Example learning time

The lecture Digital Logic comprises 3 SWS (2V+1Ü) and 4 CPs. Each credit point corresponds to approximately 30 hours of work. According to the module handbook, this results in the following distribution:

• 45 hours attendance time (lecture time and exercise groups, 3 SWS times -roughly- 15 appointments)

• 75 hours of self-study

You could work like this:

• For the six homework assignments for the exercises (6 appointments of 2 hours) you should spend about 5 hours of intensive, concentrated work each (that's almost a whole working day(!), a total of about 30 hours).

• Each of the approximately 14 lectures should be followed up for at least 30 minutes by consciously going through the slides (printouts) again and writing notes on them (e.g. a brief overview of the content in your own (key) words) or highlighting key points. This should take just under 10 hours in total (40 minutes each).

• There are then 35+ hours available for direct exam preparation. This practically corresponds to a whole week of full-time work(!) with a 7-hour day - but you cannot concentrate fully for 7 hours at a time and you also have other exams: so plan at least 4 weeks.

• If you spend more time each week on a specific lecturefollow-up (e.g. 2 hours of intensive, concentrated study each week), you should be able to save this additional time (about +18 hours) for the subsequent homework and final exam preparation. Ideally, you should also use a textbook for this type of follow-up work (suggested list on the lecture websites and in the lecture notes).

Overall, you should not underestimate the amount of work involved. These considerations also apply to the standard student, who is able to concentrate at all times and plan his/her working time optimally! Therefore, to be on the safe side, assume that you yourself are even a little slower and adjust the times given slightly upwards.

Note on using a textbook: Reading through a textbook in its entirety may be somewhat time-consuming and could perhaps be considered as an alternative to attending a lecture (caution: lectures usually do not stick to just one book!). For follow-up work (or preparation), it is advisable to look through the relevant chapters/subchapters in a targeted manner and - taking into account the structure and the working instructions in the book - to take a closer look at individual aspects, create excerpts and calculate the tasks in the book. Your own excerpts are important additions to the lecture material and its presentation and contribute significantly to the learning process!

The diagram on the left shows the division into attendance time (45 hours) and self-study (75 hours). The attendance time includes the weekly lecture and the bi-weekly exercise (in the case of digital logic). You are also responsible for allocating your own time for self-study.

It is noticeable that you have to manage most of the time yourself!

The diagram shows the allocation described above for the

• Lecture follow-up (dark, 10 hours)
• Working on homework (medium, 30 hours)
• Exam preparation (light, 35+ hours)

marked. It is noticeable that almost half of the time was spent on exam preparation. Of the total budget, it is still around 30%.

Although the suggested follow-up work for the lectures (around 40 minutes each) only accounts for just under 9% of the total time, it is not normally done.

However, the time would be most effectively invested in the 24 hours after the lecture and would save additional time later on.

For the sake of completeness, here is an overview of the alternative lecture follow-up suggested above with 28 hours (2 hours per lecture). The balanced ratio between follow-up work, working on exercises and preparing for exams is striking.