Well gang, it looks like good old Trencher has weathered another semester at UNLV. This one was not the easiest that I have encountered. As a matter of fact this was down right difficult, if for only one reason,
I should have been more focused on my homework and studies.
So, what I want to do is take a moment and share some ideas with you about how to be a good student. Take it from me, I have been a student on and off for years now, and as I have aged and grown up I have learned a few things that can be very helpful. Especially if you’re a non-traditional student like I am.
The First Section that I want to cover is Note Taking. So, here are some suggestions on how to deal with notes.
1) Read all the required assignments as soon as you can.
If you can read your assignment the day before it is brought up in class do it! This way if the topic is covered in lecture you can have a leg up. That and if something did not make sense, or you wish to get detailed information on what you read, you can.
2) Read your assignment again.
I know, I know, you just read it and why would you read it again. Well if you sat through lecture and you read the book or journal you can read it again and even more useful information will suddenly appear (even through it was always there).
3) Take notes, lots and lots of notes.
The trick with note taking is knowing what style works the best. Not one style of note taking works for every person, let alone every class you take. Some of the methods I have used include : Highlighting the book, Hand written outline, Typed outlines, making notes on class assigned notes, using a tape recorder to get the lecture. There are so many different ways all I can suggest is try them all and find the right fit.
4) Read your notes.
Notice a trend here? Read your notes. You need to read the notes because you have a thought process that is all your own. When you read your own notes back to yourself you are, in essence, teaching yourself the material.
That is about it for this part. I think I want to share with you some more on test prep that I have learned from lots of trial and more error. If you have any comments or suggestions I would love to hear from you on them.
