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Taking on the Challenge

Being an independent learner

As you will have seen in the Expectations Quiz you did earlier, you are expected to be an independent learner responsible for your own study. This means you have to remember when you need to hand in an assignment or attend a test, you have to manage your own time, you have to decide what to read and know how to do research for your assignments, and you have to ask for help yourself if you need it. Nong, a former postgraduate student, says:

Hey, if you come to a western university, you should be outgoing and collect information by yourself. Don’t wait for others to tell you what to do. You need to ask questions and seek all the help available. It’s up to you. You are responsible for your own success.

Being an independent learner might be challenging for you if you are used to being looked after by teachers. A commerce student from China says

The education style in New Zealand is quite different from my country. There the school organises our day. Here at Victoria I have to be independent. I have to read my course overview carefully to know when to hand things in.

The course overview is the KEY information for every course. It will be posted on Blackboard at the beginning of the trimester.

A typical course overview may cover such things as:

course content and objectives
time and place of lectures and tutorials
who the lecturers and tutors are, location of their offices, and contact details
the course requirements
assessment—what kind of assignments and tests you will have, and the dates
workload—how many hours you are expected to study
required materials—textbooks and/or recommended readings
general university requirements, for example the process for any grievances, the Statute on Conduct, the class representative system, plagiarism, and any other student welfare or disability information.

It may also include a detailed outline of the course topics as well as your tutorial and assignment questions.

So...
Read your course overview thoroughly in the first week so you know the key dates, topics, and other important information.
Ask for help if you need it. Don’t hesitate to ask your lecturer or tutor for help. Find out in your course outline where else you can go to get help.

Independent learning quiz

Take this quiz to find out how prepared you are for academic study at Victoria.

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Quiz - Independent Learner