Students and Learning Process - PDF

Running head: STUDENTS AND LEARNING PROCESS
Students and Learning process
Name of the Student:
Name of the University:
Author’s Note:

1STUDENTS AND LEARNING PROCESS
The educational life of the students forms the most important part of their lives and
therefore it becomes very important for them to perform in a much better manner during this
particular period. In the opinion of many people the transition from the schools or colleges to
the next level of educational institutions is often a problematic one for the students and many
students due to the changing educational environment as well as amount of course work
which they need to complete for the course feel out of place at these educational institutions
(Trigwell, Ashwin & Millan, 2013). Furthermore, procrastination is another major problem
which the majority of the students face during the initial part of their college as well as
university education and which affects their overall grades in an adverse manner (Trigwell,
Ashwin & Millan, 2013). It is a reflection of this particular fact most of the students in the
first year of their colleges or the universities often adopt a superficial or surface level
approaches to learning irrespective of the course or the degree for which they have applied
for (Lee, 2013). This essay will argue in favor of this particular statement and will try to
show that the students in the first year of their college or university education do take the help
of surface level learning which inevitably cause more harm than positive effects on the
learning process of the students concerned.
The primary argument which the majority of the scholars use for this particular trend
seen among the students is the change in the educational environment which the students had
to face during the time of this particular transition (Chiou, Liang & Tsai, 2012). It is
significant to note that during the transition from the schools to the colleges or the university
the nature of the environment which the various students face is drastically different from the
ones which the students have been used in their schools and the adjustment which this
particular transition entails with itself which the students need to make often leaves them with
very little time to cope with the additional amount of syllabus (Chiou, Liang & Tsai, 2012).
Thus, in the opinion of many people the transition which the students need to make not only

2STUDENTS AND LEARNING PROCESS
physically but also emotionally is one of the main reasons for the surface level learning
approach adopted by the various students during the first year of their college or university
studies (Entwistle, 2014).
The second argument which is used in the support of this particular trend seen among
the various students in the first year of their educational lives is the fact that the amount of
syllabus which the students need to take care of during the first year of their educational lives
in the various colleges as well as university is more in comparison to the ones which they
needed to take care of in their schools or other educational institutions in which they have
studied (Baeten, Struyven & Dochy, 2013). Therefore, it is usually seen that the students
during the first year of their college or university educational lives in a bid to cope up with
the added amount of syllabus often resort to the superficial style of learning (Donnison &
Penn-Edwards, 2012). Furthermore, in the opinion of many students not all the things which
are taught to them during their entire course work are useful to them and it is often seen that
during the exams the professors set the question papers in such a way that the majority of the
questions come from a few selected areas of the entire course work (Baeten, Struyven &
Dochy, 2013). Therefore, in a bid to reduce the amount of time required to complete the
entire Herculean amount the students resort to the superficial style of learning in a bid to
cover up the sections of the syllabus which are not that much important from the perspective
of the examination and do thorough learning only for the sections which are important from
the perspective of the examination.
The third argument which it used by the various scholars to justify this particular
trend seen among the students in the first year of their college or university is the fact that the
students although they had moved to the colleges or the universities but mentally they still
feel that they are a part of the school and therefore they take the things which are being taught
to them in a very casual manner and it is a reflection of this particular fact that the students

3STUDENTS AND LEARNING PROCESS
during the initial part of the college or university years do not take the things which are being
taught to them in a serious manner (Trigwell, Ellis & Han, 2012). Furthermore, during the
school years the amount of syllabus which the various students need to deal with is very less
in comparison to the amount of syllabus which they need to deal with in their college or
university lives. However, the students in the first year of their college or university still
follow the psychology which they had followed during their school lives, that is, they would
be able to complete the entire syllabus by studying at the very last moment (Trigwell, Ellis &
Han, 2012). The Herculean amount of syllabus which the students need to cover up during
the first year of their college or university lives however requires a constant effort as well as
dedication on the part of the students which many of them fail to put in during the course of
their first year in the colleges or the universities (Passarelli & Kolb, 2012). Therefore, in a bid
to cover up the entire syllabus at the last moment the students have no other option left but to
complete the entire course work in a superficial manner.
The fourth argument which is used by the various scholars to justify the surface
learning approaches adopted by the various students during the first year of the college or
university lives is the factor of the teaching method used by the various professors in the
colleges as well as the universities is drastically different part from the ones used by the
various teachers in the school level and others (Salamonson et al., 2013). It is significant to
note that during the school level education the students are being spoon fed in terms of the
course work which are being taught to them and it is generally seen that the various schools
do not complete the entire course work which have been allotted to them (Salamonson et al.,
2013). Therefore, it would be apt to say that the laissez faire approach adopted by the various
professors in the colleges as well as universities are contrary to the teaching approaches used
by the various schools teachers for the purposes of imparting education. Thus, it is generally
seen that by the times the various students get adapted or acclimatized to the teaching pattern

4STUDENTS AND LEARNING PROCESS
of the professors belonging to the colleges or the universities a considerable amount of time
is wasted and therefore the students are left with very little amount of time to complete the
entire syllabus for the academic year (Pham & Renshaw, 2013). However, it is often seen that
the surface level learning approach adopted by the various students has long term adverse
effects of the performance level of the students. In the opinion of many people, the students
who take the help of the surface level learning approach often end learning less than half of
the things which are being taught to them and this particular fact affects their performance of
the students in a considerable manner in the later part of their educational course as it is
generally seen that the second year course of the various colleges as well as universities is
dependent on the things which have been taught to the students in the first year of their
college or university education (Donnison & Penn-Edwards, 2012). Therefore, the students
find it very difficult to cope up with the educational as well as the performance pressure in
the later part of the educational career. Moreover, it is seen that in the present times the
intelligence level as well as the job prospects which a particular student is likely to have in
the future times depends on the kind of grades or marks which the particular student gets in
the college or the university level exams (Pham & Renshaw, 2013). Therefore, it becomes all
the more important for the students to take the help of surface level learning so that they
secure a bare minimum of marks or grades so that they can move on the next level.
To conclude, the students in the first year of their college or university education find
themselves in an educational environment which is drastically different from the one which
they have been used to in their school level. Furthermore, the added amount of syllabus
which they need to complete for their course work often leaves them with very little time or
enthusiasm to complete the Herculean. Therefore, it is generally seen that the various
students take the help of the various surface level learning approaches in a bid to get at least
the bare minimum marks or grades which is necessary for them to move on to the next year.

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However, it is generally seen that these surface level learning approaches affects the
performance level of the students in an adverse manner.

6STUDENTS AND LEARNING PROCESS
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