Taking it step by step

Every student fears having that one instructor who expects you to keep up with his/her lecture and at the same time take down notes from the board that's covered from end to end. As the instructor lectures you feel as if he/she is going faster, you become confused, but you're too afraid to ask questions because you don't want to interrupt or admit you're lost. I recognized this fear was affecting my willingness to participate, as well as my note taking and study skills. I decided to improve on these elements by using techniques i learned in one of my classes at Maui Community College. These techniques were part of a step by step process. Sitting in the front row of the class was the first step i took to overcome my fear. Sitting in front definitely helped because i was away from all distractions, i no longer felt intimidated, and i became an effective note taker. All my attention was on my instructor as if we were on a one on one tutor session. I had the advantage of seeing the notes clearly and hearing the instructor loud. Noticing that my notes were organized, informative, and my note taking skills improved made me participate more in class. Participation was the next step i took. i was confident enough to ask questions when i was lost and join in class discussions. A good way for me to benefit from all the knowledge i was taking in and remember everything I've learned was participating in class activities which i saw as a fun way to study. The last step i took was to use effective ways to study by using different and interesting study techniques such as daily and weekly reviews, joining study groups, and creating flash cards or games. Utilizing all these steps improved my skills, grades, ability to do my best, and learn from my mistakes.

Waking-up late

I had an experience waking up late everytime I come to school. I had also missed my English class several times because of waking up late. But lately, I had improve this problem by setting up an alarm to wake me up in the morning. I also try to sleep early as I can by 10:00 P.M., especially when I have a long classes the next day. Because sometimes I feel so sleepy in my last class on Mondays and Wednesdays. These days I've learned how to avoid this. Now, I try to manage my time by scheduling everything I want to do such as doing my homeworks or reviewing notes for test. I always try to do my homeworks as early as I can before going to bed. Managing the time is very important because you can keep track on your desired works

Work and School

For the past months i've been busy, doing a lot of homework, studying, and going to work. I hardly had time for myself, family, and friends. From the beginning of the semester I've been mostly working and going to school. My life wasn't the same at that time. I hardly had any sleep. I would study & do homework during the night from 10:30PM till 1AM and sleep from 2AM till 7:30AM. From 7:30AM I would have to do some cleaning, go to school right after. Then after school, I would do some homework. The go to work from either 4PM to 10PM or 5PM-10PM. During the days I don't have classes, I go to work from like 10-12 hour shifts.

After learning about time monitoring, I been able to do things that I never did before. I can now hang with my friends & family and exercise. Being able to do these things again, made me feel so relaxed.

LEARNING BREAKTHROUGH

We learn something new everyday whether you are in school, with your friends, at work or simply anywhere. But to be effective, there are ways to improve on what you have learned. In school, students need techniques on how to lighten up their loads. Techniques that will help them manage and organize their school and outside world.

I am currently taking IS 106 course. This course itself teaches the students how to be productive. Productive in a way that it encompasses everything that allows you to be a better or the best student that you can be. It teaches you ways to improve on reading, test-taking, planning, thinking critically, and using memory and technology. In short, it improves your brain to work effectively.

This course helped me to have better grades and better manage my time in school and at work and it made me a better person that values learning. Not everyone knows what the reason why they go to school and grades are not that important for them. But for some students that want to improve and have good grades like A’s and B’s, I’d highly recommend this class.

Remember Names & Readings

Remembering has always been an issue for me, both remembering peoples names or remembering what was read.

I travel alot to attend buying shows and I meet many people in a short period of time. It's been embarrasing when I've had to introduce someone and I forgot their name. I've tried to eliminate this from happening by repeating peoples names in my head after meeting them. That doesn't work all the time, especially if I have other things on my mind. What has worked as a back up to this is associating that person with another person I already know with the same name. Somehow by doing this, it becomes meaningful to me so I recall it easier. I also try to clear my mind so nothing interrupts my ability to remember.

Remembering what was read is another tough one for me. I'd have to read and re-read and I'd still have a hard time recalling what was read. I didn't do anything before reading to prepare myself to remember. Now, by previewing the reading assignment and creating an outline, I can recall the information easier. Moreso, if I review my notes and outline within 24 hours. This has saved me lots of time that I used to spend re-reading.

Dont Do This

I was behind on my test taking for my business class, so I had two tests to take in one night. It was 7:00 at night and I was already tired from going to school and working that day. Each chapter was 30 pages long, so I had to read, take notes and study before 10:00, which is when the tests ended on web ct. I really had to push myself to read and not fall asleep. At around 8:30, I took my first test. Web Ct gave me 30 minutes to take the test, and I got so nervous, it took me 15 minutes because I rushed through it. I didnt get a very good grade. I was so overwhelmed, I was thinking about just giving up and not taking the second test, because I still had to study and review the chapter. Thankfully, I checked my e-mail and my teacher said she extended the date on the tests for another few days, and we could take them a second time if we didnt like our score. I was lucky that time, but it made me realize how important it is to manage my time for studying, so I wont get nervous and waste my hard work on a bad grade.

Just When I Was Getting Bored

First day of class, I thought to myself, "Becoming a Master Student? Who needs this subject? That's easy." So the weeks passed and I started to become more bored with the subject. I kept telling myself that I should just finish it because I need this course to get my degree.

I've always hated doing homework. I liked doing the journal entries, but I really hate the take home exercises that we were required to do. I remember that our topic at the time was "Planning" and I though to myself, "Another boring topic," and the worst part of it was we were given a homework that we were supposed to do for a whole week; we were required to monitor what we do with our lives everyday from 7am-7pm.

I finished the homework and I felt so relieved. The night before the next class, I examined the activity and saw that I was spending too much time on a lot of stuff that I really don't need. I always sleep until 11am if I had the chance, I watch too much TV, I never do any reading/reviewing in the morning or before class starts, and I never even tried to take at least a minute of my time to stop and pray. After examining the activity, I promised myself that the next week I would try to wake up early (at least 6:30am), and do stuff like exercise, jog, and/or read a book. It worked.

The week after that, i did it again, and I found myself to be more energetic and more active than how I previously was. Since I did some of my homework in the mornings, I had time to hang out with my friends during the afternoon and at night. I felt great about myself for being able to jog (something that I've wanted to do for a loooooong time).

So I'm really glad now that I took this course and for doing that homework. I will always be grateful for having this subject and a great teacher. I will never forget this homework that changed my lifestyle.

Planning for Success

In the past, time-management has always been a challenge for me. Days of not getting anything done and procrastination lead me to only have feelings of guilt and anxiety in the end. From my Learning Skills class, I have gained useful techniques to help plan out my day better and use time to my advantage. I now have the skills necessary to set reasonable goals for myself and accomplish them within the day, month, or years ahead. Not only will this help me in school but my personal life as well. Now, I feel competent and able to complete all the tasks I want to get done by a specific time. Days of procrastination are a thing from the past!

I Learned a lot In Learning Skills

Learning skills class was good for me because it made me improve myself. This class helped me to think of ways to plan for my future. I first thought the class would involve common sense, but there was a lot of good information about critical thinking, test taking, note taking, and planning. If it weren't for this class, I wouldn't be very prepared as a student.

Be a Master Student

In this class, I learned a way to become a maseter student. There are lots of ways; Planning, Memory, Reading, Notes, Communicating, Thinking, and Techonology. Especially, I was interested in Memory and Thinking. When I study for the exams, I need both techonologies. I want to improve them for getting much more grades. First, the most important thinng in memorizing is visualization. If I draw the mind map in my brain or I organize the summary, it will be easy to memorize. Another important thing is that I write an explanation of the key words by own words. Second, when I read an article, I always have to think and consider about an issue. Thinking is the most important thing in learning something. Then I should share ideas with other people. By doing so, I can expand the ideas and look at the issue from different view. I think they are important points to become a master student.

Back in School

Being back to school when you haven't been back since 02' has been an experience. I have learned study skills like communication if there's no communication nothing will get accomplish this I will be able to apply with the courses I am going to take in the future as well as life. Also learned that I still have really bad planning skills, and school is very time consuming. I'm stoked on myself for putting myself through school and that I have made the decsion to be here. This was a good class to take to get you in the groovel of school and becoming a Master Student.

Learning How To Learn

I have always had a problem with lecture based classes. I could never pull out the information that I needed for the test. I would always study hard and take notes but I never seemed to have the information that was on the test. Recently I have taken a learning skills which I have learned many skills that have helped me. I went from getting 60-70% on my test to getting 104 on my last 2 exams. The secrets that I have learned in this class were fairly easy. The main tip I learned for lecture based classes where that you should pay attention to repetition and write down what ever is on the overhead. Also if you cant distinguish between main points and supporting point then you should write it as a paragraph and go back to make it in outline form. Do you have any tips or stories? How do you take notes?


Sean

learning how to adjust work, family and school

For students who are starting college, if you are trying to balance work, family and school. Did you know there are plenty of ways to learn how to make everything flow together? There are sites which show how to make a schedule and to follow it, to make it easier. I know from my own experience that I was spinning out of control because there wasn't enough time to get everything in. I took a learning class which had a lot of useful tips that has help me to get more out of my time. I learning how to plan things better, how to release stress, and I even been doing better in my other classes by using these tips. It seems hopeless sometimes because there's always a crisis at home, but I still try to fit all my homework in between. I am glad there are sites that help me plan better and become more efficent in my courses as well as my personal life. If you are needing help please visit our site to see how we can help you set up time management, note taking, taking test.

Jade Elizabeth

Stressed Out

As I rolled out of bed, I frantically rushed to get out of the house. I was late for class again! As I headed to school I was stuck in traffic and realized that I forgot the assignment that I was working on all night. I made a U-turn and got the assignment. Suddenly, an overload of tasks and worries shuffled through and consumed my thoughts. Work! Next weeks exam! Late for class! Car bill! Phone bill! Walk the dog! Wait, I don't have a dog! Take out the trash! STOP!!!
I took a few deep breaths. "It's okay. It will all work out." I reminded myself. Have you ever felt this way being a college student? What kind of stresses do you deal with? How do you cope with stress?

Natasha

Test Taking

As a high school student stepping in to college for the first time, I was having a hard time studying for my test which is the next day. Taking a test is really stressful, especially when I don't know how to manage my time and look over notes that are very useful for that test.

Luckily, when I took Interdisciplinary Studies, I had more help in taking my tests; by having to learn how to manage time, how to rehearse my notes and how to go over my readings. This has helped me to get good grades on tests.

Kimberly

Take it Easy on Your Teachers

Teachers don't have it that easy. Have you ever gone up in front of a crowd n tried to teach them something you know? Recently for class I had this opportunity. It might not have been on a scale as grand as what happens to a teacher when she enters a new class for the first time in the semester. But from my experience I can honestly say that a teacher must be on there "A" game. I sat down and taught a fellow student in the class about Microsoft excel. As I went throughout the lesson plan that I had I could tell that this was going to be harder than I thought. He started to ask me questions that I didn't really know. I scrambled to find the information and eventually answered the questions. But this situation made me realize that teachers must be well prepared, quick thinking, and ready to handle almost anything that comes along. I have to give credit to teachers and professors. Have you had a teaching learning experience? What do you think about being a teacher?



Sean

Active Learning

• What motivates and inspires you to be a successful student?


• Have you set goals for yourself?


• How are your study skills?


• How is your note taking and time management?

As a student, these are a few questions that you should be asking yourself. Your practice of good study skills and habits will be key to your success.

Be an active learner!

"Ability is what you're capable of doing. Motivation determines what you do. Attitude determines how well you do it."
- Raymond Chandler

Let responsibility be your guide.

If you are a first year college student, there will be lots of studying and homework. Learn to apply good study skills, and remember, some of your best resources are other students!

Aloha!

Bob

A Single Parent's Experience on Managing Time

In the beginning I was excited about being able to attend college. In my first 2 weeks I was overwhelmed with homework. I never expected to have so much homework in one night. It was extremely hard to fit every course with my busy schedule. I balance a full-time job, I take care of 5 animals plus my pregnant daughter who has been 2 jobs in itself. Then I had the opportunity to take a learning skill class, where I was able to learn how to manage my time. When I started to apply the skills I learned, I was able to plan a daily schedule. Even now with my extremely busy schedule I'm able to get my homework done on time. If these skill were available when I was in High School I definitely would have passed with better grades. I now have a schedule on what homework needs more attention. I also use the sills I learn to study better for all my classes.

kesia

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