Academic Success

Planning for Finals

It’s hard to believe, but finals are just a few short weeks away, which means you are probably buried in papers, projects, presentations, and unit tests. Don’t let this sneak up on you! Planning for your finals doesn’t have to be difficult. With just a few steps you can go into finals focused, prepared, and ready for the challenge. Make a plan now so you are primed when the time arrives.

Focused on Finals

Being focused means that you know what you plan to accomplish. One good way to approach this is to make two sets of goals: what you need to accomplish, and what you want to accomplish.

Need to Accomplish. Think of these goals as your minimums. Look at your class performance over the semester. What scores do you need to make to achieve satisfactory performance in each of your classes? Distinguish the classes that will require more effort from those where you already have high scores.

Want to Accomplish. These goals are what will please you. In answering this, make sure you keep these goals realistic. Don’t set impossible goals for all your finals. Set these goals class by class to help keep them achievable.

Balance the two sets of goals and determine a goal for each class. This will help you focus your time management and study strategies to achieve your goals.

Prepared for Finals

Preparing involves more than just going over notes. It’s strategic. It starts right away with time management. Clear your calendar as much as possible and set a study schedule. Then find out whether your tests are comprehensive. If they are comprehensive, then you will want to begin reviewing past material right away. What do you know and what do you need to study? You can’t prepare for a comprehensive final by reading a semester’s worth of notes two days before the final.

Find a way to create notes that allow you to test yourself, especially in content where you are weaker. The more you practice retrieving information, the better your test performance will be, whether you are trying to remember information or applying your knowledge. Self-testing will reassure you that you know what you think you know.

Ready for Finals

Being ready means you have set goals for, and learned as much as you can about, each test. You’ve stuck to a study schedule, and carried out a study plan. It doesn’t mean you won’t be anxious. Ready means that you have done what you need to do, to the best of your ability, for the goals you set.

Take control and plan for your finals now. Don’t wait until the last minute. Getting started now will help reduce your anxiety and make you better prepared when the time arrives.

What Do You Expect from Your Profession

I want to finish this series on expectations by talking about your future professional career. Just as your expectations for your education and instructors impact your level of academic motivation and satisfaction, your expectations for your profession are important to your success in your professional and personal life.

Why Did You Choose Your Program

If knowing why you are here at UAMS was significant in maintaining your motivation to work hard and do your best to be academically successful, then knowing why you have selected your program is going to be important in your future success and satisfaction. So, why did you choose your program? What attracted you? What do you expect your profession is going to do for you?

Everyone has their own reasons for going into a profession. Some want to make a difference in quality of care patients get. Others enter a program to gain experience necessary for a future job. I had one student tell me that she wanted to become an Emergency Medical Technician to gain experience that would help her get into a Physician Assistant program. An RN was seeking a master’s degree to move into nursing administration. These students had good reasons and clear expectations for their programs. It helped them stay motivated when things got difficult.

What Have I Done?

How much did you know about your future profession when you chose your program? Had you done your research? It’s awful to begin a program, and realize half way through that it isn’t right for you. It may be more challenging or less interesting than you thought it would be. How prepared were you for your program?

Learn all you can before about the profession before you start the program. Ask about the challenges, the demands, and the rewards so your expectations are better aligned with reality. Don’t make assumptions based on your past academic performance. If the program administrators tell you that the program is rigorous or challenging, believe them. They want you to be as prepared as possible when you enter the profession.

Focus On Your Life Goals

Make sure that your chosen profession will fit in with your future life goals. I have friends who chose a career in nursing for the flexibility it gives them. They both work coverage shifts. They don’t have a guaranteed schedule, they just fill in as needed. One is a dedicated endurance athlete, and the other loves to travel and works all over the country. Their professional choices aligned perfectly with their life goals. My primary care is provided by a Physician Assistant. She works 9-5 Monday through Friday, so she is home in the evenings with her husband and kids. She chose to become a Physician Assistant because she wanted to have time with her family. Again, her career choice and life goals were well matched. This has allowed her to be successful.

Your expectations for your profession are another part of your motivation to work hard and be successful in your program. When you know what you want, it’s much easier to stay focused. So know why you chose your profession, and what you expect to get out of it. It will make your academic journey more purposeful and enjoyable.

What Do You Expect from Your Instructors?

Last week I asked you what you expected from your education. I asked you to think about why you are here at UAMS, and whether your experience is meeting your expectations. I also advised you to reflect on and alter your expectations from time to time, because when your expectations are aligned with your experience, your motivation and satisfaction increases. And, motivation and satisfaction are important for academic success.

This week, I want you to think about what you expect from your instructors. Instructors tend to be the most visible representatives of a college or university, and students will often base their evaluation of their program on their opinions of their instructors. And, while instructors have a lot of expectations for their students, those same students arrive in class with expectations for the faculty.

What Do You Expect from Your Instructors

The expectations you bring into the classroom are often influenced by your experience with your previous instructors. You will probably want them to do the things your favorite instructors did in the past. For example, you might have had an instructor whose passion for their subject inspired your curiosity, or sparked your interest in your current field of study. It would be natural for you to expect the same passion from your instructors at UAMS. At the same time, we all remember that professor whose class we endured, probably because it was a requirement. It may have been an important course, but you missed out because of the way it was taught. You are probably expecting your instructors to do better than that in your current program.

Keep in mind that your instructor can’t be aware of the expectations you bring into his/her classroom. Every student is different, and their expectations are unique to their personality and prior experience. In addition, student expectations are rarely shared with the instructor. These factors often lead to a disconnect when expectations make contact with reality.

When Expectations Meet Reality

So, what should you do when reality doesn’t live up to your expectations? First, remember why you are here and what you want to get out of your educational journey. Renewing your commitment to your academic journey will help reduce the impact of misplaced for unmet expectations.

Second, reach out to your instructors. Ask questions, engage in discussion, and seek guidance. They are masters of their professions, and they want to help you achieve your professional and academic goals. They have chosen to teach – to invest in future generations of professionals – and they want to do their best. So, don’t decide to disconnect. Reach out instead.

Finally, remember what you have the power to change. You can change how you react and what you do. Take steps to make your learning more satisfying and enriching. Connect with your peers to go deeper into the content. Look for places to volunteer, where you can interact with professionals on the front lines. Find opportunities to connect what you are learning to real world experience. You don’t have to make a huge time commitment to deepen both your learning and experience.

You bring expectations of your instructors to class, and sometimes the reality will far exceed those expectations. When it doesn’t, don’t become discouraged. Know why you are there, what you want, and take steps to make things better.

What Do You Expect from Your Education?

Why are you at UAMS? No, really, why did you choose us for your education? Educators talk a lot about expectations, usually referring to the expectations they have for their students. But faculty expectations for education is only part of the equation. Students bring their own expectations, and they should be examined as well.

It’s Your Education

Okay, so it’s your education. What are you expecting? You started this journey for a reason. What was it? What are you expecting to get out of it? These questions will determine the time and effort you are willing devote to your schooling, so you need to ask yourself, what do you expect?

Look, a health sciences education isn’t easy. There are books full of facts that your instructors say that you need to know. You are expected to learn a wide variety of procedures that will need to become second nature. You have to grapple with ethical issues that will inform your future practice. Will it be enough? Will you be ready? Or, is it all too much? The answers to these questions depend partly on your expectations.

If you don’t know why you are here, or what you want, you won’t be able to answer these questions. Sometimes, people choose a path because they don’t have anything better in mind. They adopt a “why not” attitude. They drift through courses, not unhappy, but not fully engaged either. Without a set of reasonable expectations based what they want out of their education, they can’t be truly successful.

So, do you know what you expect and why?

Examine your Expectations

Take time to think about your expectations for your education. How informed are they? Did you know what your education would be like? Will it get you where you want to be? Were you realistic? If you know why you are here and what you want, but find that some of your expectations were unrealistic, then maybe you need to modify your expectations.

Expectations should change a bit when they encounter reality. Like so many things in life, you rarely know what to expect until you have at least some experience behind you. So expect to make some adjustments. When your expectations are aligned with your experience, your motivation and satisfaction increases. If they don’t align, you get frustrated, your courses seem pointless, and your motivation plummets. So, stop often to adjust your expectations.

Own your expectations, and be aware of how they affect you. Stay engaged with your education. If something seems pointless, ask about its significance. If you are inspired by an idea or assignment, connect it to as many other experiences as you can. Look for ways to have your expectations met, and don’t wait on others to do it for you. After all, it’s your education.

Working Around a Holiday Cluster

I love vacation time. I love having time off to rest, putter around, or just have fun. I always make sure I have wrapped up my projects so I can relax and not think about work. I like holidays too. They are a gift of free time, spread out throughout the school year, that I can spend however I like. My problem is that I have trouble staying focused and productive during a holiday cluster.

What is a Holiday Cluster?

A holiday cluster is a bunch of holidays grouped together over a short period of time. I always have to plan very carefully in order to be productive during holiday clusters. I feel like I’m always stopping and starting. Does anyone else have that problem?

It starts with Veterans Day in November. Then we get the Thanksgiving holiday. Then we’re back for a couple of weeks, and it’s off for Winter Break. We get back right after the New Year, but then we take another day for Martin Luther King, Jr., then work a couple more weeks and we’re off for President’s Day. Do you see what I mean? The holidays are all clustered together. It can be hard to find your rhythm with all the starts and stops. It can really mess with your motivation.

My Holiday Cluster Woes

When I was an undergrad, I had terrible time management skills. I tended to work in fits and starts, and I rarely planned past the next day. I was always surprised by due dates and exams. They were always scheduled well in advance, with plenty of notice, but I’d be caught off guard every time. Holidays surprised me too. I mean, I knew we got the holiday, but I never seemed to know exactly when it was. I never prepared for the time off. There seemed to be a lot of due dates around the holiday cluster too. I could have prepared for them, but I didn’t, so either my coursework or my holiday suffered. It was usually my coursework.

I did much better as a graduate student. I was older (much) and I was better at managing my time. And now, I know that I have to keep this stuff on my calendar and get everything done before I enjoy the holiday weekend. I know the return week will be challenging, because, for some reason, 4-day weeks seem longer than 5-day weeks. I still find it a challenge.

How do you work around the holiday cluster? Have you found a way to keep your motivation and productivity up? After all, if we are given the gift of free time, we should be allowed to enjoy at least some of it. Don’t you think?

Traditions from Babylon: Resolutions for Success

Are you part of the nearly 45 percent of Americans who say they make New Year’s Resolutions? The tradition dates back to the ancient Babylonians who made promises to the gods in an effort to gain their favor. While we’ve been keeping the tradition ever since, today our resolutions focus on self-improvement.

Reflection to Resolutions

January 1st is a great opportunity to make resolutions to change academic habits that aren’t working for you. Think back over the last semester.

How successful were you?
Did you meet your goals?
Were your goals attainable?
How well did you balance your academic requirements with the other areas of your life?
Did you manage your time as effectively as you could?
Did you work hard enough to achieve your goals?
If you worked hard, do you need to find ways to work smarter so you can maximize your study time?

Potential academic resolutions lie in your answers to these questions. If everything is running smoothly, that’s great! But if it isn’t, what do you want or need to change? If Plan A isn’t working, then it’s time to move to Plan B or even Plan C. No plan is ever perfect. You should always be updating and changing your plan based on your needs. What worked for you in the past may not work in your current situation. So, make a new plan and meet your goals for academic success.

Resolutions to a New Plan

If you want some help creating a new plan, the Student Success Center has a wide range of resources to help you find what you need. Visit our On Demand Support page to find materials that provide support and guidance. And if you don’t see what you need, tell us what you are looking for. Use the Academic Coaching Request form to make an appointment with a Learning Specialist for personalized guidance and advice. We will work with you to find what you need.

Learn from the traditions of ancient Babylon. Make your resolutions for the new academic year. The Student Success Center is here to help if you. We want you to have a very successful New Year.

Addressing Test Anxiety

You attended the lectures, took the notes, and read all the chapters. You made notecards, flashcards, Quizzlets, outlines, charts, and graphs. You stayed up late and got up early. You studied alone and with your study group. You are ready for your test. You ate a good breakfast. You know the information. You are ready. So, why is it that your heart is racing, your breathing is shallow, and you suddenly can’t remember your own name? You might be experiencing test anxiety.

What Causes Test Anxiety?

Test anxiety can come from many sources. Lack of preparation or lack of trust in your preparation, past negative experiences, pressure to perform well, competitiveness, or lack of physical well-being (like not getting enough sleep) can all contribute to test anxiety.

Let’s talk about preparation for a minute. Have you ever stayed up all night before a test cramming information? You might be able to remember some information, but exhaustion makes it even harder to understand the test questions and apply the details you’re trying to remember. Cramming information the night before a test usually made me feel like I was carrying water in my hands – it all leaked out before I could use it.

How Can You Prevent Test Anxiety?

One solution is to be better prepared. To do this, start studying as soon as new information is covered in the class. Make the time to review your notes/textbook daily. Set aside enough time the week before the exam to go over the most important topics again.

But what if you prepared well, and you still feel anxious? When this happens, try calming yourself with positive self-talk and relaxation exercises. Tell yourself: “I know that I’ve studied. I’m just going to answer each question one at a time”, and then do just that. Answer each question to the best of your ability, and come back to problematic questions at the end if you have time. Try to relax by taking a deep breath in and then exhaling slowly.

With advance preparation, positive self-talk, and relaxation exercises, I am confident that you will be able to handle any exam.

If you’d like more information about addressing test anxiety and preparing for tests, check out our On-Demand Resources or use the Academic Coaching Request to contact a Learning Specialist. If you want to talk about anxiety in general, contact the UAMS Student Wellness Program at 501-686-8408; they’re available to all UAMS students.

Why Use a Contract and Calendar in Group Projects

Disorganized group projects usually result in a lot of needless drama and a low-quality product. Therefore, it is best to organize information and define expectations for every group member. Two weeks ago, I recommended using Google Drive to increase the quality of your group projects. This week, I want to recommend that you reduce the drama from the start with two elements: a group contract and a Google calendar.

Organize with a Group Contract

A group contract clearly defines the roles, responsibilities, and expectations of every member of the group. There are a lot of options for creating a group contract, and what you choose to include depends on your project, your instructor, and the makeup of your group, but there are some elements I consider essentials. These include:

Contact Information: Include everyone’s contact information. Decide as a group, how much information to share, but include your email addresses, since that’s the how you share documents in Google Drive. Cell phone numbers help communicate quickly, but not everyone feels comfortable sharing personal information. Group members should never be pressured to include more information than they are comfortable sharing.
Roles and Responsibilities: Misunderstandings and misplaced expectations are two of the biggest hurdles in successful group work. Avoid them by listing the roles and responsibilities for each group member in detail. Stating things clearly helps avoid conflicts due to procrastination and last-minute scrambling to get work finished. Don’t forget to include writing an introduction and conclusion, formatting, and proofreading in your responsibilities. These tend to get overlooked and can result in a lot of last minute drama.
Project Description: Include a brief description of your project. This will help maintain focus on the big picture while group members work on their individual parts.
Questions/Notes/Suggestions: Include an area for miscellaneous questions, ideas, and suggestions. You will be glad you did.

As I said before, these are the elements I consider essential. There are other elements your group could add if you need them. Just remember that your goal is efficient, effective, and drama-free group collaboration that results in a successful product.

Organize with the Google Calendar

Using a calendar improves your group’s time management and helps avoid missed deadlines. Create a Google Calendar for the project. Then make sure you post the following:

Due dates: Include due dates for outlines, rough drafts, bibliographies, etc. When you add the due dates, add notifications to serve as reminders. You can add more than one notification to an event and elect to have alerts sent as an email, so figure out with your group members how you will set this up.
Class meetings: Group work is often led by what you are learning in class. Post all your class meeting dates so you stay on top of your workload.
Group meetings: Whether you are meeting online or face to face, get meeting times on the calendar so everyone is aware of them. Take advantage of the calendar notifications to make sure everyone gets a reminder.
Status checks: How often will group members need to check to see that everyone is accomplishing things on time and on deadline? Use the notifications settings to send out reminders.

Share the completed calendar with the group. Use the notification features for each event. Let the technology do some of the work. Reminders get sent automatically once they are set, which means that nobody has to remember to remind everyone else.

A contract and calendar define expectations and keep group members on track. Set your group up for success. Use them to reduce the drama and increase your product quality.

Reflect: How are you doing?

At this point, most students are about halfway to mid-term exams, making it a good time to look at how the semester is going. How is your academic performance? Have you set yourself up for success? What about your study skills and test scores? If you aren’t where you hoped to be, it’s probably a good idea to reflect on how well what you are doing is working for you.

Realistic Goals

Goals provide structure to your academic life. They help you focus on what’s important and ignore other distractions. Are you on track to meet your semester goals? If you are, then you probably don’t need to change anything. If not, then you will probably want to consider some changes.

Are your goals achievable? If not, you’ll need to revise them. If, on reflection, your goals are realistic, ask yourself if you you have planned adequately to achieve them. You may need to change some of your habits, like how you manage your time, or try sharpening your study skills. Often, our goals require us to change how we work to achieve them.

Maybe you haven’t consciously set goals for yourself. If that’s the case, I strongly encourage you to make the time to do so. Goal setting should be part of your academic preparation. Without specific and realistic goals, you will find yourself making random decisions you may regret. You can find more information about goals setting on our post, Setting Academic Goals.

Organization and Time Management

I know I’ve said this repeatedly, but the fact is that success at UAMS is dependent on organization and time management. It’s hard to keep up with multiple courses, projects, exams, and family, friends and, often, a job. Are you actively managing your time? Do you know where you are in every assignment? You may need to change the way you manage your time. Learn more by reading Time Management and Organize and Manage Your Time on this blog. You can also find resources to help you under the Time Management tab on our Learning Support page.

Study Skills

Successful students have good study skills. Even if you’ve never had to study much before, you will need strong study habits to meet the rigorous academic requirements at UAMS. Reflect on what you have been doing. Do you feel you are well prepared for your exams? Maybe it’s time to improve how you study and build your skills. You can read more in our posts Sharpen Your Study Skills and Step Up Your Study Skills. You can find more resources under the Study Skills tab on the Learning Support page.

Test-Taking

Test-taking skills begin before the test. In fact, the time to begin preparing for a test is the first day of class. Good test-takers use strategies before, during, and after a test. Reflect on your test performance. If it’s not what you hoped, consider the following.

Before the Test: One of the leading causes of low test scores and anxiety is poor preparation. Students often wait until the last minute to study, and then cram all night trying to catch up. They arrive at the test exhausted and overwhelmed. If they try to replace rest with caffeine they might begin to feel sick, which will make it even harder to perform well. Take a look at how you prepare, including your studying, note-taking, and time management. Making necessary changes will help you improve your academic performance.

During the Test: Even the best prepared students can make errors during the test. They may lose track of time, spend too long on one question, or second guess themselves and change answers that were correct. You may need to look at how you are taking your test, and correct some of your habits.

After the Test: What you do after the test is very important to your success. Good test-takers examine their test results to find the source of their errors. Were you missing the information? Maybe you left questions blank. Analyzing your errors can help you take steps to avoid making them on your next test.

There are more helpful resources under the Testing tab on the Learning Support page.

Make the time to reflect. How is your academic performance? Now is the time to change the things that aren’t working for you. Use our resources to help you improve your time management, study skills, and test taking skills. If you want more personalized help, complete and submit the Academic Coaching Request to make an appointment with a Learning Specialist to find the strategies that will work best for you.

Start Strong

School has now officially started and you are probably already busy with your classes. It is much easier to finish strong in your classes if you take the time to start strong, so take the time now to set yourself up for success.

Set Goals

If goal setting isn’t part of your academic preparation, it should be. Goals provide structure in your academic life. Setting and prioritizing goals helps you to focus on what is most important and ignore other distractions. Without specific and realistic goals, you’ll find yourself making random decisions you may regret. Start strong by setting realistic goals. You can find more information about setting your academic goals here.

Manage your Time

Success at UAMS is dependent on time management. You have multiple courses, projects, exams, study groups, and deadlines, and keeping up with them can seem like a part-time job. To help you manage it all, get a calendar and combine it with a To Do list. I prefer to use an online calendar and to-do app that will sync across all my devices, but if you prefer a hard-copy calendar and to-do list, that’s fine too.

As soon as you can, download the schedules for all your courses and put all your assignments, projects, tests, and deadlines for all your courses on your calendar. This will show you when you are going to be the busiest. Break down your big projects into manageable chunks and work on them a little at a time so you aren’t overwhelmed when the deadline is upon you. Keep tasks on a To Do list and check them off when complete. Having a good system for your calendar and tasks will keep you organized and make your academic life much easier. It is a good way to start strong for success.

You can find more information, tips and tools for effectively managing and organizing your time here.

Identify Help

At some point during your time at UAMS, you may need help. Become familiar with all the services that the Student Success Center has to offer. You might find yourself falling behind in your courses or struggling to pass a class. Don’t wait to seek help. Go get the support you need right away. Check out the Student Success Center on the 3rd floor of the library or browse through our website to discover all the ways we are here to help you achieve academic excellence.