Advisor provides clues to class success
by Sherilyn Neudauer, reporter

    NE students learned about effective listening, note taking, exam preparation and test taking strategies recently during Test Your Best/Study Skills workshop on NE Campus.

   Debbie Kaiser, academic advisor, and David Brownlie, counselor, made the presentation as part of the NE counseling center’s Student Success series.

   Kaiser began the presentation offering information and strategies to help students learn how to better process information on their own and develop a more systematic, confident method of study.

   Students need to conquer their fears and anxieties and put that energy into more effective and more disciplined ways to study, Kaiser said.

   She provided techniques to strengthen study skills and help students become self-motivated and more enthusiastic.

   “When you know what you are doing, and when your studying pays off, you get more involved in your classes and, therefore, learn more,” she said.

   Students actively participated in the workshop, asking questions and offering comments.

   According to Brownlie, students need to be aware of their psychological roadblocks.

   “Concentration requires very active attention, and if it is boring, your mind does not stay active for learning,” he said.

   Kaiser and Brownlie distributed information sheets as guidelines for the workshop.

   One of the sheets listed advice for study skills, reading a textbook, note-taking skills, test preparation and test-taking strategies.

   These topics covered various information from the importance of keeping in contact with teachers, using memory tricks, taking good notes and prioritizing, to the do’s and don’ts when studying or preparing for a test, mastering objective tests, tackling essay tests and relieving test anxiety.

   “The biggest reason for test anxiety is sufficient, well-designed test preparation,” he said.

   The way one thinks about a situation affects how he feels, Brownlie said.

   That feeling affects one’s mental process. Since the body is connected to all of this, Brownlie said, students should practice keeping major muscles relaxed to help keep the anxiety level down to a minimum.

   Kaiser stressed the importance of studying for no more than two hours at a time.

   The brain shuts down, so any studying after that point is just a waste of time, Kaiser said.

   “Use the 30-2 schedule,” she said. “That means study for 30 minutes at a time, break and think about something else, then return and take two extra minutes to review mentally what you have just read and do a quick preview of what is coming up next,” she said.

   Students should attend as many academic support activities as possible, Kaiser advised.

   “They are usually free and always helpful,” she said.

   The counselors suggested students take advantage of the tutorial labs and support centers across the campuses. TCC provides different labs for just about any subject, such as accounting, computers, math, science and writing.

   Students should also talk with their teachers. Any instructor can provide information as to where one can go for help or tutoring.

   “The bottom line is get the help you need,” she said.