Keys to College Success

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Keys to College Success

Brain Power
Can You Remember

• Memorize From General to Specific.

  Study the big picture, then learn the details.  Learning and memorization are like funnel the process is not very effective when the small end is at the top

• Cramming Does Not Work!

  Cramming for an exam only commits the information to your short-term memory. You will forget what you never really learned

• Four Basic Reasons Why We Forget Pieces Of Information.

  1.  Don’t use information
  2.  Confuse it with other information
  3.  Decide the information does not match what you already believe
  4.  Never really learned the information in the first place.

• Keys To Remembering
  1. Be interested. Pay attention. Consciously choose to remember. Establish a need to remember
  2. Visualize. Picture in your mind what you wish to remember.
  3. Relate. Relate and form associations between the new ideas and information you wish to remember and information, ideas, person, thing etc. that you already know.
  4. Repeat. Even through something is initially learned it will more than likely be forgotten if not over learned. Be sure to repeat information in your own words.

 In The Classroom 

Dealing With Professors and Tough Classes

• Go See Your Professor during their posted office hours. They have to sit there whether you show up or not so take advantage of the opportunity
• Talk to Other Students to find out the real scoop, which professor to avoid, act.
• Don’t Be Afraid To Ask other students and professors for copies of old exams. The question may change but the style usually remains the same.
• Make Sure Your Professor Knows Your Name. Putting a face with a name will be a big help, especially if your grade is on the borderline.
• Problems with Faculty should be handled honestly and calmly. Always try to remedy conflicts with faculty members first. If the problem remains unresolved, seek advice from your academic advisor, a student support service staff member, or your student handbook as to the next step.
  1. Department chair
  2. Dean of the college
  3. Chancellor or Vice President of Academic affairs
  4. Ombudsman
  5. Student Government Attorney

• What Irritates Professors And Instructors?
  1. Sleeping in class
  2. Brown nosing
  3. Not going to class
  4. Lack of responsibility
  5. Not reading the syllabus
  6. Excuses
  7. Not meeting deadlines

Study Strategies
Goal Setting

• Goals Are Target Toward Which You Aim

1. Set realistic goals, within timeliness
2. Goals should be specific and clear
3. Determine the purpose of your goals and their achievement benefits. Write them down next to your goal
4. Set specific strategies for accomplishing each goal
5. Set target dates for self-evaluation of progress
6. Periodically visualize your goal as well as your strategies for accomplishing goal
7. List potential obstacles to attaining the goal
8. List strategies for overcoming obstacles
9. Follow through on all strategies.

Themes and Reports
Writing the Paper

• Make/use index cards (put the topic at the top of each card) notes, bibliographies, summaries, reports, and review as part of your preparation process to organize you materials
• Prepare A Written Outline
  1. Don’t make the mistake of trying to keep everything in your head
  2. Make your outline in the form of main headings or ideas with sub-headings fleshing out the flow of the paper. This will establish the paper content and conclusion
• Write The Paper
  1. Use the outline as a guide and stick to it
  2. Write in your own natural style
  3. Reread, rewrite, revise, and edit until the paper says exactly what you want to say in the way you want to say it.
  4. Use Correct Punctuation and Grammar
  5. Use a spelling and grammar checker if using a word processor.

Reading Skills
Skimming & Scanning

• When To Use
  1. To quickly determine main idea
  2. To locate facts quickly
  3. To answer test items
  4. To answer chapter questions
• How To Use
  1. Fix intent for reading (or facts sought) clearly in your mind
  2. Scan table of contents, chapter headings and subheadings
  3. Quickly move eyes over reading material- focusing upon page heading and subheadings, discarding information that is obviously not related to reading intent.
  4. Skimming reading rates should be twice as fast as average reading speed
  5. Selective omit portions of reading material
  6. Locate as quickly as possible the key or topic sentence of each paragraph( usually, but not always, the first sentence)
  7. Practice skimming and scanning to locate information repeated practice will increase speed
  8. Read carefully the last paragraph for summary information
  9. Carefully review table, charts and any side boxes

The SQ3R + Reading Method

• Survey
  1. Preview the assignment/ material to be studied by scanning the text quickly to discover the author’s central concept
  2. From your preview formulate and overall picture and the purpose of what you’re going to study

• Question
  1. What you need to learn in term of: what, why, how, when, who and/or where to support the central concept
  2. Write these question in the margins of your text book or at the top of you lecture or study notes
• Read
1. Read specifically to answer the question
2. Most paragraphs contain one or more main ideas in support of the concept. Locate and highlight them with marker. Make notes in the margins summarizing key points. Pay special attention to bold of italicized type and to table graphs & illustrations, which may explain an idea more powerfully than text
• Recall
  1. Pause periodically (every 15 minutes or so) to recall in your own words a summary of what you have read: what the important ides or concepts are and how the text, examples, graph, charts, or illustrations support them. Write on notepaper as much as you can recall about what you have read and learned! Each mini-review is a knowledge builder and memory reinforce.
• Review
  1. Did you answer your questions, understand the new material and accomplish your goal?
  2. Reread difficult parts, work a few more problems