September 2006:
Number 509
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A newsletter for the students, faculty and staff of the Collin County Community College District. Published monthly. For information or submissions, call 972.599.3142. Cougar News welcomes student and faculty submissions. Next deadline: September 10 All submissions are due by 5 p.m. on the due date. Photos cannot be returned. Text should be emailed to mrobinson@ccccd.edu or sent on disk. Please submit copy that is proofed, edited and saved in Word format. Cougar News staff: Lisa Vasquez, director; Mark Robinson, editor; Marcy Cadena-Smith, contributor; Sydney Portilla-Diggs, campus correspondent; Stephanie Hall, student correspondent; Nick Young, photographer and layout
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Teachers, advisors share resources, study tips
By Stephanie Hall
Student Correspondent
There are no cure-alls when it comes to studying. Sometimes, finding the right study strategy can be a more daunting task than actually doing the deed itself.
But no matter how difficult it may seem to sit down and open those books, few can argue against the fact that studying is typically a giant portion of the learning process.
Students may sometimes find themselves lost as to how to study correctly, but they need not fear. There is an ocean of experience possessed by Collin staff and professors, but students must first be willing to tread these waters.
Many mentors and professors concur that a successful study method has certain essential ingredients: knowing one’s resources, having an open mind, and seeking aid from mentors.
First of all, there are multiple resources at a student’s disposal such as the Learning Resource Centers, writing labs, math labs, and other programs.
“The LRC (library) website provides excellent sources for any topic, and the staff is extremely helpful in locating additional material,” said Pat Peters, director of the Spring Creek Campus Writing Center. “Ask them for help.”
Another useful resource is the writing lab. Consultants are on hand to help students prepare papers worthy of submitting with pride.
“Write your first draft and then come upstairs to the Writing Center where consultants will ask you to read your paper aloud,” said Peters. “During the process, they will make suggestions to improve your style, mechanics, grammar, and documentation.”
If students need more help, Collin provides classes that help students reach their academic goals.
“The teachers are excited about teaching these skills and strategies to help Collin students be successful,” said Marilyn Rice, professor and the districtwide academic chair of Developmental Reading and Collin’s academic and personal enhancement (ACPE) classes.
These classes help students gain essential study skills such as how to:
• Identify your time wasters and make a plan to deal with them.
• Make semester, weekly and daily to-do lists.
• Prioritize your to-do list and complete high priority items first.
• Break down large tasks into smaller, more manageable ones.
• Distribute your studying over time.
• Take study breaks.
• Develop and practice stress-management techniques.
The classes also “teach note taking, goal-setting, test taking strategies, working with learning styles, strategies to increase concentration and decrease stress and procrastination,” said Rice.
Another option provided for most students are the professors and mentors. They give out their office hours, telephone numbers, and email addresses at the beginning of each semester with the expectation that students will consult them when they are having problems.
Each professor and mentor, however, has his or her own method of studying, so students must be willing to swim through all the guidance to find their own individualized method. Even professors tweak their own study habits in order to learn more.
“After all these years of study, frankly there is still much that I do not know, and I strive daily through my readings to learn things that are new to me,” said Dr. David Buice, associate professor of history. “But of that which I already know, the key is repetition, spending as much time as possible with the material, going over it repeatedly in my mind, constantly reading to discover new information, and always striving to find some new and perhaps more interesting ways to convey this information to my students.”
In the end, Buice, Peters and Rice agree on one point: it is each students’ responsibility to have a good, working study plan in place to be academically successful.
“Essential learning is accepting personal responsibility, making appropriate choices, and discovering self-motivation as well as mastering self-management,” said Rice.
“Above all, (students) must keep their eye on the main prize: graduation,” said Buice. However, he doesn’t insist his students be super scholars 24-hours-a-day, seven days-a-week. “You need to take time out occasionally to take care of yourself,” he said.
Each professor has years of experience waiting to be tapped by students eager to improve academically. Whatever method works best, students must realize that studying extends far beyond just opening the textbook to read the required material.
“Learning is not a destination but a journey, a quest, a thirst, that should always be central to or lives as we try to become more enlightened, tolerant, and compassionate human beings,” said Buice.
For more information about the programs set in place to help students achieve academic success, visit Collin’s website www.ccccd.edu, or speak with an advisor.
[PRINTER FRIENDLY VERSION]
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