRANSITION TO UNIVERSITY LIFE

• DR DENIS STAUNTON
• DIRECTOR OF ACCESS

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The greatest voyage of self-discovery is not to
seek new landscapes but to find new
eyes Marcel Proust, 1855
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UNIVERSITY AS A CULTURAL CONTEXT

• History
• Platos Academy (4th Century B.C.) to Medieval
  University to Modern University.
• Core Value Scholarship
• Knowledge for its own Sake
• Willingness to Keep Asking Questions
• Use of Reason/Openness/Concern for Truth

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UNIVERSITY AS A CULTURAL CONTEXT Contd

• Purpose of University Education
• Learning to Do
• Learning to Learn
• Learning to Relate
• Learning to Be

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UNIVERSITY AS A CULTURAL CONTEXT Contd

• Distinction Between
• Schooling Knowledge College Knowledge
• Teacher responsible You are responsible for
• for your own learning your own learning
• Leisurely Pace Fast Pace
• Reproducing Facts Critical Thinking
• Study Subjects Study Disciplines
• Learn Language Learning to Discourse into
  a
• Specialist Community

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September/October
November/December
January/February
March/April
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Transition to the Academic Life
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Anticipation Phase

• Fluctuating Feelings
• Excited, Thrilled, Nervous, Anxious,
• Dream Come True Will I be able for it.
• Geographical Disorientation
• Tired, Exhausted, Shattered
• Lectures are really interesting, stimulating,
  looking forward to course
• Meeting interesting like minded people
• Glad I made decision, now have a real purpose,
  and goal in life. (My friends are envious!)

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Feelings of Impostership Phase

• Newness, Excitement is Over.
• Pressure of Time-Table, Private Study and Written
  Assignments to be Completed.
• Doubts, Questions, Insecurities Surface. Ill be
  Found out.
• Why Did I Decide to Put Myself through this. Im
  Fooling Myself.

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Feelings of Impostership Phase Contd

• Everyone Else is Smarter, Brighter and More
  Intellectual than I.
• Nobody Told me how Tough it Really is.
• Dont know who I am anymore.
• What Will Keep me Going is my Original
  Motivation, My Ambition and I know I can Do it.

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CHALLENGE GROWTH PHASE

• Handing in First Written Assignment.
• Fear of Being Judged.
• What are the Rules of the Academic Game?
• Coping with Two Greedy Institutions College
  and Family.

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CHALLENGE GROWTH PHASE Contd

• Losing touch with Friends, Too Busy, No Time, Our
  Interest are no Longer the Same.
• My Fellow Students are the Only Ones who
  Understand.
• Hope Return of Essay/Lab Test/Exam Results.
• Ive Cracked This!!

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INTEGRATION PHASE

• Things are Looking up.
• Managing my Time Better.
• Subjects are Making More Sense to Me.
• Support of College Friends is Great Sharing
  Library Books, Lecture Notes, Cover for one
  Another etc.

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INTEGRATION PHASE Contd

• Months Study Time April No Pressure Just
  Prepare for Exams.
• Becoming Much more Strategic in How I Study,
  Work and Socialise.
• Beginning to Enjoy It

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Ten Strategies For Successfully Completing A
Course

• Your Academic Success Depends Not on How
• Well You are Taught But on How Well You Learn
• Same Time, Same Place Habits of Mind.
• Learning Versus Studying.
• Know How Your Brain Works.
• Reflection is the Key.
• Failure to Plan is Planning to Fail
• The S.M.A.R.T.E.R Method.

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Ten Strategies For Successfully Completing A
Course Contd

• The A.D.U.L.T Method of Reading an Academic Book
• Ask - Determine - Understand
• Learn - Test
• Write and Write Again
• Recognise Your Learning Style
• Overcome the Tendency to Procrastinate.
• Build a Support Network

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HOW DO WE LEARN?

• Incidental Learning
• Experience
• Formal Instruction
• Cycle of Learning (Kolb 1983)

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LEVELS OF LEARNING

• Lower Order Learning/Thinking Skills
• Knowledge
• Comprehension
• Application
• Higher Order Learning/Thinking Skills
• Analysis
• Synthesis
• Evaluation

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HOW DOES THE BRAIN WORK?
Rehearsal
Interpretation
Emotional Blocks
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LEARNING RETENTION

• Over a period of three days, learning retention
  is as follows
• 10 of what you read
• 20 of what you hear
• 30 of what you see
• 50 of what you see and hear
• 70 of what you say
• 90 of what you do
• PIKE R.W. (1989) Creative Training Techniques
  Handbook.
• Minneapolis,
  MN. Lake Wood Books.

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REFLECTION UNDERSTANDING
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PRINCIPLES OF PLANNING

• USE THE S.M.A.R.T.E.R STRATEGY
• S SPECIFIC
• M MEASURABLE
• A ATTAINABLE
• R REALISTIC
• T TIME-SCALE
• E EVALUATE
• R REWARD YOURSELF

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LEARNING STYLES

• The Visual Learner-
• Remembers things best when you see them.
• Draw diagrams, charts, maps to help you
  understand things.
• Use mind-mapping.
• Use planners, organisers and goal setting charts.
• Visualise ideas and facts in your mind.
• Like a stimulating and orderly environment.

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LEARNING STYLES Contd

• The Auditory Learner-
• Will learn best when you hear things.
• Likes lectures, discussions and listening.
• Talk thinks through as you learn them, make
  stories out of your learning.
• Likes radio discussions, debates, audio book
  tapes.
• Realise that some people are not as good as you
  at remembering things.

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LEARNING STYLES Contd

• The Kinaesthetic Learner-
• Learns best through movement, practical classes
  and hands-on activities.
• Remembers things best when you have done it.
• Move around as you learn and revise.
• Mentally review what you are studying while
  shopping or swimming.
• Take plenty of breaks while you are studying.
• At lectures you make lots of notes but tend never
  to look at them again.

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LEARNING STYLES Contd

• The Analytic Learner-
• Learns best by applying logical sequential steps
  approach.
• They need time to think logically about how
  ideas, events and situations are related.
• Likes to do things in their own time without
  tight deadlines.
• They tend to think things out before acting or
  commenting on their learning.
• They like time to prepare and have clarity in
  their thinking.
• They learn best from reading and writing their
  ideas down in an ordered fashion.

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EAT THAT FROG!

• 21 Great Ways to
• Stop Procrastinating and Get
• More Done in Less Time
• Brian Tracy
• Author of The 100 Absolutely Unbreakable Laws of
  Business Success.

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• END