Starting at Sheffield Hallam
Module 3: Adapting to higher education
Screen challenge: How will your schedule at university or college compare to your previous schedule?
Most students are struck by how different their university or college schedule is compared to what they have done before.
Some subject areas such as Engineering, Languages and Health Sciences have a lot of in-class sessions, whereas others, like Humanities and Social Sciences provide more time for you to learn on your own.
In the following activity, click on the hours of the day on the clock image to learn more about how your time might be structured during your studies.
'Free' time
You may have more (or less!) free time than you'd expected. If you have few contact hours then it's important to be disciplined about getting up and getting on.
Study time
Your study time varies depending on the time of year and what year of study you are in – but you always need to be putting some effort into your studies.
Contact hours
Contact hours are the hours you are timetabled to do something specific such as go to a seminar, tutorial, lab session or something else organised for you by the university. Depending on your subject area, contact hours may take up most of your week or a few hours a day. They are a key part of your learning and need to be prioritised – even if it is painful to get up for that early lecture!
Friends and family time
Remember to keep in touch with others, be active and stay healthy. Schedule a call home or look for a society to join.
Work time
It's quite likely you have a part-time or even full-time job – or even a number of jobs to earn money to support your studies. See our tips on how to balance both.
Social time
You need to balance social time with study time. This is something you need to take seriously – it can be too easy to go overboard!
Independent study
Students say
I expected university to be slightly more disciplined. I thought they'd chase you up a bit more for deadlines, but I guess it's good that they don't – you need to learn to manage your own time.
Second-year maths student
Portfolio activity
Duration: 10 minutes
Scheduling your time
Consider your own expectations for how higher education is different to what you have done before.
- What commitments do you need to balance with your learning? When do you plan to study?
You may wish to download and use the attached template to record your thoughts.
Key terms
Tutorials: Typically small groups or sometimes even one-to-one meetings between you and a member of staff, where you will discuss a particular piece of work or project.
Seminars: Typically involve smaller numbers of students than lectures and may take place in person or online. The aim of a seminar is to discuss a topic in detail; you will analyse and consider evidence. Seminars generally have a more relaxed atmosphere than lectures, and you will be encouraged to discuss your reactions to a particular subject.
Contact hours: The times when you are timetabled to do something specific such as attend a seminar, tutorial, lab session, lecture or something else related to your study that has been organised for you. The number of contact hours you have will vary by subject area. For example, architecture students generally have more contact hours than students studying art history.
Learning on your own is an important way to learn more about your subject, hone your skills and ensure you understand what is being taught to you.
But what counts as independent study?
Independent study can mean lots of different things. From reviewing your notes during the hours between classes to setting aside a day in the library to read some books or articles... everyone works differently.
In the following activity, you will be presented with some different ways of working independently. In each case, click the example at the top and drag it into the appropriate column according to whether you already do this way of working, will try it or think it is not relevant for you. When you have completed the activity, click 'Feedback' to view some additional feedback.
Reading books and articles and making notes
Writing on discussion boards and responding to other students
Reviewing lecture notes and handouts
Planning and completing assignments, such as problem sets and essays
Working with a specialist tutor to improve your skills
Watching videos online to learn new skills, enhance your knowledge base and review topics
Already do this
Will try this
Not relevant
Independent learning is not just about reading. Here are examples of additional activities across a range of disciplines:
- Engineering: Learn to use software design programmes
- Social science: Read newspapers, magazines and journals online
- Policy: Attend political events, lectures or follow campaigns
- Architecture: Visit sites of unique buildings
- Art: Visit exhibitions (or check out online viewings!)
- Humanities/Performing arts: Attend plays, theatre and street performances
- History: Visit archives and check out original texts
Even completing this course counts as independent learning!
Useful links
Reading and attending class is not the only way to learn. Some things you do for fun may complement what you learn – for example, check out this list of TED talks on different topics: www.ted.com/talks
Portfolio activity
Duration: 10 minutes
It is important to balance your time. Write a few notes about how much time you think you will spend in a week on: contact hours, independent study, extra-curricular activities, working, caring responsibilities, commuting and socialising.
Throughout the year, keep a record of how much time you spend socialising and studying in a given week. How prepared do you feel for class? How connected do you feel to your peers? Do you have enough time for sleep, exercise and other activities?
Don't be afraid to make some adjustments to your schedule depending on what you need to be healthy and productive.
You may wish to download and use the attached template to record your thoughts.
The key thing about independent working is that it is driven by you and that it happens outside of the organised, timetabled learning sessions that have been set out.
Now we've looked at independent learning we are going to look at another key component of higher education: taking responsibility for your learning.