By Sarah Plumb
Thinking back to when I started university in 2001, a few things stood out for me. The excitement and trepidation of leaving home, the fear that I wouldn’t find friends and speculating wildly about what learning at university would be like and how it would differ from what I was used to. If I thought of university it would be a vision of me sitting in a lecture theatre making notes which came to mind. I spent my third year in a French University and those feelings were even more intense with the added fear of whether I would understand enough to be able to pass the year. I have now been teaching for 18 years and although I remember those points of transition in my life, I am forgetting the specifics of those feelings with each year that passes. I also only have my own point of reference, my own experiences to draw on. Those memories are glossed over with the rosy glow that things worked out ok for me. I have to work hard to put myself in the students’ shoes and understand what they might be experiencing as they arrive at university for the first time. Getting the perspective of current students reflecting on their transitions to university is so valuable for challenging anything I have misremembered and giving a much broader perspective of what others may experience which I never did.
As a teacher, making transitions accessible and even enjoyable to students can be quite daunting as students are so different. Different from ourselves when we were students, and different from each other as the diversity of backgrounds, experiences and approaches grows every year. We might think we have got the perfect plan sorted and then a student with a different background or a different learning requirement comes along and challenges what we thought worked for everyone.
Often the problem is not knowing what students don’t know. What is safe to assume and what needs to be broken down? The following are 6 strategies which you might find helpful for supporting students to make the transition from wherever they come from to your course here in Sheffield. You can find some more strategies in the Elevate guidance to the hidden curriculum.
1. Include “what to expect” information in pre-arrival communications
- Example: Instead of telling students to "check your timetable on the portal", send a short video or annotated screenshot showing them how to read room codes (e.g. "S102 means Hicks Building, Floor 1, Room 02") and clarifying that a "seminar" is a small discussion group, whereas a "lecture" is a large presentation which includes elements of interactivity.
2. Give students a low-stakes head start
- Example: Share a 5-minute pre-arrival reading or short video accompanied by a 3-question self-quiz on Blackboard. This lets students test out logging in, navigating the platform, and engaging with content. Ask them to use the Student Digital Induction to support the activity. You could also have activities such as finding and checking out a book in the library.
- Example: Share a realistic "Model Week" timetable. Show a sample calendar where 2 to 3 hours are blocked out after a lecture specifically to tidy notes, 1 hour is set aside for library reading, and time is reserved for societies, part-time work, and socialising. Think about practicing and modelling core skills such as note taking and academic reading. The Academic Skills centre has resources on study skills which you could use or direct students towards.
4. Build community and normalise self-doubt
- Example: In your first seminar, run a low-stakes task where students work in trios to brainstorm "3 things which might be challenging about learning at university." Sharing these out loud immediately shows students that their peers share the exact same worries and can help you to address their concerns.
5. Make asking for help normal, explicit, and easy
- Example: Display a screenshot of your office hour booking page or student portal, and explicitly explain how students can book appointments, how frequently they are allowed to book appointments, where appointments are held, and the types of things students ask.
6. Keep the conversations going throughout the year
- Example: Three weeks before their first submission, run a 20-minute exercise using a short, anonymous piece of student work from a previous year. Have students use a simplified criteria to grade it in pairs, then discuss what makes an argument "critical" rather than just "descriptive" in your discipline.