Raising students' awareness of their approaches to study

Abstract

Studying law in Finland requires a great deal of independent studying for extensive examinations. To succeed, students have to have good self‐regulation and study skills and be aware of their conceptions of learning and knowledge as well as of their approaches to study. Experiences from study counselling at the Faculty of Law, University of Helsinki, show that some students confront difficulties in adapting to this kind of learning environment. The participants of this small case study were 11 law students who received study counselling from the author. The students completed the Reflections on Learning Inventory (RoLI) (Meyer, 2000d). The students analysed their conceptions of learning and knowledge as well as their study practices with the author on the basis of the results of the RoLI. The results showed that the RoLI functioned very well as a diagnostic tool in study counselling. By analysing their own results of the RoLI, students became more conscious of their conceptions of learning and their approaches to studying, and they were able to develop more efficient and functional study practices in their learning environment.

Notes

* Centre for Research and Development of Higher Education, Faculty of Behavioural Sciences, PO Box 39, 00014 University of Helsinki, Finland. Email: sari.lindblom‐[email protected]

Additional information

Notes on contributors

Sari Lindblom‐Ylänne *

* Centre for Research and Development of Higher Education, Faculty of Behavioural Sciences, PO Box 39, 00014 University of Helsinki, Finland. Email: sari.lindblom‐[email protected]