Study Skills

Change-Setting Goals

Changes in the days to come!

One of the first changes you may notice about continuing your education is that you have to learn to juggle many things at once. This will include your course work, finances, and maybe your family. Learning how to set priorities is a critical step to successfully handling the challenge.

You need to keep your goal in sight at all times and tell yourself you can do

this!

Change-Setting Goals

Change-Setting Goals•Take control of your own life

•Adopt the idea that you are responsible for you

•Refuse to allow friends and family to tear you down

•Control what you say to yourself

•Take carefully assessed risks often

•Don’t compare yourself to other people

•Develop a victory wall or victory file

•Keep your promises and be loyal to friends, family and yourself

•Win with grace – lose with class

•Set goals and maintain a high level of motivation

Persist

Persist

There will be times when you are disappointed with a grade. What do you do? Be truthful with yourself and examine the amount of time you spent on the project. Consider the following:

F? What Do You Mean an F?

Did you attend class regularly? Did you come to class prepared and ready for

discussion? Did you ask questions in class for clarification? Did you meet with the instructor during office

hours? Did you seek outside assistance in places such

as the writing center or math lab? Did you ask your peers for assistance or join a

peer/study group?

PersistYou may be surprised , but the way you act in (and out of) the class can mean as much to your success as what you know. No one can make you do anything or act in any way that you do not want to. Consider the following:

Bring your materials to class daily

Come to class prepared: read your texts and handouts and do the homework

Turn in projects on time Participate In class Ask your instructor about the

best time to come for extra help Do not sleep in class Be respectful to other students Turn off your cell phone Call ahead if you are going to be

late Dress for success! Wear the

right clothes particularly for clinicals

Persist

The age old “scare tactic” for students! Look to your left, look to your right – one of those people will not graduate with you.

The great news is that you do not have to be that person!

Consider the following:

Staying Power

Make use of every academic service offered by the university

Work hard to understand your learning style Work hard to develop a sense of community Join a club or an organization Watch your finances carefully Visualize your Goals Maintain a sense of self esteem and self

respect Learn to budget your time Attend classes regularly

Prioritize

We all procrastinate, then we worry and promise we’ll never do it again and if we can just get through this day. We say things to ourselves like, “If I can just live through this test, I will never wait until the last minute again.

PrioritizeConsider the following:

Face up to the results of procrastination Concentrate on the rewards of managing yourself and your

time Break up big tasks into small ones Give yourself a time limit to accomplish a task Set a regular time for study and do not vary from it Start studying with positive, realistic thoughts Establish study habits Set reasonable, concrete goals that you can reach in about

20 to 25 minutes Face fear; look it right in the face Get help from your instructor Avoid whining and people who whine and complain Allow yourself more time than you think you need to

complete an assignment or to study for a test Practice your new study habits for 21 days Actually reward yourself when you have accomplished an

important body of work Start on the difficult, most boring tasks first Find a quiet place to study Balance your load

Read

Is Reading FUNdamental or Just Pure Torture?

ReadWhat are the top two academics problems among students today?

The two greatest problems students face are:

math and reading!

Here is a six pack that can actually help you: The ingredients for successful reading: Use these tools to improve your reading comprehension, analysis and speed!

The material you’re reading An open mind Pencils

Highlighter A Dictionary A note book

ReadSQ3R to the rescue:

An effective way to approach a chapter is to use the SQ3R method. This method has been successful for millions of students.

SQ3R can be a life saver when it comes to understanding material that is overwhelming.

S Survey Survey or pre read

Q Question

Ask Who?, When, What? Where? and Why?

3xR’s

R Read Read the chapter

R Recite Find a classmate and ask each other questions

R Review Re read and review your notes

Learn

LearnIs there one best way to learn? The way one learns depends on many variables such as learning styles, your personal intelligences, personality typing, your past experiences and your attitude.

Discover your talents!

Are you a:

Visual Learner Thinks in pictures

Auditory Learner

Prefers verbal instructions

Tactile Prefers hands on…

Learn

What can you learn from your personality?

Extroversion/Introversion –Extroverts prefer to live in the outside world and introverts draw strength from the inner world.

Sensing/Intuition – Sensing types gather information from their five senses, whereas intuitive types are not very well organized but rely on their gut feelings.

Thinking/Feeling – Thinkers are logical people, they do not make decisions based on feelings or emotion. Feelers make decisions on what they feel is right and just.

Judging/Perceiving – Judgers are very orderly people and they must have structure in their lives. Perceivers are just the opposite.

What type are you?

Listen

Listen

What did you

say?

For students, good listening skills are critical. Cultivating and improving your active listening skills will help you to understand the lecture and clinical material, take accurate notes, participate in class discussions and communicate to your peers.

At the core of listening is the ability to hear, understand, analyze, respect and appropriately respond to the meaning of another person’s spoken and non verbal messages.

Listening needs to be personalized and internalized. Practice listening with the whole body on the following levels:

Listen with a purpose Listen objectively

Listen constructively

Listen

Listening when English is your second language!

For students whose first language is not English, the college classroom can present some uniquely challenging situations. Don’t be afraid to:

Stop the instructor for clarificationFigure out unfamiliar words in context

Enhance your vocabularyWrite down everything

Seek help by practicing the language and maybe start your own conversation group!

¿Qué dijo

O que

você disse

Kisa

nou te

di

ListenThe L-Star System

One of the most effective ways to take notes is the L-Star System:

L Listen Choose a spot where you can see the instructor clearly. If you see the instructor’s face become animated or expressive you know you are hearing important information.

S Setting it down

Use a series of symbols/abbreviations to write everything down. This will save you time, for example; w/ with, <less, etc and so on…

T Translate

Translate your notes immediately after class. Go to a quiet place and review your notes.

A Analyze When you are translating your notes ask the questions “What does this mean?” and “Why is this important?”

R Remember

Try to create a visual picture and speak the notes out loud using mnemonic devices and find a study partner.

Sleep Staying up all night is not the answer!

Sleep

Sleep is vital to good health. Lack of sleep can lead to a low immune system making the body more susceptible to getting sick. A lack of focus or concentration can also result and increased moodiness is another common side affect. Retaining new information is decreased and the ability to manage stress is challenged. Recommended guidelines to help reduce sleep problems

include: getting up at about the same time every day going to bed only when you're sleepy exercise regularly maintaining a regular schedule avoiding smoking, caffeine, alcohol, naps or pills before bed

time

Critical Thinking

Critical Thinking

As you begin to work on your critical thinking skills consider the following steps:

Restrain emotions Look at things differently Analyze information Ask questions Solve problems Distinguish fact from fiction

As a student critical thinking can help you to focus on issues, gather relevant accurate information, remember facts, organize thoughts logically, analyze questions and problems and manage your priorities. It can assist you in your problem solving skills and help you control your emotions so that you can make rational judgments. A very important skill for a nurse.

Critical Thinking

Critical Thinking

Critical thinking is essential skill to the nurse. Critical thinking requires a great deal of commitment on your part. Critical thinking can affect the way you live your life. Critical thinking is the hallmark of an educated person. It is the hallmark of character and integrity, and it is the hallmark of successful student nurses.

Let it be yours!