Managing the pressures of the long distance student

This post began as a draft response to a plea for help on the History at UNE Facebook page. It became so long that I decided that I should run it as a full post here and then cross-reference it on the FB page.

Under pressure because of family and job circumstances, Jennifer G asked for hints about study techniques that might help her manage more effectively. It was interesting to see how many of her experiences were shared by others, nice that people were so supportive. I thought that I should add my tuppence worth.

Learning and working styles vary greatly. For example, I am a very fast reader and have been trained through work to absorb stuff quickly, so my hints mat not be suitable for all.

My first hint may raise eyebrows, may be seen as unsuitable in a university environment. I will still make it: use Wikipedia and other on-line sources. Yes, I know Wikipedia is full of errors and is not normally suitable for referencing, but it is still valuable in two primary ways.

One of the challenges faced by all students is to get a feel for the scope of their course. Yes, the course material does aim to do that, but Wikipedia can still be valuable. For my part, I use it to give me a quick overview of the area in question, a starting framework. Say I want to find out about the early days of the Muslim faith. A friend was doing this as a course and I wanted to help. So I went through the Wikipedia pages, following the links. In an hour, I had a rough historical structure to work from that at least allowed me to talk sensibly..

 I also use it to clarify names, words and concepts. In reading academic writing I am constantly struck by names that I do not know, words and concepts that I do not understand. I immediately follow through using on-line search and especially Wikipedia.

These types of searches can often be fitted into time gaps.

My second hint: create a schedule of key dates early in the piece. Dates are pegs. You hang things from them, they help you think about the patterns involved.  They can also stop you making gross errors. There is nothing more mortifying, as I know full well, in realizing that an entire carefully developed argument has to be discarded because certain pesky dates don’t fit! It also saves time because you can refer to your schedule in finding dates rather than searching again. In some cases, it may help to add a glossary of terms plus a list of characters.

Hint three: each time you read a new article or book record the details properly. This has two advantages. It saves time later when it comes to that horrid task of creating footnotes and bibliography for your assignment. Mind you, while I still hate creating bibliographies and, in my case, resource lists, I now use footnotes as a tool, even weapon, to support my argument. Properly documenting references in the first place means that when you take notes you can use short form – author and date plus page number – since you already have the full details recorded.

Hint four: keep your notes short. You are recording ideas, facts, quotes for later use. Don’t be like the early me and feel that you must record everything. So much time I wasted. You can always go back if you must. This approach also reduces the risk of the dreaded plagiarism.

There are different ways of taking notes. One old fashioned way that still works is to put them on index cards that you can reshuffle as required. Consider keeping a writer’s diary in which you jot down thoughts, ideas and key facts. This can be a small notebook that you can store in handbag or brief case. This should be page numbered and have an index space (blank numbered pages) at the front where you can cross-reference later thoughts.

Hint five: with books don’t just start reading. Take the time to look at the table of contents (this tells you the structure), read any introduction or preface (this tells what the author thinks the book is about) and browse the index for any topics, people etc that seem relevant. Then flick browse through the book. This gives you a feel for the book and its flow, helping you focus on what seems important. You can then read as required.

Hint six: try to use your otherwise dead time effectively. I used to work in Parramatta, taking around two and a half hours travel time in all. I came to call this my train reading time. Once your mind and ideas are engaged you will find it easier to use little bits of time effectively, thinking while ironing or walking.

Hint seven and I know this one is hard. Try not to get too hung up on assignments or essays. They are important because they are measures that the university uses to assess your progress. They are also problematic sometimes because of variations in marking and in perceptions (staff and students) of the results. In all, they are a major cause of angst.

We live in a measurement world where we all must jump through hoops. That won’t go away. We just have to manage. Here I want to make a few points that may sound heretical or just hard to do.

 Change the way that you look at essays or assignments. Forget the question of how well you do or might do. Don’t worry about the question of pass or failure. Yes, I know that’s hard.

I remember my father then Professor of Economics at UNE and a member of the NSW Board of Examiners for the old NSW Leaving Certificate. A friend’s daughter was struggling with an economics essay and Prof (we all called him Prof) gave her some help. She failed badly. A week later her teacher, an economics student, came round to the house for a group economics tutorial from Dad. Dad did not say a word; just let the matter pass to the keeper.

My point is that any essay or assignment is just a point in the process. Markers are human and struggle with the technical process of marking. I know from my own experience that this can be quite hard when you have a lot of papers. You have to grade them against each other and against your own perception of standards.

If we now turn all this on its head and look at it from a different viewpoint: to the university, the essay or assignment is a progress measurement, a measure of pass or failure. But is it?

In our measurement obsessed world, it would seem so. But, in fact, essays and assignments and indeed exams are part of the process by which you are learning your historical craft, as well as writing skills. As an historian, you need to be able to express your arguments clearly History is not just “facts”. You have to learn to express an argument from introduction to conclusion using clear English in a logical flow, marshalling your arguments supported by evidence. This just doesn’t come. It has to be practiced. The skills you learn will carry you through well beyond history.

 I know that some of the most turgid, tendentious English that you can find comes out of our universities. That does not matter. Well, it does, just not for our present purposes. You need to think of your essays and assignments as part of your learning process. If you fail, find out why and move on, even when you disagree.

I will finish this post with a few general observations

External study can be a lonely business when you are trying to balance work, study and family commitments and have no one to talk too on either method or topic. Use the Moodle or the History at UNE FB page to reach out, to engage, as Jennifer did. Look for fellow students who share your interests and experiences. If you are in trouble reach out early.

In all this, remember that you are acquiring interests and learning skills that will carry you forward in directions that you cannot yet see.  Sorry, I have dropped from helpful to lecturing mode!