Making the Most of the New Year

A new semester is now in full swing. It is your chance to implement lessons learned from last semester. Regardless of your major or the class, you are here for a reason and should strive to make the most of every course you are in this spring at UIS. Here are strategies for doing just that.

Pay Attention. Keep your eyes wide open. Watch what is going on up on the board, where your instructor is going on the computer, and what your classmates are saying in class discussion. Make eye contact with your instructor when she or he is speaking.

Listen Up. Give your full attention to classroom discussion, lectures, and announcements. Texting, IM, email and social networking can wait until after class. The break in communication with your friends will give you and them space, which is both necessary and healthy for your relationships.

Speak Up. Ask questions about anything you don’t understand. Offer answers when your instructor asks the class questions. Take part in discussions by saying what you think about a topic. Class participation can make or break your final grade. Do think before you speak, however, because asking too many under-considered questions might reveal that you were not listening. Also you don’t want to dominate every class discussion or interrupt your peers or instructors.

Hands On. Use your clicker to respond to class surveys or quizzes. Take notes to help the information sink in and don’t be surprised by how note-taking jogs your memory later. Engage in all learning activities and with any technology tools offered by your instructors for learning such as Blackboard, podcasts, lecture capture, wikis, or blogs. A unique part of your UIS education is the wide variety and frequent use of state of the art educational technologies. These will help you retain the material better and offer the added benefit of allowing you master new technologies that will make you more knowledgeable and marketable.

Stay tuned. Even when you are not in class you can improve your class performance by keeping engaged with the material between class meetings. Listen to the news that relates to your class subjects. Read your assigned material and take notes. Do crossword puzzles. Read a daily paper. Journal or blog about your passions. Plan out your weekly schedule. Email your parents or write your grandparents about what you learned at UIS this week. Keep your mind active, even on the weekends.

Source: American Girl Scholastic: Middleton, WI 2005.

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