Profile of a Successful Student: Part 2

Profile of a Successful Student

Part 2

Work Together. There are a number of ways that you can ensure you get the most out of your educational experience. First, participate fully. Engage regularly in the discussions and be willing to share you personal, professional and educational experiences. You can get to know your classmates through the dialogue that is created in a course environment—sometimes even better that in a face-to-face class. And the same goes for your instructor. Be sure to contact your professor—especially if you are having problems. He/she is still your instructor and will be there to guide and assist you as needed.

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Profile of a Successful Student: Part 1

Profile of a Successful Student

Part 1

http://www.plymouth.edu/office/online-education/online-learning/profile-of-a-successful-student/

A successful student …

… takes responsibility for his\her own learning

Online learning can be a powerful, stimulating, engaging experience for the student who can work and think independently. However, since most—if not all—of the learning takes place on your own time, you will not have the kind of direct supervision you would in a classroom. Online learning therefore requires a significant commitment from you. All education comes down to what you’re willing to invest in the experience—this is particularly true in the online environment. Commitment, self-discipline and self-motivation are all key qualities to ensuring success in an online course!

… is comfortable and confident with written communication

Reading and writing are the basis of most online courses, so it’s critical that you feel comfortable with this form of communication. While some courses contain modules that include videos or other activities, all of them require significant amounts of reading. And nearly all of your communication with your classmates and your instructor will be in writing. If these are weak areas for you, you will want to address those issues prior to enrolling or while enrolled in an online course. The PSU Writing Center is available to assist you.

… is willing to be a member of an online community.

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Successful Students: 7-8

Successful Students

7-8

7.  … understand that actions affect learning. Successful students know their personal behavior affects their feelings and emotions which in turn can affect learning.

If you act in a certain way that normally produces particular feelings, you will begin to experience those feelings. Act like you’re bored, and you’ll be bored. Act like you’re disinterested, and you’ll be disinterested. So the next time you have trouble concentrating in the classroom, “act” like an interested person: lean forward, place your feet flat on the floor, maintain eye contact with the professor, nod occasionally, take notes, and ask questions. Not only will you benefit directly from your actions, your classmates and professor may also get more excited and enthusiastic.

8.  … talk about what they’re learning. Successful students get to know something well enough that they can put it into words. Talking about something, with friends or classmates, is not only good for checking whether or not you know something, it’s a proven learning too. Transferring ideas into words provides the most direct path for moving knowledge from short-term to long-term memory. If you really don’t “know” material until you can put it into words. So, next time you study, you don’t do it silently. Talk about notes, problems, reading, etc. with friends, recite to a chair, organize an oral study group, pretend you’re teaching your peers. “Talk-learning” produces a whole host of memory traces that result in more learning.

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Successful Students 5-6

Successful Students

5-6

5. Don’t sit in the back of the room. Successful Students minimize classroom distractions that interfere with learning.

Students want the best seat available for their entertainment dollars, but willingly seek the worst seat for their educational dollars. Students who sit in the back cannot possibly be their professor’s teammate (see no. 4). Why do they expose themselves to the temptations of inactive classroom experiences and distractions of all the people between them and their instructor? Of course, we all know they choose the back if the room because they seek invisibility or anonymity, both of which are antithetical to efficient and effective learning. If you are trying not to be part of the class, then, you are wasting your time? Push your hot buttons, is there something else you should be doing with your time?

6.  …take good notes. Successful students take notes that are understandable and organized, and review them often.

Why put something into your notes you don’t understand? Ask the questions now that are necessary to make your notes meaningful at some later time. A short review of your notes while the material is still fresh on your mind helps you to learn more. The more you learn then, the less you’ll have to learn later and the less time it will tale because you won’t have to include some deciphering time, also. The whole purpose of taking notes is to use them, and use them often. The more you use them, the more they improve.

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Study for Multiple Exams Part 3

Study for Multiple Exams

Part 3

English, math, foreign tips: Practice—especially foreign language. It is hard to succeed in a foreign language class if you are just showing and doing the work. But if you are in your room and look at objects and try to do say them in the language you are learning it actually helps. Or if you send a simple text to a friend think about it, you can translate that to German or Spanish? These are the little things that will help.

Here are my final words of wisdom for students who want to get better grades in college: Time management and organization are critical key factors to success in college. And never be afraid to go ask your teacher for help. They have office hours for a reason-use them!

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Study for Multiple Exams: Part 2

Study for Multiple Exams

Part 2

My strategies for written assignments: Everyone has their own writing styles. I generally come up with an idea and do massive amounts of research before I ever think about writing. I then organize my research then sometimes prepare an outline before actually writing. I always print out the paper and come back to it the next day and reread it. That is the easiest way for me to catch my own mistakes. I have to give my eyes a break from it, and if I just wrote it I think it looks perfect. But if I look at it a day later I almost always find grammatical errors or phrases and sentences I just want to reword.

How I succeed in team projects: Never assume someone is doing what they are supposed to be doing. Have regular meetings and have each member show their work, not just give you or in the group their word for it.

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Sarah’s Academic Success Story: Part 2

Sarah’s Academic Success Story

Part 2

My test study method: I have different strategies for different types of tests or subjects. For me, any type of math is exceptionally difficult so I had to spend extra time on that. I would go back through the homework problems focusing on the problems that I had extra difficulty on. Many times I would ask the teacher for any additional study materials they could provide. If it was a class that required memorization or applying concepts I would create a sort of study guide for myself many times focusing on what were key focal points in the class. If I knew there were going to be essays I would try to take the terms and apply them to an example or create different questions on the concepts focused on throughout the semester.

My time management secret: I always always always carry a planner with me. I even use different color highlighters to show what each event on my calendar if for. For example, pink is personal, yellow is school, orange is work, blue is for appointments, and green is for my sorority. Although I use white-out frequently, I can see in bright yellow that if I have that project for finance due on Tuesday, I need to start working on it on [the previous] Wednesday so I can just get it done. My friends have always been amazed at how early I get things accomplished but that is all I really do.

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Academic Success: Part 2

Academic Success

Part 2

Laura B.’s Academic Success Story

In high school I was one of the good students who didn’t really have to study to be a good student. The information that I took for notes in class usually sunk in enough for me to be able to get on the tests by simply reviewing the material just before the class began. It wasn’t that I didn’t try, I had a 4.0 all throughout high school, but I never really had to put forth much an effort to get the results that     I wanted to see. In college however, that changed. Not only did I start studying and reading the book, but I began to understand that the little tiny facts were just as important as the general concepts.

My overall study method: I do the reading that is required for the classes, and I try to keep up. If I do fall behind, I usually use the reading that I did not get to as an additional study aid. I take good notes in class and actually attend every class that I can. Sometimes, with volleyball, its tough because we are on the road a lot, but if I do miss class because of volleyball I make sure that I get the notes from another student in the class. Also, for a subject such as chemistry, I do practice problems to help me understand what the material means.

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You Can Succeed in School If You Will: Part 5

You Can Succeed in School

If You Will

Part 5

After some serious soul-searching, Kennedy decided she was made for a purpose: to be successful and to fulfill who she was destined to be. She returned to DCCC “with determination and a mindset that I would not fail with God leading me.”

She says her first semester back was difficult. “I knew I could find refuge in the Student Success Program,” Kennedy said. “To my benefit, Ms. Gravely accepted me back. Because of my struggles and hard times, I seek a new beginning every day and don’t allow the past to cripple my future. I have learned to have self-value”

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You Can Succeed in School If You Will: Part 4

You Can Succeed in School

If You Will

Part 4

As Kennedy lay crumpled in her hospital bed following the accident, she realized that many of her wounds were invisible. “After the car accident, I suffered from low self-esteem and depression,” she said. “For years, I allowed someone I loved to physically, mentally and emotionally abuse me.”

She had previously tried taking a few DCCC classes, but said she was immature and not ready for academic challenge. She dropped out. After the accident, she returned to DCCC to take cosmetology classes. She left school a second time and began working as a certified nursing assistant. After yet another car accident, she felt unstable, hopeless, and didn’t know what to do.

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