Effective Study Skills

How to Study and Make the Most of Your Time

No two people study the same way, and there is little doubt that what works for one person may not work for another. However, there are some general techniques that seem to produce good results. No one would argue that every subject that you have to take is going to be so interesting that studying it is not work but pleasure. We can only wish.

Everyone is different, and for some students, studying and being motivated to learn comes naturally. If you are reading this page, it’s likely that you are not one of them, but don’t despair, there is hope! Your success in high school and college is dependent on your ability to study effectively and efficiently. The results of poor study skills are wasted time, frustration, and low or failing grades. It’s your life, your time, and your future. All I can say, upon reflection of many years as a teacher, is that time is precious and not to be squandered, no matter what you believe right now.

 This guide is designed to help you develop effective study skills. It is not a magic formula for success in preparing for tests, or written or oral assignments. Studying any material requires work! However, by using the techniques described in this guide, and by applying yourself, you can gain a valuable edge in understanding material, preparing for tests, and, ultimately, learning. This guide contains some of the best and most effective techniques of successful students - students who typically have high grades in high school and college regardless of the courses they take. So read on, think about what you read, and prepare to become a successful student! If you have questions, comments or suggestions, please send to me.

Effective Study skills are about more than understanding

Effective study skills must be practiced in order for you to improve. It is not enough to simply “think about” studying; you have to actually do it, and in the process use information from what you do to get better. This is the central idea of this page. All that follows depends on this single concept. There is a saying that goes like this: “Practice doesn’t make perfect; perfect practice makes perfect.” If you want to be an achiever, take this saying to heart.

The value of a schedule

Before you even begin to think about the process of studying, you must develop a schedule. If you don’t have a schedule or plan for studying, then you will not have any way of allocating your valuable time when the unexpected comes up. A good, well thought out schedule can be a lifesaver. It’s up to you to learn how develop a schedule that meets your needs, revise it if necessary, and most important, follow it.

A schedule saves time

All schedules should be made with the idea that they can be revised. A good schedule keeps you from wandering off course. A good schedule, if properly managed, assigns time where time is needed, but you’ve got to want to do it!

Making every hour count

A schedule should take into account every class, laboratory, lecture, social event, and other work in which you engage. There are givens such as classes and so on that have to be incorporated. You must focus on the other “free time” available and how you will use it. Make a weekly schedule and block off the 24 hour day in one hour increments. Indicate times for classes, labs, lectures, social, and work time. Also block off a period for sleeping each day. With what is left over, plan time for study. This gives you a rough road map of the time available. Of course, you can revise your schedule as circumstances warrant.

When to study

The problem of when to study is critical. A good rule of thumb is that studying should be carried out only when you are rested, alert, and have planned for it. Last minute studying just before a class is usually a waste of time.

Studying for lecture courses

If your study period is before the lecture class, be sure you have read all the assignments and made notes on what you don’t understand. If the study period is after the lecture class, review the notes you took during class while the information is still fresh.

Studying for recitation courses

For classes that require recitation, such as foreign language, be sure to schedule a study period just before the class. Use the time to practice. Sometimes, practice with others can help sharpen your skills in a before-class study period.

Making and revising a schedule

Don’t be afraid to revise your schedule. Schedules are really plans for how you intend to use your time. If your schedule doesn’t work, revise it. You must understand that your schedule is to help you develop good study habits. Once you have developed them, schedule building becomes easier.

The Process of Study

How to use your time

Time is the most valuable resource a student has. It is also one of the most wasted of resources. The schedule you develop should guide you in how to allocate the available time in the most productive manner. Sticking to your schedule can be tough. Don’t dribble away valuable time. Avoiding study is the easiest thing in the world. It’s up to you to follow the schedule you prepared. A good deal of your success in high school or college depends on this simple truth.

Where to study

You can study anywhere. Obviously, some places are better than others. Libraries, study lounges or private rooms are best. Above all, the place you choose to study should not be distracting. Distractions can build up, and the first thing you know, you’re out of time and out of luck. Make choosing a good physical environment a part of your study habits.

Strategies

Thinking skills

Everybody has thinking skills, but few use them effectively. Effective thinking skills cannot be studied, but must be built up over a period of time. Good thinkers see possibilities where others see only dead-ends. If you’re not a good thinker, start now by developing habits that make you ask yourself questions as you read. Talk to other students who you feel are good thinkers. Ask them what it is they do when they think critically or creatively. Often times, you can pick up valuable insights to help you become a better thinker.

The SQ3R method

The SQ3R method has been a proven way to sharpen study skills. SQ3R stands for Survey, Question, Read, Recite, Review. Take a moment now and write SQ3R down. It is a good slogan to commit to memory to carry out an effective study strategy.

Survey - get the best overall picture of what you’re going to study BEFORE you study it an any detail. It’s like looking at a road map before going on a trip. If you don’t know the territory, studying a map is the best way to begin.

Question - ask questions for learning. The important things to learn are usually answers to questions. Questions should lead to emphasis on the what, why, how, when, who and where of study content. Ask yourself questions as you read or study. As you answer them, you will help to make sense of the material and remember it more easily because the process will make an impression on you. Those things that make impressions are more meaningful, and therefore more easily remembered. Don’t be afraid to write your questions in the margins of textbooks, on lecture notes, or wherever it makes sense.

Read - Reading is NOT running your eyes over a textbook. When you read, read actively. Read to answer questions you have asked yourself or questions the instructor or author has asked. Always be alert to bold or italicized print. The authors intend that this material receive special emphasis. Also, when you read, be sure to read everything, including tables, graphs and illustrations. Often times tables, graphs and illustrations can convey an idea more powerfully than written text.

Recite - When you recite, you stop reading periodically to recall what you have read. Try to recall main headings, important ideas of concepts presented in bold or italicized type, and what graphs charts or illustrations indicate. Try to develop an overall concept of what you have read in your own words and thoughts. Try to connect things you have just read to things you already know. When you do this periodically, the chances are you will remember much more and be able to recall material for papers, essays and objective tests.

Review - A review is a survey of what you have covered. It is a review of what you are supposed to accomplish, not what you are going to do. Rereading is an important part of the review process. Reread with the idea that you are measuring what you have gained from the process. During review, it’s a good time to go over notes you have taken to help clarify points you may have missed or don’t understand. The best time to review is when you have just finished studying something. Don’t wait until just before an examination to begin the review process. Before an examination, do a final review. If you manage your time, the final review can be thought of as a “fine-tuning” of your knowledge of the material. Thousands of high school and college students have followed the SQ3R steps to achieve higher grades with less stress.

Reading

A primary means by which you acquire information is through reading. In college you’re expected to do much more reading than in high school. Don’t assume just because you’ve “read” the assignments that is the end of it. You must learn to read with a purpose. In studying, you may read the same assignment three or four times, each time with a different purpose. You must know before you begin reading what your purpose is, and read accordingly.

Getting the Main Idea

Getting the main idea in reading is central to effective studying. You must learn what the author’s central idea is, and understand it in your own way. Every paragraph contains a main idea. Main ideas are perfect for outlining textbooks. Make it a habit to find the main idea in each paragraph you read.

Extracting Important Details

Extracting important details means that you locate in your reading the basis for main ideas. There is usually one important detail associated with every main idea. The more important details you can identify, the easier it will be to review for examinations because you have made a link between an idea and information that supports it. The more links you can make between details and ideas, as well as ideas themselves, the more powerful will be the efforts of your study.

Don’t Read Aloud to Yourself

Generally, reading aloud to yourself does not help you study more effectively. If you move your lips while you read, you’re not reading efficiently. If you read aloud or move your lips while you’re reading, you are reading slowly, so stop moving your lips. Try putting a finger over your lips. Your finger will remind you not to move your lips. Make an effort to read faster and retain more - after a while, you’ll be surprised how little effort it will take.

Taking Notes

Like reading, note-taking is a skill which must be learned and refined. Almost invariably, note taking, or the lack of it, is a constant deficiency in the study methods of many high school and college students. Learning the ingredients of good note taking is rather easy; applying them to your own situation depends on how serious you are in becoming a successful student.

Where to Keep Notes

You must learn to keep notes logically and legibly. Remember, if you can’t read your own writing a few days after taking notes, they are of little use. By all accounts, the best place to keep notes is in a loose-leaf notebook. Use dividers to separate the different classes you take. Make it a habit of using your notebook to record ALL your notes. If you’re caught without your notebook and need to take notes, always have a supply of loose-leaf paper with you. Insert your note papers into the notebook as soon as you can. Be sure to buy a good notebook, as it will get a lot of wear and tear.

Outlining Textbooks

First of all, don’t underline. Use a highlighter. Experience has shown that text passages highlighted are more easily remembered than the same passages underlined. In outlining a text, don’t just read along and highlight what seem to important words. That technique rarely works. The act of outlining works much better.

Taking Lecture Notes

Surveying, Questioning, Listening

Taking accurate and concise lecture notes is essential. Develop the habit of taking notes using appropriate methods described earlier in the SQ3R technique. For example, when you listen to a lecture, formulate questions as you listen. Your main job in taking lecture notes is to be a good listener. To be a good listener, you must learn to focus and concentrate on the main points of the lecture. Get them down, and then later reorganize them in your own words. Once you have done this, you have set the stage for successful reviewing and revising.

Reviewing and Revising

As you prepare for examinations, tests, or other assessments, you should spend time reviewing and revising your lecture notes. Begin the process by reviewing your notes right after a lecture. If you wait too long, you may discover that the notes just don’t make sense. Don’t hesitate to revise your notes based on the review process.

Research Notes

Any form of note-taking that requires compilation of information by categories, rather than in narrative form is best done using index cards. You can sort, edit and arrange index cards to suit your particular study needs. The most important point in using cards is to indicate the correct reference or topic at the top of the card. Use the cards for study, review, to help organize information for papers, reports, or projects. An even better idea, if you have a personal computer, is to organize your categorical information in a database. Once you set it up, finding, updating and adding new information is quite easy. If you have a printer, you can print out your notes in a variety of ways.

Taking Examinations

Objective Examinations

Surveying

Survey any objective examination to find out what types of questions are being asked. Surveying helps you to know what to expect.

Knowing the Ground Rules

Always read directions! Indicate your answers exactly the way the directions state. Make sure your answers are clear. Determine what the scoring rules for the test are and follow them to your advantage. For example, if wrong answers are penalized, don’t guess unless you can reduce the choices to two.

Answering Easy Questions First

Answering easy (to you) questions first is the best strategy. If you stumble over difficult questions for too long a time, you may not be able to complete the exam.

Picking out Key Words

Objective examination questions usually contain one or more key words. A key word or group of words are those on which the truth or falsity of a statement hinges. Learn to spot the key words in the statement that define the meaning. If a statement contains two clauses, one of which is false, the whole statement is false. Usually, two-statement true-false questions are either both true or both false.

Reading Multiple-Choice Questions

Multiple choice questions are essentially true-false questions arranged in groups. Usually, only one alternative is correct. Your job is to pick the alternative that is more nearly true than the others. Read multiple-choice questions the same way as for true-false. Eliminate obvious false choices.

Reading Other Types of Questions

The methods used to answer true-false and multiple choice questions apply to matching questions as well. Always scan the entire list of alternatives before matching any. As in the other types of questions, try to identify key words in each list and test them. Completion questions require you to provide a word or phrase. When you encounter completion questions, choose your words carefully. If you don’t know the answer, give it your best guess, as often times such responses get at least partial credit.

Essay Examinations

Planning your time in answering essay questions is more important than in objective type tests. The general rule is not to get carried away on one or two questions to the extent that you cannot answer that other questions in the time allowed. Read through the entire examination first. Get a feel for the questions you are expected to answer. If the exam allows you to choose from a number of questions, be sure to number your answers exactly to match the questions.

When you follow directions for an essay exam, pay attention to the key words the instructor has included. Such words as “list,” “describe,” “compare and contrast,” and “outline” have special meaning. Don’t “write around” the question but answer it directly. If a question asks you to list something, don’t write a narrative about it. Answering essay questions directly is always the best policy.

After scanning the list of questions to be answered, choose the ones you know most about. A good idea is to prepare an outline of your answers. The outline will help you remember important ideas and facts to be included in your response. Another technique is to do a “memory-dump.” This technique is discussed in the last section of this guide, “Power Study Tips.”

Good handwriting is an absolute essential. If your cursive writing is very hard to read, try printing instead. Most instructors value clear handwriting. Grammar, punctuation, and spelling also count. Well-written grammatically correct answers almost always receive higher grades than poorly written grammatically incorrect answers, even though the answers themselves are the same.

Writing Themes and Reports

Reviewing the Topic

Students usually have some freedom to choose the subject of themes or reports. When you make this choice, be sure that the topic is acceptable to the teacher, and is as interesting to you as possible. Another consideration is that of availability of resource material. Your task is made much easier when there is a good amount of reference and resource material available.

Using Correct Punctuation and Grammar

As in writing essays questions, good grammar and punctuation are a must. Most students use word processors to write papers. Be sure to use the spell checker that almost all word processors have built in. Many word processors also have some sort of grammar checker. Learn to use a grammar checker, as it can point out serious flaws in your writing and help you become a better writer. Most grammar checkers explain the grammar rules that apply to the suggested corrections to your writing.

Gathering Materials Before You Write

Before you begin writing, assemble the materials you will need. Use index cards, notes, bibliographies, summaries, reports and reviews as part of your preparation process. Using index cards for references is an excellent way to organize your materials. Computer database programs can also help you classify and organize reference materials.

Preparing an Outline and Writing the Paper

Once you have your topic, have gathered and organized your materials, it is time to outline your paper. Put your outline on paper! Don’t make the mistake of trying to keep everything in your head. Make your outline in the form of main headings or ideas with sub-headings fleshing out the flow of the paper. Using the outline as a guide begin writing begin by asking yourself what the paper is going to say and what conclusions you want to reach. Doing this ahead of time will help keep you focused and prevent you from straying from the purpose of the paper. Making up the outline as you go along almost always results in a less than satisfactory product. Writing is important in high school and is a key to success in college and in many professions. Become a good writer by writing, revising, and reviewing your work. Don’t be afraid to ask other students to critique your work. Try to write in your own natural style, be aware that most good writers go through many revisions, and be prepared to do the same. Writing and test-taking are the end results of developing good study skills. There is no magic formula for success. If you follow the suggestions in this guide, apply them and think about them, you’ll have taken a giant step toward becoming a successful student.

Power Studying Tips for College Students

The following tips have proven to be extremely powerful guides for organizing, thinking, studying, and learning in college. They represent the best advice of successful college students. The can also work for high school students.

Study Space

Tip: Your study space should be as quiet and comfortable as possible. Avoid studying in noisy places such as cafeterias, recreation rooms, or lounges.

Tip: When studying, keep a waste basket handy.

Tip: Have a consistent place for everything, and above all, keep it there!

Tip: Have everything needed for study handy beforehand. Don’t waste valuable time looking for books, notes, of other information. After you have assembled the items you need, put them where you can reach them easily.

Study Habits

Tip: Begin study no less than 30-90 minutes after a meal.

Tip: Never study within 30 minutes of going to sleep.

Tip: Prioritize! Make a list of what you intend to study, prioritize the list, and stick to it!

Tip: If possible, study no more than 30-40 minutes at a stretch. Many students retain more by studying for short periods with breaks in between. It all depends on what you’re trying to study, but generally, after a period of study, take a break.

Tip: Take study breaks away from your desk or wherever you are studying. Let the break be a time to think about other things. Use some break time to reflect, not constantly review what you have just studied.

The Classroom

Tip: Distractions in the classroom are deadly. To help avoid distractions, sit near the front of the class. You’re less likely to miss something important, and there are far less distractions at the front than any other location.

Tip: Think! Thinking is one of the most important things you can do in class. If you just sit there passively, and not think, class can be deadly. Think about what the teacher is saying BEFORE writing down anything. Writing down each word is a WASTE OF TIME. Reorganize in your mind what the teacher says, and then write it down. This way you will be connecting the teacher’s words with HOW you think. If you do this, your notes will make a lot more sense later on.

Tip: Pay attention to the course outline or syllabus. Generally, important points and materials are referenced here and repeated. Don’t be afraid to ask the teacher if there is something you don’t understand. Most teachers will be glad to clarify for you.

Preparing for Class

Tip: Efficient students do not underline! Underlining is not a productive way to emphasize textbook material. It’s best to use a highlighter.

Tip: Read the table of contents of your texts carefully. If the textbooks have chapter summaries, read them first! If you don’t understand the material from the summaries, go back and highlight. Take notes on what you have highlighted and review your notes. Tip: Break study material into short segments of length dependent on its difficulty. Remember, concise notes are more powerful than copious notes. Think about the material! Then take notes on what you don’t know or are not sure of.

Test Taking

Tip: For essay examinations, try the “memory dump” technique. If permitted, write down everything you’ve memorized - facts, names, dates, ideas, events, and so on BEFORE you do anything else. Sometimes reading through the essay questions can distract you from what you’ve studied. The “memory dump” technique requires that you write down everything possible BEFORE you begin writing essay answers. This way, you are less likely to forget something important.

A Final Word

The study skills presented here depend on one thing, and that is your willingness to WANT to improve and do well in school. If you really don’t want to make the effort and sacrifice, no amount of suggestions, ideas, or outlines can help much. You are the one who is responsible for your education, and effective study skills can help you. To that end, one last word of advice — work smart, not hard.

Dr. Bob Kizlik

Are Our Schools Violence Free?

All children deserve a school environment that is safe and nurturing – one that will allow them to grow, thrive, and maximize their full potential. Yet many students in the developing world face a different daily  reality. The physical, psychological, and sexual violence they experience in and around school compromises their ability to fully realize the benefits of education. It impacts whether students enroll in  and attend school and whether they are engaged, motivated, and able to concentrate and learn while there. Gender violence can occur in classrooms, dormitories, boarding houses, administrative buildings, teachers’ residences, other parts of school grounds, and on the way to and from school. It can have short- and long-term impacts on students’ health and well-being, including reproductive health problems, broken bones, cognitive impairment, substance abuse, depression, and suicidal behavior, among others.

Despite these consequences, there is limited understanding of the depth and breadth of school-related gender-based violence (SRGBV) in the developing world. This report of USAID reviews the literature on SRGBV in order to improve understanding about its causes, prevalence, and consequences. It examines how gender norms, poverty, and a culture of violence contribute to SRGBV. The report explores violence that is  perpetrated by both male and female students and teachers. While much of the literature focuses on sexual  violence, this report also highlights the prevalence and impact of physical and psychological abuse. It examines barriers to preventing and responding to SRGBV, including silence around the issue, inadequate laws and codes of conduct, enforcement problems with existing laws, shortages of teachers and guidance
counselors, and flaws in the design and implementation of existing interventions.

Montessori Method

The Montessori system of education, named after Dr. Maria Montessori has today, become synonymous with pre-school education. Her concepts revolutionized the way the world saw small children.
            
  She referred to the mind of a child between 3 & 6 years of age, as the Absorbent Mind. During this time he literally absorbs everything in his environment through sensorial exploration. By sensorially absorbing the surroundings, a child forms his personality and himself. He constructs his mind, his memory, power to understand and ability to think through impressions gained from the environment.

 Educational research has also verified that the early years are the most important years of a child’s life. It is during the period between conception and four years that the child develops 50-60 % of his intelligence and another 30% between the ages 4 to 8 years. Very little develops after that.
 
  Today each parent wants to give their child the best education, however they have grown to realize that academic achievement alone will not prepare their child for life. Each child has certain vital needs as it grows up. In an academic environment these needs are generalized, hence these needs may be overlooked. However Montessori education strives to fulfill these individual needs. 
           
  Dr. Maria Montessori believed that a child has the inbuilt tendency to learn by himself. The child is the constructor of the adult. Mother Nature has endowed the child with necessary powers to fulfill this task. The child achieves various levels of growth, within the time spans fixed by nature. We have no control over them. All he needs is an encouraging environment, which fulfills his developmental needs.  
            
  The key elements of the Montessori Method are Self-education, individual instruction, didactic materials, a specially prepared environment, and the trained directress.
            
  A Montessori school provides prepared environments for children at each successive developmental plane where children are given freedom to work according to their inner urges. The child’s natural interest in learning is encouraged by giving opportunities in spontaneous, purposeful activities with the guidance of a trained adult. Within a framework of order eliminating the bane of competition, the children progress at their own pace and rhythm, according to their individual capabilities. These environments allow them to take responsibility for their own education. A sophisticated balance between liberty and discipline is prevalent.
            
    ”The work of education is divided between the teacher and the environment” - Discovery of the Child

  Maria Montessori’s fame is largely due to the apparatus to which her name has been given and to the result it produces while bringing out the hidden learning powers of the child. Younger children are intensely attracted to these materials and use them spontaneously, independently, repeatedly and with deep concentration.  These materials are precision made, beautiful and enticing. The outstanding feature of these materials are that they have built-in “control-of-error” by which the child is enabled to judge his/her performance objectively and independently and to truly learn from one’s mistakes.
      
  A Montessori school is equipped with more than 100 different types of Montessori Apparatus, classified into Sensorial Material, Language Material, Arithmetic Material, and so on. Practical Life Exercises, through the use of Sensorial Material, instill care for themselves, for others and the environment. Using this material, children learn to grade and classify impressions. They do this by touching, seeing, smelling, tasting, listening and exploring the physical properties of their environment, through these specially designed materials.
            
 The teacher’s role is to provide the right environment for the child and make sure that the child can work at his own development in peace and freedom. The adult should understand that it is the child who has to achieve his goals. The adult cannot do it for him. Therefore, the adult should learn not think , ” I have to mould my child. I have to make him a doctor, engineer etc.” The role of building the child is that of nature and the child himself.
For ordinary schools, education is same as literacy, but Maria Montessori calls it as ” an aid to life”, making the Montessori system, a highly successful learning concept that has been acclaimed the world over.
           
 ”Knowledge is necessary, but not sufficient. The well educated person is a well developed person who knows how to live a healthy life in every aspect of human existence - a well developed personality.”         
- M. Montessori .

A Comparison of Traditional Pre-school and Montessori
		TRADITIONAL MONTESSORI       Rigid Curriculum   Flexible curriculum       Progresses at teacher’s pace   Allows the child t o learn at his own pace       Constant guidance by teacher   Child free to discover on his own       Non scientific   Scientific method of teaching       Much role-play and fantasy   Reality orientated       Random placement - not necessary to return to specific place   Specific places for materials - sense of order       Teacher decides what the child has to learn   Child chooses activities according to inner needs       Teacher-centered environment   Child-centered learning environment       Use of reward and punishment in motivation   Self-education through self-correcting materials       All children are treated alike   Recognition of sensitive periods in each child       Play materials for non-specific skills   Multi-sensory materials to develop specific skills       Rigid rules not to move furniture and to sit in designated places   Liberty to move about self and furniture       Silence is on many occasions enforced   Liberty to speak (without disturbing others) as he pleases       Focus on imparting maximum quantum of knowledge   Focus on developing the child’s wholesome personality

EMOTIONALLY INTELLIGENT LEADERSHIP QUIZ

Competent leaders drive results, develop star performers, and get a group of people to productively complete the right work. They inspire and motivate people, resonating energy and enthusiasm. Resonant leaders connect with others by being self-aware and empathetic. Leadership requires the ability to manage and retain top talent.

Each of the competencies below is linked to outstanding executive success. It is based on the emotional intelligence competencies used by effective leaders. Selecting strategies that result in positive outcomes is evidence you are skilled in these competencies.

Score each item according to how much of the time each statement applies to you.

The Scale: 5(always), 4(often), 3(sometimes), 2 (rarely), 1(never)

		always	never
	I convey excitement and enthusiasm that motivates employees.
	I am open, honest, and candid when dealing with others.
	I understand and accept responsibility to teach, coach, and counsel.
	I foster collaboration by promoting cooperative goals.
	I am open about values, intentions and actions.
	I feel pressured by too many demands from clients/customers/boss.
	I involve others in decisions that affect them.
	I develop people by focusing on their strengths.
	I engender trust by acting with integrity.
	I enlist others in a common vision, and am an agent of change.
	I provide people meaningful work.
	I create a collaborative and team-based culture.
	I show employees they are appreciated on a regular basis.
	I create an environment for learning including training.
	I help followers understand their role in achieving business objectives.
	I communicate optimism about the future.
	I demonstrate flexibility regarding work-life balance.
	I hire people where there is a good cultural fit.
	I face moral and ethical dilemmas, and create a culture of values.
	In difficult times, I replace uncertainty and fear with purpose and courage.

---

Scoring
89-100	LEADERSHIP MASTER You are doing a great job as a leader. Congratulations! Executive coaching may help you achieve even higher levels of performance.
60-88	LEARNING You have a number of leadership strengths. However, there is still room for improvement. You might benefit from taking a High Performance Leadership workshop.   Consider executive coaching to help you further develop your retention skills and learn new strategies.
0-59	RED ALERT! You demonstrate some leadership strengths, but there is room for development. You need to change certain behaviors and learn new skills. Don’t walk…RUN to a High Performance Leadership workshop.  Strongly consider executive coaching.

RE- ENERGIZE

Is your energy level dropping? Do you feel burdened with too much work and too little time to do it? Do you sense that your students are becoming lethargic? Then you and your students may be experiencing midcourse droop--an insidious yet common syndrome. Why? When enthusiasm wanes, the ability to cope with stress decreases and the joy of teaching is sometimes lost. Thoreau reminds us that "None are so old as those who have outlived enthusiasm." "Nothing great was ever achieved without enthusiasm," says Emerson.
At registration time, energy levels were high as you and your students envisioned the mountaintop of growth and possibilities inherent in the learning experience to come. Now at or near midterm the storm clouds of academic and personal problems may have obscured the summits of success.

Midcourse letdown strikes students when they have underestimated the time required to learn the content of your course. Or when poor time managements skills cause them to delay the completion of major assignments until the deadline approaches and panic sets in. Disappointments occur when students fail to achieve the level of success they envisioned. Lower than expected test scores, poorly received contributions to class discussions, rejection by teammates assigned to a group project and the frustration experienced from working with lazy lab partners have taken their toll. What was first perceived as an enjoyable learning adventure may have by midterm become a code-3 struggle for survival.

On the other hand, you may be feeling discouraged because text scores reveal that the class exam averages are much below what you expected. Assignments may have been turned in late or poorly done. You feel that some students seem unable to write clearly and concisely and are exhibiting punctuation and spelling skills. Participation in discussion groups seems to be lackluster, and dozing has become more and more common during your lectures. Furthermore, this group of students seems to be taking twice as long to complete the required lab projects than usual, and in general you feel a bit panicky about how you will ever cover all the required material before finals. If this description fits you, you may have slipped into the quicksand of a mid-semester slump.

Survival experts tell people caught in a bottomless quagmire in the woods to stop struggling -- uncoordinated effort only causes the victim to skin ever deeper. Only by calm, purposeful and coordinated actions can the victims save themselves by swimming through the muck or sand to the safety of a solid shore.

How can you extricate yourself from the ooze of a midcourse sinkhole? Try a REFOCUS strategy. REFOCUS means:

Recognize
Empower
Focus
Objectivize
Commit
Unburden
Surprise
First, consider that a likely cause of midcourse letdown is a slow change of the thought focus from achievement to deficiency. Each time reality doesn't measure up to an envisioned ideal, emotional energy is drained, self-esteem is lowered and feelings of being in control are diminished. The result is instructor burnout. Here is a prescription that can help you rebuild your enthusiasm:

Recognize

Recognize your achievements thus far. Remind yourself of the lectures that were well organized, delivered and received; the visuals that enhanced understanding of a complex issue; the assignments that sparked critical thinking and the innovative ways in which you activated and involved your students in the learning process. Give yourself a pat on the back for learning all your students' names, staying after class to answer questions, meeting with your students even though you don't have an office and taking the time to develop the individualized feedback designed to help each student improve his or her performance.
Recall the work that your students have completed despite the demands of other classes, a job and perhaps a family. Acknowledge the progress your students have made.

Empower
Create a list of your strengths as a teacher. Are you an excellent communicator, manager, instructional designer or leader? When are you at your best -- leading a discussion, planning a collaborative learning activity, delivering a lecture, or going one-on-one with a student who needs help? Maybe you're an outstanding motivator. List your five greatest personal achievements in the past year. Can you remember how you felt during these moments? Reliving these peak experiences can really empower you to teach with greater enthusiasm and sense of purpose.
At the beginning of the second half of your course, perhaps after springbreak, ask your students to begin a class by sharing in a small group setting a personally significant learning experience. Encouraging them to remember and publicly affirm their academic achievements helps motivate and energize learners. Also, many students don't appreciate what they have learned while engaged in the process of reaching an academic goal. Therefore, help your students identify the skills, attitudes and knowledge they have acquired in only a few short weeks or study. For example, many aviation maintenance technology students were gratifyingly surprised when asked to list all the pieces of equipment and tools they could now use as well as the repair and troubleshooting procedures with which they were now familiar. It was then recommended that they update and keep these lists in a folder as data to help them prepare a resume upon graduation. Don't assume that students realize all they have learned or will learn in your course of the value of this education to bettering their lives.

Focus
Concentrate your attention on the material to be learned in the second half of your course and the selection of the most effective teaching style possible. Take a few moments to visualize the students' increased skills and changed behaviors or improved performances that you hope to see at course's end. Take a quick look at your syllabus. Are you on track? Will there be enough time? No? Then you have a management problem. Use a triage system to gain control of the situation. Triage is a strategy used in medicine under emergency conditions to son patients into treatment categories. The number one priority is to treat those who will benefit the most and who require the easiest treatment. Then move to those who require more difficult treatment but will benefit greatly. Last, attend to those who require difficult treatments and probably won't benefit from it. In other words, in difficult situations work to achieve the highest benefit with the least amount of time and effort.
When course time is short and learning is proceeding slowly, work on the material that will bring the greatest reward with the least effort. Plan to accomplish first the learning tasks that will bring the highest reward for your students. When you assign the easy, important tasks first, you often motivate them to continue working until even more difficult responsibilities are completed. Triage thinking can help you more effectively manage the second half of your course.

Objectivize
In the intervening weeks since you formulated your learning targets or objectives, the stresses and strains of teaching and daily living may have caused you to veer from your original instructional plan. If you have refocused your teaching priorities, it's important to create learning targets to guide your post-midterm efforts. Learning targets are a series of statements that describe levels of performance increases that are required for your students to advance. Some faculty think that only teachers in occupational, technical or professional curricula need to develop performance targets. With today's accent on critical thinking, learning to learn, collaborative processes, total quality management, etc., faculty in humanities, business, fine arts and developmental education could significantly improve learning by teaching for doing rather than just knowing. For example, compare two statistics course sections:
Section A is built with knowledge objectives. The objectives are that "at the end of this course students will know the concepts of central tendency, variability, normal distributions, hypothesis testing and analysis of variance." How does the instructor know that these objectives have been achieved? By grading homework problems, unit tests and a comprehensive final test. Students achieving above 60% pass; those scoring below fail.
Section B is constructed using performance targets. The target statement says that "at the end of this course students will have chosen a random population, created an hypothesis, developed a questionnaire, completed an analysis of variance and presented a final report using a PC and recommended statistical software packages." In this course the instructor not only teaches statistical knowledge but ensures that each student can put this knowledge to practical use in a holistic manner. With this design, learning evaluation can be performance based rather than strictly knowledge based.
Which course would you rather take or teach? Which would be of more value to your students? To energize your teaching, apply performance targets.

Commit
After you visualize your goal and create specific, measurable learning targets for your students, commit to achieving them. To reach your goal you'll need a strong commitment; one that will not waver as you encounter difficulties. In teaching nothing goes completely as planned or as expected. The number of variables in the learning process are too great to permit total control. A staunch resolve enables you to persevere through tough times, and it builds self-esteem. Ask your students to recommit to success in learning. Their initial commitment may have weakened and they need to reenergize for the second half of the course. Remind them of the benefits of making short-term sacrifices to obtain long=term rewards.
To illustrate the point, remind them of the value of priming the pump. An old story illustrates the principle. As the tale goes; old Desert Dan traveled the deserts of the southwest digging wells an installing pumps to aid those traversing the parched sands of this region. Buried beneath each pump he left a full jar of water with instructions on how to use it to prime the pump and thereby obtain all the water a thirsty traveler could want. Each dehydrated passerby who reached one of these watering holes was faced with a difficult decision. Drink the water in the jar and hope that it was enough to sustain life until the next water source was reached or commit this precious resource to punp-priming and the promise of greater reward.

Unburden
You don't have to be perfect; you just have to be yourself. You may hold the expectation that as a college teacher you should know all the answers. Once you accept the fact that successful teachers emphasize the roles of learner, presenter, guide, coach, facilitator, designer, evaluator, manager and leader and minimize the role of expert, you unburden yourself from unrealistic expectations. Then teaching becomes much easier and more enjoyable. Your students will appreciate knowing that you and they are on the same learning path. You have just proceeded farther than your students.
Unburden your students by applying good management techniques to your course. Look for barriers to learning that hold your students back or cause them to devote time to unnecessary work. Question your assignments and tests and align them to your learning targets.

Surprise
During the second half of your course variety is often desperately needed to keep your students motivated. Two surprise teaching techniques are discussed:
Tell a story. It is said, "A good story can touch something familiar in each of us and yet show us something new about our lives, our world, and ourselves. Stories can also be powerful tools for growth and learning."
However, there are several things you should consider before choosing to tell stories as a teaching strategy. Before telling a tale experienced storytellers consider these aspects -- purpose, practice and priority.
Purpose. Stories should be used to fulfill a definite instructional purpose. They help students visualize and internalize complex issues or concepts. Anecdotes draw students into the learning process by activating their imaginations.
Practice. Storytelling takes practice to master. Effective communicators practice by developing narratives in three parts: context, challenge and climax. Begin the account by setting the stage; describe when and where it happens and introduce the characters. Next, add the dilemma and explain how each of the characters are affected. Resolve the problem in words that convey the kernel of learning contained in the story.
Priority. There are times when excessive storytelling in classes get in the way of learning. To prevent this situation, prioritize your strategies according to their effectiveness and time-benefit. Brief stories can serve as introductions to units of learning or as mental rest spots during a long lecture. Stories spaced about every 20 minutes work well for many faculty who lecture extensively. Narratives can help you summarize material in a memorable way and enable your students to understand how your course material relates to the "real world."

Simulate a crisis. Crisis situations occur in most occupations and students should be prepared to think under pressure. "The Crisis Game" provides an excellent way to explore crisis thinking and introduce the element of surprise into your class.
To play, announce to your class that the red phone has just rung and the president or other authority appropriate to your subject area has requested that a student advisory panel be immediately created to deal with a sudden crisis. (You have previously prepared a handout describing a crisis situation applicable to your course's study material.) Then divide your class into groups of five to eight students.

Explain to them that they will have a limited time (say 30 minutes) to discuss the emergency and prepare a contingency plan to meet it. You may wish to assign roles to group members to facilitate this learning activity.
After ten minutes interrupt the groups and verbally add some additional information that simulates the dynamic environment of crisis situations. About ten minutes before the end of the game declare that because of mounting pressures from the press, the group must complete their plans and participate in a press conference in five minutes. This new time frame increases the pressure on the groups to work quickly.
When the time limit is reached the recorder of each group presents the details of their plan to the entire class. After all plans are shared. It is recommended that students be debriefed about how they reacted to the crisis situation and the added pressures of changing information and compressed time schedules.
Through this game, you can accomplish two goals: (1) help students learn how to better function in emergency situations and (2) review in an intriguing manner critical course materials.

This seven step REFOCUS strategy will help you to renergize and renew, and it will help you to continue to teach for success!

Are School Producing Asses ?

Lets rethink what we are doing in Schools..

The news is official. Schools are producing asses. After an average study of 12 years (sometimes, 14) in school, children are turning out duds.The schooling system in the USA, India, Malaysia, Africa,everywhere is producing largely unimaginative and boring products, lacking initiative completely.

A recent Consumers Association of Penang booklet on How School Affects Your Kids lists the ways in which schools and their mug-mentality harm children. The school is perceived by children as:

A world of silence and immobility;
A world of uniforms, uniformity and punishments;
A world cut off from life;
A world of strange objects not found in the natural world;
A world strewn with obstacles and meaningless tasks;
A prison where students learn inferiority, submission and fear.

None of these are disputable facts.

Children themselves have drawn our attention to the fact that the school completely resembles a prison. It follows timings; food is bad or the same everyday; permission is required for everything including going to the loo; schooling demands that one sit in the same position for hours without exercise (even prisoners are spared this punishment). All children love intervals, just as prisoners look forward to the short breaks they are given out of their cells. Teachers are mostly wardens, since all they are really concerned about is discipline, uniforms, cleanliness, silence, obedience. Many of them are mean.

The comparison should not be really surprising since the same people who designed the schooling system also designed the prison system.

Parents who claim to love their children are willing to submit them to a 12 year torture learning things that everyone forgets immediately after the examinations are over.

Children who remain out of school do not lose anything since all human beings learn better out of school, given their natural aptitudes to do this. Thus, children can learn three to four languages before they are six without a teacher, but cannot speak or write a language if it is taught to them in school, even after six or eight years!

Taleemnet is providing a much needed platform for parents and educators who realise that although keeping kids out of school may initially seem risky, maybe frightening or even more of trouble, it will bring inestimable benefits in the long term in terms of quicker learning, and better family ties as children have a greater opportunity to be with their parents, members of the community, relatives and friends — all of whom will contribute in one way or another to the learning process.

One of the first Taleemnet projects is a primer on how to unschool kids or help the present ‘walk out’ rates to increase, so that children have a better chance to be themselves and learn what they want to rather than having to submit to a programme of text book cramming that goes on year after year without respite and whose utility is not accepted by anyone including the teacher.

Lets change the style towards creativity and make students proactive.