UT Learning Center

What Students and Faculty are Saying...

Through my participation I have learned to organize my thoughts better and I have improved my communication skills with other people.
I think I have become more comfortable in the leadership role and have become better at trusting myself in situations where the attention was solely on me.
I learned that working as part of a study group is not only a more effective way to go over difficult material, but is also a much more enjoyable experience. I was able to get so much more out of the course by talking about it with other students; there were many occasions where I gained a deeper understanding of a concept by explaining it others, and there were also many times that students in our study group could explain something to me that allowed me to look at it in a different light.
I have learned to think step-by-step and ask questions at each step. I've also learned to stay on top of or ahead of the material, so even in other classes I prepare as if I had to teach it. When teaching concepts to someone else in the study group, we're reproducing information before having to do so on an exam.
Explaining things to others and being questioned along the way is an error-proof way of seeing if you really know what you're talking about.

The preceptors were extremely willing to help... It's a great review every week. For the first two tests, I almost didn't have to study because after attending the study groups, the information is already imprinted so that I would only need to review before the test.
Study groups helped me identify difficult questions I may have overlooked in my personal study time.
My study group provided me with a set time each week when I had to study. We built a support network that was helpful during times of high stress.
It really helps to have other students to be in the same shoes you are - learning the material and trying to grasp it. It's extremely helpful to have students with different levels of understanding and we could all collaborate to better understand the interesting material!
Instead of saying I know the material, I make sure I know. If I run across a question, I no longer assume I know the answer; I actually take the time to write out the answer and repeat it several times to be sure.

As the course instructor, I have learned more about student perspectives on learning. It's a great opportunity to get feedback on teaching ideas. It is very satisfying for me to personally interact with motivated students on a weekly basis. I love their questions and inquiring minds and their drive to help other students.
I enjoyed getting to know the preceptors, getting feedback from preceptors about student concerns, suggestions, questions they had, and their preparedness.
The preceptors provided feedback about the course (in a respectful way) and I was able to better understand what the students were "getting" and what they were struggling with, with respect to the class material. Having the opportunity to meet with a small group of students made the teaching experience more enjoyable for me. I appreciated the opportunity to have some personal contact with individual students, which is typically very difficult with a class of this size.