Last-minute cramming

Rebecca Pirotta, BA (Hons) Geography, third year.

Last-minute studying, or the cramming of information into your head, runs counter to the concept of life-long learning.

The only learning it creates is temporary learning or the memorising of a subject.

Unfortunately, most of us fall into the habit of leaving certain subjects till the end and we cram just enough information to regurgitate onto the exam paper the following day.

This form of studying applies extra pressure and does not lead to a wholesome learning of the subject, but towards a culture of studying enough simply to pass the exam.

Learning at University is done in different ways: through lectures, writing assignments, reading, practical sessions and studying. If these modes of learning are done throughout the year, a real learning experience will be achieved by the end of the course.

Alas, time is a major factor, and if assignment deadlines were only a week before exams started, then in some cases cramming information just might be unavoidable.

Aaron Farrugia, B.Sc.(Hons) Medical Laboratory Science, fourth year.

I am a multiple offender when it comes to last-minute cramming, as are many university students. Ideally, students should study throughout the year and avoid cramming as much as possible

However, this is rarely the case, either due to procrastination (or pure laziness) or because of the ridiculous amount of information we are expected to memorise.

Lifelong learning, in my opinion, does not arise from regurgitating the lecturer’s notes onto an A4 sheet the next day, but through hands-on experience and a holistic approach to education.

I would rather have assignments for credits with a practical content and exams for more theoretical credits. I don’t think assignments can replace exams altogether. But exams have the drawback that no attention is given to the student’s efforts throughout the semester.

A better system may be to have two methods of grading students, such as assignments and coursework throughout the semester as well as a final exam.The marks of each would make up a certain percentage of the final grade. This would also decrease the amount of stress during exam period.

Jonathan Falzon, B.Sc. (Hons) Biology and Chemistry, third year.

The most important aspect in any form of assessment is to make sure that the ability of the student is tested in a fair way.

I think a system which includes both continuous assessments in the form of assignments and exams is the ideal one, because the student is tested in various fields, both practical and theoretical, and under different conditions.

If too much weight is placed on exams, students become too stressed and one can never really test the ability of someone in a few hours of writing. Assignments give more time for thinking and research and the student can present his or her views and learning outcomes in a better way.

But assignments alone cannot always guarantee that the work presented is by the individual himself.

The problem that I usually find with various exams is that they tend to assess the memory of the student rather than the ability to think and understand.

Bianca Stivala, Bachelor of Pharmacy (Hons) 4th year.

Cramming is usually done in a state of panic a few days before the exam, so at that point the only intention is to remember it for the exam.

The way I see it, cramming entails studying everything by heart rather than reasoning it out, as time is very limited, and when the exam is over, most of what you have learnt isforgotten.

If you have reasoned out something systematically at your own pace, it is bound to be remembered for a longer period of time, which is why it pays to start studying early.

I think exams and assignments are both important, as they help develop different ways of learning and using information.

Assignments allow room for creativity and refined work, whereas exams require quick thinking and sifting of information for concise answers due to limited time.

Ideally, there should be a combination of both, with each of them being assigned a suitable weighting, depending on the workload they entail.