The start of a new year signifies a change in routine. Some people have started Dry January, others will start a new workout routine or pick up a long-forgotten hobby. A lot of the time, introducing a drastic change into your routine will be met with an element of mental resistance since ‘old habits die hard’. But generally, these new year changes are meant to benefit your long-term mental and physical health. One new routine that is heavily felt in the university is the shifting of the first term assessment period from January to December. I feel that I can speak for many students when I say that this shift has changed the routine of many people: whether it was at the end of term one or during this January.
For most of the students, the December break after first term is dedicated to the preparation and revision for the coming exams in January. Most Christmases I have had the past couple years have involved hours of gruelling, last-minute revision sandwiched between family gatherings, present exchanges and part-time work.
The new structure of the academic year definitely changed up this routine. I think many students first thought that having assessments at the end of the first term would make the structure of term more cramped together. But, for many of us, the end of term can result in a burn out. Therefore, stepping away from the bubble of university can be refreshing. However, as I stated prior; old habits die hard. So, there were many times when I felt an unnecessary wave of guilt for not doing any sort of university work or for doing ‘not enough’, even though that is what this change had intended.
Whether it has benefited my performance in assessments remains to be seen. But I had seen a change in mine and my peers approaches towards tackling the assessment period. I did feel a responsibility to stay on top of my work more since the buffer period of a break during December was not there. Even though I could not control when the exams occurred, I could control which methods and resources I used to curb the looming exam anxiety.
Here are some of the things I learned from the new structure of the academic year:
- Organisation is a learned skill: if you find that you have may tasks to complete in a short amount of time, organisation is key. There was a stark different in my performance for events in my life that were planned and not planned. Organising when things are occurring was half the journey when it came to staying on top of my work during first term.
- Pacing yourself: it is easy to try and steamroll through the term. However, not dedicating time for rest, hobbies and loved ones can be detrimental, especially during exam season. Remembering to find time in your daily routine for rest and fun is essential to remain sustainable in your studies.
- Feedback is a friend, not foe: Useful feedback is essential for feeding forward to future assessments. It can also be harnessed by the one receiving the feedback as a form of agency to improve your exams when acted on in an effective way.
- Be an agent of your learning: having to be more organised and on top of work has forced me to either change a routine in my learning or outsource places to understand material. Having to take more initiative with understanding material if I didn’t understand it the first time by talking to lecturers and attending PASS sessions allowed me to feel more in control of the outcome of the exams at the end of term.
On the last day of term, I could feel the huge sigh of relief across campus when the exams were completed, especially knowing that I was able to step away from university for a while. I also know for many students, the time away allowed some time to reflect on how they may perform better for teaching block two, after spending time during teaching block one figuring out what worked an what didn’t work. This period of reflection can allow students to take more control of the actions they put in place to influence the results of their final year exams such as: new note taking techniques, changing optional modules and better self-care practices like attending a new society and time management.
What the change in the academic year has taught me the most is what works for me and what does not work for me. Navigating a lot of change in a short period of time allows for you to adapt quickly. And so, for future assessments, I feel I have been able to sharpen my toolkit for in preparation for future assessments.
Resources
Infographic on feedback literacy and self-regulation
Study skills resource on using feedback
Bristol SU have a centralised wellbeing support and resources hub here
