My biggest concern about the Covid-19 pandemic is the effect it will have on my academic studies next year. I study History, and while this year doesn't really count for anything, and my modules next year will be unrelated to my modules from this year, I worry about the loss of any skills that I might have learnt or developed during the last term. For example, my coursework elements were cancelled, so I won't get the feedback that I would have otherwise got from those. Equally, I won't be sitting any formal written exams, and as such I am concerned that when it comes to end-of-year written exams in the summer of 2021 I will be disadvantaged, with no experience and will struggle to write them. This is particularly worrying as the second year counts much more in the overall degree. In another sense, I'm concerned about motivation for next year. At the end of this year, I would have received a grade, and I think it would have motivated me to either work harder next year or continue to work at the same level as this year. Now, however, my end-of-year ‘result’ will either be a pass or fail, rather than a first, 2:1 et cetera. Under normal circumstances, I would have known where I stood at the start of Year 2, but now I am not so sure.
So, I guess my overall question is, how do I ensure that I'm not disadvantaged in my academic studies next year as a result of the pandemic and how do I motivate myself to succeed?
Many thanks,
A Student“
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Reply from Dr Rosalind Potts, Deputy Programme Director, BSc Psychology and Language Sciences
It is understandable to feel anxious that the cancellation of your coursework and exams may have deprived you of opportunities you were expecting to have to practise certain skills. This anxiety can be exacerbated by the feeling that events are outside our control. However, there are several things to bear in mind.
Firstly, remember that you will have built up many skills this year that don’t depend on coursework or exams, e.g., effective reading, note taking, research skills, evaluating different sources of evidence, time management, organization – these are all core skills that will help you succeed in the coming years, not just for your degree but for your future beyond university. Moreover, your capstone assessment will involve many of the key skills that you would develop in any coursework task, including identifying information relevant to the task, evaluating it for its contribution to the question to be addressed, synthesizing and organizing it, and constructing a balanced, comprehensive and coherent argument. Aiming to do your best in this assignment will allow you to continue to develop your skills and put you in a strong position for the second year.
Secondly, share your concerns with your fellow students and your tutors, perhaps through your student representatives. Find out what feedback you can expect from the capstone assessment or from assessments early in your second year. It is likely others have the same concerns. Working together to come up with practical solutions will allow you to feel more in control of your situation as well as identifying potential ways forward.
Finally, you are worried that, without end-of-year marks, your motivation may suffer. While grades can be useful as a guide to how you are doing, your ultimate goal at university is to become an independent learner. Psychologists distinguish between extrinsic and intrinsic motivation. Grades are an example of extrinsic motivation, whereas intrinsic motivation would be love of your subject. A review of 80 studies found that intrinsic motivation predicted academic success and a variety of other positive outcomes while extrinsic motivation did not (van der Zanden et al., 2018). You probably didn’t choose History because you got good grades in it at school but because you had a real interest in the subject. The current situation offers a perfect opportunity to indulge that interest: to read up on topics you might not otherwise have had time to delve into and to enjoy your subject for its own sake, unhindered by the constraints that assessment inevitably imposes. Enjoy your learning and I think you will find that everything else will fall into place.
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