My new favorite app!

Keeping an agenda is vital to remembering all of the tasks, assignments, quizzes, tests, and general activities going on while in Middle and High School. I found this one when I became a full time Graduate Student, finishing my Masters of Education in Moderate Disabilities. This app is amazing for anyone and everyone juggling school, life, and potentially work as well.

ASK FOR HELP!

Lesson 9: Squirrel 2.0

So here's the scoop! 

I didn't like SQ3R in school any more than you do!!!  

BUT, I'm hopeful that we can put this to some good uses, and that by presenting a couple of different approaches to this study topic help you find the method that works for you!

Lesson 8: ACTIVE LEARNING; learning does take practice.

Active Reading is as much a part of learning as practice for a sport is!
These 4 things are the first steps to approaching active reading.

Active note-taking is the next step, and is just as much a learned skill. This requires thought and effort and continual use. You must use this skill to keep this skill!

DETERMINE TO REMEMBER

Lesson 7: Test Prep and Test Taking Tips

Once you have completed the study phase of your test prep it is time to put all of this knowledge to work.  Remember, when climbing pyramids, you don't start at the top, you finish there; and the same is true with these pyramids.

Lesson 6: Anxiety: Use it or Lose it!

Anxiety is a leading cause of declining grades and poor test performance! I want to help you all find better ways of dealing with this. I have been dealing with depression and anxiety since high school; these tips are things that I have found to work and to be beneficial to me, my family, and my friends.

 

By taking any 4 or 5 of these ideas and making them part of your daily life I believe you can see a decrease in your anxiety level and a more focused course of study. Especially if you find a way to turn your anxiety into a useful tool to beating the cause of your anxiety.

For Deep Breathing, Mindfulness, and Meditation techniques:

4 quick mindfulness techniques 

Meditation for Beginners - 20 Tips 

Deep Breathing 

I beat my dragons - I lost my anxiety and learned to ride my motorcycle, and now instead of dragons in my stomach, I have wings and get to fly and enjoy riding all over New England. You can defeat your dragons and grow to fly!

Lesson 5: Goal Management or "Can't Never Did Anything!"

In July of 2008 I went back to college to complete the last 8 courses of my Bachelor's Degree. I had been out of school for over 10 years, but I had to get this done, and the best way to keep me on track was to let my friends and family know what I was working on and get them to help keep me on track. When I had a tough course, or a long course, or a class I didn't really care for they were there to refocus me, redirect me, give me new ideas, and prod me in the right direction.

The other thing I used to help me stay on track was a chart, a progress chart showing every lesson that I had to submit, and every test I had to take, and finally the rewards I would get once I had completed all of these things.

 

You can see there is still a row of unfinished work to be marked off - this is the list of rewards that I'm still gathering up - finally ending with the Graduation ceremony and celebration in December 2011!

Other tips can help you meet your goals include:

• Work toward this goal every day, it should become as much a part of your daily routine as brushing your teeth.
• Keep all the tools for working on this goal in one place - so that you can always find them.
• If there is a part of the goal that seems obscure or odd - ASK!!! Teachers, friends, and family would love to help if you let us know what we can do to help.
• Have an attitude of "I CAN" remember "Can't never did anything".
• Remind yourself of the benefits of not procrastinating!
• Writing our goals out, making them visable, sharing them with friends, family, coworkers, and even teachers is a great way of getting their assistance, getting their support, gaining useful encouragement, and keeping yourself accountable. Our friends, loved ones, and teachers desire the very best for us - they want good things to happen to us, and if they know what we are working on they are often help motivate us to get things done.