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In this module, we learned about procrastination… ugh! I think we are all guilty of procrastination in some way: whether its waiting until 20 minutes before an assignment is due to start it, or waiting for your laundry to be exploding out of the windows of your dorm room before reluctantly agreeing with your roommate that its time to do it! Procrastination can be very detrimental to your grades, and it makes you very stressed! Something I have put into practice is making a goal seem easier. Instead of saying, “I am going to do all of my homework before Wednesday”, I say, “I am going to do homework for only this class on Wednesday, and if I have time and want to, I can do more. This method gives a more easily achievable goal, and works for me very well. In the future, I would like to use google calendars more. A friend of mine uses it for everything he does, and he is always on top of his assignments, appointments, and extracurriculars (gosh I wish that word started with an A). But in all seriousness, google calendars can keep my life more organized and I would love to utilize it more effectively. My advice to you students: DO NOT PROCRASTINATE. It is easy to do only a little bit, a bunch of days in a row. It is really difficult to do a weeks work in a couple of hours. Make mental goals like “go to the library for an hour once a day” or “do all of my homework for this class on Tuesday”. This will help, I will promise you that. Good luck!

This module talked about the importance of note-taking and active listening. It gave great insight in how to take good notes, and this is something all students should know how to do. So PUT YOUR PHONES DOWN, KIDS! Its learning time! The module offered different styles of note taking including: lists, outlines, concept maps and the Cornell method. I tend to use lists and this works really well for me. While I am actively listening to the lecture, I am writing notes down in a list fashion that does not include ALL of the information, but enough so that I can understand the concept when I read it later. This method can be very useful if the teacher talks quickly. In the future, I would like to try the concept map strategy. Though for some classes like mathematics it would not be very applicable, for classes such as Asian Philosophy it can prove very useful, as ideas are expanded on from a core idea. A piece of advice for you eager-to-learn students: Try the list method and do not sweat over not writing every little thing the professor says. Just try and get the general ideas down, and this will be sufficient enough for you to recall what you were writing about. You got this!

In this module, we learned about searching and researching effectively. The most important thing I learned in this module is how there are differences between searching and researching. While searching is looking for an answer to a question, researching goes further into different aspects of a question, and there is typically no right or wrong answer. A research question could be: how did media affect the Vietnam War? and a searching question would be: what year did the Vietnam War end?. These differences are important when writing an essay or doing research for a project. Additionally, Wikipedia is a good source of background information, and I consistently put Wikipedia into use in order to gain information for essays. I find this very useful because it has a lot of information that I can take and research further. In the future, I can use google scholar to find articles that I know are already scholarly. For students: use Wikipedia to get a good idea of what parts/aspects of a topic you would like to cover. Then, go to google scholar to get credible sources for your topic. That way, you know your sources are good to go! Good luck!

The most useful thing I learned in this module is about where to study. Yes, its nice to go to Thompson Library where all of your friends are studying, but it DEFINITELY affects your motivation and effectiveness in completing your work. I often find myself talking to my friends, socializing, and remaining unfocused and as a result not being successful in completing what I went to complete when I study in social environments. I have put “choosing where to study” into practice by going to labs on my own, and studying in quiet places where I am not distracted by other people. I also use specific music when I study, often jazz or classical music because it is great background noise that does not distract me or have words in it. This music actually motivates me to continue doing work until the song or album is finished. My advice to students is to pick and choose where you study. If you are going to surround yourself by other people, make sure you are surrounding yourself with people who will be motivated to get their work done. Or else you will end up falling behind. Also, find a genre of music that suits you when you are studying. Something that isn’t distracting, but enhances your experience, and gets you pumped up, and ready to take on whatever task is in front of you.

Taking notes is annoying, I get it. It consists of trying to keep up with what a professor is speedily babbling about and causes constant pains in the hand. It does however, cause more than just pain. Taking notes is the best way to learn; you can read something over and over again, but the best way to cement that information into your brain is to take notes on it! The module talked about taking notes on a computer versus by hand. I would always recommend taking notes by hand. In my experience, taking notes on the computer is kind of like when you keep checking your phone without thinking about it…you’re just going through the motions without really being engaged! Taking notes with pen and paper takes longer but is well worth it. And I need to take my own advice, because sometimes I find myself typing away aimlessly about topics I am not truly becoming more educated about! I do however, do a good job of organizing my notes. I find having folder that are color-coordinated to the notebook I use for a specific class helps me really organize my notes in a way that is effective. My advice to you students is to keep your eyes on that A+ and know that writing your notes out will help you get there. Be engaged, be organized, and be amazing!

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