student success

Social Success

Contributing Author, Vanessa Lewis, the Student Services Manager, and is known for her sunny smile, warm welcomes, and for rescuing Charlie, the famous UAMS Cat.

Where do we find success? How do we find success? There is a perfect Webster definition for success yet I do believe how we personally define success is diverse. How we measure success can be multifaceted. When I think of success there are varying levels of success in my life. If I set a daily goal to drink 64 ounces of water and I do it, I feel like that is a small goal that I achieved! Bam! Success!

My Goal of Social Success

I was once told that I always had a frown on my face that made me look too serious and unapproachable. Whoa, that stunned me because I never thought I looked too serious. Immediately, I set a goal to smile more and strive to have a friendly presence. I made the term up in my head, “social” success! Now, years later I have people telling me that I am like their sunshine and I smile all the time. Bam! Social Success! These are just simple examples of some personal successes that I make every effort to accomplish daily. The method of small attainable goals can lead to empowerment for the larger life achievements. I acquired the confidence to start making strides toward weekly, monthly, and yearly goals.

Find Your Social Success

This juncture in your student life, I am asking you to implement your very own “social” success. Get more involved in what Campus Life and Student Services has to offer. Come network with your peers in the UAMS Student Center. It is a great place to have study groups, coffee, lunch, or relax in a peaceful atmosphere. This Valentine’s Day we will have a steel drummer playing love songs while you enjoy free refreshments. Next, you can manage March mania by going to a free event at Painting with a Twist on March 2nd. Furthermore, March and April we are extending the Student Center hours from 4 pm to 6 pm for your pleasure of studying together. This may be a small step you take with astounding social success results!

Welcome Back to Work

Someone observed, “There should be a sympathy card for having to go back to work after vacation.” I don’t know who first came up with the thought; now there are several versions circulating on the internet, some spruced up with images. These creations sound like just the kind of diversion someone coming back to work after a break would pursue. Anything to delay full immersion into the cascading stream of activities that is our normal. Well, welcome back. Stop in and say “Hello,” if you have a chance. I too am trying to reorient and forge ahead into the new semester.

With that in mind, it’s a good time to remind us of some helpful basics as we get back to work: Think Back, Look Ahead, Live in the Present.

Think Back

Build on last semester. Recognize the ways in which your knowledge, your skills, and your training will serve you well in classes this semester. Perhaps engage in a short mental review over the big ideas and even some key ideas from your training so far. It’s helpful to connect your learning across various subjects, and it can be encouraging to recognize how far you have already come. You made it—good for you, and go on to greater levels yet.

Look Ahead

Think about the semester to come. I recommend some calendar planning early on in each semester. Use a monthly calendar to lay out key dates for exams, papers, major projects, and so forth. You might also include your own key dates: a birthday or anniversary or Valentine’s Day you must not forget, doctor’s appointments, and so on. Use a weekly calendar to lay out your typical weekly schedule: when are your classes, what hours do you set aside for study, when do you take care of household chores, exercise, etc. Planning ahead will be a key component to success, academic and otherwise.

Live in the Present

Live the life that is directly in front of you with full attention to the moment. The practice of mindful living enhances your wellbeing and helps your success. Ease back into your work. Don’t try to complete the upcoming semester in the first day or the first week. Yet, do get going—complete something significant today.

A Final Reminder—Recreate Periodically

Remember also to plan some recreative activities during the semester. Arkansas Parks and Tourism maintains a calendar of activities around the state. The website address is https://www.arkansas.com/events/. Many of the events are free. You might visit art exhibits and juried competitions in Mena and El Dorado. You might enjoy the monthly performance of music at the Garland County Library in Hot Springs. During January there is an “Artists’ Garage Sale” in Mena where you can buy art supplies and artwork. On February 8 Hope, Arkansas hosts “An Evening with Frederick Douglas” as part of Black History Month. Eureka Springs has a pirate-themed Mayor’s Ball on February 10 as part of its Mardi Gras celebrations. There are ongoing activities all around the state.

Welcome back, then. Enjoy yourself and your loved ones. Have a great semester learning and living.

Essential Trick and Treat Success

Contributing Author, Vanessa Lewis, is the Student Services Manager and is known for rescuing Charlie, the famous UAMS Cat. She offers the following tricks and treats for academic success.

Fear! Daunting! Unnerving! These are some terms that students associate with the month of October and not necessarily because of Halloween. I recall mid-semester anxiety trying to “creep” its way into my sub consciousness. As the semester slips by deadlines can sneak up on you. As scary as this sounds, it is important to remember that how you channel your energy can make a difference in your academic performance.

An Essential Trick for Success

You can benefit from are staying meticulously organized. The digital revolution has prohibited us from writing details down. The typical response is set a reminder on our phone for a deadline. But how many times do you hear an alert or notification and quickly glance at it and dismiss the alarm? I suggest getting a binder or a calendar, and write the details down. There is a cognitive connection when you actually take the time to write important dates. You will retain the information more concretely if the deadline is something you see daily as you flip through your binder. Furthermore, write these dates strategically in varying color schemes to make more pressing timelines stand out.

An Essential Treat for Success

Sleep is a treat to your body! Prioritize sleep and maintain at least six hours each night instead of pulling an all-night cramming session. Sleep is absolutely imperative and critical to sustaining a healthy lifestyle which leads to optimum performance on exams.

We all could don our superhero costumes and act like we do not need help but because you are not afraid to execute my suggestions into your routine now you will be able to come mingle with your peers at the Chenal Country Club, October 27, 8:00 pm-12:00 am and enjoy the fun-filled highly popular Halloween party. Socializing is an additional treat to relieve stress and every student deserves this sweet treat!

The Study Schedule: Your Plan to Defeat Procrastination

We have arrived at that point in the semester when students are looking stressed, and are scrambling to catch up with their workload. Many find themselves losing the battle with procrastination, and end up cramming right before an important exam. Their performance is off, and they can’t catch their breath.

Create a Study Schedule

Creating and sticking to a study schedule is easy to do and will help you win your battle against procrastination. Your schedule will help you stay on top of your work, rather than having to drop everything to study for an exam. It will help reduce your stress and improve your long-term retention of information.

Creating a study schedule is easier when you can actually see time. Use this Weekly Schedule to create your schedule, starting with what I call the non-negotiables. These are things you can’t control: your class/lab/clinic and work schedules. Your non-negotiables tend to stay fairly constant from week to week, making them easy to schedule around.

Second, add the things you can control. Start with your sleep. What time do you want to go to bed? Bed time is an individual decision, but what is most important is that you get enough sleep. Try to make sure you are getting between 6 – 8 hours per night. You can’t learn if you are exhausted, so scheduling your sleep is very important. Next, schedule family time. Again, this is different for every individual, but it is important that both you and your family know when it’s family time. They can better understand your need for study time if they know they have time with you. Another important thing to schedule is time for physical activity. It doesn’t really matter what you do – take a walk, go to a yoga class, play basketball with friends – just make sure you are doing something. Your memory and your stress level will thank you.

Finally, schedule blocks of time to study. The number of hours needed will vary by College and by program, but all will require concentrated study time. Try to schedule study blocks every day. You may want to take a day off – like Friday, when you are exhausted at the end of the week – but otherwise, plan to study every day. This will spread your studying out over time, and give you the opportunity to process new information within 24 hours of its presentation. You will be able to stay on top of the work and still have time for reviewing and connecting the new information with what you learned previously. Planned daily study time is the best weapon you have to fight procrastination.

Make the Most of your Study Schedule

You can get more out of your study schedule if you plan what you will study during those hours. First, work on the new material from the day. Take your notes and turn the new information into a series of practice questions you can use to review. Work through the practice questions then add them to your other materials for review. Second, make time daily to review the practice questions, charts, diagrams, and other materials you’ve created, so you are constantly reviewing and re-testing yourself. Be sure you use the study time you’ve blocked. Don’t skip a study session! That opens the door and ushers procrastination right into the room!

Creating and sticking to a study schedule is the first step in defeating procrastination and improving your academic performance. If you want some help creating your own study schedule or need tips on how to study more effectively, the Learning Specialists in the Student Success Center would be happy to work with you. Just complete and submit the Academic Coaching Request form, and we will contact you to set up a meeting.

Building Your Learning Community

Are there people you’re connecting with during your time here at UAMS? Who makes up your pack, your crowd, your network, your peeps? Are you including the people you collaborate, study, and work with as part of your coursework? What about the instructors and practitioners who serve as mentors and advisers? Don’t forget the students and faculty from your IPE groups. These are some of the people you have in your learning community.

What is a Learning Community

A learning community is a group of people who share common academic goals and meet together to collaborate on coursework and increase their learning. They can be formal structured communities like the academic houses in the Colleges of Medicine and Nursing. They can also be informal groups of the people you go to for exam reviews, group projects, and collaborative research papers.

Benefits of a Learning Community

There are a number of good reasons for building/participating in a learning community.

Study Partners. Being part of a community means you always have a stable group of people working together to make the learning more effective. The students share resources that that can make learning easier. Therefore, they feel more prepared for exams by quizzing one another and explaining difficult information.

Out-of-Class Experiences. Whether it’s service learning, volunteer opportunities, or interprofessional projects, connecting with others in a community will make learning more meaningful, authentic, and interprofessional.

Connections to Instructors and Mentors. Building relationships through service learning and volunteer opportunities with instructors and practitioners will help you know where you will want to go in your profession after you have graduated.

Lasting Friendships and Professional Relationships. The people you connect with today will be the people you will work with as you build your professional career, and move your profession forward in providing the best possible health care experience.

Chances are you have already gathered people both from inside and outside your program into a learning community. They are the people you go to regularly for study sessions and labor with on group projects. Enjoy these relationships. They make your learning better and increase your satisfaction with your time here at UAMS.

Choose What Matters

Welcome to UAMS, especially to students in the College of Nursing! You are the reason I’m here! I am the Student Success Center faculty member who specifically works with College of Nursing students. I’m excited to be a part of what we get to offer to students: Academic Coaching, Peer Tutoring, and many other resources!

When I was invited to write this welcome post, I started thinking about what I would say to my past self. It would be this: Choose what matters most to you, and make time for those things.

As you go through your program, you’ll have multiple things vying for your attention: classes, career, family, yourself. All of these are good things, but by being picky and creating margin in your life, you can make time for the things that matter the most to you.

Choose to Be Picky

When you are choosing where to spend your time and energy, be picky.

It’s easy to think that the more things you do, the better your experience will be. That’s not always the case. In the 1991 comedy City Slickers, the cowboy Curly tells Billy Crystal’s character that in life only “one thing” matters, but that he’ll have to figure out for himself what that “one thing” is.

For some of you, the “one thing” may be forming a study group that works hard together and supports each other; it may be seeking out Peer Tutoring (or being a Peer Tutor) so that you can get the most out of your educational experience. For others, the “one thing” may be deciding with your family how to plan ahead for study time while also leaving space for family time.

Choose the Margin

As you choose to make time for the things that matter the most to you, you will have to say no to some things in order to say yes to others. This is the idea of “margin”.

Margin in life is just like a margin around a page – it’s a planned space that allows for life to be imperfect. I used to try to say yes to everything I possibly could: spending time with friends, volunteering at every event that came my way, reading every book that I thought would help me accomplish my goals. What I finally realized was that spending time doing everything left very little time for the things that actually mattered to me.

I started creating margin in my life. I volunteered at one place I really cared about. I stopped scheduling events on top of each other & hoping that I somehow could magically create more hours in the day. For you this may look like leaving 10-15 minutes earlier so that you can arrive refreshed for class or work even if traffic is bad. Or it may be saying no to a night out 3 days before a test so that you can say yes to doing well on the test and yes to a celebratory night out when the test is over.

Choose the One Thing

When you think ahead to this semester, and your next few years here at UAMS, choose what matters most to you, and make time for these things. Be picky about where you spend your time and energy, and give yourself margin for life to be messy. Your “one thing” may look different from someone else’s, and that’s okay.

As you work through decide what matters most to you, and make time for these things, I’ll be happy to help in any way I can.

Tips for Testing Well

When it comes to testing well there is no substitute for planning and preparation. There are, however, some practical approaches, or test-taking strategies, you can use to ensure that your performance accurately reflects your preparation.

Test-taking strategies improve how you take a test. They include your attitude and how you read and answer test questions, and can be used across disciplines. Using good test-taking strategies improves your testing skills, often resulting in higher scores and increased confidence. Common strategies include

Carefully reading the directions
Knowing the types and number of questions
Answering the easy questions first
Managing your time carefully

Testing well will also require that you know how to approach more complex and difficult questions. These questions often present a detailed scenario, and then ask you to supply a specific piece of information or part of a process. Use the following steps to improve your performance on these types of questions.

Work the Question

The first step is to zero in on what the question is asking. In complex questions it can be difficult to figure out exactly what the questioner wants. Some of the details in the question can be distracting, so you need to work the question carefully in order to know how to answer it. Try to come up with a likely answer in your head. If your answer differs from the response options, you probably didn’t analyze the question correctly.

Read all the Answers

One of the biggest mistakes people make when taking a test is to select the first “correct” answer and move on to the next question. Most questions will have more than one response that sounds correct, so it is important to carefully read them all.

Eliminate Options

It’s easier to get to the correct answer if you eliminate the obviously wrong answers. Sometimes the options will contain distractors. These might be answers that have subtle errors in them, or have absolutes like always and never. Distractors tend to sound good, but aren’t quite right.

Apply the “Most/Best Rule”

Once you have narrowed your options, it’s time to choose the best answer. One strategy is to apply the Most/Best rule. Generally, the answer that applies to most of the people, most of the time is the best answer. Unless the question is asking for an outlier, it is unlikely that best answer will be a 1/200 occurrence.

Planning and preparation are still key to testing well, but using good testing strategies can increase your confidence and help you bump up your scores. You can find more resources to help you improve your test-taking skills and a tutorial on our Learning Support page.

Easing Test Anxiety

Have you ever been taking a test when suddenly everything goes blurry, you can feel your heart begin to race, and you start having trouble understanding the test question? I have. For me, it was test anxiety.

What Causes Test Anxiety?

Test anxiety can come from many sources. It can come from not preparing well, having had difficult testing experiences in the past, or having your mind on outside circumstances (like not feeling well or worrying about something at home or work.)

Preparing Well

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.

Instead of waiting to prepare for an exam until the night before, start reviewing materials and testing yourself as early in advance as you can. Preparing early can give you more time to learn the information. It also can take away some of the fear of the unknown that can come when thinking about an upcoming test.

Testing Well

What if you prepared well, but you still feel anxious when you’re taking the test? If this happens, recognize how you’re feeling, accept that it’s normal to feel nervous, and then take steps to re-focus on what you know. Take a deep breath, and choose the best answer option for each question. Focus on what you do know, and make your best educated guess on questions you’re a little unsure about. You can always revisit questions at the end if you want to.

Being Well

Take care of yourself before the test. Know where you need to be for the test, and when you need to be there. Since you’ve already been studying for the test, you won’t need to review at the last minute, and you can take that time right before the test to practice a relaxation exercise, read something that makes you laugh, or eat a snack.

Anxiety before a test is normal, coming from our desire to do our best. Planning ahead so you are well prepared, employing good test-taking strategies during the test, and taking care of yourself so you are rested and feel well when the time comes will help ease your anxiety and help you feel more confident going into the test.

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 form to contact a Learning Specialist. If you want to talk about anxiety in general, contact the UAMS Student Wellness Center at 501-686-8408; they’re available to all UAMS students.

Record Audio Study Notes

Everyone knows someone can see a movie or listen to an album once and then recite the dialogue or lyrics from memory. Auditory or Aural learners prefer to learn information by listening, rather than reading. One helpful way to study is to consolidate and summarize information, then record the summaries and listen to them. This is easy to do if you have an audio recording app on your phone.

Most cell phones come with an voice recorder already installed, and for most students, it will have enough features to meet their needs. For example, iPhones come with Voice Memo, which allow recording without time limits. But there are many other apps, free and paid, available for both iOS and Android devices. Below are four of the most popular.

Dictaphone lets you dictate notes and memos, as well as record lectures, seminars, and meetings. There is no limit to recording length, and you can upload recordings to Dropbox, SoundCloud, Google, Evernote, Skydrive, and Box. The recorder will pause automatically for incoming calls, and allows you to sort recordings by name, date, or size. iOS and Android. Free

Audio Memos is an easy to use audio recorder full of powerful features. There is no limit on recording length or number of recordings, and it allows for background recordings while you multitask. Sync your recordings with iCloud to access anywhere. It will pause automatically for incoming calls, and email your recordings to others. In-app purchases allow you to extend the features. Upload to Dropbox, Google Drive, Box, or Evernote, add pictures to your recordings, and edit them. Use it in lectures, meetings, and study sessions. iOS and Android. $

Voice Recorder HD is a full featured voice recorder app with unlimited recording time and background and Bluetooth recording. Email your recordings or upload to Dropbox. It will sync with iCloud and is sharable through AirDrop between two iOS devices. The app is easy to use and is good for students who need to manage multiple recordings. iOS and Android. $

Just Press Record is a simple, professional audio recorder with unlimited recording time, speech to text transcription, easy sharing, and more. Recordings are organized by date, are searchable, and sync instantly via iCloud to all your devices. It will record in the background while to use other apps, allowing you to multitask. iOS only. $$

If listening to information helps you better remember it, consider using an audio recorder app on your cell phone or tablet to make recordings you can listen to during your study sessions.

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.