Time Management and College Success Strategies Topics Covered - - PowerPoint PPT Presentation

Time Management and College Success Strategies

Topics Covered

• High School vs. College
• Time Management
• Active Listening and Note-Taking
• Strategic Reading
• Systematic Studying
• Test Taking Strategies

Note Taking

• Use abbreviations
• Skip spaces
• Think before you write
• Don’t write down everything

High School vs. College

Time Management

General Time Management Tips

• Determine your most/least productive times of day.
• Plan enough time to study.
• Study at the same time and location each day.
• Make use of your free time—read ahead, if possible.
• Plan study periods after class periods.
• Space study periods.
• Plan for weekly reviews.
• Leave some time unscheduled by allowing time for other

activities.

• Be flexible! A schedule is intended to free you from anxiety,

not cause it!

Planning Schedules: Organizing Your Time

• Long Term
• Intermediate
• Short Term

Overcoming Procrastination

• Post your lists
• Schedule down time
• Reward yourself
• Get started
• Tell others

Active Listening

In Class Note Taking

• Use abbreviations
• Skip spaces
• Think before you write
• Listen for clues
• Copy the board
• Don’t write down everything
• Take notes in every class every day
• Ask if you don’t understand

The Cornell Method

• Create a margin
• Take notes
• Edit your notes
• Quiz yourself

Strategic Reading

SQ3R

• Survey
• Question
• Read (Systematically with checks/question

marks, underlining, circling, numbering, etc.)

• Recite
• Repeat and Review

Why SQ3R?

• Allows you to use time wisely
• Eliminates the need to re-read
• Creates a ready-made study guide
• Provides a strategic way of reading

Systematic Studying

With Whom to Study? Studying Alone or in Groups

Forming Study Groups

• Choose carefully
• Be comfortable
• Look for different learning styles
• Limit your group
• Start out slow

How to Study

• Be Selective and Organize Information
• Distribute Practice
• Create Interest
• Be Intentional
• Create Background

Where to Study

• Create a “study place”

Test Taking Strategies

Essay Test Tips

• 1. Do I really understand what the question asks me to do?
• 2. Does the first sentence of my answer repeat the question and forcefully show the reader how I will

develop my answer?

• 3. Have I done preliminary planning of my major points?
• 4. Do major points stand out?
• 5. Are the major points supported with examples and facts?
• 6. Are there clear transitions between major points?
• 7. Would someone who had not taken this class be able to understand the concept discussed in the way

I explained it?

• 8. Have I completely covered all major points needed to answer the question?
• 9. Did I stick to the question?
• 10. Have I concluded with a summary statement?
• 11. Did I proofread for misspelled words, sentence fragments, run-on sentences, comma splices,

subject/verb or pronoun/antecedent agreement errors, and other errors which might cause the reader not to understand what I have written?

• 12. Is my handwriting readable, and have I left enough space for comments or additions?

True False Test Tips

• Absolute qualifiers usually make it false
• General qualifiers sometimes make it true
• Negative words and prefixes mean nothing
• If partially false, it is false
• If guessing, assume it is true
• Questions with reasons tend to be false
• Circle negative words

Multiple Choice Test Tips

• Cross out incorrect answers
• Read all possible responses
• Choose “all of the above” (especially if

you know at least one is correct)

General Test-Taking Skills Before the Test

• Reduce test anxiety
• Relax
• Preview the test
• Do a memory dump

General Test-Taking Skills During the Test

• Read the directions
• Answer the easy questions first
• Go back to difficult questions
• Follow your instincts
• Answer ALL questions
• Ask the instructor to explain ideas that are not clear
• Try to answer questions from the instructor’s point of view
• Use the margin to explain why you chose the answer
• Circle key words in difficult questions
• Express difficult questions in your own words
• Use ALL the time allotted for the test

Reviewing Returned Tests— What to Do and Why Bother?

• Check for errors in point calculations
• Find out what you missed and why
• Read the instructors comments (especially for essays)
• Analyze the types of questions used
• Determine from where the questions were derived
• Correct and understand what you missed
• Ask questions
• Review

Closing Advice

• Trapper Keepers Actually Make Sense
• Kiss Up
• Look Pretty
• Get to Know Everyone
• Being Boyfriend/Girlfriendless is O.K.
• Be Cheap
• Pick Favorites
• Risk Looking Like a Geek