Learning to Learn: how students adapt to Hanze education
While some international students adapt quickly to Hanze’s emphasis on independent learning, others need more time to adjust.
Lydia Olson, a physiotherapy student, describes her programme as ‘relatively independent’. The practical nature of her studies requires regular opportunities to work alongside lecturers and classmates. ‘There is a lot of collaboration and external input from teachers, which means a little less independence’, she says. Of course, theoretical learning relies much more heavily on self-study. Sometimes that’s hard, Lydia says. ‘For some complex topics additional guidance would benefit me and my peers a lot.’
One of the biggest adjustments was learning how to identify what is most important in the material
Adapting to Hanze’s the independent learning approach took Lydia some time. ‘It was definitely something I had to get used to’, she says, referring to ‘the amount of things I had to figure out on my own.’
For Lydia, one of the biggest adjustments has been learning how to identify what is most important within the course material. ‘Sometimes there is no clear syllabus’, she explains. Although she believes this process encourages students to become more independent learners, she acknowledges that it can initially feel overwhelming.
As Lydia has progressed through her studies, she has become more comfortable with the system. She sees clear benefits. ‘Given the practical lessons and the input from student mentors students gradually learn where to look and what resources to use.’
Vishnu: ‘Some lecturers gave feedback on how to apply the knowledge taught to a legal case’
Third-year law student Vishnu Panjaratnam rates the independency level as ‘a four out of five’, explaining that you are expected to ‘form your own positions, interpret legislation, and apply legal reasoning without much direct guidance’. For him, this requires students to take considerable responsibility for their own learning.
Vishnu appreciates lecturers who guide students through applying legal concepts in practice. ‘A few lecturers genuinely guided us through the subject and gave feedback on how to apply the knowledge taught to a legal case’, he says. According to Vishnu, this type of guidance helped him understand the material more deeply and encouraged participation in class.
Like Lydia, Vishnu believes independent learning has important advantages. ‘Letting us figure the subject out independently does encourage us to discover which way of studying suits us.’ He believes students benefit most when lecturers act as facilitators throughout the process by encouraging discussion and demonstrating how theory can be applied in different situations. In his view, this combination of independence and guidance helps students develop confidence while still taking ownership of their learning.
Tom Wilcox: ‘Some students want more independence, some feel lost, others click immediately with it’
According to the Hanze lecturer Tom Wilcox student experiences cannot be explained solely by the university’s educational approach. ‘Hanze is not a homogeneous university’, he says. ‘The culture and the way of teaching, the methods of education are wildly different from programme to programme.’ He also argues that students arrive with very different educational backgrounds, cultural expectations and life experiences, all of which influence how they experience independent learning.
Wilcox says that students often respond differently to the same educational philosophy. ‘Some people want more independence, some people feel lost, some people click immediately with it.’ Especially in international programmes, he explains, diversity extends far beyond nationality. Previous education, personality, neurodiversity and cultural values all affect how students adapt to a new learning environment.
‘For some people being given carte blanche to experiment… is daunting’
One important factor, Wilcox says, is what psychologists call ‘uncertainty avoidance’. Students from some educational cultures are accustomed to receiving highly structured instructions and may feel uncomfortable when they are expected to determine their own approach. Others adapt more naturally to this freedom. ‘For some people being given carte blanche to try out what you want to try out… is daunting at first.’
He explains that the approach reflects the educational philosophy of universities of applied sciences, where students learn by experimenting, making mistakes and reflecting on their experiences. ‘The whole point is to bump into things, make mistakes, reflect, and move forward’, he says. Rather than focusing solely on ticking boxes, students are encouraged to develop professional judgement and problem-solving skills that they will need after graduation.
‘Feedback is everything’, Wilcox says, ‘that’s where the learning happens’
Wilcox also stresses that students should not hesitate to ask for help. ‘Let yourself be heard’, he advises. ‘We want to hear what you need so we can adapt to you, or we can help you.’ He encourages students to focus on the learning goals behind each assignment rather than only the final grade. ‘Feedback is everything’, he says. ‘That’s where the learning happens.’
Joost Haandrikman, who is responsible for the International Business programme, points to the role of students’ previous educational systems. In the Netherlands, students are generally accustomed to working in groups from secondary education onwards. Students arriving from other educational systems may have more experience with individual assignments and therefore need to adjust to a different educational system.
Joost Haandrikman: ‘All students need to learn how to work with people from different cultural and educational backgrounds’
Haandrikman emphasises that adaptation is a two-way process: all students need to learn how to work with people from different cultural and educational backgrounds. According to him, Hanze actively addresses these differences. In the IB programme, intercultural competence is part of the curriculum, helping students work with different cultures, languages and perspectives. Staff members also receive intercultural competence training, reflecting the programme’s international composition, with around half of its students and faculty being non-Dutch.
Hanze offers language and culture courses through its Language and Culture Centre. In the IB programme, both exchange and non-exchange students receive introductory lessons at the beginning of their first year to help them adjust to the Dutch educational system and life in the Netherlands. Haandrikman also emphasizes the importance of making connections with others, as this can help create a sense of home.
Illustration: Ricky van Duuren (cover of Ricky’s cartoonseries Going Dutch)