Learning to learn

learning to learn
2006–07

Originally written by Caroline Baillie with much appreciated advice from staff and students around the College
With sections, additions and updates by:
Debbie Boden
Simon Dewulf
Heather Fry
Sinclair Goodlad
Frank Harrison
Adrian Hawksworth
Phil Ramsden
Andy Richardson
Nigel Wheatley
Produced by Communications Division
Printed by Shanleys Ltd
© Imperial College London 2006

read this first ...
If you are reading this paragraph then something has attracted you to pick up this booklet. Perhaps one of your lecturers or your personal tutor has mentioned it to you. Maybe you always read the first few lines or back cover of a book to see if it is worth it—or maybe you are intrigued by the idea that learning is a skill in itself. Whether you have come to university straight from school, or after a year of travelling, or perhaps a few years working, you will experience quite a few changes. At school, you will have learnt how to learn in a very particular way, the main emphasis may have been how to pass exams so that you could gain entrance to college or university!

Why learn how to learn?
In higher education you will have to take responsibility for your own learning—it is your choice to be here. You can discover how to enjoy learning as well as how to prepare yourself for your future career. In the path of your studies you will find that your abilities in time management, coping with a heavy workload, working in teams, communication skills, and creative, critical thinking will develop alongside your academic skills. These personal transferable skills will be invaluable for your career and in your studies. This booklet aims to introduce you to some of these skills in the context of the basic teaching and assessment approaches used at university level.

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how to use this book
The booklet might be so interesting to you that you take it home and read it before you go to sleep tonight, unable to put