How to Take on College Studying

Part 2

Choose Where to Study

Where you should study depends on two factors: the environment in which you are best able to concentrate and the type of work you are planning to do.

·      The best places to study have good light, a comfortable temperature and enough desks space-usually your dorm room, your apartment or the library.

·      For completing problem sets or brainstorming possible test questions, you may want to study with a group or at least in a setting where fellow students are available for discussion.

·      When you are reading book chapters or working on a research paper, you are probably better off in a less social environment.

Improve Your Study Habits

Here are simple steps you can take to help you get a handle on studying:

·      Have a routine for where and when to study.

·      Choose reasonable and specific goals that you can accomplish for each study session.

·      Do things that are harder or require more intense thought at your most productive time of the day.

·      Take breaks if you need them so you don’t waste time looking at material but not absorbing it.

·      Get to know students whom you respect and can study with or contact to ask questions.

·      Keep up with the workload and seek help when you need it.
http://www.learningstarts.org/?gclid=CN7PieKB2rUCFch7QgodoG8A2Q

Jenna helped out a girl named Deb win a race that they were both competing against each other. Deb was in the lead and Jenna was trying to pass her when all of a sudden Deb stopped running. The reason was because Deb popped her hip bone and it broke. She was in great pain. When Jenna saw that Deb stopped she stopped as well to help her out. Jenna helped Deb win the race.

I think that what Jenna did was a really good thing. Even though it wasn't her teammate or her friend that was still nice. Not many people do nice things like that but when people do that I think that it’s really nice. 

How to Take on College Studying

http://www.coolegeboard.com/student/plan/college-success/961.html

Develop Good Study Habits

In college, you’ll need to build on the study skills that you learned in high school. The demands of a college class are probably more rigorous than those you are used to.

You can succeed by knowing what to expect and how to handle it. Think of colleges as a full-time job, in which you spend 40 hours a week on class, labs, study groups and doing homework.

Being organized and using your time well are essential/. Learn more about time management and use the guidelines below to develop your study skills.

Decide When to Study

Work out about how many hours you need to study every day. Then make a schedule.

·      Figure out what blocks of time you have available throughout the day, in the evenings and no weekends.

·      Consider what time of day you are most alert- there are morning people and night owls- and try to schedule your studying accordingly.

·      Think about whether you do better studying for a few hours at a time or sitting down for marathon sessions.

Student Success Statement

“Choosing the right is always the right thing to do.”

-Alex Linares

You always have to make right choices in your life so that you can succeed. Even if it’s not what you want to do but if you know that it is the right thing to do then you should still do it. You will go far in life if you make right decisions.

10 Time Management Tips for Students

Tips 5-10

Tip 5. Review Your Notes Every Day.

Reviewing helps you reinforce what you've learned, so you need less time to study before a test. You’ll also be ready if you get called on in class or have to take a pop quiz.

Tip 6. Get a Good Night’s Sleep.

Your brain needs rest to perform at its peak. Lack of sleep makes the day seem longer and your tasks seem more difficult.

Tip 7. Communicate Your Schedule to Others.

If phone calls or text messages are providing to be a distraction, tell your friends that you are only available at certain times of day and not to expect a response at other times.

Tip 8. Become a Taskmaster.

Give yourself a time budget and plan your activities accordingly. Figure out how much free time you have each week before you add any commitments.

Tip 9. Don’t Waste Time Agonizing.

Instead of agonizing and procrastinating, just do it. Wasting an entire evening worrying about something that you’re supposed to be doing is not productive, and can increase your stress.

Tip 10. Determine Your Priorities.

You can’t do everything at once. Establish the importance of each item. Then set realistic goals that are attainable. 

Student Success Statement

“It’s better to be alone than to be in bad company.”

-Anonymous

It’s better for someone to be alone than to be with people that make bad choices and are on the wrong path. You’re better off being by yourself and knowing that you’re doing the right thing. An example of this is someone being home alone doing their homework than being with people that do drugs.

10 Time Management Tips for Students

Tips 1-4

Organize Your Life

Managing your time well is an important element of success- especially if you’re a student. If you set priorities that fit your needs and lifestyle, you’ll have a better chance of achieving your goals. Here are some tips for taking control of your time and organizing your life.

Tip1. Make a To- Do List Every Day.

Put things that are most important at the top and do them first. And don’t forget to reward yourself for your accomplishment.

Tip2. Use Spare Minutes Wisely.

When you’re commuting on the bus or train, use the time to get some reading done.

Tip3. It’s Okay to Say No.

If your friend asks you to go to a movie on a Thursday night and you have an exam the next morning, realize that it’s okay to say no. Keep your short- and long-term priorities in mind.

Tip4. Find the Right Time.

You’ll work more efficiently if you figure out when you do your best work. For, example, if your brain handles math better in the afternoon, don’t wait to do it until late at night. 

Student Success Statement

“Improvement begins with I.”

-Anonymous

No one can improve for you. Only you can because it’s your life. You need to decide on what decisions you’re going to make throughout your life. No one is going make them for you.  

7 Habits of Highly Successful Students

Habit 7

Part 2

Habit 7: Sharpen the Saw

3) Heart: Always do what is right so your heart, your conscience, will feel peaceful. When you do wrong, your conscience will pick you and create regretful sensations within your heart. When you do what you honestly feel, you won’t have any regrets. Your heart is your internal                compass- it gives you direction and discernment. Just like a magnetic compass gives directions, even true north, your personal compass, your heart, will point you in the true north, the exact directions and paths you need to trod.

4) Soul: Study scriptures and other sacred literature daily. In other words, feed your spirit because your spirit needs spiritual food just like your physical body needs temporal food to survive. Pondering, meditating, and reflecting are excellent Soul- sharpening activities. Try writing your thoughts, feelings, aspirations, concerns, and decisions in a diary or journal. Writing helps you focus and make good decisions.

       Get into the habit of daily improving your body (physical fitness), your mind, your heart, and your soul.

Student Success Statement

“If you do what’s right, you have no need to fear.”

-Anonymous

If you do right things then you don’t have anything to worry about. As long as you follow directions and  make good choices then no need to fear. 

7 Habits of Highly Successful Teens

Habit 7

Part 1

Habit 7: Sharpen the Saw

Teens should never get too busy living to take time to renew themselves. When teens “sharpen the saw” they are keeping their personal self-sharp so that they can better deal with life. It means regularly renewing and strengthening the four key dimensions of life- body, mind, heart, and soul

1)            Body. Eat wholesome foods, fruits, vegetables, legumes. Avoid illegal drugs, smoking, alcohol, tobacco products, tattooing. Exercise regularly and effectively. Get plenty of rest at night. Go to bed early at night and get up early each morning. “Early to bed early to rise makes a man healthy, wealthy, and wise.”

2)            Mind. Think positively. Read. Study. Think. Analyze. Seek to read a good book each month. Then each week. Ask intelligent questions. Observe. Develop your mind through positive “self-talk.”

Student Success Statement

“Alone we can do so little; together we can do so much.”

-Helen Keller

When you work alone, you only have your own thoughts. When you work with other people, you can share your thoughts and work together. You have more help when your with other people but when you’re alone you only have yourself. You can get much more done with other people than you could when it's only you. 

7 Habits of Highly Successful Students

Habit 6

Habit 6: Synergize

Synergy is achieved when two or more people work together to create something better than either could alone. Through this habit, teens learn it doesn't have to be “your way” or “my way” but rather a better way, a higher way. Synergy allows teens to value differences and better appreciate others. Synergy is the reward, the delicious fruit you’ll taste as you get better at living the other habits, especially at thinking Win-Win and seeking first to understand. Learning to synergize is like learning to form V formations with other instead of trying to fly through life solo. You’ll be amazed at how much faster and farther you’ll go. Synergy doesn't just happen. It’s a process. You have to get there. And the foundation of getting there is this: Learn to celebrate differences.

A good band is a great example of synergy. It’s not just the drums, or the guitar, or the sax, or the vocalist, it’s all of them together that make up the “sound.” Each band member brings his or her strengths to the table to create something better than each could alone. No instrument is more important than another, just different.

7 Habits of Highly Successful Teens

Habit 5

5. Seek First to Understand, and then to be Understood because most people don’t listen very well, one of the great frustrations in life is that many don’t feel understood. This habit will ensure your teen learns the most important communication skill there is: active listening.

Why is this habit the key to communication? It’s because the deepest need of the human heart is to be understood. Everyone wants to be respected and valued for who they are- a unique, one-of-a-kind, never-to-be-cloned individual. People won’t expose their soft middles unless they feel genuine love and understanding. Once they feel love, however, they will tell you more than you may want to hear. People don’t care how much you know until they know how much you care.

Listen with your eyes, heart, and ears. 7 percent of the communication is contained in the words we use. The rest comes from body language (53 percent) and how we say words, or the tone and feeling reflected I our voice (40 percent).

Most people are eager to talk and had rather talk than listen. We have one mouth and two ears. This means we should listen twice as much as we talk. We actually learn more while listening rather than we talk. Learn to listen and listen to learn.  Listen, really listen, for understanding.

Seek first to understand then to be understood- LISTEN.

Student Success Statement

“You cannot do wrong and feel right. It is impossible.”

-Ezra Taft Benson

When you do something wrong you cannot expect everything to turn out good. It will obviously turn out bad. It will only turn out good if you do what’s right. 

7 Habits of Highly Successful Students

Habit 3

Habit 3: Put First Things First

Habit 3 is about Will and Will Not power. This habit helps teens prioritize and manage their time so that they focus on and complete the most important things in their lives. Putting first things first also means learning to overcome fears and being strong during difficult times. It’s living life according to what most matters most. Putting first things first deals with things that are:

Important or not important, urgent or not urgent. Let’s look at the four quadrants of time management.

Quadrant 1: Things that are Important and Urgent

Quadrant 2: Things that are Important but NOT Urgent

Quadrant 3: Things that are NOT Important but are Urgent

Quadrant 4: Things that are NOT Important and NOT Urgent

1.    Important & Urgent	2.    Important but not Urgent
3.    Not Important but Urgent	4.    Not Important & Not Urgent

Quadrant 2 is the ideal place to spend our time, doing things that are important but not urgent. Here’s where priorities come into play. The results for living Quadrant 2 are:

1.  Control of your life

2.  Balance

3.  High Performance

4.  So, in what quadrant are you spending most of your time? The key id to shift as much time as possible into Quadrant 2 and this is accomplished by planning. Spend more time planning and incorporating the most important things first, things that matter most. Keep your eyes on the prize and reach for it.

Define EXCEL arithmetic Operators

+ Addition

- Subtraction

* Multiplication

/ Division

^ Power or Exponent

Student Success Statement

“The only difference between those who have failed and those who have succeeded lies in the difference of their habits. Good habits are the key to all success. Bad habits are the unlocked door to failure. Thus, the first law I will obey, which precedeth all others is- ‘I will form good habits and become their slaves.’”

Og Mandino

If you want to succeed them you need to develop good habits and follow them. If you develop bad habits and begin to follow them, then there is no way that you will succeed. You would end up failing. An example of this would be when someone goes to school and completes all their assignments and pays attention in class, they end up succeeding and getting good grades. When someone does nothing but sit there in class and does not pay attention or complete assignments then they fail and do not succeed. 

  -Og Mandino 

7 Habits of Highly Successful Students

Habit 2

Habit 2: Begin With the End in Mind

If teens aren't clear about where they want to end up in life, about their values, goals, and what they stand for, they will wander, waste time, and be tossed to and fro by the opinions of others. Help your teen create a personal mission statement which will act as a road map and direct and guide his decision-making process.

“Keep your eye on the prize.” Determine your desired prize and don’t quit until you have realized the achievement of your prize. Then set another prize, another goal or desire that you would really like to achieve. Begin with the achievement of your prize in mind. Visualize and realize. Start by having a target in mind; know where you are going.

One prize or goal you definitely need to establish for yourself is the prize of an honorable graduation from high school- that you will receive your diploma honestly and with integrity- that you earned it with perfect honesty. 

Student Success Statement

 “Whether I fail or succeed shall be no man’s doing but my own. I am the force.”

-Elaine Maxwell

You take responsibility for your own actions and it is no other persons fault. You are the one that made the decision so you need suffer the consequences if there is any. No one else made them so therefore no one else is going to take the blame or take responsibility for it.

7 Habits of Highly Successful Teens

(By: Sean Covey but modified)

Habit 1: Be Proactive.

Being proactive is the key to unlocking the other habits. Help your teen take control and responsibility for her life. Proactive people understand that they are responsible for their own happiness or unhappiness. They don’t blame others for their own actions or feelings. Proactive people realize that the ball is in their court, that they are the captain of their own ship; that they are in control, control of their own decisions, goals, actions, and priorities. Proactive people are self- starters; they don’t wait to be told what to do, they press forward with enthusiasm toward the achievement of their assignment, their duties, their responsibilities, their obligations. Choosing to do what is right is a proactive decision. Obey the rules. Obey the law. Obey the coach. Obey the school policies. Obey your parents. Obey with exactness, and great things will come to you. Be proactive and take the initiative.

Student Success Statement

“Keep your eyes on the prize.”

-Anonymous

When you like something or really want something then it is like a prize to you. You will do anything to try and get that prize. Your goals in life are like a prize and you have to do what it takes to get that prize or achieve that goal. For example if you want to go to college then you need to have good grades in order to do that. Another example would be if you want to be a doctor. You would have to go to school for how many years it takes in order to become a doctor.

Ten Tips for Student Success

St. Johns University

1.Attend your classes. Remember in the words of Woody Allen ‘Seventy percent of success in life is showing up’.

2. Know your faculty. Make sure you know who your teachers are, when their office hours are and how to contact them.

3. Make sure the faculty knows you. Sit in the front of the classroom. Participate in class discussions. Consult with your teachers during office hours.

4.Use a daily planner. Note the dates of exams, assignments, term papers, etc.

5.Be organized. Prioritize your responsibilities. Manage your time. Remember everyone has the same 168 hours a week, only some of us use them better than others.

6. Know your campus resources. Visit your Academic’s Dean Office regularly. Become familiar with the services and programs offered by the Counseling Center, The Freshman Center, the Career Center, the Campus Ministry Office and the Student Life Office.

7. Take care of your health. Get enough sleep. Eat well-balanced meals. Exercise regularly. Make informed and mature decisions about alcohol, sex and drugs. Visit the Health Office as needed.

8.Work only as necessary. Try not the exceed 20 hours during a school week. If possible, work on campus. Apply for financial aid and loans if you need them. Manage your expenses very carefully.

9.Get involved in campus activities. It will help you learn valuable skills, expand your social network and enhance your self-confidence. Seek out opportunities to apply what you learn in the classroom.

10.      Keep your eyes on the prize. Clarify your goals. Know why you are in (high school or) college in the first place. Visualize you success on a daily basis.

Student Success Statement

"You make your habits and your habits make you."

-Anonymous

7 Habits of Highly Successful Teens

By Sean Covey

For teens, life is not a playground, it’s a jungle. And, being the parent of a teenager isn’t any walk in the park, either. In his book, The 7 Habits of Highly Effective Teens, author Sean Covey attempts to provide “a compass to help teens and their parents navigate the problems they encounter daily.”

How will they deal with peer pressure? Motivation? Success or lack changing decisions. As a parent, you are responsible to help them learn the principles and ethics that will help them to reach their goals and live a successful life.

While it’s all well and good to tell kids how to live their lives, “teens watch what you do more than they listen to what you say,” Covey says. So practice what you preach. Your example can be influential.

Covey himself has done well by following a parent’s example. His dad, Stephen Covey, wrote the book The 7 Habits of Highly Successful People, which sold over 15 million copies. Sean’s a chip off the old block, and no slacker. His own book has rung in a more than respectable 2 million copies sold. Here are his seven habits, and some ideas for helping your teen understand and apply them.

Student Success Statement

"Nothing is ever gained in doing what's wrong."

-Wilford Woodruff

You will gain nothing when you do what's wrong. Instead you will loose a lot. You will loose respect from others, your freedom and more. You should do what's right if you want to gain something. People will not like you if you make wrong choices or decisions.

Profile of a Successful Student

Part 3

… owns or has easy access to a computer with Internet access and e-mail

You don’t have to be a computer expert to be successful in online learning- but you must have access to a personal computer with reliable Internet access, as well as a basic level of competency in using them. Owning a computer with Internet access from your home is ideal but many students use the computer labs on campus or at their offices to complete their work.

… has basic computer skills and is willing and open to learning new ones

We said you don’t have to be a computer expert to be successful in online learning. However, there are some basic technical skills you should have mastered prior to enrolling in an online course.

Student Success Statement 

"Its not WHERE you live but HOW you live that counts. It's not where you play the game but HOW you play the game that counts"

-Mr. Haymore

It does not matter where you do it but how you do it. For example you can go to an ugly school but still get a good education if you put the effort into it. The only thing that matters is that you get an education not where you get it at. If you do the right thing then that would be the only thing that would matter. As long as its right and will give you a positive affect in your life the  you shouldn't matter where its don't or with who. Another example would be playing a sport. When your an athlete you don't care where you play the game as long as you play it.

Profile of a Successful Student

Part 1

{HYPERLINK http://www.plymouth.edu/office/online-education/online-learning/profile-of-a-successful-student/}

A successful student…

…takes responsibility for his/her own learning

Online learning can be a powerful, stimulating, engaging experience for the student who can work and think independently. However, since most-if not all-of the learning takes place on your own time, you will not have the kind of direct supervision you would in a classroom. Online learning therefore requires a significant commitment from you. All education comes down to what you’re willing to invest in the experience-this is particularly true in the online environment. Commitment, self-discipline and self-motivation are all key qualities to ensuring success in an online course!

…is comfortable and confident with written communication

Reading and writing are the basis of most online courses, so it’s critical that you feel comfortable with this form of communication. While some courses contain modules that include videos or other activities all of them require significant amounts of reading. And nearly all of your communication with your classmates and your instructor will be in writing. If these are weak areas for you, you will want to address those issues prior to enrolling or while enrolled in an online course. The PSU Writing Center is available to assist you.

…is willing to be a member of a learning community.

 

Student Success Statement

“Goodness is the only investment that never fails.”

-Henry David Thoreau

You can always depend on goodness because it will never fail. Goodness will get you good things in life. It will also get you the right things. You will succeed if you depend on goodness.

Successful Students

10

10. Successful students are good time managers. Successful students do not procrastinate. They have learned that time control is life control and have consciously chosen to be in control of their life.

An elemental truth: you will either control time or be controlled by it! It’s your choice: you can lead or be led, establish control or relinquish control, steer your own course or follow others. Failure to take control of their own time is probably the no. 1 study skills problem for college students. It ultimately causes many students to be non-students! Procrastinators are good excuse-makers. Don’t make academic harder on yourself than it has to be. Stop procrastinating. And don’t wait until tomorrow to do it!

The 10 items listed above are paraphrased from an article by Larry M Ludewig called Ten Commandments for Effective Study Skills which appeared in The Teaching Professor, December, 1992.

“Learning Technologies and Online Education”