As is known, the first-year student of the university, as a rule, is experiencing stress at the first time. This stress is associated with new forms of education, a large amount of information that needs to be absorbed, as well as the nature of the relationship between teachers and students inherent in higher education, and the increasing role of independent student work. From the very first days of training at the university, the student is faced with forms of work that are unusual for him or her. However, not all students can competently dispose of their independence.
The Main Problems University/College Students Face
University years can be either daunting or funny period of a student life. Nowadays university students face many difficulties and concerns that affect their academics and careers if not spotted and dealt carefully.
There are many different problems students appear to face, but it is important to remember that every problem has its solution. For example, the problem with the studies can be easily solved by QualityCustomEssays.com. If you have an assignment to write an essay on some complicated topic and have neither inspiration, nor time to do this, we will write it for you and you will be satisfied with the result.
QualityCustomEssays.com also highlights the most common burning issues so that you can get prepared:
Many university students find it difficult being far away from home. With the aim to pursue their education, many students move to different states or even countries. Being far away from the family, the person feels homesick.
All day students in universities find financial backing as one of the major concerns nowadays. Current financial instability in the world exposed the students to face inescapable financial issues. Almost all students in universities have to discover alternative ways to fulfill their needs of nutrition, housing, entertainment, etc.
Link building between a student and a professor is one more burning issue to deal with. Inability to build good relationships with professors lead to low connectivity and create gaps between the two. Some professors are able to create a lot of problems for students just because they want so; however, many professors treat students respectfully and are able to help you to become a good specialist.
Problem with the studies is another unavoidable burning issue for every university student. There can be different reasons: a subject that is difficult to grasp, misunderstandings with other students or simply not knowing what to do with the given task. The thing that makes the problem more complicated is that usually a student keeps it to himself or herself.
Lack of self-control is another important problems students face.
Сhallenges in College/University
The conditions of organizing the educational process require students revise the organization of all their time allotted to educational and cognitive activity and rest. Therefore, many learners take many challenges. As practice shows, first-year students who studied well at school, being in the first year of a higher educational institution, often experience organizational difficulties. Therefore, from the very first days of learner training, it is necessary to pay special attention to the most important issues, namely, how to manage your free time and prepare for classes. It is necessary to learn how to select sources, collect information, analyze it, correlate with cognitive tasks, be able to show initiative and creative understanding of the information received independently. In the flow of information coming down on a modern student from various sources, including the Internet, it is sometimes very difficult for him or her to navigate without the skills of properly organizing a cognitive activity and, most importantly, the skills of rational, independent work. These are common problems for students.
Independent Work
Independent work is defined as a type of cognitive activity of students; it is carried out on the instructions of the teacher but without their direct participation. In independent work, the goal of each task must be realized; for its implementation, learners rely on their knowledge, subject skills, experience in the study of this discipline, as well as the ability to use teaching aids. Such work contributes to the formation of the important personality traits, for instance, organization, cognitive activity, creative attitude to academic work, and future professional activity.
In the practice of universities and colleges, the classroom and extracurricular forms of organizing students’ independent work have traditionally formed. Classroom assignments include teacher’s assignments performed by students in the classroom, namely, exercises, work with a textbook, primary source, note taking, problem-solving, etc. This work does not require high mental and creative tension. The content of the independent classroom work of students determines the nature of learning tasks. In this regard, the educational technologies of organizing independent classroom work of students require greater revitalization of the student, the use of new information educational technologies, various modes of communication, and forms of control in the learning process. For successful independent work of students in classrooms, it is necessary to develop students’ critical thinking, initiative, erudition, the ability to argue their point of view, etc. These skills will help to overcome the most serious problems students face.
Exploring the Sources of Information
In the pedagogical process, a significant place is given to the extracurricular independent work of students, which develops their ability to work with special literature, reference books, periodicals, modern information, and communication technologies, as well as with discipline, initiative, independence, and activity in solving the set tasks.
The following forms of independent work are the most effective ones.
- Writing an essay on a given topic.
- Overview of the topic (written a short literary review on the recommended topic with the involvement of additional material from the press and online information resources).
- Compiling a glossary (a brief explanation of terms and concepts on a given topic).
As practice shows, the overwhelming majority of students tend to abuse the capabilities of Internet resources when compiling an essay or preparing for a lesson comes down to downloading the necessary material, sometimes from unverified and contradictory sources. Today, a student is rarely seen reading textbooks or working in a library, outlining teaching materials from various scientific sources in preparation for classes or exams. All this work is replaced by the mechanical downloading and printing texts, and then reading them in the classroom. Such an attitude to the performance of independent tasks is unacceptable since such work does not form a system of knowledge and professionally significant skills do not fulfill the developmental and educational functions. Therefore, it is advisable for students to perform tasks oriented to specific literature, with the requirement to compile a thesis, outline, annotation, give an assessment and express their own opinion on the problem under study. Such an approach increases the controlling function.
Causes of Common Problems for Students
The process of adaptation depends on the school life and skills of the future student. There are many definitions of the phenomenon of adaptation. In a generalized form, adaptation is described as a need for an adequate existence in changing conditions, as well as the process of engaging an individual in a new social environment, mastering the specifics of new conditions. Most researchers see the specifics of human adaptation in the ability to actively and consciously influence the environment. Social adaptation is the process of integrating an individual into a social group, implying acceptance of group norms, values, standards, stereotypes, and requirements. The need for adaptation arises when a learner begins to interact with any system in the conditions of a certain disagreement with it, which causes the need for change. These changes may be associated with the person or the system with which he or she interacts, as well as with the nature of the interaction between them. The all aforementioned means that the trigger mechanism of a person’s adaptation process is a change in his or her environment, in which his habitual behavior is either ineffective or generally ineffective, which necessitates overcoming the difficulties associated with novelty conditions.
The financial situation of the student’s family affects the adaptation of a freshman in university strongly. As a rule, high schools have some needs, which leads to increased costs. The fact that a person cannot afford what others can do has a negative effect on his or her overall self-esteem.
When communicating with professors and classmates, the social well-being of a person has a great influence. This concept includes not only personal self-esteem but also satisfaction with living conditions and learning process. Therefore, the adaptation is easier in universities where the material base is sufficient, the necessary teaching materials are available, and the dormitories meet modern standards. In order to involve the first-year students in the educational process, universities hold various events.
Here are some useful recommendations on how to solve some common problems for students:
- Remember that you entered the college/university for studying. Therefore, it is better to give priority to acquiring knowledge but not to entertainment.
- Be friendly and tolerant.
- Do not be afraid to take the initiative and demonstrate your outstanding qualities.
- Be active.
- Learn how to take notes, work with additional materials, and highlight the main point in the text.
- Do not miss the opportunity to get acquainted with other students more closely and participate in extracurricular activities.
- Learn how to control yourself.
These recommendations can help you learn how to organize independent work and adapt to new conditions.
