Success Guide to Understanding and Learning
As individuals we all learn differently, for example
some of us learn
better visually while others need both audiovisual
aids.
This guide will only give suggestions, in no particular
order, about how you
can better your learning and/or studying skills.
This is by no means conclusive and if these suggestions
do not work for you;
try something else, ask for other
suggestions, and/or research other ideas.
|
Goals Settings, Time Management, Attitudes and Self-Esteem, |
Note-Taking, Homework,
Exam-Taking, Studying, and Parent Helping Ideas |
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or progress report at your convenience.
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Goal Settings: Long-term
and Short-term
Long-term
ie.
Year, Semester, 9wks, or Cycle
Steps:
1. State your goal. ie. I will get an
A on my next grade card.
2. Identify a time frame in which you
plan to accomplish your goal.
3. Periodically identify the next
steps to take to accomplish your goal.
4. Occasionally review your goals.
Should you change it?
5. When you have reached your goal,
identify what worked and what did not work about your efforts.
Short-term
ie.
9wks, 4wks, a week, a day, a chapter, and/or assignment
Steps:
1. State your goal. ie. I will get an
A on my next test.
2. Identify the time frame in which
you will accomplish your goal.
3. When the time frame has elapsed,
determine if you have reached your goal.
4. Identify what worked and what did
not work about your efforts.
Time Management
Keep a
daily (To Do) list prioritized by: A's, B's, or C's
(A)
Must be done today
(B)
Would like to get done today
(C)
Long-term projects that would like to do some work on today (such as a book
being read, a paper for class, a project at home, studying for a test)
Establish
your best time of day to work on As, Bs, or Cs. We all have our own time of day
where our brain prefers urgency or more casual pacing. Find that out for
yourself.
Establish
your best time of day for tasks that take routine energy where the brain does
not have to do much; just get things done as you have always done them.
Establish
your best time of day for tasks that take creative energy where the brain does
much work and your imagination is utilized. As with suggestion 2, we are
different in this time of day, and we must experiment on our own.
Every
now and them, stop what your are doing and think: What is the best use of my
time right now? Do this when you feel overly-busy and don't quite know which
task to do. What about that TV? Trust your answer.
Do not
let others waste your time. Take something you want to accomplish along to
medical appointments or to the school office or wherever you usually have to
wait.
Establish
the practice of squeezing short, routine tasks into otherwise (wasted) moments
(TV commercials, in class when you finish an assignment or test early).
Do not
create tension for yourself by trying to do last item mentioned when you are
genuinely relaxing. Relaxing is not wasting time unless you do it too often too
long. We all need time to relax.
Initiate
telephone conversations so that you can control when they are finished and it
is time to hang up. This is not rude, just clever. If the other person calls
us, we tend to wait for that person to say good-bye and hang up. Also, try
setting a clock by the phone.
If a
block of time is truly outside your control do not waste time fretting about
it.
Do not
try to keep ideas, plans, and/or assignments in your head, write them down so
you do not use time thinking of them again. This often happens in class. Use a
section of your notebook.
Combine
your notes to yourself on one list or note pad. Don't keep looking for scraps
of paper in various pockets or sections of your notebook.
Recognize
that it is far better to say (no) when someone asks you to do a favor or be on
a committee or team than to let them down later. We often get over-extended and
regret promises we made. When that happens we sometimes get very careless in
keeping the promise and resent the other person for asking.
Frequently
ask yourself regarding long-term goals on which you procrastinate(maybe (C's)
on your To Do List), What will happen if I don't finish this? If your answer
is, (nothing), don't finish it. By the way, (nothing) means that you will not
earn and/or learn from what you are doing.
If
allowed, see what you can do to add or improve your grade by looking into extra
credit, bonus, and/or bonuses. Certain policies may have to apply such as
having all work in or having a certain exam average.
Remember:
There is usually time for what we value most. We have to decide what those
things are.
Attitudes and
Self-Esteem
Reactive Language
being negative never helps
There is nothing I can do
I am not smart
That is just the way I am
He/she makes me so mad
I have to do that
I can not
I do not
If only
* Proactive
Language *
being positive is much better
Let us look at our alternatives
I can choose a different approach
I control my own feelings
I am smart
I can create an effective anything
I will choose an appropriate time and/or
response
I can
Attitudes to Explore
1. Be responsible for creating value and interest in your life.
2. Turn problems into opportunities if you face them and work at
them.
3. Continued effort will pay off in some way.
4. What you experience in life is useful in some way.
5. Your self-worth is not dependent on your success.
Are You Driven or Being Driven?
1. Who
are you?
2. What
abilities do you need?
3.
Where are you going?
4. How
will you know success?
5. Why
are you going?
6. What
could go wrong?
7. How
will you get there?
8. Who
will go with you?
Building Your Self-Esteem
1.
Develop your potential.
2.
Never put yourself down.
3. Talk
about self positively.
4. Be
good to yourself.
5.
Respect yourself and your uniqueness.
6.
Surround yourself with beauty.
7. Take
credit for what you do.
8. See
yourself as equal to others.
9. Be
able to receive as well as give.
10.
Learn to trust your own judgment.
In Conclusion
Why bother trying to be better
than someone else? Just strive to be better than your self and you will
automatically become the best. There will always be people who achieve more or
less than you in a given area (science or any other area). No matter how you
compare with others, however, you can feel confident that you are a success of
the first magnitude so long as you are steadily moving toward the achievement
of your own worthwhile predetermined goals.
You Fail Only When You Stop Trying