Academic Survival At JSU How to Make the Grades

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Academic Survival At JSUHow to Make the Grades..

• Presenters
• Ms. Monesa Watts
• Time Management
• Ms. LaTonya Robinson
• Effective Note-Taking
• Dr. Brenda K. Anderson
• Managing Test Anxiety
• Mrs. F. Janelle Hannah-Jefferson
• Test-Taking Skills
• Committee Members
• Mrs. Carol Cooper
• Ms. Kenya Washington
• PowerPoint Technician

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Time Management Skills
Presenter Ms. Monesa Watts
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Time Management

• Time management is straightforwardly defined as
  the management of time in order to make the most
  out of it.1
• http//en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Time_management

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Time Management

• But in a 2001 interview, David Allen observed
• You can't manage time, it just is. So "time
  management" is a mislabeled problem, which has
  little chance of being an effective approach.
  What you really manage is your activity during
  time, and defining outcomes and physical actions
  required is the core process required to manage
  what you do.
• http//en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Time_management

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Time Management

• Time - the measured or measurable period during
  which an action, process, or condition exists or
  continues.
• Management - the act or art of managing  the
  conducting or supervising of something (as a
  business).
• Managing - to handle or direct with a degree of
  skill.
• http//www.m-w.com/dictionary.htm

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Time Management Questions?

• How much time do you have?
• What are your goals?
• Does free time really mean free time?
• Do you have a schedule?
• Do you use a planner?
• Do you procrastinate?
• Are you equipped with Time Management Tips?

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How much time do you have?

• There are 24 hours in a day.
• 7 days in a week ( 168 hours).
• 365 days in a year.
• An extra day during leap year.
• Make a list of everything you have to do.
• Figure out how much time you can devote to each
  task.
• By analyzing your time, you will know what time
  of the day you do your best work.
• You will discover how much time your wasting with
  telephone calls, interruptions, or just hanging
  out with friends.
• Make sure you include class and study time.

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What are your goals?

• Make your goals specific and concrete.
• Set long-term and short-term goals?
• Set a deadline for your goals.
• Monitor your goals.
• Change goals if needed.

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Do you have a schedule?

• Set up your semester calendar.
• Review Syllabus for class schedules.
• Block all class and lab times
• Highlight exams and project due dates.
• Identify routine homework.
• Incorporate break time.
• Divide study time into 50-minute blocks.
• Use spare time to review.
• Dont forget to reward yourself when you do
  something right.
• Work smarter, not harder. Alan Lakein

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Set Priorities

• Which goals are important to you?
• Which goals are urgent?
• Assignments due at the ends of the semester can
  be completed in a series of steps and need not be
  completed immediately.
• It is important to work on one task at a time.
• Plan time to begin the process, i.e. visiting the
  library on several occasions to gather research
  data for a paper that is due.
• Try to plan at least two hours of study time to
  per day to review class notes from your courses
  and to work on assignments that are due.
• Faithfully using your student planner/calendar
  will help you to prioritize your work.
• How can you establish priorities?
• to-do list Cross off each task as you
  complete them.

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Most of the time we struggle to create a balance
between

• 1. Our Needs
• Eating, sleeping, personal hygiene, etc.
• 2. Our Desires
• Socializing, concerts, vacations, reading,
  exercising, shopping, TV/video games.
• 3. Our Obligations
• Fulfilling the expectations of others.
• Hanging out with friends instead of doing
  homework or preparing for an exam.
• Arriving late or missing class will send a
  negative message to faculty about what you value.
• Constant stress and anxiety of accompany
  ineffective time management.
• An awareness of how you balance your time is good.

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Finding Balance

• Find balance between
• Academic schedule
• Social life
• Time alone

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Procrastination

• Procrastination is a major obstacle that can
  prevent you from practicing good time management
  skills.
• It is the constant pushing aside of tasks that
  need to be completed and is the archenemy of all
  students.

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Ways of overcoming Procrastination

• 1. Make the Task Meaningful
• Ask yourself why the task is important to you and
  what it has to do with your long-term goal.
• 2. Take the task apart
• Sometime an assignment can appear to be
  overwhelming. Breaking large assignments into
  manageable parts will help. Set dates to work on
  each of the pieces.
• 3. Keep yourself organized
• Having everything you need right at your
  fingertips will save a lot of time when starting
  a project.
• 4. Be positive
• Avoid speaking negatively about the task and
  your ability to move toward completion. Instead,
  by positive. Tell yourself, I know that I can
  finish this work.
• 5. Plan a reward
• Do something for yourself that you would not
  normally no, but withhold the reward if the task
  remains incomplete.
• 6. Just do it Complete the task
• The moment you find yourself procrastinating,
  complete the task then, you wont have to think
  about it anymore.

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Time Management Tips

• Write things down.
• Dont rely on memory
• Prioritize your list
• Plan your week.
• Spend some time at the beginning of each week to
  plan your schedule.
• Carry a notebook.
• Write down those great ideas and brilliant
  insights (capture your thoughts).
• Learn to say no.
• Say no to low priority requests.

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Food for Thought

• Students who control and monitor their time give
  themselves the ability to be flexible.
• They understand that TIME can be used as an
  important resource.

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Academic Survival at JSU

• Effective Note-Taking
• Presenter LaTonya Robinson
• October 10, 2007

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5 Cs of Note-Taking

• Take Charge of Your Lectures
• Concentrate and Focus on the Material
• Listen Critically
• Connect and Capture Key Ideas

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Take Charge of Your Lectures

• Commit to Class
• Pre-read material to be covered before class
• Identify areas that are difficult to understand
• Arrive to class early and review notes from the
  previous class period

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CONCENTRATEand focus on the material!!!

• Beware of Distractions
• Talking
• Daydreaming Doodling
• Worrying

Keep Mind on Task and Stay Focused
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Listen Critically

• Be Ready for the Message
• Listen to Main Concepts
• Listen for New Ideas
• Ask Questions

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Connect and Capture Key Ideas

• Identify key words, themes and main points
• Relate Details to the Main Point
• Listen for Clues
• Note when a topic comes up more than once
• Transition words signal the change in topics or
  new key points
• In contrast to
• Lets move on
• This will be on the next exam
• You will see this again

This one for sure!
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Choose the Note-Taking Style thats Just Right
for You!

• Use any strategy that will help the key ideas
  stand out to you!!

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Note-Taking Styles

• Outline Method
• The Cornell Method
• Paragraph (Summarizing) Method
• Fishbone Diagram (Listing) Method

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The Outline Method

• Use headings and subheadings followed by course
  material
• Easiest method with organized lectures

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The Cornell Method

• Divide your notepaper by drawing a vertical line
  2 inches from the left margin.
• On the right side, take your notes from class.
• On the left side, write
• key words
• questions
• comments
• Examples
• On the bottom, write a summary
• These will make your work easier to review later
• Test yourself by identifying the lecture material
  on the right , prompted by your comments on the
  left.

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The Paragraph Method

• Often works best when a lot of notes are given in
  a short period of time and the instructor is a
  fast talker or the lecture is disorganized.
• Listen critically for important facts.
• Create your own summary of what has been
  presented.
• Write down summary in your own words.

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The Fishbone Diagram

• The Problem or outcome is printed in the head
  of the fish.
• Identify the primary factors and connect as ribs
  to the backbone.
• Elaborate each rib with the details related to
  the primary factor.

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Other Note-Taking Tips

• Always date your notes!
• Paraphrase your notes!
• Dont Erase Mistakes!
• For Lectures with fast talkers, consider writing
  in cursive or tape recording.
• Use Abbreviations!
• Be Organized!
• Evaluate your note-taking style strategy
  regularly!

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Questions
Presentation pictures form Multi-media 2007
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Surviving Test Anxiety

• Presented by
• Mrs. Carol J. Cooper
• Dr. Brenda K. Anderson

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Signs of Anxiety

• Headaches Rapid Heart Beat
• Anger Pacing
• Nausea Sweating
• Depression Fainting
• Negative Self-Talk

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Test Anxiety

• Test Anxiety is common among college students!
• Test or performance anxiety typically occurs
• in the presence of a difficult or challenging
  situation,
• when you believe you are inadequate or incapable
  of meeting the challenge, and,
• you fear the consequence of possible failure.

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Test Anxiety

• When psyched out and anxiety takes over, you may
  experience
• distracting thoughts of failure
• an inability to pick out important cues
• becoming distracted by irrelevant cues
• interpreting the results of physical arousal
  (muscle tension, heart rate, respiration) as
  signs of fear
• attempting to avoid or escape the situation
• giving up

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Some tips for reducing test anxiety

• There are several ways to make test anxiety more
  manageable
• Preparation
• Keep a positive attitude
• Relaxation techniques
• Learn good test-taking skills

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ADDITIONAL COPING STRATEGIES

• The techniques for dealing with test or
  performance anxiety can be divided into five
  basic principles
• Be healthy
• Be prepared
• Practice the performance
• Regulate your arousal level
• Deep breathing
• Progressive muscle relaxation
• Reduce distractions
• Rituals
• Control the fear
• Positive self-talk
• On-task self-talk
• Gaining perspective

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• The day of the test
• begin your day with a moderate breakfast and
  avoid coffee,
• try to do something relaxing the hour before the
  test,
• plan to arrive at the test location early, and
• avoid classmates who generate anxiety.
• During the test
• tell yourself I can be anxious later, now is the
  time to take the exam.
• focus on answering the question, not on your
  grade!
• counter negative thoughts with more valid
  thoughts like, I dont have to be perfect.
• take deep slow breaths and try to maintain a
  positive attitude.

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Summary
Remember, it is perfectly natural to experience
test anxiety while in college. The main thing is
not to let it get out of hand. Anxiety can serve
as a motivator that prompts us to work toward our
full potential. When the focus of our energy
turns to the anxiety rather than the task at
hand, then it becomes detrimental to our
efforts. To overcome test anxiety develop good
study habits, avoid cramming at the last
minute, eat a moderate meal before the test,
learn to relax, and STOP those negative
thoughts!
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Test-Taking Skills

• Mrs. F. Janelle Hannah-Jefferson
• Academic Advisor

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First Foremost

• Put the test in perspective.
• Of course, you want to do your best, but
  remember
• This test is not the end of the world, all you
  are doing is putting marks on a piece of paper or
  on a computer screen.
• Be prepared. Relax.
• Know that you will pass the test with flying
  colors.

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Planning Your Approach

• Prepare physically for the exam.
• Prepare mentally for the exam.
• Find out about the test.
• Know what is expected of you.
• Design an exam plan.
• Join a study group.
• Use tutoring and other campus support resources.

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Strategies for Various Tests

• One strategy that works for almost all tests
• If an answer comes quickly, go with it!
• If youre really not sure, come back to it later.
• Otherwise, different tests have different
  strategies
• Objective tests
• Subjective tests

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Objective Subjective Tests

• Objective tests include
• multiple choice
• matching
• true-false
• fill in the blank
• Subjective tests
• Short answer
• Essay questions

• Good study strategies include
• using flash cards
• making a concept vocabulary list
• reviewing your texts study guide
• reviewing your notes
• work with a tutor
• join a study group

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Multiple Choice Strategies

• Read the question carefully and try to answer it
  before you read the choices.
• Strike out wrong answers.
• Mark answers clearly and consistently.
• Change answers cautiously. Beware of
  second-guessing yourself.
• Read all the options before making a choice.
• If you dont know an answer, move on.
• If all else fails, make an educated guess!!

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True-False Strategies

• Read the question carefully.
• Go with your hunch.
• Watch for key words
• Absolutes (never, etc.) are probably false
• Relatives (some, etc.) are probably true
• Double negatives not untruthful, etc.
• If a part of it is false, all of it is false.
• Answer all questions unless there isa penalty
  for guessing.

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Fill-in-the-Blank Strategies

• Read thoroughly to be sure what is being asked.
• Be brief and specific.
• Give an answer for every blank.
• Short blanks may have long answers and vice
  versa. Dont assume anything.
• Remember an a before a blank wants a consonant
  word and an a vowel word.
• Watch for key trigger words.

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Essay Question Strategies

• Read the question carefully.
• What is the question asking for?
• Outline the key ideas.
• Refer specifically to the question in your
  opening sentence.
• Make a clear, coherent thesis statement.
• Develop the main body of the essay to support
  your thesis statement.

• Conclude by summarizing how your thesis is
  supported.
• Watch grammar, spelling and punctuation.
• Use humor if it fits in.
• Be sure you have completely answered the
  question.
• Write legibly.
• Proofread your work.

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Okay, you flunked it!Now recover your balance.

• Dont let yourself become undone by one failure.
• Use the disappointment to critically think about
• the causes of the poor performance
• crafting new strategies to improve your
  situation.
• Begin by reviewing your test results.
• Talk to your instructor or a tutor.

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Tempted to cheat? Resist the Impulse

• Cheating can have ugly consequences
• Cheaters struggle with a nagging conscience,
  self-doubt, dissatisfaction, and guilt.
• Humiliation results if you get caught.
• You may, at least, receive a 0 on your exam, or
  possibly be expelled from the college or
  university.
• Professors who catch you cheating may spread the
  word and refuse to write letters of
  recommendation, ruining chances for graduate
  study or participation in special programs.
• And remember the person you cheat the most is
  yourself.

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Finally, one more timeThe Big Three

• Be prepared!
• Relax!
• Know you can do it!