Success Quick Tips
Stay Positive
- Attitude is everything. Being positive actually allows learning to happen.
- Give yourself latitude – you are not the expert – you are in the PROCESS of learning.
- Ask for help. It is ok to do so.
- Reward small successes.
- Believe in yourself.
Time Management
- Make school your top priority. Investing in you now will assure future success.
- Set specific academic goals. For example, “I will earn an ‘A’ in MATH-0930 for the fall 2009 semester.”
- Schedule, schedule, schedule. Schedule everything, not to fill every minute, but to keep you on track.
- Use a “to do” list and learn to say “no.”
- Be flexible.
Study Skills
- Know your learning style. Understanding how you learn new and difficult information will aid in learning.
- Recommended study cycle: 20 minutes of studying followed by a 10-minute break, then repeat up to two hours.
- Study the hardest subject first.
- Give yourself permission to study and set the intention to learn.
- Create a study routine and dedicate a space to study.
- Use baroque music (barely audible) as background noise.
- Create and use mnemonics, flash cards, summary sheets, content maps, and other study aids.
- Review, recite, review. Review and recite daily – notes and study aids.
- Read the correlating chapter from your textbook BEFORE attending lecture.
Note Taking
- Attend class every day.
- Use color – either paper or pen.
- Pay attention to main points and points emphasized by the instructor.
- Create and use a uniform system of punctuations and abbreviations.
- Review your notes immediately after class to fill-in any missing information.
- Review your notes daily. Cover up the notes and ask yourself the questions you wrote in the left column.
Navigating the Textbook
- Read the introduction or learning objectives first.
- Read the summary.
- Write definitions to key terms and answer any chapter questions.
- Preview the chapter – look at headings, subheading, maps, pictures, charts, diagrams, and tables.
- Read one paragraph at a time and limit the amount of pages read daily.
- Take notes in your textbook (write question in the margin after reading the paragraph). You will retain more information if you write in your book.
Test Taking
- Begin studying from the first day of class – seriously.
- Participate in class and study groups.
- Stay relaxed, confident, and alert during a test.
- Read the directions first and then preview the test.
- Answer the questions you know, then those with the highest point value. Save the more difficult questions for last.
- Use test anxiety to your advantage. Let it give you the energy to propel you through the test.
- By the way, cramming does not work.