SciLearn: Helping first-year science students learn better

Each year, around 1,000 new students begin an undergraduate science degree at McGill. For many of them, their first year at university represents a dramatic change from the world of high school or CEGEP.

“The workload, the amount of new content you get, and a different style of testing” are three of the challenges Marie Walker recalls from her first semester as a science undergrad.

“At high school, teachers kind of push you to stay on track; at university, you have to do it yourself more. All of a sudden, you have a mid-term and you’re like, ‘Oh my gosh, how do I study for this class?’”

Now in her third year, the physiology major from Calgary says SciLearn, the Faculty of Science’s neuroscience-based learning skills program – which she took in her very first semester at McGill –  helped bridge the gap, both academically and socially.

“SciLearn is a great way to meet people,” Marie says. “But also, it helps you zero in on learning strategies. Sometimes you don’t realize how you learn best, but when it’s laid out for you, you realize, ‘I could use this strategy for this class or this strategy for a different class.’”

Full story by Fergus Grieve: https://reporter.mcgill.ca/scilearn-helping-first-year-science-students-...