Learning to learn in higher education

Undergraduate students, have diverse entry qualifications, abilities and learning experiences. Researchers indicate students’ lack of ‘preparedness’ for learning in higher education and lack of understanding of what learning at university involves. It has been observed that students have incorrect learning habits and are prejudiced towards learning. Professors, in higher education, do not usually take students’ learning habits into consideration as a part of their vocations. Understanding students’ learning styles and, thus making an extra effort to design the courses may not be convenient especially for crowded classes. Therefore, developing tools that support students’ self-learning skills and facilitating learning outside the classrooms should be taken into account at universities. This article presents a student support program, Academic Support Program (ASP), that captures the basis for various ‘active learning’ methods. ASP designs and implements socially situated activities that are centralized and framed by ‘learning-to-learn’ principle. The peer study and discussion groups of ASP serve as best models for learning environments where permanent and meaningful learning take place. This paper focuses on the theoretical base, and both qualitative and quantitative evaluation of a series of peer group discussions that was held in the last two years, and articulates on the evaluation results regarding the impacts of the discussions on students’ achievements.