Wouldn’t it be great if you could just show up at class and soak up the teacher’s words? But unfortunately, push-ups by your teacher won’t make you stronger yourself. It’s up to you to learn to work independently and academically.
It's a good idea to work actively with your learning process. There are many ways to learn, and everyone has to find their own way. You can boost your own learning process by being curious about how you learn best. One place to start is by reflecting on what study strategies and cognitive strategies work for you.
Ask yourself: how do I learn best? The question underlines that there are different ways to learn. And it’s a good starting point for finding out about what you need to focus on to work with the material in the best possible way – for example when preparing for class.
Reflect on the following questions: |
|
It’s also easier to be well prepared, if you give yourself a good outset for concentrating on your work. For example, prioritise your time according to when you work most efficiently.
It may help you to learn something new if you can stimulate your thoughts in ways that help you understand the content better. In other words, use a cognitive strategy to help you develop your academic knowledge.
Such strategies are useful when starting a new study activity, e.g. reading a difficult text or writing an assignment, or you can use them if you get stuck with your reading or writing. In each their different way, they help you to understand what you need to learn.
Cognitive strategies | ||
| Planning and setting goals is about being able to develop plans for your work and envisage a process. It’s about your ability to define a purpose and see the meaning or intention of a study activity. This will make it easier to set goals for your work – sub-goals as well as end goals. Planning is also a matter of prioritising and being selective, because there is not always enough time for everything you want to do. You will be more conscious of the purpose of your work and how to approach it. |
| |
| Drawing on familiar knowledge is about your ability to exploit knowledge you already have on a given topic. It’s about mentally extracting experience, knowledge or skills relevant to the study activity you are currently engaged in. Your knowledge in the area may be fragmented and inadequate, but it can still push you forward, and perhaps encourage you to ask curious questions to be addressed further. You will become more aware of what you know and don't know about the topic. |
| |
| Asking questions and making predictions. is about homing in on your study activity by asking relevant questions. These may be questions about the author of a text, the purpose of an assignment, typical characteristics of the genre or something else entirely. Your questions will help you direct your attention to the most relevant parts of your study activity and find your focus. They will also help you make predictions about the future. Perhaps you imagine that your study or survey will lead to certain results or to a specific conclusion. Your questions as well as your predictions will help to build momentum for your process. You will become conscious of important focus points in your assignment or in your study work. |
|
| Constructing the core is about spotting the main points – the most important aspects – of what you are engaged in; be it a text, a lecture, a discussion or something else entirely. Visualise the content and make meaningful connections between the different points. Organise the content so that you can refer to the most important aspects and start making preliminary interpretations. You will become conscious of the core of what you are engaged in. |
| |
 | Monitoring and reconstructing. Think briefly about what you got out of the previous 25 minutes. For example, are you beginning to understand the material? Did you manage to narrow down your topic? If not, are there any gaps in your knowledge or things you could do differently to move on? Monitoring and reconstructing is about being able to track or observe your own work process. This entails that you continually guide the direction of your thoughts, ideas and decisions, and adjust your opinions and actions, so that the process remains or becomes constructive and meaningful. During the monitoring process, stop to look back, and ahead. Where are you headed, and are you on the right track? Clarify and weigh up the advantages and disadvantages of your work process. You will become conscious of whether you are making meaningful progress, and thereby prove or disprove the value of your work. |
|
| Reflecting and relating is about your ability to relate to the content of your work and reflect on both content and form – i.e. reflect on what you are doing and how you are doing it. Go back and reconsider your choices and trade-offs. Link your work to other areas, places or contexts. You will become conscious of the importance of your work – both your process and your product. |
| |
 | Evaluation is about your ability to review your work and assess its quality. Do this by asking questions about your own work and considering it in relation to the criteria set for your work, either by yourself or by others. In your evaluation, take a critical approach and ask questions. What works well and not so well, and why? You will become aware of the value of your work, what it means to you and to others, and what is meaningful about your work. |
|
The strategies are also useful in your study group. For example, when reading a text, each of you can test a strategy and then share your knowledge and experience with the others. In this way, the group as a whole will get more out of the text. For example, one group member can make a comparison with a similar text, one can summarise the main points, one can ask critical questions about the text and one can consider how the text can help address an academic problem.
Students have to learn to work independently and academically. This is also known as the academic genre, and you often have to show that you can apply this in your presentations or assignments.
Working academically means: | |
| Producing new knowledge | You can produce new knowledge in many ways by:
You don't have to reinvent the wheel, but you have to bring something new to the table. Read about choosing a topic and writing a problem statement. |
| Taking a critical approach | Take a critical approach to the theories and methods you use, as well as to your own investigation, analysis and results. For example, you could discuss the assumptions that the theories are based on, whether those assumptions are up to date, or whether they lack coherence. You could also discuss any inadequacies or sources of error in your own methods. |
| Justifying and arguing | Justify the choices you make in the assignment and present arguments for your choices. This creates transparency and makes it easier for the reader to follow your logic and rationale. Click here to read more about argumentation. |
| Selecting and using relevant literature | The knowledge you produce is not independent of all the knowledge produced before you. On the contrary, it builds on previous knowledge. Use therefore existing knowledge that is relevant to your assignment. Sometimes this will be in a literature review/state of the art, other times in the introduction to your study. It’s important to be clear about the knowledge you’re building on and how your work is contributing with new findings. This requires transparent language and the use of references. |
| Using subject-specific terminology | Use the subject's jargon, concepts and terminology correctly and precisely. Also, make sure that you’re consistent, i.e. use the same word for the same thing every time. It’s usually a good idea to prepare an overview defining the terms and concepts you’re using and how you’re using them. If you introduce new concepts, define them as precisely as possible. |
| Addressing assumptions and delineations | Present your assumptions clearly and transparently to your reader. You should also be clear about the delineations of the assignment, i.e. what you are not investigating and how that affects the assignment and conclusion. |
| Using subject-specific methods | Use the subject’s methods. Some subjects primarily use theory, while others use experiments, interviews or other empirical data. |
Use taxonomies to understand what you are expected to learn. The learning objectives in your academic regulations are often defined on the basis of a taxonomy, i.e. a description of the different levels of learning or abstraction.
The two most common taxonomies at Aarhus University are Bloom's taxonomy and the SOLO taxonomy, which you can read about below. Please note, however, that some degree programmes may use another taxonomy.
Bloom's taxonomy describes knowledge, mental skills and processes. The taxonomy categorises various levels from simple knowledge to more complex knowledge.
Bloom's taxonomy places six learning objectives in a hierarchical structure, where the first level is remembering and understanding previously learned information and the most advanced level is the ability to evaluate knowledge. Each level of the taxonomy is a prerequisite for the next, which means that you cannot skip a level. For example, you cannot evaluate knowledge without understanding it first. In general, the higher the taxonomic level you demonstrate, the better your grade. However, be aware that some exams may not have any taxonomic requirements beyond e.g. application. So remember to check your academic regulations, so you know what is expected of you.
The table below will give you an idea of what actions are associated with the different levels in Bloom's taxonomy:
Taxonomic level | Relevant actions |
Remember |
|
| Understand |
|
Apply |
|
Analyse |
|
Evaluate |
|
Create |
|
The first levels mean you understand individual aspects that you can recognise and describe. A deeper level of understanding would enable you to compare, discuss and relate.
The taxonomy has a hierarchical structure, where each level is a prerequisite for the next. This means that you cannot skip levels. You cannot, for example, relate without identifying. In general, the higher the taxonomic level you demonstrate, the better your grade. However, be aware that some exams may not have any taxonomic requirements beyond e.g. describing. Read more in the academic regulations for your programme.
Many students benefit from having a study space. See the facilities offered to students by the State and University Library. You can also ask your department about the possibilities for a study space.
