The Final Post- Goodbye!

Hey guys! This is the last time you'll be able to hear about my learning strategies! I know its sad and all but I know you want to hear about my FAVORITE LEARNING STRATEGY, right?

Okay, I use this strategy daily for every single one of my classes. The 20-minute test prep, it is the best strategy for preparing for exams and just keeping up with class. After every single class you take 20 minutes out of your day to make up a few questions using your notes and answer them. You save all of these prep sheets to create an amazing study guide. Now that is exam week, I have turned my 20 minute test prep into one full practice exam. I did this for each of my classes. I have taken my SOC 101 practice test three times, the first two times I got a few questions wrong so I restudied that material and the third time I took the practice exam I scored a 100 percent. I plan to do this with the rest of my classes before the dreadful final exam week! I advise you all to use the 20 minute test prep and my adaptations next semester to help you on your exams !!!

LAME

I have taken different learners type tests and have came up as a kinesthetic and a visual learner, which is why the 20 minute test prep helps me. Because I am actually writing and answering the questions it helps me remember them, my kinesthetic side. There is very minimal action needed for these strategies, you just need to spend 20 minutes extra per class making and answering questions. The only materials you need for the 20 minute test prep is a paper, pencil, and you notes or text book. My evaluation of this strategy is that it is the best for me, I use it as much as I need and it helps me a great deal. I would recommend it to anyone who needs help with preparing for an exam, especially final exams.

HERE IS AN EXAMPLE OF ONE OF MY 20 MINUTE TEST PREP PAPERS!!!!

Graphic Organizers

NA NA NA NA, HEY HEY HEY… GOODBYE! This is sadly the last post that I will be putting up on the Group Name Bloggers. We had a great run guys but it is finally coming to an end. However I will not be leaving you empty handed because I have one more learning strategy. This strategy was the one that I found to me the most helpful for me and the strategy is Graphic Organizers. And I used them in my AST 101 class and in my ANT class.

Its finals time for me at CUSE so I have been using this strategy to help me understand concepts from earlier this semester that I had the most trouble with. For me, Graphic Organizers… well… “organize” the information for me in a way where I can see several topics at once and I can see how they are related. Plus they appeal to my learning style very well because I am a visual learner. They are also quite easy to make because Microsoft Word has an application called SmartArt Graphics. All you have to do is click on the tab labeled SmartArt and pick a graphic organizer that works best with whatever topic you are focusing on. When I draw out Graphic Organizers on paper they tend to be really sloppy with information jumbled around, but with SmartArt, everything is neatly typed and easy to read. I highly recommend using Smart Art.

Graphic organizers are great for studying and clarifying difficult concepts! LAME I am a visual learner and because of that I learn very well from studying Graphic Organizers. My actions involved getting information form my books and my class notes and converting it into the Organizers. My materials were my books, my notes, and SmartArt. The Organizers will help me study for my exams, which is how I am being evaluated in my class.

AST


ANT

5 Minute Escape

Whats up students, I am back with another quick tip that will help you with your studying. This strategy is for helping you with your stress management and it is called the Five Minute Escape. think of it as one of the crazy ten minutes workouts that promise a ridiculous amount of weight-lose, only this is strategy guarantees relaxation. All you have to do is, when you are feeling stressed, take five minutes to do some focused breathing, stretching, and meditation. And this past week I chose to use this strategy for my AST 101 class.

I chose this strategy for this class because I had a Test on Thursday and I knew that I would need something to ease my anxiety on the days before. I found that the best time to use this strategy was before and after study sessions and especially right before you take the test. You may look strange at your desk with your eyes closed but let me tell you, you will feel less nervous and more relaxed. I felt like it helped me be more focused and less likely to make simple mistakes.

L.A.M.E. I am mostly a visual learner but I am also a kinesthetic learner so doing the relaxing actions really helped. My actions just involved doing the 5 minute relaxation. No materials were needed. It helped me study for a TEST which is how my teacher evaluates us.

Five minute escape

Decision

As finals are drawing closer and more work is piling up, stress can get to me. Particularly in my EDU 200 class, which has a big project due the week after thanksgiving break, and my REL 101 class, which has a paper due after the break as well, the weight of school can be pretty cumbersome. This is why I decided to use the five-minute escape strategy to help me move efficiently through these next couple weeks.

Prep and Application

The process is fairly simple: 1. Close your eyes 2. Take five slow, deep breaths. 3. Rotate your shoulders in a circular motion, first backwards five times, then forward five times. 4. Massage your temples in a circular motion with your fingers for 30 seconds. Massage your jaw concentrating on the hinges force yourself to unclench your jaw. 5. Slowly drop your chin onto your chest five times. Move your right ear to your right shoulders five times. Then switch the side, trying to touch your left ear to your left shoulder five times. Finally, move your chin to the left and touch your left shoulder. Switch to the right. Go back and forth five times 6. Cross your arms in front of you reach around to your thumbs and index fingers, knead your trapezius muscle (the one that runs along the top of your back) for about 30 seconds. 7. Take five slow, deep breaths. 8. Open your eyes.

I enjoy funny videos from youtube and other sites, so after relaxing from this exercise, I watch a video from this website:  http://laughgrandma.com/2011/11/18

This kind of makes this a combination between the five minute vacation strategy as well.

LAME

I am the type of learner that needs to stay on top of my work or else I get to swamped. The actions taken to complete this strategy are minimal, just need to follow the process. The materials are next to none. I evaluate this strategy highly.

Time Wasters/ All Pets R Smart

Decision

 This week I used the time wasters strategy for all my classes and the All Pets R Smart strategy for my EDU 200 class. I chose the time wasters because it was required, and the All Pets R Smart strategy because me EDU class is very lecture intensive and the notes taken from that class were directly on the midterm.

Prep and Application

For the Time Wasters strategy I simply thought about what I do in the day that is unnecessary or causes procrastination. The biggest time wasters I found in my day were: Cleaning my room, texting, and napping. All three of these I used to avoid starting or finishing my homework. To remedy these behaviors I decided the best course of action was to start going elsewhere besides my room to do my work so I tempted by less distraction, also for cleaning my room I decided to set up a cleaning time and to stop napping I need to start drinking more coffee.

All Pets R Smart works by first attending the lecture and trying to create a lens or focus for the reading, then you skim the readings and to try and predict what the author is going to discuss. Then you actually read the work and finish by summarizing the important information within the reading. I thought that this would be a good strategy for EDU 200 class; however, by using this strategy I made a discovery. The readings are less about gathering new information and more about giving examples of what we are learning about in next weeks class, so a strategy that requires one to attend lecture first is kind of pointless.

LAME

Neither of these strategies really applied to my learning type. The actions needed to use the time wasters strategy is pretty simple, you just need to think about your behaviors proactively, but for the All Pets R Smart strategy you simply need to follow the steps. Materials: pad and pen. Evaluation: The All Pets R Smart strategy didn’t really work for me and the Time Wasters strategy is a good exercise.

Time Wasters + Form a Partnership

What's up everyone? This week's strategies were all about procrastination. I decided to use the strategies TIME WASTERS and FORM A PARTNERSHIP. I used them for my MAT 121 class because I have a test coming up next week and I did not want o end up waiting till the last minute to start studying. I find that when I do wait till the last minute to study, I end up becoming really stressed out and I might not retain the information as well. And I found these two strategies to be really helpful.

What I did for Time Wasters was I created a chart with two sections. In one section I listed all of the things that I do or use when I am wasting time that should be spent doing school work. In that section I listed things like TV, Texting, Facebook, and Sleeping. The other section in the cart is where you list how you can avoid those time wasters. In my chart I wrote things like keeping the tv on a station that I am not interested like C-SPAN, log of Facebook, and limiting myself to 8 hours of sleep. I spent my time studying when I would have normally wouldn't have been. Although I didn't completely stop doing those time wasters, I did limit myself.

For the strategy Form a Partnership I had to contact someone that I respect (MY DAD) and tell them what I am studying and when I am going to study. I kept calling my dad and he would check up on me to see if I was keeping up with my plan. Because i didn't want to let him down, I made sure I stuck to it.

LAME
I am a visual learner and most of my time wasters involve things like WATCHING tv or movies so it was difficult to avoid those time wasters. My actions involved making a chart and calling my dad. My materials were just my textbooks and my class notes. My teacher will evaluate me by grading the test.

Academic Fears

Decision


This week I decided to map out my Academic Fears for my Rel 101 class as well as my Stats class. Mostly because these are the classes I am not doing as well as I would like to in. I chose the academic fears strategy because I hoped that it would maybe pacify some of my anxieties.

Prep and Application


To begin I made a chart using the same template that is used in the book, including the four sections: Academic Fears, Worst Outcome, Best Outcome, and Action Needed. The best and worst outcomes were simple, and virtually the same for both. The best being, "not failing", and the worst being, "failing". The academic fears were pretty simple. For my Religion class I put: 1. Not understanding the material 2. Not understanding the question for the essay 3. Failing a pop quiz in the discussion section, and for my Stats class I put: 1. Not understanding the material. 2. Failing a midterm 3. Failing a pop quiz in the discussion section. The actions needed were a bit more complicated. For my religion class I put: 1. Read before and after class 2. Go over the question with my TA/Professor 3. Twenty Minute test prep, and for my stats class I put: 1. Imporve notes/ maybe get a tutor 2+3. Twenty minute test prep.

Lame
This strategy actually did not really appeal to my learning style as much. It defiantly still has some more room for creativity to suit my own needs. The actions taken to do this strategy are fairly simple, but you need to be honest with yourself. There are even less materials needed, just a pad and pen. My evaluation of this strategy is fairly high, its nice to know whats behind your own anxieties.