How student-led sessions can make tough courses manageable
You did it! The first month of classes is over! At this point, many students begin to have anxiety over perceived difficult or “weeder” courses. Maybe it’s the class with an 80 per cent final, or maybe it’s the class that has a list of horror stories a mile long associated with it — as students, we’ve all experienced them. In first year, I had three of these courses.
I grew up in a small town that had one high school with less than a thousand kids enrolled in it. Because of this, many courses I wanted to take in high school were not offered — things like accounting and economics weren’t even an option. As university approached, I knew that I wouldn’t be as prepared as others who had these opportunities — but imagine my shock during the first few classes when I felt like the professors were speaking a completely different language. What I do remember is that during one of my first classes, a student stood up and identified themselves as an SLG leader.
SLGs — or Supported Learning Groups — are a unique and beneficial resource for students at U of G. They are sessions held on a weekly basis that help solidify course content and ensure students feel confident in what they’re learning. The sessions are facilitated by an SLG leader, but students are encouraged to collaborate with one another in order to work through difficult lecture material.
I figured that one of the best ways to gain more insight about SLGs was to talk to an SLG leader. Enter Iryna Savinova — who is somewhat of an SLG expert after leading SLG sessions for courses like MATH*1080, BIOL*1090, CHEM*1040 and BIOC*2580. She’s currently an SLG mentor, which means she supports SLG leaders as they support students.
“Attendees should leave SLG sessions feeling more confident in their studying and learning strategies, as well as being motivated to keep up to date with the lecture and even have new friends they can sit beside during future lectures,” said Savinova.
What does she recommend for students who are taking a challenging course?
“Disregard the ‘hallway talk’ that creates these intimidating characterizations of a course. Instead, I would suggest staying on top of lecture material by consolidating the material soon afterwards through solving application problems and reviewing the content,” said Savinova.
By seeking assistance outside of the classroom, intimidating courses can become more manageable.
Next week, I’ll be discussing writing appointments — a useful resource for building your writing skills!
Photo provided by Emma Evenden