Task Management

Spring 2011 semester is almost coming to an end. We have less than 3 weeks left. The end of the semester is when college students are busy preparing for finals and doing major assignments. I decided to use the strategies Post-It Reminders andDivide by Four to help me manage all the work I have for the next few weeks.

Post-It Strategies is a strategy that helps me keep myselforganized. I color coded what I wrote on the post-its. I have 4 exams coming up very soon. Two exams are exams similar to previous exams I have taken for my courses and the other two exams are finals. For the final exams post-its, I used the color orange to write down the dates for the exams. For the other two exams, I used blank ink. As a student who can't remember things without writing them down, I can look at these post-its to remind me of these importantdates. In addition to exam dates, I made post-it reminders for my Major/Career Exploration project and last IC meeting to keep remind myself. Posting these reminders in front of my desk, I can look at it and be constantly reminded of the upcoming exams, assignments and meeting.

Divide by Four was another assignment I used. I used this strategy for CLS 105. On April 25th, the Major/Career Exploration Project is due. I have been working on this assignment for the last 2 weeks. I divided this project into four. The four steps of this strategy is prepare, start, continue and finish. First I wrote a proposal, then started working on the six strategies. Then I continued to collect documentation and finally I wrote my reflection. As a procrastinator, I do my work last minute. But by dividing my work by four, I was able to avoid cramming and working on my work the last minute. This strategy helped me get my work done a little bit at a time.

Because I am constantly reminded about my exams and finals, I will be able to get a head start for studying. Procrastination can be avoided a bit as well when using these reminders and the strategy, Divide by Four. I hope to do well academically for the remaining of the semester.

Task Management

Over the course of this spring semester, I have learned many new strategies that I still continue to use. Usually, I talk about how I use the 10 minute technique, or the 20 minute test prep. A few strategies I haven't really talked much about are Chunking the Task and Putting it All Together: Course Matrix. I try to continue to use strategies that will help me not procrastinate, and these to strategies have proven themselves to work over this semester.

Chunking the Task is one of the best strategies I have learned all semester. When I look back on all these new strategies or techniques, I will always think about Chunking the Task because it was one of the first ones we learned. Chunking the Task is so efficient for me because it allows me to map out my papers, projects, and exam preparations. Chunking the Task for me is usually used when I have a longer paper due, or a big project. I have used chunking the task for my HST 102 class because I have had two long papers. I divide these papers into sections on different dates, and start it a lot earlier. I have also used chunking the task when doing projects in CLS because these projects usually take a decent amount of time. Chunking the Task has helped me because i am a visual and kinesthetic learner. It allows me to write out what I need to do, and see it when I hang it in my room as a reminder.

Putting it All Together: Course Matrix is very helpful because it also allows me to make a plan for a bigger task at hand. I used this technique in my HST 102 class while preparing for a test, and also in CFS 388 for a paper. First, you write down what tasks you need to complete, followed by the materials required and the manageable parts. Then you decide when you will finish it, and some anti-procrastination strategies. For my CFS 388 paper, I divided it into sections to make smaller manageable parts, and gave myself a date to finish it by (earlier than the actual due date). My anti-procrastination strategy was Chunking the task. For my HST 102 test, I divided it to manageable parts by splitting up times to make the study guide. My "when" section was just the date of the test so I remembered when it was. My anti-procrastination strategy for this was just finding an easy place to study. Putting it All Together: Course Matrix is a good technique for me because it allows me to make a chart to look at (visual and kinesthetic) and makes it easier for me to break down into smaller sections. Both of these strategies are very similar to one another, and have been very successful for me, and that is why I continue to use them.

[TASK MANAGEMENT] Divide by four and Post-it reminders!

To manage assignments, I need to use some strategies to spend time wisely. Because I don’t make a plan to do my assignments, sometimes it is hard to finish them on time and I need more time than what I expected. I have tried two strategies this week, which are Divide by four and Post-it reminders. Since there are a lot of work to do for Pre-calculus, I applied the strategies for the class, MAT 194.

Divide by four is to help me accomplish a task successfully and to prevent procrastination. There are four steps to use this strategy: 1. Prepare, 2. Start, 3. Continue, and 4. Finish. I applied the steps to my third exam coming up for MAT194. First, collect all the materials that will be covered on the exam: textbook, notes, webassign assignments, and quizzes. To prepare this, I collected them by each section. Second, spend 2 hours on each section. To start this, I read my textbook first, followed by notes, webassign assignments, and quizzes. Third, review each section for 1 hour. To continue this, I picked random questions on webassian assignments and solved them. Lastly, ask my professor about what I still don’t understand. To finish this, I drew star marks next to questions that I don’t get it and went to her office hour to ask questions. This strategy made my task organized.

Post-it reminders is to help keep me organized about the tasks that need to be done. Different colors can be used to indicate the importance of tasks. I have three colors: pink, green, and yellow. For yellow one, I decided to use for the most important tasks such as due dates in one week. For pink one, I decided to use for Exam3 coming up. For green one, I used for the assignments next week. On yellow post-it, I listed assignments by ranking priorities: lab 4 report 4/21, webassign 4/21, and webassign 4/23. On pink one, I first wrote the exam date of 4/28 and listed the chapters that will be covered and dates that I will study as chapter 5 on 4/22, chapter 6 on 4/23, chapter 8 on 4/24, and chapter 9 on 4/24. On greed one, I listed assignments next week: webassign 4/26 and handed-in homework 4/28. Because of the colors of post-it, it was easy to see and to know what tasks I should do first.





To sum up, the effectiveness of Divide by four is that it makes me get the task done and prevents procrastination. Because it has four steps, it was easy to follow the steps. Being a visual learner, I printed out it and attached on the board. The reason why I chose this is that I liked the concept that it has four steps to manage my tasks. It also looked easy to apply my assignments. The effectiveness of Post-it reminders is that it helps keep me organized about the tasks. Being a visual learner, I used the three colors to divide my assignments into importance. The reason why I chose this is that I thought it would be helpful since it required me to use colors for each task, and it really helped me as a visual learner. As a visual learner, the two strategies worked for me!

For my pre-calculus class, MAT 194, I could accomplish my tasks successfully by applying the two strategies, Divide by four and Post-it Reminders. These strategies help keep me organize and prevent procrastination!


(http://www.tuaw.com/2009/09/01/potion-factory-seeking-beta-testers-for-the-hit-list-iphone/)

Stress Management

As a college student every single one of us has stress in our lives. It comes from all areas and can affect people in a lot of different ways. Stress can come from family, friends, sports, money problems, and many other things we talked about in this weeks class. Stress is all about how you handle it. If you have things that can help you relieve stress than you will be more successful and can live a lot happier life. Stress is a daily thing, which makes it tough to handle. There are many techniques Dr. Blumin has suggested in order to reduce stress and make the workload that a college student deals with regularly a lot less. Two techniques I have used are the 10 minute vacation and the Putting it All Together: Stress Reduction. These two techniques have worked out great for me and I can still getting my work done.

The 10 minute vacation is good for me when I work on my papers or when I am reading a chapter. I use the 10 minute vacation usually for my HIS 102 because it involves daily reading and I have had multiple papers due. I have also used this for my CFS 388 class because before each lecture he covers he assigns a reading chapter. I will start reading or writing a paper, then step away for about 10 or 15 minutes, listen to music and relax. After that I get right back to work. I love this technique because it allows me to work efficiently and relax at the same time. It works for me because I am a kinesthetic learner and it allows me to assign time periods in my mind when I need to finish my work.

Putting it All Together: Stress Reduction allows me to write down what I do to reduce my stress level. This is not for a specific class I would say, because it helps me reduce stress in all of my classes. It is divided up into a few different categories: Daily, Weekly, Exam, Workload, Relationships. For all of these different categories I have different things that relieve my stress. Daily activities include TV, hanging out with friends, and playing basketball. Weekly ones are usually just going out to dinner. When preparing for an exam sometimes I like to take a walk and exercising. When I have a lot of work to do I usually like to play video games to relieve stress within my breaks. When having problems with relationships I usually talk to friends or step away from everything and just have alone time. Making this chart has helped me because i am a kinesthetic and visual learner, and it allows me to write down the ways I relieve stress and visually see what I like to do. These techniques have worked for me greatly and i feel like it is easier for me to enjoy myself while getting work done efficiently.

[STRESS] Stress Reduction Plan and 10-Minute Vacation

Stress sometimes makes me out of control. I had no idea how to handle the stress. I realize that it is harder to do well in college than it was in high school. I know it is important to do better in my classes. I’m starting to feel the pressure of grades for this semester. Stress is building. To manage my stress, I’ve tried two strategies, which are Stress Reduction Plan and 10-Minute Vacation. One course that makes me the most stressed so far is MAT 194, Pre-calculus. I applied the two strategies for MAT 194 this week.

Stress Reduction Plan is to help me recognize that I can control my stress levels by engaging myself in activities. There are many options: physical activity, pamper yourself, change your environment, share it, enjoy, and get help. Among there choices, I decided to pamper myself, to share it, and to enjoy. To pamper myself, I chose to get extra sleep since when I go to bed and wake up few hours later, I feel refreshed. After I finished on-line assignment for MAT 194, I got extra sleep about 30 minutes. To share it, I called my friend after I completed handed-in homework. I talked with her about 20 minutes, which made me energized do another work. I had another on-line assignment due Saturday, but I didn’t want to do. I should manage my stress to do my assigned work, so I did the last choice to enjoy. To enjoy, I listened to music before starting it. I decided to watch TV shows after completing it, which became a motivation to do the work. This plan made me control my stress and do my work.

(http://fortheluvofsanity.blogspot.com/2011/03/on-friends.html)

10-Minute Vacation is to help me get away from the work I am doing for a specific amount of time. There are six “vacation spots”, including movie clips, Google Earth, Google Maps, Youtube, games, and a pink blog for pop-culture icons. I accessed each one of them, and I liked the “Pink is the new blog” a lot. I decided to spend time with the blog for the 10-minute vacation. For MAT 194, I had to study for lab4. I put each 10 minute break after 30 minutes study time. After the study time, I accessed to the blog. There were a lot of fun issues about popular stars in America. I liked the blog since the background color is pink. It was good to browse in 10 minutes. After the break, I started studying again and focused on it. Because I could have 10 minutes breaks, I didn’t get stressed that much.

(http://www.pinkisthenewblog.com/)

To sum up, the effectiveness of Stress Reduction Plan is that it makes me have a break what I want to do. Because of stress, I didn’t finish my work in one day, but it took more than two days to do. Therefore, I should set few days to complete. However, this plan made me complete homework in one day. Being a kinesthetic learner, this plan was good to keep up since I could do some activities such as getting extra help, calling a friend, listening to music, and watching TV shows. Because of this plan, I could finish on-line assignments on due dates for MAT 194. The reason why I chose this it that I have about 30 choices to select the options to spend during my break time. I chose 4 options: get extra help, call a friend, listen to music, and watch TV shows. The effectiveness of 10-Minute Vacation is to help get me reenergized. Especially, I liked the pink blog very much. Being a visual learner, the blog provides pop-eyed colors and issues. Because of the blog, I didn’t get stressed that much and I could study lab4 for MAT 194. The reason why I chose this is that I was curious what the web sites provide so I decided to choose this and to access each site. Being a kinesthetic and visual learner, the two strategies worked for me!

For my pre-calculus class, MAT 194, I could finish all assignment by applying the two strategies, Stress Reduction Plan and 10-Minute Vacation. These strategies make me control and manage my stress!

(http://maketheworldyourstage.com/category/stress-reducer/)

Stress Management

Students, in general, get most of their stress from their academic lives. The pressure they get from schoolwork is very overwhelming at times. Exams, papers, quizzes, assignments and such tend to increase stress level. As a student, these are some of the factors of why I am stressed out. My future and parents are also other factors of my increased level of stress. As you can see in the image below, I drew a Stress Diagram. First I listed 5 sources of stress and then put them into a pie chart, showing the distribution of from what sources I get most stressed to sources where I get least stressed out. By drawing thisdiagram, I am able to prioritize the sources of my stress. I can find ways to address these problems.

Another strategy I used was the Stress Reduction Plan. I formed a list of

stressreductionactivities that I have been doing and could do to

cope with stress. There are several methods to deal with stress. My favorite stress reduction activity is swimming. I’ve been swimming at a very young age. Back home when I was stressed out by whatever events that were occurring in my life, I would go to pool and swim. When I swim, I forget about everything. I feel relaxed in the water. Sometimes, I would talk to my friends about my problem. They give me advice to goabout my problems. As a student, I get stress from studying. To manage stress, I turn my academic life to social life and socialize with people. I would meet my friends and do things that keeps my mind off my studies.
It is very important to manage stress. If an individual can’t cope with their stressed life, they will break down mentally. Stress management is good for one’s mental and physical health.

Procrastination

Why do I keep lying to myself? Every time I have a paper due, I'll tell myself that I am going to start a week or 2 weeks in advance. Day by day, I come up with a new excuse to not do it and before I know it, it’s the night before the paper is due. I will come up with any excuse not to do it. Everything from cleaning my room, dusting and vacuuming, to video games and television. Sometimes I will call my mom to talk about nothing, just so I don't have to do my paper. The weird part is, I only find myself procrastinating when it comes to writing long papers. This year I have learned a few techniques to prevent me from procrastinating. Some of the ones I have found most successful are the 10-minute technique, chunking the task, and Time Wasters.

I have found that the 10-minute technique is one of the most beneficial techniques I have ever used while studying. When I have to read a chapter or write a paper, I use this technique. It helps me because I have a short attention span, and if I read 20 pages straight, I will not retain the information. Breaking this up into smaller pieces allows me to understand the material more efficiently. Knowing that I can break this up into pieces allows me to start it earlier and avoid procrastination. Usually I use the 10-minute technique for my Earth Science and my American History class because the majority of the work comes from reading the chapters. Chunking the task is a great technique for me also because it allows me to break up an assignment into pieces, and also assign certain dates to finish it by. I use this technique for larger projects or papers that I have due a few weeks ahead. I have used it for my CLS class, my history class, and CFS 388.

Chunking the Task helps me because it makes me start the project or paper at an earlier date, and allows me to visually see when I have to have a certain part of the project finished by. Being a visual learner, this is easy for me to have hanging above my desk so I can see it every day and stay on top of my work. Another technique I used was the Time Wasters. I made a list of the things that I do to waste time instead of doing a certain task. Most of my time wasters include cleaning, watching TV, and hanging out with friends. I will usually come up with anything in order to avoid doing a paper. Making a list helps me because it allows me to see what types of things I do in order to avoid writing my history paper, or a CFS 388 paper. There are many ways we use to procrastinate, and I think I may have used all of them.

Procrastination

Procrastination is one of the biggest problems I have. I tend to put everything before my studies even though I know that my academic life should be a priority. I actively look for distractions but at the end I regret looking for them because I end up cramming. I am a thrill seeker. I like to look for the last minute high. When I am under pressure and finish a task, I feel very satisfied and accomplished.

To see what I waste my time on, I decided to use the strategy: Time Wasters. I split the paper in half and on one side, its labeled Time Waster and the other half is labelled Avoiding Tasks. I identified my time wasters and concluded that I commit a lot of time for my social life. Meeting friends, cellphone, computer and sleep are some of my time wasters. Last week I should have been doing my math homework, CLS journal, study fot HOA exam and work on my ILL paper but instead I was more into socializing with others. Schedule a Day at a Time is another strategy I used. To avoid feeling overwhelmed with all the many assignments and exams, I decided to write a to-do list one day at a time. This strategy seems helpful. I finished my Sunday's task and I didn't feel pressured at all. This is because I created a to-do list where my assignments are not due on Monday. I am just working on my assignments earlier to avoid being overwhelmed.
Even though these strategies are helpful, procrastination isn't a easy problem to solve. I do try to put my studies before my leisure time but it is hard. I hope that I will be able to fix this problem as soon as possible.

[PROCRASTINATION] Time Waster and 10-Minute Technique

Procrastination is problematic for me. It is not easy to change the behavior since I have been procrastinating for a long time. Especially, weekends make me not do my work. I used to delay homework and study, which make me do one day before the due dates. It is not easy to see that I do homework during weekends. I have a quiz for MAT 194 coming up on this Monday, and the chapter on the quiz is what I’m really weak. Because the quiz is on Monday, I need to study during this weekend. To study for it, I chose Time Waster and 10-Minute Technique.

Time Waster strategy is to eliminate the time waster, which interrupts my study environment. First, I listed the time wasters that I use in the left column. My time wasters are napping, TV shows, laptop, interruptions, cell phone, and socializing. They always make me delay my work. Next, I described the task I were avoiding such as studying for MAT 194 quiz and completing MAT 194 quiz review sheets. After I wrote them, I realized that the two tasks caused me to use the time wasters. The time wasters caused me not to study for my pre-calculus quiz. To avoid them, I put my laptop and cell phone away from my desk. I promised myself not to nap and socialize at least this weekend, too. When I put all the interruptions away, I felt better to study, which provided me a good study environment. This environment made me study for MAT 194 quiz.

10-Minute Technique strategy is to get me started a task that must be done. First, I identified the highest-priority task, which was to study for MAT 194 quiz. Second, I decided on a day and time as 4:00pm on Saturday, April 9. Third, when the selected time arrived, I spent only 10 minutes on the task. Because the time to study was short, I could feel little bit nervous to go over the material, which made me FOCUS! After the 10 minutes, I stopped and had a break 10 minutes. After the 10 minute break, I repeated another 10 minutes to study for it. I repeated the strategy 8 times. When I finished them, it was about 7 o’clock. This means that I kept focusing on studying it about 3 hours! This strategy really worked for me. Because of the short study term, I never felt boring, but nervous. I feel satisfied with MAT quiz, and I think I can get a good grade on it.

To sum up, the effectiveness of Time Waster is that it makes me realize what time wasters interrupt me to study. I never knew that there were that many wasters prevent me from studying. Because I’m a kinesthetic learner, I needed to put the interruptions away from my desk, which reminded me not to use them. When there were only pencils, a note book, and a textbook, the new study environment made me study. I started doing the tasks I was avoiding, especially studying for MAT 194 quiz. Because of avoiding interruptions, I could focus on studying for the quiz. The reason why I chose this is that I needed something to remind me what prevented from studying and what tasks I was avoiding. It was a good chance to do this strategy. I liked the concept that I could draw some conclusions about what tasks caused me to use time wasters. It was because I was afraid of studying a lot of sections to cover. The effectiveness of 10-Minute Technique is to get me started a task that must be done. Because of the short term to study, I felt somewhat nervous. This nervousness made me concentrate on studying. The break times also made me refreshed before starting another 10 minute studying. Being a kinesthetic learner, this strategy was good to do since it made me BEHAVE. The selected time made me sit in the chair and do studying. The break also made me move and stretch, so I felt refreshed. The reason why I chose this is that I liked the concept to have the short term of studying. I had to work on the task again for 10 minutes and repeated this until the task was completed. Because I can’t focus on something, I needed this strategy to try. This made me focus on studying and complete the task!

For my pre-calculus class, MAT 194, I, now, feel satisfied enough to take the quiz on this Monday. Time Wasters and 10-Minute Technique make me focus on studying. These strategies make me never prevent from studying anymore. The two strategies work for me!

(http://www.nickpagan.com/blog/141/procrastination-the-emotional-battle/)

Motivation

Sometimes after a long day of class, many students want to go back to their room and sleep the day away. They know they have work that is due the next day, but they just don't feel like doing it. Maybe they don't know the consequences that will come to them if it is not done, or maybe they just don't really care. Most young students need some type of motivation in order to succeed. Motivation can come from anywhere. A student could be motivated for personal satisfaction, pleasing their parents, or just the fact if they get their work done, they can hang out the rest of the day. The key to being successful is being a hard worker, and usually motivation drives us to do better.

Some of the motivation tools I used were Weighing Consequences and the Course Matrix. I used Weighing Consequences for my American History and also my Statistics class. Next Tuesday, I have a Math exam and a history paper due. Both of these are a significant part of my grade, and if I don't give both of them the attention needed, my grades will suffer. Weighing the consequences allows me visually see the task I have at hand. This helps me because I am a visual and Kinesthetic learner. Being able to see what you need to do in front of you makes it a lot easier to complete the task. With weighing the consequences, I wrote down my situation and consequences that follow it. Then I wrote what the assessment was, and came up with a plan. My plan was to finish the history paper by Thursday or Friday at the latest. Then I will have the weekend and Monday night to study for the exam. Knowing the consequences I will encounter if I do not do this step properly has motivated me to divide the time evenly.

I also used Course Matrix for my American History class, as well as my Earth Science class. The course Matrix is beneficial to my style of learning because it breaks down the responsibilities that I have for each of these classes, and allows me to visually see and know my motivators for each responsibility (visual and kinesthetic). The course matrix divides the responsibility into different categories. These categories include Attending class, managing your workload, managing your time, taking effective notes, Reading effectively, and preparing for exams. My motivators for these categories come from personal benefit, needing a required GPA, and keeping my parents proud and spending their money wisely. All of these are different types of motivators that are used every day. Motivation is a key to success. If you stay motivated, you are bound to succeed.

[MOTIVATION] Exploring Awards and Academic Fears

Motivation is important to succeed or accomplish something that we want to do. Unfortunately, I was not motivated why I was attending college since my major is undecided and I didn’t know what I wanted to do in the future. This made me get poor grades last semester. I needed something to motivate me, and that’s why I chose Exploring Awards strategy. I also chose Academic Fear, so I can avoid the worst outcome in my academic field. My statistics class, MAT121, used to make me procrastinate. Attendance is not required in this class, so I sometimes really wanted not to attend. There are many temptations for this class such as not attending class, not doing on-line quiz, not studying for exam, not attending computer lab, and not handing lab assignment in. Therefore, I tried to apply the two strategies to MAT 121.

Exploring Awards strategy is to show us that rewards can be stimulus to improve our motivation. Because some rewards can’t be enough to provide motivation, I need to find the rewards that are powerful enough to improve my motivation. First, I identified the rewards in the first category, which was no-cost rewards. To think of the rewards for this category, I had to figure out which could be powerful plus no cost. Then, I decided to have more free time for this. The reason why I chose this was that I liked free time to socialize, watch TV shows, or nap. It should be applied in one week, so I could choose anything that I wanted to have in my free time. Second, I chose $100.00 to purchase anything that I want to have for the second category, low-cost rewards. I think this will motivate me a lot since I want to get a new clothing. Lastly, I chose iPad 2 for the last category. I really eager to have the new iPad, so I think it will make me study, attend classes, and do assignments every time! I should use one category of rewards for a week as this strategy instructs. I’m so excited to complete the rewards, and I can’t wait until three weeks after. Because I like the rewards, I think they will motivate me in my statistics class!

Academic Fear strategy is to make us realize that the fear is about what will happen next. I have a lot of fear: absences from classes, failed an exam, didn’t do an assignment, missed an appointment, and missed an assignment. They can make my grades poorly, so they are what I try to avoid. First, I listed three academic fears and ranked order. Because I chose to apply the strategy to MAT121, I listed three academic fears that related to the course. One of the fears is failed exam, the second one is missed an on-line quiz, and the last one is missed a computer lab assignment. Second, I chose my worst fear that described the worst thing that can happen in that situation. I chose the worst outcome as I would get a poor grade and couldn’t get an A that I was expecting in this class. Third, I described the best thing that can happen as due to all assignment is completed, I can get an A if I do well on the next exam. Last, I listed three actions what I need to do to make the best scenario happen as ask professor that I don’t understand, make a ranking priority to manage time to do assignments, and prepare for the exam at least two weeks before.

To sum up, the effectiveness of Exploring Rewards is that it makes me do motivate! I could choose what I wanted to have when I finished my work. I am still excited to get the rewards, and they motivate me attend classes, do an assignment on time, and study! Because I’m a visual learner and also kinesthetic learner, I attached the paper that rewards are listed on the wall in my room. So, I can see it every time to motivate me. I also see the paper when I was about to procrastinate. So far, I never delay any assignment, on-line quiz for MAT121. IT WORKS! The reason why I chose this is that I needed something that could motivate me strong enough. I wanted to choose rewards potent enough to provide motivation, so I can get good grades in this class. I liked the concept that I could reward myself when I accomplish my work! This strategy works for me a lot!:) The effectiveness of Academic Fear is that it makes me realize if I don’t do the work, it can cause me the poor result. Because I get afraid of the fears, I can motivate myself to do my assignment on time. Being a visual learner, I also attached the paper that academic fears listed on the woll in my room. I also see the paper when I procrastinate, and it makes me scared, which helps me not to delay any work. The reason why I chose this is that I wanted to make myself realize it will cause bad grades if I used to procrastinate. After I did this strategy, I really got a motivation why I should study for MAT121. I don’t want to fail an exam and get a poor grade. This makes me do my work on time!

For my statistics class, MAT121, I, now, know why I should study, and I have a motivation to get an A in this class. Academic Fears and Exploring Rewards improve my motivation! Because this class has a lot of work to do, I never procrastinate, but do every assignment on time. The two strategies work for me!

(http://wickedlands.net/2011/01/motivational-theory/)

Motivation

Motivation has been a big problem for me lately. I haven't felt motivated in most of my classes, but in order to do well, I had to find a way to push through that problem and do the required work regardless of my lack of motivation. The Motivation Questionnaire in the textbook was rather useful because it helped me realise what motivates me and what does not, both in college and in class. I realised that if I have friends or people that I want to see in a class, I will be more motivated to go to class. Being interested in the topic of the class also helps. Another exercise in the textbook that helped me was Academic Fears.

I had to think about what I am scared will happen in a class if I let my lack of motivation get the better of me. Then I had to come up with ways that I could make those fears not come true. This was helpful because I had to write down the exact steps that I would have to take to make these fears not come true, and it's easier for me to do what I have to accomplish when I know exactly what it is I have to do.

A Student's Memory

For most classes, the tests are memorization by definition. There are many different ways that students memorize information, depending on their learning preferences. I am a kinesthetic and visual learner. For the majority of my classes, the information is definition and terms. To study, I use flashcards and work with a partner. These flashcards allow me to memorize the information by seeing one side of the card, and then learning the definition on the back. Even by reading the flashcard to my study partner helps me remember it due to the repetition. After learning the definitions, I usually try to think of an easier that helps me remember this. This is usually by an image, or some type of acronym.

One of the strategies I used for memorizing was the Link System. The Link system is when you take a word or concept, and find something that this word sounds or looks like, and also create an absurd picture. Being a kinesthetic and visual learner, this helps me see the image or think of an acronym to memorize it easier. For my CFS 388 class (Human Sexuality), I used an acronym to help me the steps in a relationship. The steps were; Attraction, Building, Continuation, Deterioration, and Ending (ABCDEs). The acronym I made for the five steps was: A Brown Cow Drove Elephants. This helps me remember the first letter for each part of a relationship. When I took the test, I thought about that phrase and how I connected it to the five steps. I also used this in my American history class for the midterm when having to memorize many of the Presidents. I linked the different presidents and people to important things that they accomplished during their time period. The phrases helped me when it came to test time because I would recite them when looking at the person's name.

Another technique I used was Visualization. Visualization is when you write down the information you need to learn, and then draw an unusual image to remember it. This technique is perfect for me because I am able to see the the definition through a picture. When thinking about this picture on the test, I can make a definition out of it. For my Human sexuality test, I used a picture to describe the definition of the Feminist theory. I drew about 6 stick figure men and one woman to tell me that the definition is the acceptance of the male as the norm. I also used Visualization for my Earth Science class by drawing the directions of the rock faults. Remembering the directions of the arrows helped me figure out which type of fault it was.

Both of these techniques helped me learn because they allowed me to visualize the definition or think of the definition as a funny term. Memory is a key part in doing well on tests and quizzes, and using images allows me to remember more information while studying. They are the most beneficial techniques to use due to me being a Kinesthetic and Visual learner.

Memory

This week's tech assignment was based on memory strategies. For HOA 106, there is a lot to memorize such as dates, words, artists' names and their artworks. I decided to use two memory strategies for this course and these two memory strategies were Visualization and the Link System. Being a visual learner, I need to see images that would remind me of certain words that I do not know. Therefore I figured that Visualization and Link would be great strategies to help me study for HOA 106.

For Visualization, I had to create an unusual image which I could recall when the artist and his artwork appeared. Because the title of an artwork seemed to tell a lot, I just decided to draw an image that was based on the title.For example, for Jacques-Louis David's Napoleon Crossing the Alps, I drew mountains to represent the Alps. When I see mountains on the next exam, I will know that it refers to David's artwork. This strategy is helpful because by drawing unusual images, I will know it refers to something for the class. Because the images are very unusual,recalling is a easy process.

Link System is another strategy I used. For words I need to remember, I find words that sound similar to each word and then draw a picture that will help me remember each word. This strategy is helpful because when I see a word on the test, I will be able to think back of the rhyming words I thought of and relate it to that word.

Because HOA 106 is a lecture-dependent class, I used the lecture slides to help me go through these strategies. Constantly looking at each slide and trying to create an image related to each slide has helped me memorize the artists' and their artworks. Next week I have an exam for this course. I hope that during the exam, I will be able to remember and recall back to these creative images I have created.

[MEMORY] LINK and ACRONYMS

Because English is my second language, memory to me is more required for every class work as SU even math. When I had anything to memorize, I used to writing the words or sentences about 30 times, which didn't work for me that much since it took so much time if there was a lot. I disliked memorizing, and this behavior made me weak at history and science. On the other hands, I was quite confident in mate because it usually requires calculating rather than memorizing. However, Statistics is different from other math classes. It has a lot of new terms to cover, and I need to understand the questions and concepts before to calculate. Then, I had to find new strategies to do well in my statistics class. This made me chooose Link and Acronyms strategies for the class, MAT 121.

Link system is what we covered in the lecture few days ago. I could be experiencing it due to the assignment, and I'm satisfied with this strategy. As it is named "Link", it is to use a word that is linked an image that it looks like or sounds like. To apply LINK strategy for my statistics class, I, first, selected the words that I needed to remember. The words were discrete random variable, variance, and binomial probability distribution for one section of the chapter. I already know random variable for discrete random variable and probability distribution for binomial probability distribution so that I only needed to remember discrete, variance, and binomial. Second, I created a word that could be pictured that sounded like the abstract word. For example, I did as "Variance" sounds like "Various. For "Discrete", it sounds like "Separate, and, for "Binomial", it sounds like "Bicycle". Lastly, I visualized a somewhat meaningless picture, but it is related and interesting the images. For instance, for discrete, what I did is that the kids sleep in serapate rooms. Additionally, for variance, I did it as various characteristics of people sometimes bring disagreements. Finally, for binomial, I did it as every bicycle has two wheels. The sentences sounded little silly, but they were fun and appealing.

Acronyms are what I selected among the memory strategies since it sounded fascinating to use. They are words created by using the first letters from each item to create a new word. To apply Acronyms strategy for my statistics class, I, first, put the words that I needed to learn in the box as shown the picture below. They were discrete, variance, and binomial, and, for this part, you might notice that I used the same words as I did for Link strategy. Yes, I meant to do this, for I wanted to compare and contrast the two strategies to use same words. After listing the terms that I wanted to remember, I underlined the first letter in each word. For example, for discrete, I decided to use new words from countries names or directions such as North, South, East, and West. I listed words like Europe, Iraq, Chili, East, South, Denmark, Russia, and Turkey, and then underlined them only for the first letter of each word as shown the picture below. Lastly, I arranged the letters in an order that created a word. For example, I put the letters in an order like Denmark, Iraq, South, Chili, Russia, East, Turkey, and Europe to make the word, DISCRETE. To see more easily, I prefer to write them in a vertical arrangement as

Denmark,

Iraq,

South,

Chili,

Russia,

East,

Turkey, and

Europe.

To sum up, the effectiveness of LINK is that it makes me feel that memory is a fun thing to do! I liked the idea to make a sentence that can be pictured for the word. Link system gives me a lesson that memory is not anymore to avoid, but to have fun. Because of LINK, I could save my time from writing the 30 times or any methods I used before. This strategy was also good to create flash cards! I am a kinesthetic learner so that I need something to carry to remember. This was perfect to make the cards as I wrote the term on the blank side, and then wrote the sounds like and the sentences of the creative images on the lined side. I, sometimes, laughed because of my silly sentences, but they attracted me to see them often, which made me remember fast. I could get familiar with the terms both before and after making sentences because I should think of how to make the sentences and I liked the somewhat absurd sentences. The reason why I chose this is that I actually had a chance to be experiencing for the assignment from the CLS class. I also liked the concept of doing this one since I can make flash cards easily from this strategy. I thought I could use this one wise and useful, and actually it was! This strategy works for me a lot!:) The effectiveness of Acronyms is that it makes me think enough about the terms! I thought I could use it very beneficial to remember all the words. The steps of this one required me think and arrange them in an order. Unfortunately, it didn't shorten my time, though. I took longer that what I thought. I should select one specific topic to make new words for the term since it would be harder to remember if I used more than two topics. Even if I used one topic, it was difficult to memorize all of the new words. Personally, I don't want to recommend this strategy to anyone because it took more time and it required me to memorize the new words plus the term. The reason why I chose this is that I thought it was fascinating to use. Relating new words for the first letter sounded great to me. However, when I actually used this one, it didn't work for me that much. It also didn't help me as a kinesthetic learner since making flash cards or carry-on-item was not useful for this strategy.

For my statistics class, MAT 121, I am happy that I already covered all of the words that I didn't know before through this memory chapter, which is grateful for the strategies that I used this week. In my personal opinion, I prefer Link system rather than Acronyms. The reasons for this are that Statistics has a lot of new terms for each section so that I need to try shorten my time to use and I can use flash cards wisely throughout this strategy. Keep up with LINK!

(http://2008.igem.org/wiki/images/c/c2/Pictogram_memory.png)

TART for MAT 121 and ILL 265

Reading is very problematic for me. I used to hate reading the most in my academic parts. I am not persistent so I can’t continue until the last page of the assigned pages. I used to put off reading my textbooks, and I never get me motivated to do. Because of my behavior, it takes too much time to finish. I realize all the time that I need self-discipline when I read. When I looked through the reading chapter of “It’s All About Choices”, I liked TART strategy the most since it sounded it would be the most suitable for my classes. So, I decided to use the strategy for my illustration class, ILL 265 and my statistics class, MAT 121.


ILL 265 is a lecture-dependent course. I need to focus on the lecture every single time to jot down important information. Sometimes, I couldn’t follow the lectures since I didn’t preview what I was going to learn. To apply TART strategy for my illustration class, I, first, read the list of illustrators’ names on the first page of the chapter and then read through the second page, the summary of what they did in the decade 1950-1960. It was useful to skim through the text, for it provides the summary of it. Second, I created abbreviations for the illustrators’ names. For instance, J.A. stands for James S. Avati, McC. C. stands for McCauley Conner, R.L. stands for Robert Lavin, and etc. Third, I attended the lecture and listened for the technical terminology used in the textbook and by my professor. It was easier to jot down notes since I used abbreviations, and this was quite interesting that I didn’t miss any information during the lecture. I felt some kind of proud of myself. I reread my lecture notes before reading the textbook. Fourth, I read the whole chapter to clarify all the information that was covered in the lecture. When I read the chapter, I didn’t get distracted by anything since all of the information was already familiar through my lecture notes. Lastly, I created test questions and answered them. For example, one of my questions was as who had sold his/her first illustration to Argosy magazine. So, I answered Isa Barnett, which is correct!

MAT 121 is also a lecture-dependent course. To get good grades on any test, quiz, or exam, I have to attend the lecture to write notes. The professor always provided very organized and neat notes in the lecture, so it was not hard to follow him. However, since I start learning chapter 5, I didn’t follow him as much as I did before. The new chapter was harder than what I covered before in the class, so, to keep up my work, I had to put more efforts on it. I decided to use TART strategy to my statistics class. First, I read the terms and definitions on the first page of the chapter. The key concepts were in bold print or in italic print, which was attracting my attention. Second, I created abbreviations such as random variable for R.V., and probability distribution for Prob. Dis., which would be frequently used in the lecture. Third, I attended the lecture and listened for the technical terminology used in the text and by my professor. The abbreviations that I created shortened the time to write my notes, so I could more focus on what my professor discussed. Fourth, I reread my lecture notes before reading the textbook, and I felt I already knew all the material. Fifth, I read the textbook to clarify all of the information that was covered in the lecture. The interesting thing was that I felt I was like a sponge which absorbs all the information! This was the first time that I felt I liked reading. Lastly, I created test questions and answered them. For example, one question was as identify Discrete and Continuous Random Variables. I answered Discrete for the number of people now watching TV in the countryside, which is correct!

To sum up, the effectiveness of TART strategy is that it makes me feel that reading is not difficult, but it is interesting! TART gives me a lesson that Reading can be easy and fun. Because of TART, I could focus in the lecture and shorten the time to jot down since I created abbreviations. I missed important information before using it, for it took time to jot down every single information, and I should only listen to take notes since my professor doesn’t provide written notes, but only discussing and speaking. I also get familiar with the terms both before and after class. Because I already read the key concepts before the class, it helped motivate me to listen! After class, when I read the chapter to clarify, I felt I was improving my reading skills. Creating questions also made me review the material, which was good to go. In the lecture for ILL 265, I always felt I needed more time to jot down notes, but not anymore! I can take notes faster since I use abbreviations. For MAT 121, I only focused on taking notes, so I sometimes didn’t understand the concepts, but now I spare my time to more focus on my professor rather than only taking notes! The reason why I chose is TART is for lecture dependent courses. ILL 265 and MAT 121 both are lecture dependent classes, so I thought this strategy would be well suited for, and the result told me that TART was perfect! Before using TART, I struggled to find the time and to do the reading. What I did the first was to check to see how long the chapter is. I had difficulty knowing what is important in the text, recognizing the main ideas and the important details, maintaining concentration while reading, and remembering the information after reading. ILL 265 has a heavy reading workload, and MAT 121 requires understanding of key concepts. I used to be distracted by thinking about which show programs I was going to see. I was not persistent so I used to give up reading all of the pages at once. However, after using TART, I know how I should keep up my behavior and what should I do for next time! This is the first time that I felt interesting to read. Thank you, TART!


(http://images.sciencedaily.com/2009/05/090506093952-large.jpg)

Reading

There are many different ways to receive information for your classes these days. You can attend lectures and take notes, or look something up on the internet that you don’t understand. Many classes that I take this year require reading the textbook to get the majority of the material. For some, including myself, reading is very boring. I normally find myself drifting off, and forgetting everything that I had just read. I cannot find myself to focus on a chapter as a whole. A strategy I have used to help me complete reading a chapter, while retaining the information, is the 10-minute technique. Honestly, people should use this technique because I know it is hard for many to sit there and read and concentrate for more than thirty minutes. If they could break that down into smaller sections and focus for shorter periods of time, they would be able to remember everything they read.

There are other techniques I use during reading to help me remember the information more efficiently. Using TART is probably one of the best ways I use to retain the material for my classes. Because I am a Kinesthetic learner TART allows me to write out questions and see certain notes from the class in a variety of ways. “T” stands for terms. In this section, I go through the chapter and read the terms and definitions that are in bold print. This step occurs before class, and helps me because I already know most of the information that is covered in class. “A” stands for attend lecture. After taking notes during the lecture, I reread the lecture notes before reading the textbook. “R” stands for reading the chapter, which clarifies information that was covered in lecture. “T” stands for create test questions. After reading the chapter, I create test questions from the chapter and try to answer them to see if I know the information. This technique is beneficial to my learning style and reiterates the material multiple times.

Another strategy that I use is flash card reading. This strategy helps me because being a kinesthetic learner, I always study for exams by using flashcards. In this technique, I first skim the chapter to see where the majority of the information is. Then, I read those sections, making flashcards, section by section. This technique benefits me because it allows me to make flashcards in advance, and therefore study for the test at an earlier date. Reading has always been an issue for me, but after using these techniques, it has made it easier to retain the information and overall has made me a better student.

Reading Strategy

Reading assignments are very important for the courses I take. But last semester I completed my readings the night before my exams. This obviously didn't work out. I decided to use some of the reading strategies that I have learned in CLS. Reading the textbook can be boring. However, the textbook does help me get a better understanding of the materials that were covered during the lectures. I used the strategies called TART and NSAS: No Salt and Sauce to guide me through my reading assignments.

TART works well for lecture-dependent classes. Because MAT 183 is a lecture-dependent course, TART was helpful. Before my lecture I wrote down a list of terms that appeared in the textbook. At the lecture, I looked for these terms and all those terms were mentioned in class. My professor described each term thoroughly so that I could understand them. There were some terms I wasn't sure of. Therefore I went home and read through the chapter for clarification. After all this, I created test questions. Because I have taken an exam for this class before, I have a sense of what will appear on the next exam.

NSAS: No Salt and Sauce is another strategy I used for MAT 183. Before attending class, I looked through the lecture slides that were posted on blackboard. I wanted to get familiar with what was going to be taught. After attending the lecture, I created flash cards. I am used to creating flashcards because in high school I used to create flashcards for my classes and SAT prep school.

As a kinesthetic learner, I need to constantly rewrite my notes so that I could memorize them. I am also a bit of an auditory learner. I need to hear something constantly so that I could remember the materials for exams. Thus, I read my flashcards out loud. Even though my next MAT 183 exam is quite far away, I have already mastered most of the topics.

Plug-In Notes

Note-taking is one of the most essential skills to have in order to succeed in your classes. They give you a good percentage of the information needed to do well on tests, quizzes, and projects. This semester, we have learned about a few different ways to take notes. The most efficient way of taking notes for me would be Plug-In notes. I have started using this type of note-taking over the last week and it has been very efficient for me so far. There is a few steps to using Plug-In notes. For most of my classes, I write my notes by hand. With plug in notes, you are suppose to write the notes on the right hand side of the page, leaving room for yourself to make questions and insert drawings to explain and understand the concepts easier.

For my MAT 121 class, I took all my notes on the right side of the paper, such as median, mean, mode, and all the box-plot information. On the left side, instead of using specific questions for each one, I created a series of numbers that were to be used to find all the information on the notes we took that class. The graphic that I inserted into my notes was creating my own box-plot, using these sets of numbers. I understood the concept of everything a lot easier after creating my own problem.

The Plug-In notes help me because I am able to visualize the information, while seeing examples of it also. The technique is divided into two sections, which makes it easier for me to learn it and see it clearer.

Plug-in notes

Last week, we learned different strategies for taking notes. Of the many strategies we learned, I decided to use Plug-in notes for my math class, MAT 183. I usually take notes in my notebook and I never look back at it until the days of exams approach. But this strategy gave me an opportunity to look through my notes. While I was typing my notes into my computer for this Tech assignment, I was able to review what wascovered in my math lecture and I even tried to learn the topics I was confused on. I wrote some definitions that was taught to us and someexamples for these definitions.

I used my textbook to help me learn these definitions and get an understanding of how to

answer problems related to what I have learned. Every Sunday, I have online assignments that are due. Usually I would have trouble answering more than half the questions. However, I got my benefits from using this strategy. Reviewing helped me know my materials and answer all the

questions online without any problem. At the end my Plug-in notes, I needed to anticipate exam questions. Having already taken an exam before for this class, I realized the exam questions were very similar to the Webassign homework. I took some questions from the site and used it as my "anticipated test questions." I also created some definition questions of my own because people can't solve math questions without knowing their math equations.

I am a kinesthetic learner. I need to constantly write and solve problems so that I know ways to approach the problems. For instance, Math is definitely a subject an individual can succeed in if he or she constantly solves problems. Therefore, I decided to answer some suggested problems in the textbook. Copying notes into my computer helps because it gives me a chance to memorize the materials as I constantly see my notes. I am willing to use this strategy for other courses because I know it will help me succeed academically.