Students learning to learn at the university level

PICTOU - Motivated high school students can get a taste of the university experience by taking online university courses.
Three Pictou Academy students - Alex Turple, Jordan March and Amy MacKenzie - are taking an online biology course this semester, offered by Dalhousie University. The course is open to Nova Scotia students in Grade 12 with an average of 80 per cent and above. The structure of the course, from midterm and final exams to class assignments, is designed to be a web-based equivalent of a Dalhousie biology course for first-year university students.
Most Canadian universities will accept the web-based course as credit once the students enter university. High school students pay $200 to enrol.
Turple, March and MacKenzie admit the course is affecting their social lives.
"The course means at least five extra hours of reading a week, in addition to our regular, high school class work," says March, who hopes to enrol in a business program at a university next year.
But it's a sacrifice they're willing to make. Many students, upon entering university for the first time, struggle with the increase in workload, they explain. "This program helps prepare you for university in that you know what to expect," Turple says.
MacKenzie agrees. "I've learned how to manage my time better. Now I know I have to sacrifice my weekends sometimes to study."
There's an adjustment period for students in their first year of university, notes Margo Hilchey, a biology teacher at Pictou Academy.
In addition to the increase in workload, they are getting used to living on their own, away from home, for the first time. By taking these online courses, students will have to take fewer courses during their first-year of university, and that can help alleviate some of the pressure, she says.
"They also get a chance to learn a study mode that works for them, which will be so important in university," Hilchey says.