Academic Success Strategies

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Academic Success Strategies
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Structure Your Life Situation

• Can you
• Take a full load of math/science engineering
  courses
• Commute over an hour each way to school
• Work 20 or more hours per week
• Respond to demands placed on them by their family
• Maintain an active social life
• And perform well academically?
• Yes, but is not easy.

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Structure Your Life SituationLiving Arrangements

• Where should you live?
• Live on or near the university campus. The more
  immersed you can get in the university
  environment, the better your chances of success
  will be.
• Commuting takes time, energy, and money and
  living at home can present problems.
• Parents may expect you to help with the household
  duties.
• Little brothers and sisters may be noisy and
  distracting.
• Neighborhood friends may not understand your need
  to put your studies ahead of them.

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Structure Your Life SituationPart-Time Work
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Structure Your Life SituationInfluence of Family
and Friends

• Let all family members know that you want to make
  school your 1 priority.
• Ask for their help, and negotiate clear
  agreements about their demands on you.
• Why should you develop new friendships at Lamar?
• Building a support system in which "friends help
  friends" to achieve the same academic goals.

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Don't Be Hung Up on the Idea of Seeking Help

• Do you feel that seeking help is a sign of
  weakness?
• We all rely heavily on others to live, grow, and
  thrive
• Take full advantage of the many resources and
  learning opportunities your campus offers you
  you are paying for it (or somebody who cares
  about you!)
• Ryans Physics example from UT
• What are two immediate resources available to
  help you with your academic work?
• Your peers
• Your professors

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Don't Be Hung Up on the Idea of Seeking Help

• What are the benefits of using your peers and
  professors effectively ?
• Develop important interpersonal skills
• Your ability to communicate and interact
  effectively with others at different levels of
  the academic hierarchy will transfer well to the
  corporate hierarchies
• You will also show that you are not only open to
  the idea of seeking the help of-others, but that
  you know how to search out the right people,
  given your needs
• Ryans Dr. Pape example Probability and
  Statistics 1
• Companies will be impressed by this openness and
  ability as well.

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Making Effective Use of Your Peers Help

• Do you have friends that are not as serious about
  college as you are ?
• If so, you may want to limit the time you spend
  studying with them they will be the first to
  say whats on MTV tonight?
• Do you prefer to study on your own rather than
  with a group?
• I think you need a mixture of both depending on
  the class
• The "lone-wolf" approach to your academics may
  have worked for you in high school, but it is
  doubtful that it will work for you in engineering
  study where the concepts are much more complex
  and the pace much faster.

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Studying In Groups

• Research shows that students who engage in
  collaborative learning and group study
• Perform better academically
• Persist longer
• Improve their communication skills
• Feel better about their educational experience
• Have enhanced self-esteem.
• You'll be better prepared for the engineering
  "work world."
• You'll learn more
• You'll enjoy it more

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Studying In Groups

• Why does studying groups work?
• "two minds work better than one. "
• More information be brought to bear
• You will have the opportunity to see others'
  thought processes at work.
• "if you really want to learn a subject, teach
  it." - When two students work together
  collaboratively, in effect, half the time one
  student is teaching the other, and half the time
  the roles are reversed.

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Studying In Groups

• What percentage of your studying should be done
  in groups?
• Between 25 and 50 percent
• Prior to coming together, each member of a group
  should study the material and work as many
  problems as possible to gain a base level of
  proficiency.
• The purpose of the group work should be to
  reinforce and deepen that base level of
  understanding.
• The better prepared group members are when they
  come together, the more they can accomplish
  during their study sessions.

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Studying In Groups

• What is the ideal size of a study group?
• Ideal size is two. Study "partners." When two
  people work together, it is easier to maintain a
  balanced dialogue, in which each is the "teacher"
  for half the time. Triads can work well too.
• In larger groups, it can be difficult to ensure
  equal participation, and members often feel the
  need to compete for their "fair share" of the
  time.
• Even between study partners, a conscious effort
  may be required to keep one of the two from
  dominating the dialogue.

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Important Roles for Your Professors

• Give you the benefit of the doubt on a borderline
  grade
• Provide you with invaluable one-on-one
  instruction
• Give you academic advising, career guidance, and
  personal advice
• Monitor your progress and hold you accountable
  for your performance
• Help you find a summer job in industry and even
  hire you on their research grants
• Serve as a valuable reference when you apply for
  jobs, either while you are a student or after you
  graduate
• Nominate you for scholarships or academic awards

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Take Responsibility for Winning Over Your
Professors

• You must overcome any fear or intimidation of
  your professors
• What behaviors should you avoid?
• Coming late to class
• Sleeping in class
• Talking in class
• Doing homework in class
• Leaving class early
• Failing to do the assigned homework

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Take Responsibility for Winning Over Your
Professors

• You must overcome any fear or intimidation of
  your professors
• What behaviors should you avoid?
• Coming late to class
• Sleeping in class
• Talking in class
• Doing homework in class
• Leaving class early
• Failing to do the assigned homework