Study Skills
Non Traditional Student Time Management
by Redfokker on Feb.11, 2010, under Non Traditional Journey, Study Skills
This has been one of those weeks. Some successes and some challenges. My research paper for English Lit was a big hit with my instructor. MTH 065 is another story though. I have scrambled all week getting ready to take a Module test for this class. Keeping up with the homework for the next module we are working on is in the way of studying for the test. The interference theory of learning is coming into play with this class. The information being processed for the new module being taught is creeping into my study of the test materials. Time management this week has also been a big challenge. I have not been religious about my reading assignments for all 4 of my classes. Trying to stuff Shakespeare into Botany with a sprinkling of Geology has my head spinning. Thank heaven for the President’s Day holiday. No classes to attend. I should have an opportunity to spend some quality time in the books. I have learned the hard way that you cannot get behind in the written homework assigned while trying to keep up with reading. Something usually has to get put aside. Trying to stay on top of time management as a non traditional student is often very difficult for Non Trads with families. I do not have any excuses, my family responsibilities have long flown the coop. I have to contend with a much more insidious time leech…a full to the brim TIVO and the Winter Olympics beginning tomorrow. Just can’t let it run our lives anymore. Seems like a wimpy excuse for letting time management slide. Half the problem is recognizing it I suppose… I always remember my father’s axiom: “Don’t do as I do…Do as I say.” I’ll be back on track within a couple of days, time management will again become a part of my daily affairs. We will have to see how the TIVO feels about it as it records hours of Winter Olympics over the next two weeks. TIVO can be a wicked taskmaster sometimes.
Nontraditional Student Phenomenon – My Research Paper
by Redfokker on Jan.07, 2010, under Non Traditional Journey, research papers, Study Skills
One of the major things I neglected with this blog at the end of last term was to post a link to my WR123 Research Writing class project. This class was one of the most useful that I have taken so far. The entire term was devoted to one major research paper. The skills learned will be invaluable to me throughout my college career. The textbook was a keeper as well, The Bedford Researcher. Search for this one and add it to your permanent library. When it came to selecting a topic and major thesis, I could have taken the easy road and wrote about my History Major topic of World War One aviation, but I decided to stretch myself. With the topic of nontraditional students being top of mind for me lately, I wanted to produce a work that could be beneficial to my Non Trad community. I finally came up with the thesis of: THE NON TRADITIONAL STUDENT PHENOMENON: How has the Non Traditional Student Demographic Affected Teaching Methods and Institutional Accommodations in Higher Education Today. I must have done something right in this class due to my “A” grade. (I received the second 4.00 GPA of my lifetime for Fall Term 2009) Researching this paper was challenging, I did find some great sources about new teaching methods for Non Trads. Statistics about the nontraditional student population in higher education today was a bit problematic. US Dept of Education statistics were somewhat dated. The numbers of nontraditional students have risen over the past couple of years due to the economic situation in the US at present. This information was not as easy to obtain. Just look around your classrooms this week and you can see that the number of older students is increasing. This phenomenon is more pronounced in the Community College setting, but major universities have seen increases in enrollment as well. The student population of Oregon State University has risen to 22,000 this year, up by 8.1% over last year. The trend towards new teaching methods for older students has been addressed for a number of years, and I highlighted some of them (with resources for instructors…) in my research paper. My instructor for Research Writing provided the class with an online “wiki” format to publish our papers. This website is based on a program called Wet Paint. Many of my classmates posted their papers here as well. Feel free to cruise around the postings on this site. The website is WR123.wetpaint.com and this link will take you to the Nontraditional Student Phenomenon paper . Pass this link onto your instructors as well, they may even get a kick out of it.
Non Traditional Student Tools
by Redfokker on Nov.03, 2009, under Study Skills
I’m so excited! I have just installed one of the best tools a Non Traditional Student could ever have – ENDNOTE – Bibliographies made easy. This program is a must have for any serious research writing. If you are a Non Traditional Student just getting started back in college, I whole heartedly recommend this program. Go out and buy it today!! Basically, Endnote will allow you to SEARCH online bibliographic databases, ORGANIZE your references, images and downloaded PDF documents, and most important – CITE WHILE YOU WRITE! I purchased the program Endnote 2.o, there are more updated versions available, but all will do everything you need when writing your research papers for college. I am still in the learning curve…lots of features to master. I did a cursory search of my probable thesis topic about WWI ace, Ernst Udet and was able to start locating some valuable resources. And I have just scratched the surface of this program. As an aside, I find that there has been very little written about Udet. This is both a plus and minus for me. One one hand, the available resources out there are few, but I don’t think my topic will have much competition out there. I found just 17 references in the Library of Congress. I will be digging into academic data bases when I get up to speed with Endnote. One of the really fantastic features of this program is it’s integration with Office 2007. Citation of references will be available with a single click, and the MLA foot note will be magically entered into the document I’m working on. I’ll spend more time with the tutorials on Endnote and report my findings of the other spiffy features as I learn them. If you are a Non Traditional Student that will be writing college level research papers over the next few years, this program is a definite must have. I think there are a number of similar programs out there, but I had this one suggested to me by my History Professor. He said if this program would have been available when he was writing his Thesis, life would have been sooooo much easier!! I will update this post with more information about Endnote. I will be diving into using it for my Non Traditional Student research paper for my WR123 class….Now that I mention this, I have a due date for my mid-term portfolio coming up soon. Better climb that learning curve quickly!
Time Management – Study Skills
by Redfokker on Oct.13, 2009, under Study Skills
One of the biggest study skills that a Non Traditional Student can master is TIME MANAGEMENT! As I sit here posting a blog entry, thinking about all the reading I have to do for ENG 201, HST 201 and my research paper on Non Trads in my WR123 class, I am reminded of what my father used to say to me all the time….”don’t do as I do, DO AS I SAY!” Oh, I forgot to add that I need to study for my first MTH 065 module test as well. The generally accepted ratio for study time is 2 hours of homework for every 1 hour of class time. Like many Non Traditional Students, I look at this ratio and figure…if each day only had an extra 8 hours in it, I would be able to keep up!! Actually, there is a plan that every non trad should consider. Setting up a realistic hour by hour grid system with all of your needed activities for a day listed. Plan the work and work the plan! I find that I have more time in a day for study/hobbies/blogging etc, than it looks like on the surface. By really breaking down your day into manageable blocks of assigned activities, you can utilize your waking hours more efficiently. I went through this process for my first term back in school in my Study Skills Class (CG111). I am embarrassed to say, I have not followed up with this activity during Summer and Fall terms. (again, see above axiom…). The typical Non Traditional Student needs to balance many facets of their day. I am in awe of some of my fellow non trad classmates who hold down jobs, deal with family matters, kids and carry a full load of classes. This is what makes Non Traditional Students such a dynamic demographic in colleges today. We need to keep our heads above water and find time to study. I am researching a paper for my writing class that explores this very subject. I am a wimpy example of a busy non trad, as all I have on my plate is going to school and home to study. No kids, no job, an understanding wife. So I can expect little sympathy. I had better start practicing what I preach…. Oh, did I mention that I have to prepare a power point presentation about Oliver Cromwell and the English Civil Wars for History class on Thursday… Don’t let your classes get away from you, keep on task. Fellow Non Traditional Students are looking for you to be their example!
Five Theories of Forgetting – Study Skills
by Redfokker on Oct.09, 2009, under Study Skills
While reviewing some of my materials from my College Skills Class, I ran into a great description of how we FORGET information. This ties right into my post about Highlighting Notes and Textbooks. Review of studied materials is essential to actually learning it. The following five theories of forgetting are offered by psychologists to explain some of the reasons information can be “forgotten”. The Decay Theory applies to short term memory. It is possible that some stimuli, when received, are too weak. The information simply decays or fades away before it can be sorted or processed. Since this information is never processed, it was really never “learned”. The second theory, Displacement Theory, also occurs in the short term memory. The Displacement Theory states that if TOO MUCH information comes into the short term memory too rapidly, some of the information already in short-term memory is shoved aside, or “displaced”. Adequate time was not given to process the information that was displaced; therefore, it was never really “learned” either. The Interference Theory applies to confusion that take’s place in long-term memory. One type of confusion occurs when the new information you are learning interferes with your recalling or retrieving information that was previously learned. For example, if you once knew how to speak Portuguese, but are now studying Spanish, words that you once knew in Portuguese may be difficult to locate in memory because your newly acquired language skills in Spanish are interfering. This type of forgetting occurs when old information interferes with learning new information. The old information is so thoroughly imprinted that it is recalled or retrieved instead of the new information you are trying to learn. The Incomplete Encoding Theory applies to information as it is rehearsed. Some information is only partially learned or learned inaccurately. When a person tries to recall this information, “forgetting” occurs. The information cannot be remembered because it was not completely processed or imprinted in the memory system. The Retrieval Failure Theory occurs when information has been learned, but cannot be “found” in the memory “bank”. Failure to locate information in memory may be attributed to a weak organizational system for storing or “filing” information or to lack of use. The information learned was not firmly attached or associated to well developed schemas (“file folders in your memory bank”) or ongoing review to practice accessing the information did not occur. We see here that information can be “forgotten” during several different stages of the process of learning information. Effective strategies for taking in information and processing, storing and rehearsing it can reduce or eliminate the effects of these five theories of forgetting.
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Welcome to Reaching Lifelong Goals.com. I am a 54 year old Non Traditional Student. I am a History Major at Oregon State University. Come with me as I return to school after 35 years in the "real world"
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