Having finished my first full semester of studying at U of T, it is time to reflect on my academic experiences so far.
The first major difference between studying in the UK and in Canada is that the UK has a final exam system where everything from the whole year is tested in one exam period in May, whereas Canada uses continuous assessment throughout each term. Continuous assessment means there are a number of assignments, mid-term tests and a final exam all of which carry a small percentage weight of the final grade. For example, for my course "Geography of Canada", I had one assignment worth 20%, a mid-term and assignment worth 25% each, and a final exam worth 30% . By breaking up the potential for earning marks into these smaller chunks, it relieves the pressure of everything resting on one exam. Continuous assessment also forces students into studying, preparing readings and being more on top of things than in the UK system as you have to be able to draw on lecture and reading material for the assignments and mid-terms that come up every 2 or 3 weeks; whereas in the UK what tends to happen is severe cramming in the month leading up to final exams.
While it took me a while to adjust to continuous assessment (as you have to put in a lot more effort each week than in the UK where you can afford to slack off a little each week), I've come to really appreciate continuous assessment. I really feel I have learnt more by having the assessment broken down into smaller chunks as you do need to put in more effort to keep up; you write assignments and expand on lecture ideas when they are fresh in your mind and you are constantly building on that initial knowledge base. In the UK, I feel that no matter your best intentions, if you do not have incentives to do the readings and study (because of an upcoming deadline or exam), you tend to take it easy or procrastinate, leading to more stress and cramming in the long run. Furthermore, when it comes to exams, it's pressure-relieving going into the final exam here in Canada knowing you've got a significant proportion of the marks already in the bag, and I also like that the system of exams and mid-terms tests the whole course syllabus (compared to the UK where most students will strategically revise say 5 out of 9 topics for the final exam) as you end up with broader knowledge. In terms of stress, I'm not sure which system, UK or Canada, is better or healthier. In Canada, I feel there is a constant level of stress that is higher than the baseline stress level in UK since there is continuous assessment, but UK students undoubtedly experience greater spikes in stress level than their Canadian counterparts when it comes to the dreaded final exam season in May.
Certainly there are aspects of the Canadian continuous assessment I'm not as keen on: for example, a number of my courses have had multiple choice sections in the exams which I thought was not rigorous enough an assessment of knowledge. Some of my courses have also had class participation constituting 10% of the final course grade, meaning the more you participate, the higher the mark. This form of assessment forces you to engage (which is good) but also favours louder, more confident speakers, as well as sometimes seemingly forced, less-than-helpful contributions that are given just to try and increase the "participation" grade. I was particularly shy speaking up because I was conscious of my ridiculously English accent, and while I did end up participating to a certain level, this form of assessment was far from my favourite.
The other observation I have is that there does not seem to be as established a geography community as at UCL, even if there is a Geography Society. People in lectures sit far apart from each other and don't seem to know each other, perhaps reflecting the overall larger student population at U of T compared to UCL (85,000 compared to 30,000) but also reflecting the degree system of major and minors here that splits people between different disciplines. I have to admit I miss the relatively close-knit, supportive geography community from back in London.
My favourite course of the semester has definitely been Culture, History, Landscape. This course, while demanding in terms of the long reading lists, has really made me think about capitalism, the inherent social inequalities it produces, and the very different landscapes it has produced over time in different places across the globe since colonial times.
