If I Have Seen a Little Further...

Sir Isaac Newton is credited with discovering gravity and developing three laws of motion. Humbly, however, he once said, "If I have seen a little further, it is by standing on the shoulders of Giants."

Now, as Thanksgiving approaches, I think it would be a good idea to remember that we all, as students at this lovely university, have truly been blessed. We did not get here on our own, though, and it bears remembering the people who helped us get to where we are today.

In 1997, Fred Rogers, of "Mr. Rogers' Neighborhood," was honored with the Emmy Lifetime Achievement Award. During his acceptance speech, he stressed that he only accomplished the things he did through the support of other people. Mr. Rogers had some touching words of gratitude that are worth considering.

Just a thought before Thanksgiving: "All of us have special ones who have loved us into being." - Fred Rogers

A Few Extra Degrees

coming soon!

(College) Bucket List

coming soon!

De-Stress Your Midterms

As midterms week approaches, some of you may be feeling slightly anxious about the tasks you have to accomplish before Fall Break begins. There are a lot of practical things you can do to prepare for your tests and make sure you are organized and ready to go:

• Create a 2-week To Do list, being very realistic about what you must do and how much time it will take
• Catch up on any homework or reading you may have left to do
• Chat with your professor if you have any concerns
• Form a study group
• Work ahead if you can

These, though, are not the only things to keep in mind as you study; you also have to maintain your sanity and not go crazy while cramming...though you shouldn't be cramming to begin with:) Study breaks can be just as vital as the information you are storing in your brains. Here are some tips from me to help take a break from the stress of midterms:

• Take a deep breath and relax; spend a few minutes visualizing a restful place, like the beach or a hammock
• Take a few short breaks for healthy snacks
• Go into the neutral zone for a few minutes and a few hellos
• Watch a half-hour comedy on TV or hulu.com
• Stretch or do yoga
• Watch funny YouTube videos
• Work out
• Laugh for a bit with your roommates--even dance around the room to pump-up music

Remember: Midterms are not the end of the world.  After Fall Break, though, the semester really starts to fly by like you wouldn't believe.

Happy Studying and Good Luck! It'll be Fall Break in no time :)

Need Some Help?

Are you struggling in one of your classes?  Do you need clarification on a topic, or for it to be explained in another way?  Do you need a quick refresher or a quick recap of a certain lesson?

Check out The Khan Academy for quick, simple video tutorials on subjects ranging from chemistry to history to trigonometry!  It's easy, fast and a great extra study tool.

Procrastination and Time Management

Here is a quick recap of what we talked about last week:

Procrastination
Students may experience extra free time upon coming to college--in between classes, on weekends, etc., especially if they are not very involved in extra-curricular activities.  They can run into the routine of not doing much, however, and end up procrastinating tasks they actually must accomplish.  Procrastination, unfortunately, can lead to little sleep and bad study and learning habits.

There are many ways that students can procrastinate, as listed in "How You Procrastinate: The Method Behind the Madness":

• Ignoring the Task
• Underestimating the Task and Overestimating Yourself
• Lower Your Standards
• You are Willingly Distracted
• "Small Delays Don't Matter"
• You are Always Preparing
• Analysis Paralysis

To beat procrastination, check out the technology tips from the Sept. 21 post.  Also, schedule study time regularly; if you have nothing pressing to do, work ahead.  Practice not procrastinating in other areas of your life to develop the habit.

Time Management

As students progress through college, they will join clubs or activities, and their schoolwork will get more demanding.  This can lead to stress and time management issues.  In college, time management is incredibly important because students are in charge of their time--not teachers or parents.  Take a look at some of the changes students may face in "The Differences: High School vs. College".

To develop good time management skills, students could create To Do lists for the day, week and month, prioritizing from top to bottom; cross out tasks once they are completed and relish that sense of accomplishment.  Schedule relaxation time, and be deeply involved in a few organizations to cut out extra commitments.  Also check out these tips from the Mayo Clinic.

By learning to beat procrastination and to manage time wisely, students can develop essential survival skills for college and for life.

Struggling to Juggle

Communication, extracurricular activities, entertainment... There are countless factors in our lives that we struggle to juggle on a daily basis. Multitasking proves to be the method we often choose to manage these numerous commitments.  Research, however, has shown that multitasking is not the best way to get things accomplished; on the contrary, it hurts your productivity.  Recent studies have come out that point to negative consequences of multitasking.

In a "Fresh Air" interview on National Public Radio, New York Times technology journalist Matt Richtel outlined many new developments in the study of how multitasking, particularly with regards to technology, affects our lives.  According to Richtel, scientists have known for a long time that "multitasking" as we think of it does not truly exist, because the brain can only process on piece of information at a time.  When we multitask, our brain is really just switching very quickly between tasks.  This negatively affects our productivity and the quality of our work or what we learn.

And according to the article "Study: Multitaskers Bad at Multitasking" from CBSNews.com, a study from Stanford University suggested that people who multitask are not good at ignoring information that is not important.  In addition, multitaskers have trouble switching from one task to another.  They cannot separate their attention and are constantly thinking of the activity they are not doing.

College presents perpetual opportunities for multitasking, and often it may seem like our only option.  If we do not give our undivided attention to our tasks--particularly our education, the most important task--we risk not performing to the best of our abilities and not making the most of college.

So here are a few tips to avoid multitasking while in class and studying:

• Know how you learn and study best
• Try not to bring your computer to class; if you can take notes without it and that is how you learn best, leave the computer in your room.
• If you like taking notes on a computer or need it for class, turn off your wireless Internet.  It will eliminate temptation. (And it saves your battery!)
• When studying, go with what works for you.  If you need quiet, turn off extra noise (radio, TV, etc.) or go to the library or other quiet spot.
• If you prefer to study with noise, choose things that are conducive to learning: classical music, jazz, movie scores... instrumental is best.  Try pandora.com or slacker.com for free streaming music.
• Keep your phone somewhere else: another room, on your bed, in a bag... just somewhere that's not right next to you.
• If you're waiting for someone to contact you about something important, screen your calls and text messages.
• Reward yourself with breaks for television, Facebook, Twitter, etc. If you have a favorite show and have time for it, maybe schedule your studying around that half hour or hour, but no more. 
• Don't forget that hulu.com is always there the next time you're free, if you missed something important.
• Remember: School is important.  If you really need to focus, you do not have to be reachable 24/7.

Exploring Bloom's Taxonomy

Bloom's Taxonomy is a set of levels of learning goals.  The categories increase in difficulty and learning development, moving from the most elementary to the most advanced.

As you take classes at Creighton, you will be confronted with all of these levels at various times.  By the time you graduate, you should be able to tackle each.  It will be much easier, though, if you know what these verbs mean before you see them on an assignment or test.

You can explore this classification system through a presentation I made on Prezi.com, a great presentation tool for students.

Bloom's Taxonomy encompasses an extensive list of verbs:

1. Knowledge: name, relate, list, tell, recognize, recall, choose, match, label, define...
2. Comprehension: compare, explain, describe, rephrase, outline, relate, classify, identify...
3. Application: apply, dramatize, construct, restructure, model, simulate, use, translate, practice, experiment...
4. Analysis: analyze, simplify, diagram, summarize, classify, relate to, contrast, compare, categorize, sequence, differentiate...
5. Synthesis: compose, elaborate, design, formulate, develop originate, propose, solve, adapt, invent...
6. Evaluation: judge, defend, rank, justify, rate, prioritize, evaluate, support, recommend, prove...

Derived from A Guide to Higher Level Thinking, Ruth Sunda and Kyrene de las Brisas

What Type of Learner are You?

Last week we took the Learning Styles Inventory in class.  It indicates whether you learn better through visual, auditory or kinesthetic means.  Visual learners, for example, need to see learning objectives, such as through images or written words.  Auditory learners need primarily to hear what they are learning.  Finally, kinesthetic learners understand better when they have hands-on experience.

The results may surprise some people.  I, for instance, thought I was an auditory learner, but the inventory shows I lean more towards visual learning; after reflection, I realized this was true.

What kind of learner are you? How can this knowledge help you as you begin taking college courses?