Study Skills Series

Image courtesy of scui3asteveo

Have you ever been up all night finishing a paper or project that had been assigned for months? Have you ever sat down to study for a huge exam, and realized you don’t even know where to start? Have you ever spaced on an assignment and sat in your chair as everyone else turned it in? Have you just started college and realized that this stuff is hard and you can’t just skate by anymore?

Do you need better study skills?

Over the next three months or so, I will be doing a series on study skills and strategies. Posts will go live on Tuesdays and Fridays, and might even include a guest post from Michael over at The Paperweight. (I know, two days a week for the next three months? Seriously? Yes, I have a lot of material.)

Study and organization skills are something a lot of people feel uncomfortable with. I have taught and will be teaching them in a variety of face-to-face interactions, so I feel pretty confident that I know what I’m talking about. My first post will be about textbooks, and what to do with them before school starts, and will be up on Tuesday. My college is starting classes on Wednesday, but I know a lot of other schools aren’t starting until the next week, and some have already started. I’m hoping to get right into some topics that will be helpful to everyone, whether they’ve already started or still have another week to relax.

Feel free to let me know if there is something you’d like to see me cover or just spend more time on, or if you have questions about a specific topic. I’m also interested in what other people have to say on this topic, so if you’d like to do a guest post, email me.

To keep up with this series, you can subscribe by RSS or subscribe by email.

Before we start though, take a moment to think about these questions. Better yet, write down your answers so you can revisit them three months from now.

• How do you feel you are doing in school?
• In what areas of academics would you like to see yourself improve?
• How do you think you can make these improvements?
• Where do you want to be by the end of the semester? By the end of high school/college?

It’s all right if you can’t answer these questions right away. I just want you to spend a little time thinking about and analyzing yourself as a student.

Update (1/16/09): New schedule planned. Tuesday posts will be related to a specific skill, like note-taking or exams. Friday posts will be more geared toward personal development, and will discuss things like organization, goals, and learning styles.

Next post: Textbooks.