Title: Academic Success Skills Dr' Cindy L' Oberjosh Coordinator, Academic Exploration
1Academic Success SkillsDr. Cindy L.
OberjoshCoordinator, Academic Exploration
Niagara County Community College The Smart Place
to Start
2Workshop Topics
- NCCCs Academic Standing Policy
- Why are students not successful?
- What is stress?
- Where does all the time go?
- Whats my Learning Style?
- Setting achieving academic goals
3For this workshop, academic success is when ....
- you feel that education can give you the
opportunities to increase the depth and breadth
of your knowledge and skills and will allow you
to focus your goals around what you define as
successful. - you are confident enough to try anything, whether
in or out of the college, without fear of
failure (or success) and a mindset that you can
learn from any situation. - you are motivated enough to learn outside the
walls of the "college." - NCCC provides you these opportunities to grow
into a self-initiated learner.
4In order to maintain your eligibility for
Matriculated Status and Federal Financial Aid,
you must
- Maintain academic progress based on the Colleges
Academic Standards Policy, and - Successfully complete any required Academic
Foundations coursework, and . - Complete a reasonable ratio of your total courses
registered (excessive non-progress grades of W,
I, N, F, U can affect your academic standing),
and - Achieve an acceptable grade point average (GPA)
as outlined below for all courses taken.
5NCCCs Academic Standing Policy
- ACADEMIC WARNING Academic warning refers to any
matriculated student who earns a cumulative GPA
of less than 2.0 (C average) after earning at
least six credit hours. - ACADEMIC PROBATION Probation status is awarded
when students who have been academically
dismissed are granted a semester to show they can
make academic progress towards their degree
requirements. - ACADEMIC DISMISSAL/FINANCIAL AID REINSTATEMENT
OPTIONS Academic dismissal (loss of
matriculation) and/or the loss of financial aid
occur when a student fails to meet applicable
College and/or Financial Aid academic policies.
6Probationary Status
- First-Time Dismissal ProbationThe first time you
do not meet the Good Academic Standing policy,
you will be placed on automatic probation to give
you one semester to get back into good academic
standing. - Semester-Based ProbationNCCC recognizes that
students will have circumstances in their lives
that take priority over academics. This
probationary status acknowledges that in the past
you were having difficulty with your studies but
are now making progress towards your degree. - On-Appeal ProbationAppeals are granted for one
semester based on circumstances that prevented
the student to be unsuccessful in the semester
being evaluated.
7Why are you Attending NCCC?
- Why are you taking this collegiate journey?
- Where are you coming from?
- Where do you want to go?
- Where do you expect to go?
- What routes will you be taking along the way?
- What do you plan to see?
- Who do you expect to meet?
8Why are Students Not Successful?
- Competing Priorities
- Motivation
- Learned Helplessness
- Attitude Self Esteem
- Procrastination
- Perfectionism
- Boredom
- Lack of direction or future vision
9The Research Institute of America published the
following table
10Attitude
- The American Heritage Dictionary defines attitude
as a state of mind or feeling with regard to
some matter. - Your attitude is often one of the first things
people notice about you. - Your attitude today determines your success
tomorrow. - To turn attitude into action, you must accept
responsibility for what goes on inside your mind
by monitoring your internal dialog. - One of the greatest challenges to a positive
attitude is change, whether its a change of
jobs, a change in a relationship, or a change in
your economic status. - What happens to us influences what goes on within
us unless we develop a process for taking control
of our attitudes to maintain a positive approach
to life when negative events occur. - Adopt a whatever-it-takes attitude when
confronted by change.
11Turn Attitude into Action
- Four things we must learn to do include
- focus on handling stress,
- identify your negative/pessimistic thoughts,
- tell a supportive person how you feel, and
- act to settle a problem.
- If you assign a numerical value to each letter in
the word attitude, it totals 100 ... A(1)
T(20) T(20) I(9) T(20) U(21) D(4)
E(5) 100
12What is Motivation?
- Motivation is an inner state of need or desire
that activates an individual to do something that
will satisfy that need or desire.
13Values Clarification Exercise
- A value is a belief, a mission, or a philosophy
that is meaningful. - Whether consciously aware of them or not, every
individual has a core set of personal values. - Values can range from the commonplace, such as
the belief in hard work and punctuality, to the
more psychological, such as self-reliance,
concern for others, and harmony of purpose. - On the worksheet on Page 10,
- circle the 10 values statements that reflect
areas important to you. - List your top 10 values in priority order.
14What is Procrastination?
- Procrastination is the avoidance of doing a task
that needs to get done. This can lead to
feelings of guilt, inadequacy, depression and
self-doubt among students. - Procrastination has a high potential for painful
consequences. It interferes with the academic,
personal, and professional success of students.
15More on Why Students Procrastinate?
- Fear and Anxiety. You may be overwhelmed with
the task and afraid of getting a failing grade.
As a result, you spend a great deal of time
worrying about your upcoming exams, papers and
projects, rather than completing them. - Negative Beliefs such as "I cannot succeed in
anything" may allow you to stop yourself from
getting work done. - Personal problems. For example, financial
difficulties, problems with your
boyfriend/girlfriend, etc. - Find the Task Boring.
- Unrealistic Expectations and Perfectionism.
- You may believe that you MUST read everything
ever written on a subject before you can begin
to write your paper. - You may think that you haven't done the best you
possibly could do, so it's not good enough to
hand in.
16Why do Students Procrastinate?
- Poor Time Management. Procrastination means not
managing time wisely. - may be uncertain of your priorities, goals and
objectives, or be overwhelmed with the task. - keep putting off your academic assignments for a
later date, or spending a great deal of time with
your friends and social activities, or worrying
about your upcoming examination, class project
and papers rather than completing them. - Difficulty Concentrating.
- You find yourself daydreaming, staring into
space, looking at pictures of your
boyfriend/girlfriend, etc., instead of doing the
task. - Your environment is distracting and noisy.
- You keep running back and forth for equipment
such as pencils, erasers, dictionary, etc. Your
desk is cluttered and unorganized and sometimes
you sit/lay on your bed to study or do your
assignments.
17What is Perfectionism?
- Perfectionism is a learned internal motivation
to strive for perfection based on the belief
that self-worth is equated with performance. - In other words, the perfectionist is afraid to do
something unless he or she is certain it can be
done completely and perfectly because failure is
unacceptable. - Frequent procrastination is the first and most
obvious clue that you may be overly
perfectionistic.
18What is Learned Helplessness?
- Learned helplessness is a psychological condition
in which we have learned to believe that we are
helpless in a particular situation. - We believe we have no control over our situation
and that whatever we do is useless. As a result,
we stay passive in the face of an unpleasant,
harmful or damaging situation, even when we do
actually have the power to change our
circumstances. - Learned helplessness theory is the view that
depression results from a perceived absence of
control over the outcome of a situation.
19Fear of Failure
- In exploring your attitude about failure,
consider the following - What is your definition of failure? What does
failure mean to you? - If you fail at something, does that define YOU as
a failure? - What specific failures have you experienced? What
value have you received from failing? - What fears, concerns, or assumptions do you
associate with failure? Are they true? - Can there be success in failure? If yes, how? If
no, say more. - If you could not fail, what would you be doing?
Who would you be?
20Fear of Success
- Fear that you will accomplish all that you set
out to, but that you still won't be happy,
content, or satisfied once you reach your goal. - Belief that you are undeserving of all the good
things and recognition that come your way as a
result of your accomplishments and successes. - The fear of accomplishment and being recognized
and honored. - Lack of belief in your own ability to sustain
your progress, and the accomplishments you have
achieved in your life. - Fear that your accomplishments can self-destruct
at anytime. - Belief that there are others who are better than
you or who will replace you if you do not
maintain your performance record. - Belief that success is an end in itself -- that
end is not enough to sustain your interest
and/or commitment.
21Maslows Hierarchy of Needs
Self-Actualization personal growth, self
fulfillment, personal potential, peak experiences
Esteem Needs Achievement, Status,
Responsibility, Reputation, self-esteem mastery,
independence, status, dominance, prestige
Belongingness and Love Needs Family,
Affection, Relationships, Work Group, etc
protection from elements,
Safety Needs Protection, Security,
Order, Law, Limits, Stability, etc
Biological and Physiological Needs
Basic Life Needs - Air, Food, Drink,
Shelter, Warmth, Sex, Sleep, etc.
22The level of your talent isnt really as
important as the intensity of your passion.
- Once you have defined your goals, make a list of
smaller goals that can be achieved in the short
term. - Date the smaller goals.
- Set small reachable goals.
- And ask for help when needed.
23What is Stress?
- Stress is defined as any change that you must
adapt to in our ever-changing world. - In particular, stress is any demand (force,
pressure, strain) placed on the body and the
bodys reaction to it. - Eustress vs Distress
24What are Some Causes of Stress?
- Frustration, not enough time, decisions, social
life - Expectations we place on ourselves
- Expectations placed on us by others
- Our physical environment -- noise, movement,
weather, season changes - Our internal environment -- academic pressure,
Birth of a child, demands of child-rearing - Loss of a family member, friend, pet
- Illness
- Over-commitment, taking on too many tasks and
obligations
25Symptoms of Unmanaged Stress
- Increased heart rate and blood pressure,
shortness of breath, feeling tense, irritable,
fatigued, or depressed, restlessness. - Sweaty palms, cold hands, skin outbreaks.
- Stomach ache, diarrhea, indigestion, headache,
dizziness, eye strain. - Sleep problems (too little or too much).
- Eating too much or too little.
- Lack of interest and ability to concentrate,
apathy, forgetfulness, poor judgment,
disorganized, confused. - Avoidance behaviors abuse of drugs, alcohol,
tobacco. - Moodiness (feeling low or depressed), diminished
fantasy life, emotional. - Anxiety (feeling tense, nervous, jumpy, unable to
relax). - Irritable or hostile (getting angry over minor
things). - Fearfulness (afraid to make decisions), phobias.
26Indicators of High Levels of Stress
- Exaggerating normal behavior (hard workers turn
into workaholics, quiet people become isolated). - Withdrawing from friends, family and coworkers.
- Working harder but getting less done.
- Blaming others, finding fault, being critical or
hard to please. - Having fewer stress-free conversations with
family, friends, and coworkers. - Having fights about everything and nothing.
- Sharing fewer satisfactions with family and
friends. - Having other family members with stress problems
(stress is contagious). - Pretending that nothing is wrong denial.
- Thoughts become horrible and unbearable. (Im
not good enough. Im going to go crazy.)
27Effectively Coping with Stress
- Add balance to life don't overdo studies or
play. - Know and accept what kind of person you are
strengths and weaknesses. - Take "time outs", especially during study.
- Expand your support network, reinforce
friendships. - Exercise regularly.
- Watch your breathing.
- Walk loosely and walk more.
- Learn and practice relaxation skills.
- Study each subject regularly for moderate periods
of time. - Discuss problems with friends, family, dean or
counselor.
28Time Management
- Time management is a set of principles,
practices, skills, tools, and systems that work
together to help you get more value out of your
time with the aim of improving the quality of
your life.
29Scheduling
- Scheduling is the process by which you look at
the time available to you, and plan how you will
use it to achieve the goals you have identified. - Identify the time you have available.
- Block in the essential tasks you must carry out
to succeed in your job. - Schedule in high priority urgent tasks and vital
"house-keeping" activities. - Block in appropriate contingency time to handle
unpredictable interruptions. - In the time that remains, schedule the activities
that address your priorities and personal goals.
30The Time Management Matrix
31Learning Styles
- Learning styles are simply the different
ways individuals learn. - Everyone processes information in their own way.
If you discover how you process information best,
you can learn things more efficiently and in less
time. - Information about your learning style will help
you develop strategies to compensate for your
weaknesses and capitalize on your strengths.
32Types of Learning Styles
- Visual Learners learn through seeing
... Visual learners need to see the teacher's
body language and facial expression to fully
understand the content of a lesson. They tend to
sit at the front of the class to avoid visual
obstructions (e.g. people's heads). They often
think in pictures and learn best from visual
displays including diagrams, illustrated text
books, overhead transparencies, videos,
flipcharts and hand-outs. During a lecture or
classroom discussion, visual learners often take
detailed notes to absorb the information. - Auditory Learners learn through listening ...
Auditory learners are more successful in verbal
lectures, discussions, talking things through and
listening to what others have to say. Auditory
learners interpret the underlying meanings of
speech through listening to tone of voice, pitch,
speed and other nuances. Written information may
have little meaning until it is heard. These
learners often benefit from reading text aloud
and using a tape recorder. - Tactile/Kinesthetic Learners learn through ,
moving, doing and touching ... Tactile/Kinesthetic
learners perform best with a hands-on approach
that actively explores the physical world around
them. They may find it hard to sit still for long
periods and may become distracted by their need
for activity and exploration. The word
kinesthetic describes the sense of using
muscular movement physical sense in other
words. This learning style involves the
stimulation of nerves in the bodys muscles,
joints and tendons.
33Assessing My Test Taking Skills
- Complete the inventory on Page 28.
- If you have 20 TRUE responses, your score would
be 80 (20 x 4) which means you are at the low
level of Above Average College Work.
34Career Decision Making
- Once you realize you need to make a career
decision, the next step is to clarify what you
know about yourself and your options. - In terms of your career journey,
- interests tell you what direction to pursue
- skills tell you how long it will take to get
there and - values tell you whether or not the journey is
worth taking. - In other words, interests are what you enjoy
doing skills are what you do well and values
are what motivate you to work.
35Career Awareness
- Self- Knowledge
- What kind of activities am I interested in?
- What sort of values do I have that motivate me
to work? - What kinds of skills and abilities do I possess
or need to develop? - What other options are available to help me
clarify my self-knowledge? - Knowing About Options
- What careers and majors are available?
- What do specific majors and careers entail?
- How do majors connect to occupations?
36How Interests Influence Choices
37Holland Personality Style Hexagon
38Career Planning Process
39Academic Goal Setting
- By setting goals you can
- Achieve more
- Improve performance
- Increase your motivation to achieve
- Increase your pride and satisfaction in your
achievements - Improve your self-confidence
- Plan to eliminate attitudes that hold you back
and cause unhappiness
40When Creating Goals
- State your goal in writing. Writing crystallizes
your thoughts and helps keep you focused on the
task at hand. - State your goal in positive rather than negative
terms. In other words, instead of saying I
dont want to flunk math this semester, put it
this way instead I want to get a B or higher
in math this semester. Thinking positively will
dramatically improve your performance in all
aspects of life. - Make the goal attainable. Setting a goal such as
graduating in 4 semester with a 4.0 may be
commendably ambitious but perhaps not realistic
or even necessary. - Make your goals compatible with your personality
and life-style. If you like to stay up late
Friday night with friends, will you really be
able to arise at 700 am Saturday to study for a
psychology exam? If not, are you really going to
be able to meet your goal of earning an A in
that class this semester? You might find that
you need to change your behavior in some respects
to attain an end you desire. - Make your goal personal. Aspiring to someone
elses goals may not be very meaningful. Its
unlikely that youll ever really accomplish a
goal that you cant truly make your own.
41Making Decisions
- Whether you realize it or not, you follow one or
more strategies whenever you make a decision so
why not make full use of your conscientious
options? Therefore, whenever you make an
important decision - Clarify your intentions and understand your value
system. What do you want to achieve? What do you
think is right? - Determine what your goals are.
- Gather all necessary, relevant information.
- Make a decision using one or more of the above
strategies. - Evaluate that decision. What will be the
consequences if you exercise plan A as opposed to
plan B? Are there any negative consequences that
you can see might be a result of the actions you
choose?
42 Questions?
- Complete the Quiz
- Students on Probation or Warning can leave
after completing the quiz. - Students on Academic Dismissal must
complete the Request for an Academic Appeal
Form - If you found this workshop helpful, you
might consider taking GES 180 PASS.