Course and exam difficulties

The relative ‘learning freedom’ at university causes problems for some students. This new found freedom is unusual and sometimes too demanding.

Students frequently battle against some of the following problems :

Unrealistic dividing up of material and time planning
 ‘Before an exam, at the start I always believe I have enough time, but it doesn’t work out like that and I never have time to revise what I have learnt.’

A lack of motivation, failure to set goals, negative expectations
 ‘I can’t bring myself to sit down and study, the material doesn’t interest me at all, there’s no prospect of coming to the end....’

Fear of failure
‘When learning, I always think about failing the exam, I won’t manage it, what will other people say about it, the fear cripples me...’

Inadequate study techniques
‘I learn material by heart for hours and when it comes to the exam I have forgotten everything... everything seems equally important to me, I can’t pick out the key points...’

Inability to concentrate
‘I have hardly started to study and am very soon thinking about other things, I welcome any small diversion...’
 

In order to support students with learning efficient study techniques, we offer both advice to individuals about how to improve performance in studying, exams and scientific work, as well as, in some cases, ‘Study training’ in groups. Study training in groups has the advantage that through a mutual exchange of experiences, the level of motivation increases, as joint study strategies are acquired and exam situations are able to be practiced by way of role playing.

Learning Effectively