This page offers help and advice on how to work constructively and experimentally on your approach to preparing for university teaching. It includes individual exercises as well as references to sites that work in-depth with study techniques to prepare for class.
We recommend that you read the sections in order, but you are of course also welcome to choose the specific section that is most relevant for you.
At the Student Counsellors' Office, we often meet students who find it challenging to create good study habits in connection with teaching.
Questions we are often asked are:
These questions do not only only arise at the beginning but also throughout the students’ degree programme. There is no one correct way to prepare for university teaching. It often depends on the nature of the course and who you are as a person. It is therefore important that you continually ask yourself: “What would strengthen my learning process?” and then organise your preparation with this in mind.
...is the key question when it comes to preparing for class.
You often know that it makes sense to prepare for class, but it is perhaps not so often you ask yourself the question: How do I learn best? Asking yourself this question can act as a good starting point for discovering how you should go about preparing for class in the best possible way.
Below are some questions that can help you structure the way you prepare for class. The first step is to identify why you wish to optimise your preparation.
At the Student Counsellors’ Office, we find that students differ greatly in their approach to preparing for class. By answering the questions above, you may find that good preparation is individual.
"You are at university for you. That is a very, very important thing to remember; that you have to plan for your best possible learning. I can't tell you what the best strategy for learning is - it depends on the student. You have to work to understand yourself and find out which process enables you to learn best", Jakob Sherson, Assistant Professor at the Department of Physics.
It is important to remember that everyone studies in different ways and that there is no one correct way to prepare for class.
In order to optimise your preparation and know where you need to take action, it could be a good idea to look at the questions below and enhance your current approach to preparation.
To identify where you could make a special effort, try answering the questions below. The different areas can help you gain an insight into what you find challenging when preparing for your classes. Sometimes it is not a case of “just” reading everything in the syllabus and making notes on what you have read.
In order to prepare for your classes as concretely as possible, it is a good idea to ask yourself the following questions before you begin.
You can find good advice, inspiration and tools to prepare for university teaching on Studypedia.