HOW TO GET THE BEST GRADES WITH THE RIGHT AMOUNT OF EFFORT

HOW TO GET THE BEST GRADES WITH THE RIGHT

AMOUNT OF EFFORT

Carrie Carson, MA, C.OGuidance Counsellor

4 KEYS TO SUCCESS

1.Know your outcome

2.Take action, ANY action

3.Find out what WORKS and what DOESN’T

4.Adapt and Overcome*

#1 KNOW YOUR OUTCOME

To succeed, you need to know when you HAVE

Make CLEAR goals and BE PRECISE

I would like to be a good student

vs.

I am going to get an 80% in English

EXERCISE # 1

In one minute, write ten key words that define this term for you; first ten words that come to mind

GOOD STUDENT

YOU SHOULD NEVER BASE YOUR GOALS ON OTHER PEOPLE’S

PERCEPTIONS OR EXPECTATIONS

#2 TAKE ACTION, ANY ACTION

You do NOT need a hard and detailed plan!

Make a list of all the things that will help you get closer to your goal

Example:

I will make a list of all my courses

I will start to write neatly

I am going to clean my desk tomorrow

EXERCISE # 2

On the back of the sheet you already used for

exercise 1, make a list of ways that could

help you study better!!

#3 FIND OUT WHAT WORKS AND WHAT DOESN’T

1. Observe your classmates

2. Find the strong students in the class

3. Ask what they do to achieve those grades

4. Ask for the specific things they do/ Ask questions:

How long do you study? How often do you study? What way they study?

#4 ADAPT AND OVERCOME

Unfortunately, we DON’T always reach our goals the FIRST

time around

Making small adjustments each time around is EXTREMELY IMPORTANT in order to succeed

First Time: I read the chapter

Second Time: I read the chapter quickly and then re-read it again

slowly

“SUCCESS BREEDS SUCCESS”

As you become successful in one aspect of your life, the others seem to come around in an almost magical fashion

The 80-20 Rule

20% of the course material will represent 80% of the marks in an exam or course

20% of your studying time will yield a grade of 80%. It will take the other 80% of the time to get the other 20%

The trick is knowing how to study in order to yield better results with less amount of time!!!

URGENCY AND IMPORTANCE: WHAT GOES WHERE?

IMPORTANT & NOT Urgent

*Project in a month = 35%

IMPORTANT & URGENT

* Final Exam in 2 days = 70%

NOT important & Not urgent

*Book report = end of semesterWorth 10%

You should start ASAP but not urgent

NOT important & URGENT

*Quiz Tomorrow = 5%

You need every percent you can get, you should be doing this between

other things

URGENCY

IMPORTANCE

EXERCISE # 3: FILL IN YOUR PERSONAL MATRIX

IMPORTANT & NOT Urgent IMPORTANT & URGENT

NOT important & Not urgent NOT important & URGENT

URGENCY

IMPORTANCE

5 STEPS TO HELP YOU GET EVERYTHING DONE

1. Make a to-do list

List all of the tasks that you have to doThis list can be as long as you NEED it to be

2. Assign a time to each task

Estimate (guess) the amount of time you will need for EACH task

If you are unsure about the time it is better to overestimate


3. Total time by subject and by week

Item List Time Week 1 Week 2 Week 3

HISTORY

Read Ch 3 1 hour 30 min 30 min

Notes Ch 3 30 min 15 min 15 min

Assignment 1 hour 30 min 30 min

Total hours 2 hr 30min 45 min 1 hr 15 min 30 min


4. Schedule the blocks of time (week 2)

Time Mon Tues Wed Thurs Fri Sat Sun

4:00

5:00 Ch 3 Ch3 Notes

6:00 Assig. Assig.

7:00

8:00

9:00

Total 15 min 30 min 30 min


5. Know important dates in your life

School = midterms and finals

Sports = scheduled games and competitions

Personal = parties and holidays

LEARNING STYLES

1. Visual See things more than they hear Learn quickly Don’t need things shown repeatedly

If you are predominantly visual, you will describe what things look like, what people were wearing, what the surrounding looked like, the relative position of things,

and the brightness or darkness

LEARNING STYLES

2. AuditoryNeed to hear things Need to repeat it to themselvesNeed to take a lot of notes

If you are predominantly auditory, you will describe what you heard during the event, what people said and

how they said it. Intonations and rhythms make a difference to you. You can decipher different sounds;

i.e. quickly and easily recognize peoples voices on the telephone.

LEARNING STYLES

3. Kinesthetic Highly developed sensory perception (touch)Greatly aware of their environment Learn differently than visual or auditoryHave a harder time in school as they need to place

themselves in the material

If you are predominantly kinesthetic, you will describe your feelings during the event. You will mention the temperature, and weather. You will also describe the proximity of others around

you

Learning Styles

You simply need to understand the type of learner you are in order to benefit

HOW TO WRITE DOWN AND REMEMBER EVERYTHING THE TEACHER SAYS

Use colored pens and pencils

The more visual cues you can create, the easier it will be for you to recall later

Underline and accentuate important items

Multistroke

Be Creative

BoxesCircles


Draw figures, charts, and graphs

Blue + Yellow Green


Write notes legibly

If your notes are not clearly written, there is a good chance they were never really understood

Studying for exams can be extremely frustrating if notes are not legible

You can use abbreviated words: relat. (relationship), psych (psychologist), w/in (within), w/out (without), etc.

You can create acronyms: ASAP (as soon as possible), TTYL (talk to you later), NBD (no big deal), etc.


Review your notes regularly

Not at the last minute = STRESS and possibility of researching a difficult topic or asking for extra help

If you review your notes after each class, then you know what problem areas you need to work on and you then have the option of getting extra help

If you have extra time, your notes is always a good way to learn them

re-writing

STUDY SHORTCUTS

1. Carry something to read everywhere you go

Waiting for a bus; waiting for our parents; etc.

2. Give yourself feedback and reinforcement

Give yourself a goal and then reward yourself for accomplishing it

• One hour of reading = one hour of TV

STUDY SHORTCUTS

3. Don’t beat yourself up over non-successes

You are human! Humans make mistakes!!!

STUDY SHORTCUTS

4. Try to simplify things

The simpler your answer to a question, the better your understanding

5. Study by objectives, NOT by time

Give yourself a goal and work towards it, do not base it on how long you think it should take or how much time you are giving yourself to complete the task

Objective: complete the task

STUDY SHORTCUTS

Read before going to class

Math = listen and then go home and read the materialOther classes = read the material ahead of time

• This will give you a better understanding of what the teacher is going to talk about

You will be ahead of the game at the end of the semester if

you can come to class already aware of what the teaching

will be talking about. While your peers will be hearing

about it for the first time, you will already be hearing it for

the second time

WHAT WILL BE ON YOUR NEXT EXAM?

1. Preparing for exams

Refer to Past ExamsAsk your teachers if you don’t remember the last exam or

check the returned test

Identify Exam QuestionsAs your teacher is going through the notes, put an “E” in the

margin next to areas that could be good test questions.If you don’t understand something put a “?” in the marginAsk your teacher…over and over and over again!!!!!!!!

WHAT WILL BE ON YOUR NEXT EXAM?

Does cramming work?

Yes and No – Very RiskyIt works better if you only have exam to study forCramming results in mediocre grades, who knows what

you could have received if you hadn’t crammed

IF …..

you are pumped and full of energy while cramming and

can maintain this throughout the exam, you will increase

your chance of remembering

HOW TO ACE EXAMS EACH AND EVERY TIME

Check the details

Know the time and place

Make sure you have EVERYTHING you need

Know how much time you have for each question

Start with the easiest questions and move to the harder ones = that way you get as many points as possible = this will also build your confidence


Essay Questions

Read each question from start to finish

Jot down any ideas you have so you do not forget them

Do not ramble - If it’s not necessary to the point you are trying to make then DON’T SAY IT!!!

Practice before the test date


Math or Problem Solving Exams

Scan through the exam quickly Start with the easiest questionsSkip questions you don’t know; there may be a trigger in

other questionsMake sure you are answering the question being

asked (i.e. if they ask you for the value of x, do not give the value of y)

Take your time = easy to make calculation errors

BUILDING THE ENDURANCE TO MAINTAIN SUCCESS

Eat well and drink a lot of water

Sleep well

Exercise: healthy body = healthy mind

QUESTIONS?

Documents

HOW TO GET THE BEST GRADES WITH THE RIGHT AMOUNT OF EFFORT