By Dr Sue Sing, Centre for Higher Education Research and Scholarship
“It’s not how smart you are. It’s not how hard you work. It’s about the strategy you use” (Student Participant, Learning Well Project Focus Group)
Who are the Learning Well resources aimed at?
Our Learning Well Resources have been created for all Imperial students – in any year group, any department, any faculty. They can enhance every student’s learning experiences, whether you want to refine and strengthen your approaches to learning, you feel like you’re struggling or you would simply like a bit of extra help.
Learning well is about more than good grades – it’s about how you can achieve in effective, efficient and sustainable ways.
The concept of ‘learning well’ is relevant to every student at Imperial. These materials can guide you to proactively explore practices and behaviours that support positive wellbeing alongside effective and efficient academic learning.
Your approach to ‘learning well’ is uniquely yours – it’s about finding what works for you so don’t worry if this doesn’t look the same as what others are doing. What’s right for one person may not be right for you…and that’s okay! Our resources can help you consider practical steps you can take to craft your own path to ‘learning well’ here at Imperial.
How were these resources developed?
These materials were co-designed with Imperial students for Imperial students, with support from the university’s StudentShapers programme. The research team gathered empirical evidence from 33 focus groups, conducted with over 100 Imperial students, and used this data to foreground the lived experiences of your ‘near peers’ – those who study your subjects, in your faculties, at this university. The quotes you read illustrate the real experiences, reflections and associated learning of Imperial students, which means these materials are rooted in the realities of individuals who truly understand the Imperial context.
How are they meant to be used?
To support your navigation of these resources, we’ve grouped them into three broad categories:
- Understanding ‘learning well’ and strategies to achieve it
- Maintaining mental wellbeing for effective learning
- Becoming and being an effective university student
But actually, the ideas across our materials are interconnected, and we encourage you to think about them in this way. The strategies and ideas we share are provided as suggestions for consideration and inspiration; they are not intended to be prescriptive or to imply that these are the ‘best’ or ‘only’ approaches to ‘learn well’. If you prefer, you can treat them as starting points that you can then adapt in ways that work best for you.
Below are some suggestions for how you might interact with these materials:
- Using the key messages to reflect on your own study strategies and to take brief moments to actively evaluate whether these are serving your different learning needs/tasks well (enough)
- Strategies that served you well in the past (e.g. before coming to Imperial, or in a different term or year of study) may no longer work as effectively. Carving out time to reflect on this and trying things differently can be valuable.
- Using the quotes to discuss and debate with others, and potentially build a ‘community of practice’ with your peers
- We can learn a great deal from each other, often in ways and at times that we don’t expect.
- Using the strategies mentioned as ideas you can test out based on your own needs and interests
- These might not always work for you and there can be an element of risk-taking involved – but, if you don’t give things a go, you may never know what works best for you. Finding what works often involves a bit of trial and error. It’s about being open to adapting your strategies over time and in different situations and recognising that there’s no single ‘right’ way to learn.
Where can I find additional support and resources?
In addition to our Learning Well resources and this Learning Well blog, there are many other sources of support available too – for example, did you know about and have you checked out the following?
- Your peers – they may be in a year group above or below you, they might study different subjects or be students at other universities.
- Your teachers – take advantage of, or create, opportunities where you can, e.g. in or at the end of classes, during office hours, or by sending an email.
- Imperial’s Student Support Zone – a guide to wellbeing and support services at Imperial.
- SIDUS resources – these can support your transition from school to university and help you navigate university life (they were created for Imperial students by Imperial students)
- This Learning Well blog – why not bookmark this page and set yourself reminders to check in from time to time to read our latest posts!