Student Success Statement

Student Success Statement

 “The only difference between those who have failed and those who have succeeded lies in the difference of their habits. Good habits are the key to success. Bad habits are the unlocked door to failure. Thus, the first law I will obey, which precedeth all others is—‘I will form good habits and become their slaves’ “
Og Mandino

Reflection: What Mr. Mandino is trying to say is that whether you have succeeded or failed in life, it all had to do with your habits/decisions. When you have good habits you will be successful. When you have bad habits you will most likely fail. He says that he will have good habits and obey them; which means he will make good decisions. For example, when you do something that is good you will succeed in reaching your goals.

Profile of a Successful Student Part 3

Profile of a Successful Student

Part 3

… owns or has easy access to a computer with internet access and email

You don’t have to be a computer expert to be successful in online learning—but you must have access to a personal computer with reliable internet access, as well as a basic level of competency in using them. Owning a computer with internet access from your home is ideal but many students use the computer labs on campus or at their offices to complete their work.

… has basic computer skills and is willing and open to learning new ones

We said you don’t have to be a computer expert to be successful in online learning. However, there are some basic technical skills you should have mastered prior to enrolling in an online course.

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Profile of a Successful Student Part 2

Profile of a Successful Student

Part 2

Work Together. There are a number of ways that you can ensure you get the most out of your educational experience. First, participate fully. Engage regularly in the discussions and be willing to share your personal, professional and educational experiences. You can get to know your classmates through the dialogue that is created in a course environment—sometimes even better than in a face-to-face class. And the same goes for your instructor. Be sure to contact your professor—especially if you are having problems. He/she is still your instructor and will be there to guide and assist you as needed.

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Profile of Successful Student Part 1

Profile of Successful Student

Part 1

http://www.plymouth.edu/office/online-edcation/online-learning/profile-of-a-successful-student/

A successful student…

… takes responsibility for his/her own learning       

Online learning can be a powerful, stimulating, engaging experience for the student who can work and think independently. However, since most-if not all- of the learning takes place on your own time, you will not have the kind of direct supervision you would in a classroom. Online learning therefore requires a significant commitment from you. All education comes down to what you’re willing to invest in the experience-this is particularly true in the online environment. Commitment, self-discipline and self-motivation are all key qualities to ensuring success in an online course!

… is comfortable and confident with written communication

Reading and writing are the basis of most online courses, so it’s critical that you feel comfortable with this form of communication. While some courses contain modules that include videos or other activities, all of them require significant amounts of reading. And nearly all your communication with your classmates and your instructor will be in writing. If these are weak areas for you, you will want to address those issues prior to enrolling or while enrolled in an online course. The PSU Writing Center is available to assist you.

… is willing to be a member of an online community

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Successful Students 10

Successful Students

10

10. Successful students are good time managers. Successful students do not procrastinate. They have learned that time control is life control and have consciously chosen to be in control of their life.

An element truth: you will either control time or be controlled by it! It’s your choice: you can lead or be led, establish control or relinquish control, steer your own course or follow others. Failure to take control of their own time is probably the no. 1 study skills problem for college students. It ultimately causes many students to become non-students! Procrastinators are good excuse-makers. Don’t make academics harder on yourself than it has to be. Stop procrastinating. And don’t wait until tomorrow to do it!

the 10 items listed above are paraphrased from an article by Larry M Ludewig called Ten Commandments for Effective Study Skills which appear in The Teaching Professor, December, 1992.

“Learning Technologies and Online Education”

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Successful Students 7-8

Successful Students

7-8

7…understand that actions affect learning. Successful students know their personal behavior affect their feelings and emotions which in turn can affect learning.

If you act in a certain way that normally produces particular feelings, you will begin to experience those feeling. Act like you’re bored, and you’ll become bored. Act like you’re disinterested and you’ll become disinterested. So the next time you have trouble concentrating in the classroom, “act” like and interested person: lean forward, place your feet flat on the floor, maintain eye contact with the professor, nod occasionally, take notes, and ask questions. Not only will you benefit directly from your actions, your classmates and professor may also get more excited and enthusiastic.

8. ...talk about what they’re learning. Successful students get to know something well enough that they can put it into words. Talking about something, with friends or classmates, is not only good for checking whether or not you know something, it’s a proven learning tool. Transferring ideas into words provides the most direct path for moving knowledge from short-term to long-term memory. You really don’t “know” material until you can put it into words. So, next time you study, don’t do it silently. Talk about notes, problems, reading, etc. with friends, recite to a chair, organize an oral study group, pretend you’re teaching your peers. “Talk-learning” produces a whole host of memory traces that result in more learning.

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Successsful Students 5-6

Successful Students

5-6

5. Don’t sit in the back of the room. Successful students minimize classroom distractions that interfere with learning.

Students want the best seat available for their entertainment dollars, but willingly seek the worst seat for their educational dollars. Students who sit in the back cannot possibly be their professor’s teammate (see no. 4). Why do they expose themselves to the temptations of inactive classroom experiences and distractions of all the people between them and their instructor? Of course, we know they chose the back of the classroom because they seek invisibility or anonymity, both of which are antithetical to efficient and effective learning. If you are trying not to be part of the class, why, then, are you wasting your time? Push your hot buttons, is there something else you should be doing with your time?

6. … take good notes. Successful students take notes that are understandable and organized, and review them often.

Why put something into your notes you don’t understand? Ask the questions now that are necessary to make your notes meaningful at some later time. A short review of your notes while the material is still fresh on your mind helps you to learn more. The more you learn then, the less you’ll have to learn later and the less time it will take because you won’t have to include some deciphering time, also. The whole purpose of taking notes is to use them, and use them often. The more you use them, the more they improve.

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Successful Students 1-2

Successful Students

1-2

Successful students exhibit a combination of successful attitudes and behaviors as well as intellectual capacity. Successful students… 1… are responsible and active. Successful students get involved in their studies, accept responsibility for their own education, and are active participants in it! Responsibility means control. It’s the difference between leading and being lead. Your own efforts control your grade, you earn the glory or deserve the blame, you make the choice. Active classroom participation improves grades without increasing study time. You can sit there, act bored, daydream, or sleep. Or, you can actively listen, think, question, and take notes like someone in charge of their learning experience. Either option cost one class period. However, the former method will require a large degree of additional work outside of class to achieve the same degree of learning the latter provides at one sitting. The choice is yours.

2… have educational goals. Successful students have legitimate goals and are motivated by what they represent in terms of career aspirations and life’s desires.

Ask yourself these questions: What am I doing here? Why have I chosen to be sitting here now? Is there some better place I could be? What does my presence here mean to me? Answers to these questions represent your “Hot Buttons” and are, without a doubt, the most important factors in your success as a college student. If your educational goals are truly yours, not someone else’s, they will motivate a vital and positive academic attitude. If you are familiar with what these hot buttons represent and refer to them often, especially when you are tired of being a student, nothing can stop you; if you aren’t and don’t, everything can, and will!

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Study for Multiple Exams Part 3

Study for Multiple Exams

Part 3

English, math, foreign language tips: Practice – especially foreign language. It is hard to succeed in a foreign language class if you are just showing and doing the work. But if you are in your room and look at objects and try to say them in the language you are learning it actually helps. Or if you send a simple text to friend think about it, can you translate that to German or Spanish? These are the little things that will help.

Here are my final words of wisdom for students who want to get better grades in college: Time management and organization are critical key factors to success in college. And never be afraid to go ask your teacher for help. They have office hours for a reason-use them!

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Study for Multiple Exams Part 2

Study for multiple Exams

Part 2

My strategies for written assignments: Everyone has their own written styles. I generally come up with an idea and do massive amounts of research before I ever think about writing. I then organize my research then sometimes prepare an outline before actually writing. I always print out the paper and come back to it the next day and reread it. That is the easiest way for me to catch my own mistakes. I have to give my eyes a break from it, and if I just wrote t I think It looks perfect. But if I look at it the next day later I almost always find grammatical errors or phrases and sentences I just want to reword.

How I succeed in team projects: Never assume someone is doing what they are supposed to be doing have regular meetings and have each member show their work, not just give you or the group their word for it.

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Sarah's Academic Success Story Part 2

Sarah’s Academic Success Story

Part 2

My test study method: I have different strategies for different types of tests or subjects. For me, any type of math is exceptionally difficult so I had to spend extra time on that. I would go back through the homework problems focusing on the problems that I had extra difficulty on. Many times I would ask the teacher for any additional study materials they could provide. If it was a class that required memorization or applying concepts I would create a sort of study guide for myself many times focusing on what were key focal points in the class. If I knew there were going to be essays I would try to take the terms and apply them to an example or create different questions on the concepts focused on throughout the semester.

My time management secret: I always always always carry a planner with men. I even use different color highlighters to show what each event on my calendar is for. For example, pink is personal, yellow is school, orange is work, blue is for appointments, and green is for my sorority. Although I use white-out frequently, I can see in bright yellow that if I have that project for finance due on Tuesday, I need to start working on it on [the previous] Wednesday so I can just get it done. My friends have always been amazed at how early I get things accomplished but that is really all I do.

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Sarah's Academic Success Story Part 1

Sarah’s Academic Success Story

Part 1

Time management became a key factor in my stdy skills for college. In high school, there were times I was able to study for an hour or two the night before a test and get away with it. This was not the case in college. I made sure in college I was prepared for each class. Sometimes that meant writing out the terms for the chapter we read (even if when it isn’t required) to better understand them. That way when the midterm or test comes around I was able to understand what I was studying. I started taking excellent notes in class in college. I may have done this in high school, but in college I started to type up the notes after class. This helped me remember what I just went over in class then when I had a test one week later I was more likely to remember then as well.

My overall study methods: Structured. One thing I learned was I had to adapt or change my study method according to the class. I couldn’t study for a Religion Class the same way I studied for a Finance class. But making sure I had enough time to study for each class – even if it meant carrying a planner with me at all times was a big part of my success.

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