Study SKILLS
K.. L. Nalibow
I. Use time efficiently.
· Determine when you are most efficient.
· Utilize as much spare time during the day as possible.
· Employ reinforcement learning techniques when you work. It is not
only the time you spend but how efficient you
are WHEN YOU WORK.
II. Question generation - the key.
· Employ as many senses as possible to test yourself on the material
you don't know.
· Anything you cannot quickly reproduce, you may not know.
· Concentrate on information you have not completely learned. Do
not fool yourself by constantly examining what
you already know.
III. Learn to be a competent listener. Learn to tune in on what
you are doing so that you can tune out distractions.
IV. Pre-prepare all courses.
· Pre-read material for all courses. If you haven't time to read
something thoroughly - skim it. Order all material
into critical and non-critical data. (Know the important from
the unimportant.) Go to class prepared so that you
can truly listen instead of trying to transcribe every word.
· Avoid mindlessly completing homework assignments for math, science,
language. Learn the material you have
been assigned before going to class so that class time becomes
reinforcement for what you know rather than
becoming a frustrating attempt to understand what is going on.
V. Learn from your mistakes.
· Use quizzes, exams, papers to learn where you are weak. Every piece
of graded work with a low score can help you spot where
your learning is incomplete. If you cannot identify where you need to work
on your own, ask the
professor. And if a weakness in your approach is identifiable,
strive to improve that area.
VI. Organization is a good quality.
· Do not procrastinate. Work to your own schedule but be sure you
have one! When you let a course go and do poorly, you come
to dislike everything about the course. School itself can seem boring,
depressing. Do well and
you will find excitement in the learning process. Discipline yourself
to work consistently. --Make time for athletics and social
relaxation but to the exclusion of academic work. (Engaging in leisure-time
activities IS
important.)
VII. Use on-campus resources to good avail.
· Realize that we all need to talk out problems. find someone –
a school chum, residence hall advisor with whom
you can openly converse. Good mental health helps you immeasurably.
· If you read very slowly, you may have a reading problem and find
that you are swamped by assigned work. To
undertake quality university-level work, reading skills need to be
an optimum level. Many student have reading problems.
You may be one of them. An on-campus professional can help you increase
reading speed
and understanding.
· Learn about the resources available at UVM. Counseling Center,
Learning Co-Ops, Reading Centers can truly help you BUT
do not attempt to rectify a lifelong problem as the last three weeks of
term is upon you!