Course in Study Strategies - Making the Most of Your Studies

Introduction

The course is offered for new students at undergraduate level.

The primary objective of this course is to raise the students’ awareness of their own study habits by focusing on planning, setting objectives and structuring their days to achieve overview of the courses, structure and increased learning. The aim of the course is to equip students with resources and practical tools they can apply to utilize and master their academic life. Additionally, the tools are supposed to help the students regulate their learning and study habits. Modules of the course will also include guidelines for how to search for academic literature, examinations and cheating on exams. In physical modules of the course it seeks to engage students by applying differing teaching methods, and digital tools and resources are available.

Course content

The course is organized around three topics, offered as both digital and physical resources:

1. Become a better student: how to get through the curriculum
   Topic 1 is a general introduction to being a student at BI with an explicit focus of increasing the student’s awareness of his/her own learning style, increasing autonomy and utilizing these factors in order to benefit him-/herself. The topic presents how goal setting can help students plan and carry out their studies. In this section the student conducts different assignments in order to create awareness of previous experiences and study habits, and is then presented with new techniques to master the academic life.

   Additionally, the topic concerns how students should acquire an overview of the curriculum and different methods when reading the curriculum. Students also practice how they can increase their pace when reading, and are introduced to different note-taking techniques. Finally, working in colloquium, the benefits of repeating the curriculum and self-discipline are presented.
    

2. Writing papers as an undergraduate
   Topic 2 teaches students how to write papers and academic language. Students will evaluate and work with previous term papers in groups. In addition, the students learn about reference techniques and literature searches, and generally about the library as a resource.
    
3. Exams and mastering examinations
   Topic 3 is about mastering exams, how to prepare for exams and cope with exam-related stress and anxiety. The students also receive more practical tips for how to handle the examination day itself.