What to Expect

An important difference between A-level studies and study at University is the transition from teacher-led to student-led patterns of learning.

As a University student:

• You take responsibility for your own learning
• Lectures won't contain all the information you 'need to know'
• Lectures will consist of insights into specific details of the topic under discussion, where you can get the benefit of the lecturer's involvement, which will often be at the cutting edge of the subject

The consequence is that you have to make the connections yourself in two ways:

• Draw a general picture from a specific one: come to an understanding of the principles, based on a consideration of detailed examples
• Relate the ideas of one lecturer or course unit to those of all the others: come to an understanding of the scope and interconnectedness of the discipline, based on your encounters with specific areas of expertise

Lecturers are all different - they use different language, have different ways of organising their material and make different assumptions as to your own skills in making the connections. It is down to you to draw the threads together.

Hopefully this section will provide you with some advice on how to get the most out of lectures, tutorials and seminars, and help to make the transition from teacher-led to student-led learning a little easier.