h2g2 The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy: Earth Edition

I have been in education for most of life. It took me until late in secondary school to work out how to “play the game.” What I mean by this is that the whole education system is one big game. I have clearly worked out what I need to gain from education…qualifications and a high grade. Now with that in mind you can begin to establish how to play the game. Many people think you go to higher education to learn, however I do not believe that this should be your primary concern.

I am currently at university and coming up to completing my first year. So far I think I have done quite well. My strategy is simple, and that is to revise or learn only what you have to, anything else is a waist of time. Often you get tutored in a Varity of topics throughout the year, only to find out that a few key ones are on the exam paper. Teachers may tell you to read around the subject to gain greater understanding, but often there is little point in doing so. You only need to learn and understand those subjects which are going to be on tests. Obviously you wont know exactly what will be coming up on the test but you can ask your teacher what to revise (if at university your teacher should know, they might have wrote the test or seen it). The other thing you can do is get mock and past exam papers. These often are exactly the same as the paper which you are going to get. Therefore its often a good idea to learn the answers inside and out. This is particularly true of maths papers where the only thing changes is the figures.

The other thing to consider is course work. Often course work can gain you a massive amount of points towards your finally grade. Course work is much easier method of gaining marks as you have the time and resources to answer the questions set. Often you can gain enough points through course work alone to pass a unit or course before sitting the exam. Another bit of advice, with course work is to make it easy to read, well spread out and very presentable. If it looks the business then teachers often think it is even if the content is not fantastic. If it is easy to read the tutors often give you higher marks. If you have particular points to address then put these points as titles then write your answer underneath them. The teacher will often not read your answer in detail so will reward points as it look as if you address the issue. Try not be too precise either, “say this may happen” or “it could lead to” because then they could not mark you down for being total wrong.

With course work and exams, remember answer the questions given and don’t go off onto another related subject.

It’s well worth finding out the marking scheme for exams and course work (if possible). You should also find out how your overall grade is calculated, which will give you an indication about how much time to spend on each piece of work and you may be able to start working out your what your final grade may be and what is you can expect to get.

Any way good luck all and remember play the game!

Peter Jones

Peter, Peter, Peter. That approach may have got you through your A levels but isn't going to help as you progress through university. The point of reading around a subject is so you can make connections and approach a problem from a different angles. Adult students as a rule tend to enter education to learn, not necessarily to get good grades. In my experience they almost always get the better marks, simply because they DO read around the subject and try to understand, rather than just retain enough facts to pass.

If you think a well set out piece of work is going to gain you more grades than one with good content then you obviously haven't read those specifications that you advise others to get hold of. A well set out piece of work makes it easier to find the crieria on which it is marked, but poor content will always be spotted. I think you underestimate the intelligence of your teachers.

Finally, could I point out to you that there are usually SPAG (Spelling and Grammar) marks on exams. Try to avoid spelling mistakes and the random use of capital letters. Oh... and nothing irritates teachers more than arrogant little sods that think they are brighter than them. The ones who really ARE brighter are rarely arrogant.

What an incredibly cynical way to look at further education. You might do fine, and pass your classes using this 'method' but to achieve the best results and get the most out of your education you need to do more than 'play the game'.

If you're not at uni to learn you're missing out on an incredible opportunity. For me the greatest thing about higher education was the opportunity to find new ways to think and to be given new directions to think in.

You might have done fine so far with sketchy content glossed over with good presentation but that won't last. They go easy on you in the first year because they're getting you up to speed. Style over substance won't get you a good degree. Genuine desire to learn and passion for your subject will.

wibbitt and speckly are so right, peter...

the journey is the point - and on your own argument, using your method of attack at higher education you will either: 1) have to apply the subject matter in a real job, where your lack of rounded knowledge in the subject will be sadly lacking, at your possible future career's peril, or 2) get on with the subject matter academically where the above applies manifold.

sorry, but learning is a life experience that includes fair play and sportsmanship, it is not a mere game. enjoy it all...

cheers

astro : )

You are completely right, public mass education is a game. You play the game, you have spare time to do something useful and interesting and you come out with good grades. Nothing wrong in that. I experimented with going back to university for a PhD 12 years after graduating only to discover that gaining a PhD too is a game. This time I decided not to play and gave it up, but not without doing some interesting research into an area that fascinated me and using the university's resources to their full.

Unless you get lucky (or are independently wealthy) you may find that getting an interesting job isn't so much of a game and that the harder you apply yourself to your studies (achieveing more than the course demands for example), the more likely you will be to find an occupation that does more than pay the rent. Of course it is possible to define your lifestyle entirely by activities outside of your paid employment, but far better to enjoy what you do 38 hours a week as something more than a game.

It is a great shame that education has to be this way, and also a shame that so many people struggle to come to terms with how essentially useless everything we learn at school (and university) is when they have to make their own way in the world.

It is one of the positive advantages of adult education that the pupils are not wet behind the ears and generally have some reason for what they are studying. Adults are more likely to continuously assess what it is they are getting out of a course. Sometimes (even in school) it is possible to be surprised and to develop enthusiasnms which you did not anticipate. By returning, briefly, to academia I remembered how much fun mathematics was. I played the game at 'A' level and got good results and my first degree didn't really stretch me mathematically, but the research was astonishing in what it required. I went in with an interest in computation and suddenly remembered mathematics. I even enjoyed statistics for the first time.

Anyway, have fun playing the game for now. I found that my first degree was devalued in my eyes by this discovery and the same will probably happen to you when you get your piece of paper. Once you notice the game and have a good idea of the rules there isn't a way back.

Thank you for replying. I think that you have understood what I am saying. I was not just saying that university was about achieving high grades. I am aware that university provides me with me than that, most notable the opportunity to bond and meet new people. You have understood the very point that I was trying to convey and that is the education system is a game. The fact is its all about scoring points in order to go on to the next level. You have to get points in your GCSEs to go to college to do A-levels and then score points there to go to university. It seems clear that scoring points is rather key to continuing an education and then hopefully finding a decent job. I am not saying the system is right just that is the way it is. Now many people may say (as they have done so on this board) that this is not a particularly good strategy. Maybe not but I am sure I would not be at uni now if it was not for me working out how the system works. University can be very interesting and I often enjoy the subject which I do, and enjoy learning new things. My strategy is not a cop-out, as it does require a lot of work and dedication. I feel that I am just focusing my efforts in order for me to achieve the desired result. Now some of you have already stated that this strategy won’t work at uni. Well all I can say is it has worked so far. Last two set of course work results I achieve were 70% and 80%, which I am extremely pleased about. The reason why I use such strategy (like many others), is mainly due personal circumstances i.e. I am dyslexic (hence the doggy spelling). I found that personally the only way which I can achieve good grades is to focus purely on that, and deploying any (ethical) method along the way to help me achieve my goal of getting good grades, which I derive a great deal of satisfaction from. Maybe I will also go back to education when I have achieve good grades and secured (hopeful) and half decent job, in order to study because I am interested and want to learn more, but at the moment, I do not feel I am given the autonomy which to do that and plus its not priority

Thank you all who have contributed. Best of luck in your studies!

Peter

wibblet,
Thank you for replying. I can understand your views. In my opinion adult students (or more accurately mature students) don’t do as well as younger students. They often spend time trying to understand the subject rather than concentrate on studying only what they need to. A recent example of this comes from a good friend of mine who is in class. He has been out of education for about 20 years. He can’t often understand why he spends hours on his work and achieve lower results than those who apparently spend less time studying. When I look at his work it is obvious. He often fails to address the points which the teacher has set out and his lay out is often erratic. He often tries to address a wider range of points however that is not what is required.

My approach to education is slightly cynical, however that’s what society has demands. Society values grads and often fails to take into consideration the real knowledge and skills of a human. In order to progress in society or at least as a stepping stone grades and qualifications are needed.

I resent the fact that you imply that I am arrogant. I never claim to know more than the teachers and treat them with a great deal of respect. I have a very good working relationship with the majority of my teachers.

Often spelling carries very little points. I know you are referring to post above as an example, however I wrote it in rather a hurry and plus I am dyslexic, so my spelling and punctuation is not great. Fortunately my university recognises my disability and does not deduct marks. May I ask are you a teacher or were you replying in the capacity of a current or ex-student?

Take care

Peter

Yes I am a teacher. I work in a FE college. Consequently I have a wide range of students from the 16-18 group to mature (and I mean REALLY mature) students. It's always been my experience that mature students get better marks. They tend to be more focussed, better organised and interested in education for educations sake.

I take your point that society demands good grades, but the point of this discussion is ADULT education. In my experience, mature students aren't in education so they can get their foot on the first rung of the employment ladder. They're there out of a genuine interest in learning.

I confess that I really enjoy teaching mature students. They bring to their lessons a wide range of life experiences and a broad background knowledge, coupled with a real desire to learn as opposed to just know. I learnt early on never to underestimate their intelligence and frequently I learn as much from them as they do from me.

I'm sorry if you took offense at my implication that you are arrogant, but you certainly came across that way. A stated belief that teachers are more impressed by surface than content is bound to get any teacher's hackles up. As to the spelling and grammar comment, sorry, it's just my obsession.

Peter you're right - the 1st year at uni is all about learning the basic facts and how to communicate this knowledge...but the areas where your mature student friend is falling down now (linking different subject areas together, talking around the subject/question) are the areas that *will* become more important as you prgress through your degree.

Question spotting (identifying reccurring subjects/questions) is a valuable skill to learn and can make the difference between scraping through after killing yourself revising and getting the sorts of grades you deserve. But even within question spotting it is only possible to get top grades in the final years of a degree by not only answering the question by parrotting back lecture content but demonstrating a complete understanding of the subject and demonstrating that you've read around the subject...for example summarising the main answer before going into much more detail quoting relevent academic papers/references and being able to reproduce relevent diagrams with ease and accuracy. And on top of this re-working the gist of the relevent lectures to show that you've picked the subject to peices and rebuilt it from scratch.

I don't know which uni you attend but I don't know of any that count the first year exam marks towards your final degree classification most use a combination of 2nd and 3rd yr marks (my uni used 60% final yr + 40% 2nd yr), this is because the first year is often about settling in, getting to grips with a new subject and learning how to learn in a university environment. I was like you to some extent - I coasted and worked the system throughout my first year and did well (came out with an average of 65% a mid 2:1), then I tried to do the same in my second year and after the first semester results came back (my average for those modules was 58%) and I realised I couldn't carry on as I was an pulled my finger out and started doing all the things I was told to do in the first week

From personal experience of teaching in FE, I agree with wiblet. Mature students may take a little while to get to grips with what is actually required of them (I taught law, and the first essays were often personal opinion rather than analysis of facts and concepts) but on the whole they read more widely and produce better work. I would much sooner teach a class of mature students who are studying the subject because they are interested in it and want to learn than face agroup of young adults who are there because their employer is paying for the course.

Peter, I agree that you have to learn to play the game. However, the game is producing good, legible work which answers the set question. Ther is only one way to acheive this, and that is by reading widely and analysing what you have read.

Any tutor worth their salt will take dyslexia into account. But there is a difference between dyslexia and shoddy spelling coupled with a total disregard for the basic rules of grammer and punctuation. My personal bugbear is the misuse of apostrophes.