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A FORMULA FOR ACADEMIC SUCCESS |
| As college students, you must have a positive attitude, take responsibility for your own learning, and decide how you learn best and implement your own individual study plan accordingly. This means doing more than just passively listening to your professors or the rote comple-tion of your course assignments without critically contemplating what you hear or what you write. It's better to spend one to two hours of concentrated inten-sive study, rather than many hours of aimless and superficial review. The fol-lowing tips are designed to increase your academic success and help ensure a positive experience in nursing school. |
WRITE DOWN GOALS
Writing down your goals makes them more real and attainable. Begin by asking yourself this question: what do I want to accomplish this semester? Next, write the strategies you will employ to achieve these goals. Post your goals and strategies in a visible place, such as on your computer or refrigerator, and check them off as you complete them. Evaluate your progress periodically. Have I met my goals? Were my goals unrealistic or set too high? Have I made progress? So be kind and gentle with yourself when you evaluate your acade-mic performance during and at the end of the semester. Remember, look for improvement, not perfection.
MANAGE YOUR TIME EFFECTIVELY
Twenty-four hours a day, seven days a week, may never feel like enough time to juggle family, school, and work. Make sure you schedule study time each week in your calendar or study diary. Keep this study time precious, and let others know you cannot be interrupted. Sneak in mini study
oppor-tunities, while doing household chores, standing on the checkout line at the supermarket, or before bed.
READ ACTIVELY
Do you pay attention when you read? If you read passively without active reflection, the content will most likely go in one ear and out the other. Find a way to stay actively interested and engaged with your required reading material, such as paraphrasing informa-tion in your own words after reading a chapter. Other strategies include: answering the discussion questions at the end of the chapter, taking notes on your assigned reading, and completing all study guide assignments. Complete all reading assignments before class, by spreading out the reading as much as possible between assignments. This pre-vents you from having to read huge amounts of material at once. Ask your-self questions about your reading. What are the most important points? What
questions will your teacher most likely ask?
ORGANIZE AND REVIEW CLASS NOTES
Many students make the mistake of taking notes in class, forgetting about them, and them cramming the night before the test. You should organize and re-read class notes within the first 24 hours after a lecture to help increase memory recall and reinforce the
materi-al. Summarize lecture content and insert clinical examples where relevant. Jot down any material unclear to you.
Pose important critical thinking ques-tions that emanate from your re-reading to yourself or those in your study group.
JOIN THE RIGHT STUDY GROUP
Learning from your peers in an infor-mal setting can complement your class-room work and help make studying more interactive, which is why study groups are popular. But you should keep a few considerations in mind when choosing a group. For example, look for a group where the students are at the same level academically as you are, or even higher. This will help keep you
challenged. Follow study group ground rules on attendance and work group issues, and make sure the group leader weeds out those who don't do their part. Active questioning helps stimulate
learning and critical thinking. As a group leader you may ask a group
mem-ber, "How does metabolic acidosis dif-fer from respiratory alkalosis?" The group leader can synthesize the
responses and discussion. In this way, everyone learns.
VERIFY YOUR SOURCES
Learn to critically evaluate the relia-bility and accuracy of information,
par-ticularly when researching on the inter-net. It is increasingly difficult to stay current in this information age -- even your textbooks, which are usually revised often, can rapidly be outdated by new technology. When evaluating the reliability of a resource, consider the following: who is providing the infor-mation and what are their credentials? What evidence is presented to support
the author's thesis or argument? What is the original source of the information? Does the author have a bias?
GET HELP EARLY
If you are struggling in the class-room, seek assistance early. Approach your professor for help. Ask the profes-sor for examples of a concept that is confusing to you, or ask for suggestions
for additional reading. Seek counseling if you face issues that may interfere with your academic performance.
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