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Academic Skills

The skills required to successfully complete your degree at any university/college cannot be
learned overnight. Some skills may already be in place, others will only come with practice and
experience. These skills also continue to be relevant after you have left your school. The sources
contained on this web page will attempt to form the basis for development of key academic skills.

Note Taking

The best note takers are often the most successful college students.

Part of the challenge in taking good notes is that teaching styles vary from instructor to instructor -
so do lecturing styles. Some instructors are well organized, and some wander; some are story
tellers, allowing students to determine how the story is significant. It is essential for students to
determine an instructor's lecturing style and method for divulging important ideas. This helps
them determine what information needs to be included in notes taken during a lecture.

In order to aid students in developing good note-taking skills in the classroom, it is important to
provide them with a working knowledge about the subject. Therefore, it is critical to have them
actually engage in the art of taking notes during class.

The computer-based version of this course provides basic information about developing
notetaking skills. It also models the development of notetaking skills through a group of virtual
students who are listening to information provided by other members of the group.

TAKING NOTES IN CLASS

1. BEFORE THE LECTURE BEGINS:

o Make some preparation for the lecture so that you will be more likely to predict
the organization of the lecture.

ƒ CHECK THE COURSE OUTLINE to see if the lecturer has listed the
topic or key ideas in the upcoming lecture. If so, convert this information
into questions to be answered in the lecture.

ƒ BEFORE THE LECTURE, complete outside reading or reference

assignments.

ƒ REVIEW THE TEXT ASSIGNMENT and any reading notes taken.

ƒ REVIEW NOTES from the previous lecture.

o Sit as near to the front of the room as possible to eliminate distractions.

o Copy everything on the blackboard and transparencies, especially the outline.

o Have a proper attitude. Listening well is a matter of paying close attention. Be

prepared to be open-minded to what the lecturer may say even though you may
disagree with it.

2. DURING THE LECTURE:

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o Have your lecture paper and pencil or pen ready.

o Write down the title of the lecture, the name of the course and the date.

o Watch the speaker carefully.

o Listen carefully to the introduction (if there is one). Hear the lecture. By knowing
his outline, you will be better prepared to anticipate what notes you will need to
take.

o Be brief in your note taking. Summarize your notes in your own words, not the
instructor's. Remember: your goal is to understand what she is saying, not to try
to record exactly everything she says.

o Try to recognize main ideas by signal words that indicate something important is
to follow. Examples: "First, Second, Next, Then, Thus, Another important...," etc.

o Jot down details or examples that support the mainideas. Give special attention
to details not covered in the textbook.

o If there is a summary at the end of the lecture, pay close attention to it. You can
use it to check the organization of your notes. If your notes seem disorganized,
copy down the main points covered in the summary. It will help in revising your
notes later.

o At the end of the lecture, ask questions about points you did not understand.

o Don't be in a rush. Be attentive, listen and take notes right up to the point at
which the instructor dismisses you. If you are gathering together your personal
belongings when you should be listening, you're bound to miss an important
point--perhaps an announcement about the next exam!

3. AFTER THE LECTURE:

o Revise your notes as quickly as possible, preferably immediately after the lecture
since at that time you will still remember a good deal of the lecture.

o During the first review period after the lecture, coordinate reading and lecture
notes.

Review your lecture notes AT LEAST ONCE A WEEK. Also, review the lecture notes
before the next lecture.

TIPS ON TAKING NOTES

• Collect notes for each course in one place, in a separate notebook or section of a
notebook.

• Write notes on one side of the page only.

• Use a loose-leaf notebook rather than a notebook with a permanent binding. See the
pattern of a lecture by spreading out the pages.

• Write name and date of the class on the first sheet for each lecture.

• Use 8 1/2 x 11 sheets of paper for your notes. This size will allow you to indent and see
the structure of your notes.
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• Do not perform manual activities which will detract from taking notes. Do not doodle or
play with your pen. These activities break eye contact and concentration.

• Enter your notes legibly because it saves time. Make them clear.

• Use abbreviations.

• Box assignments and suggested books so you can identify them quickly.

• Mark ideas which the lecture emphasizes with an arrow or some special symbol.

• Pay close attention to transitional words, phrases, and sentence which signal the end of
one idea and the beginning of another. Listen for words such as "therefore", "finally", and
"furthermore." They usually signal an important idea.

• Take down examples and sketches which the lecturer presents. Indicate examples with
"EX."

• Review your notes as soon as possible. Read through the notes and improve the
organization if necessary.

• Listening and note taking are SKILLS. The more you practice these techniques, the more
skilled you will become. REALLY TRY TO USE AND IMPROVE THESE SKILLS. Soon
you will be able to record the fastest lecturer to your satisfaction.

Concept Mapping

Concept mapping is a technique for representing what you know about a given topic. Concept
maps are an external visualization of a person's internal schema, or how the person
conceptualizes a topic. It is a process of creating a visual "map" or "web" of one's knowledge.
Creating a concept map is a good way for someone to find the key concepts in lectures and
reading. It also allows one to show how different pieces of knowledge relate to one another.

Because concept maps are an external visualization of a person's internal schema, or how the
person conceptualizes a topic, they are an excellent tool for assessing the level of a learner's
knowledge on a given topic.

How to do a Map

• Print in capitals, for ease of reading. This will also encourage you to keep the points brief.

• Use unlined paper, since the presence of lines on paper may hinder the non-linear
process of Mapping. If you must use lined paper, turn it so the lines are vertical.

• Use paper with no previous writing on it.

• Connect all words or phrases or lists with lines, to the centre or to other "branches."
When you get a new idea, start again with a new "spoke" from the centre.

• Go quickly, without pausing -- try to keep up with the flow of ideas. Do not stop to decide
where something should goi.e. to order or organize material -- just get it down. Ordering
and analyzing are "linear" activities and will disrupt the Mapping process.
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• Write down everything you can think of without judging or editing -- these activites will
also disrupt the Mapping process.

• If you come to a standstill, look over what you have done to see if you have left anything
out.

• You may want to use color-coding, to group sections of the Map.

Some Organizational Patterns That May Appear in a Concept-Map

• Branches. An idea may branch many times to include both closely and distantly related
ideas.

• Arrows. You may want to use arrows to join ideas from different branches.

• Groupings. If a number of branches contain related ideas, you may want to draw a circle
around the whole area.

• Lists.

• Explanatory/Exploratory notes. You may want to write a few sentences in the Map itself,
to explain, question, or comment on some aspect of your Map -- for example, the
relationship between some of the ideas.

Time Management

Studies have shown that the average "prep time" for a class is 2-3 hours a week for every hour
spent in class. This means taking 15-credits will require in the range of 45 - 60 hours a week to
attend class and keep up with assignments and studying. This work load is more than a full-time
job. In addition to study requirements, extra-curricular activities, work and family demands, there
is barely time left for leisure activities. Time is a precious commodity, and managing it is a major
concern for nearly everyone. Time management helps students to meet deadlines and to be
responsible. It helps them fit all the different pieces of their life together and complete class
assignments and projects on time without denying themselves a social life, recreational activities,
or other things that are important to them.

For a student, managing time has its own special twists and turns that have to be negotiated.
Nearly every student experiences having more than one final exam scheduled for the same
morning or afternoon, or having two class projects due on the same day. Those things will
happen, and time management techniques will help the students for those events they can
foresee, and cope with those they cannot.

A few tips:

• lay out a timetable for a term or semester.

• determine goals for a given period of time.

• develop a strategy to achieve those goals.

• develop a weekly timetable.

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• develop a daily timetable and "To Do" list.

• avoid common time management mistakes and pitfalls ADD: such as being disorganized
and waiting until the last minute.

Stress Management

Everyone experiences stress at some point in their life. Not all stress is necessarily bad. It is
perfectly natural and an important part of life. This kind of stress is called eustress. However,
stress in its negative forms or stress that continues for too long (distress), can affect your physical
and mental health.

Life changes play a large role in the amount of stress that one experiences. Increasing your
knowledge of stress and how it is perceived is an important part of managing it. Therefore, the
purpose of this section is to educate you about stress and how to cope and manage the stress in
your life.

Key points:

• The stress you experience is something that is largely under your control

• Stress can come from a range of different sources

• Short term stress occurs where you find yourself under pressure in a particular situation

o A certain level of short term stress is needed to feel alert and alive

o Too much is unpleasant and can seriously damage performance

o Short term stress is best handled using mental or physical stress management
techniques

• Long term stress comes from a build up of stress over a long period

o Sustained high levels can lead to serious physical and mental illness if not
controlled

o Long term stress is best managed by changes to lifestyle, attitude and

environment

• By using a stress diary you can monitor and understand the causes of stress in your life.
The diary can help you to evaluate your performance under stress.

• Once you understand what is causing you stress, you can make an action plan for stress
management. This gives you positive goals to work towards.

• Also getting enough sleep and healthy eating habits can help reduce stress.

• In addition, using our other study skills recommendations can help keep you on track and
prevent stress before it starts!
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Problem Solving

Solving problems is clearly a crucial survival skill in an information society because, in order to
survive in the society, we must deal with many technologically advanced issues or works
consisting of complicated, complex problems. Thus business and education leaders emphasize
the need for problem solving skills as one of higher-order thinking skills, which involve
professionals all the time and in all aspects of their lives.

Every person has some problem-solving capability. When students build on these existing skills,
they will be able to successfully tackle significant academic subject matter. It means that no
matter what discipline a student chooses for a career, problem solving plays an important role.
Here, learners see how important problem solving skills are and that when solving problems, the
first step is to identify the true problem.

Skills check list - prioritize these tips and select up to three that you will implement now.

• Read the entire problem and note everything you are unfamiliar with.

• Identify the topic of the problem.

• Write down all the information given.

• Identify the real question.

• Plan your method of attack.

• See if you have enough information.

• Make sure you discard irrelevant information.

• Solve the problem in an organized way.

• Include units in numerical solutions.

• Check your answer.