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Retention of Information vs. Attention

A common query from students is about the retention of information: how can a student best retain information they are learning in class? The number one way to increase retention is quite simply to pay attention. Paying attention doesn’t just mean staying awake in class, it means being actively engaged in the classroom. The amount of information you will retain is directly correlated (in my opinion) to the amount of energy you put into the following: ·          Taking notes . There is evidence that writing information is key to long-term retention. There is a brain-to-pencil connection that just cannot be duplicated, so taking meaningful notes in class is key to retaining information. ·          Asking and answering questions. If you are actively engaged in the classroom, you will also be active in the classroom discussion. The more involved you are in the discussion, the more personally invested you will be and thus that information is retained for the longer term. ·
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The Snail’s Pace of Mid-Semester

I mean. Really. Could the semester be any longer? Has time slowed down? Someone call an astrophysicist because I think something’s wrong with the axial rotation of the earth as well as the earth’s orbit around the sun. If you find that mid-semester is the part of the marathon-that-is-college that completely drags you down, you’re not alone. Every semester, right around this time, I have the most student absences, unsubmitted papers, and dropouts. Seeing as every semester has a mid-semester slump, you can’t just quit after eight weeks every semester – time to make some plans and get some perspective! The next two or three weeks are typically the hardest to make a success, so it’s critical that you focus – right this very minute – on what you need to do to be successful for the rest of the semester. Let’s take a look at a few highlights you will want to remember: ·          Repeat after me: you’re already past the halfway mark and it’s all downhill from here.
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Why You Don’t Want to Cheat to Get Into College

As this huge scandal breaks in the news about wealthy people involved in cheating scandals to get their children into the best schools, it occurs to me that there is an overarching discussion here that is being overlooked: you don’t want to cheat to get into college because if you don’t meet the entrance requirements, it is highly unlikely that you will be successful at that school. If you are a mediocre student, no matter how wealthy your parents are, you will want to go to a school where you and your peers are on somewhat equal footing. Remember that professors have to teach to their audience: if the audience consists of members of MENSA and one mediocre student, that one mediocre student is going to get left behind and will likely not be successful at that school. If a professor’s audience is made up of decent students and a handful of mediocre students, the mediocre student is much more likely to be successful at that school. I’m not completely blind to the social press
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I went to a Nature Journaling class last week and I discovered the most interesting contraption: the Traveler’s Notebook. To clarify, Traveler’s Notebook is both a name brand as well as a thing. Basically, it’s a medium to small sized folder into which you can strap small notebooks for planning, writing, drawing, and so much more! While a Traveler’s Notebook would not be ideal for note-taking in the classroom (they’re just not large enough), it would be ideal for planning, keeping track of upcoming tasks, and tracking any habits you are working to develop. And once the semester is over and you want to start a new notebook, you don’t have to purchase a whole new notebook – you simply switch out the notebook insert (these are about $1.50 each) and you get a clean slate! Within the notebook itself, you can have as many inserts as you want with each of them serving a different purpose! You may have one for your daily to-do list, one for assignment planning, and maybe another fo
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Things I wish I knew as a college student

I was asked this question recently and all I could think was – where would I start? If I could time travel back to my college years or even my early twenties, I would need months to sit down with my young stubborn self to have enough time to really talk sense into myself. One of the reasons I LOVE student coaching is that I get to help students really change their thinking when it comes to dealing with problems and dealing with people – skills I wish I had had when I was in school. Here are a few of the topics I would be sure to address with my college-age self. Keep in mind this is me talking to myself – think of it as an abbreviated diary entry. You often don’t know enough to have an opinion. You’re not dumb, you’re not stupid, and you’re not irrelevant. However, your limited life experiences give you a limited perspective. Before opening your mouth and committing yourself to a stance or opinion, education yourself. (To be fair, my college aged self didn’t have the internet
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Find a Volunteer Opportunity That's Right for You!

So you’re convinced that giving back to your community is the right thing for you – you either have time during the semester or you’re making plans for the break between classes, you have a mode of transportation to get yourself somewhere, and you have the drive to help others by working with people in your community. The part that comes next is the hardest part: finding a volunteer opportunity that suits your personality, values, and interests. Here are a few that come to mind: ·          Your local animal shelter. Animal shelters are often the first suggestion for new volunteers for a few reasons: the animals desperately need attention (playing with animals and walking dogs) and shelters typically have a protocol for volunteers so coming on-board is an easy and well-known process. You typically must complete an orientation and work with someone else your first few times in, but after you get familiar with the system you can come and go as you have time. Shelters rarely allow o
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Give Back to Gain Momentum

If you’re looking closely, you will find an underlying theme of almost all motivational, inspirational self-help guides is giving back – to other people, to neglected animals, and to the environment in general. What is it about giving back that inspires people to propel themselves forward in their own lives? Why does one instance of giving back seem to have such a profound effect when students work tirelessly day in and day out to be their best student? This article from Psychology Today gives some very good reasons to volunteer: ·          Volunteers live longer and are healthier. That sounds good, right? And while this may not hook you if you’re in your late teens or twenties, it will definitely spark your interest by the time you’re forty or fifty and a little creakier in the joints and grayer in the hair! ·          Volunteers build strong relationships amongst themselves and, therefore, volunteering is good for your career. You and I both know that it’s not alway
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