November 07, 2006

BOB

Well I wasn't in class today because of the Macbeth play. Yesterday's class was inspiring... we got our marks and I for one am not happy. I am definitely not where I want to be. Lindsay, Katrin and I decided to form a study group. Mr. K said that our marks our based on how much time, and effort we put into the class. I decided to quit my job, to focus more on school. I think this will help me greatly, because I'll have more time to finish all my homework and get my eight hours of sleep ;) This unit is really short.. we basically learned about left and right hand sums, upper and lower estimates, riemann sums, integrals and areas. The only thing I'm worried about is writing the test. I didn't do so well in the first two tests. I mean I understand what we're doing, and I do the homework.. I just blank out when it comes to writing them. I think I need to take practise tests.. I need to find a way to get over this. BOB do you have any ideas in mind?

2 comments:

Anonymous said...

Hi Linger,

I’m not BOB, but I wonder if any of these tips might be of value, particularly the Practice the Performance one? It ties into your thought of working on practice tests. I’m sure you are doing lots of these already.

Preparation - develop good study habits, spreading studying over several days; ask for additional help when needed; eat good foods, get adequate rest, and exercise to build energy; attend class regularly and complete all assignments in a timely manner; make and take practice tests

Keep a positive attitude - develop reasonable expectations; do not allow your grades to become dependent on the outcome of one exam; avoid negative and irrational thoughts about catastrophic results; set up a system of rewards for dedicated studying and good test performance; encourage yourself

Relaxation techniques - deep breathing exercises, imagery and visualization, and muscle relaxation techniques can help to increase focus an concentration; don't arrive too early or get distracted by others preparing for the test; check to make sure you have everything you will need;

Learn good test-taking skills - do not panic if you can't remember something right away; answer questions you know well first, and then go back to other ones; read questions and directions carefully before you begin; outline essays before you begin to write; keep short-answers short; don't spend a lot of time reviewing answers

Practice the performance: The time limits of an exam, the tied score of a game, or the audience at your performance-all are stimuli that increase your level of arousal and add to your experience of anxiety. If you practice under similar conditions, you'll become less sensitive to these stimuli. For an exam, work through a practice exam (or two!) under the same time constraints that will exist when you take the exam (don't look at your notes, create as many conditions of the actual exam as possible).

You can find some similar information at :
http://www.sdc.uwo.ca/learning/mcanx.html

Your study with your group should be of great value too!

Since you’ve changed your habits, how have you found you are doing?

Best,
Lani

Anonymous said...

Thank you Lani! This is great help =) I wasn't scheduled to work this week and I still have one more week left.. but I found this week to be less stressful. Lindsay, Katrin and I met once this week to go over questions we couldn't get on our own. I found it useful, because we were able to help each other where we needed it. I think that we'll make great progress with our marks. I'm trying hard to change my habit of procrastinating, and I think I can still improve. Anyway, thank you again for the comment, it's greatly appreciated ;)