Chapter 1: Time Management

1. Chapter 1: Time Management You are in charge of your time management. Everyone gets the same hours in a day—24. What you do with your time in college is key to your success. Plan daily and plan intentionally for each hour of your day. Time is a very precious commodity.

2. Discuss your best time-management practices/tips. Discuss your areas that need improvement. On a daily basis, starting today, what are three things you could do to better manage your time?

3. Log use of your time for a week.Write down on paper how you spent each hour. What have you learned from this exercise? Discuss what you have learned with a peer and develop goals for improvement.

4. Find two websites that have practical and useful tips about time management. What are suggestions you can apply?

5. Read again and review the time-management tips on pages 10-12 of your text. Put a plus or minus by each tip, indicating if you are presently using this tip (+) or could improve/begin using (-).

6. Chapter 2: Learning Styles How do you learn best? Based on text, what is your learning style? Write down five sentences about how you learn best.

7. Find out about your classmates/peers’ preferred learning styles. Take a class poll. Have each person describe his or her preferred style and share one tip about how he or she learns best or a strategy that works.

8. Build effective study strategies. Discuss and develop a list of best tips for studying. Form small groups and review suggestions on page 19 of the text. Make a list of the most effective study strategies. Seek input from upper-class students and college graduates.

9. Changing and improving study habits: High school vs. college. Discuss the purposeful study habits that are critically important to succeed in college. How have your study habits changed and/or improved since high school?

10. Make a personal plan of best practices. Think carefully about the information from this chapter related to learning styles as well as study habits. What are your top three goals for personal improvement?

11. Chapter 3: Reading Skills Practice using the SQ3R method found in the text. Use it while reading text material. List ways you can use this technique in your studies.

12. Practice using the mapping technique in your text (page 23). Use the mapping technique as an active reading strategy with text material. How can you use this in the future to enhance your reading?

13. Review the “Make the Most of your Reading Tips” in the text (pages 25-26). Put a plus (+) or minus (–) sign by each tip, indicating those you use now (+) and those you could use in the future (-).

14. Rate yourself and your reading abilities. Write three to five sentences about each rating. If you need to improve your reading skills, where can you get help and assistance on campus?

15. List and share your best active reading techniques. Review “Be an active reader” (page 25). List three to five tips for becoming a more active reader.

16. Chapter 4: Writing What can you learn? In small groups, list ten or more things you can learn through writing papers. Share your top three advantages with the class.

17. Make a list of all of your writing assignments for this semester. Categorize your assignments, such as reaction paper, research paper, opinion piece, and so on. What do you need to do to plan for these assignments and do a quality writing job for each one?

18. List the reasons why writing is a very important life skill. Think about a career you are considering. How will you need to use writing in this career?

19. What are your best tips and techniques for producing high-quality writing assignments? Do you prewrite/write/rewrite? If not, try this technique on your next writing assignment.

20. Plagiarism is a serious problem for college students. Locate and discuss your campus policy on plagiarism.

21. Chapter 5: Diversity Think about your present campus-based experiences. Divide your paper into two columns. Record your experiences with diversity in the first column and what you learned from them in the second column.

22. Use the previous activity as a springboard for discussion. What can you do in college to increase your learning about diversity?

23. Develop an individual plan! Identify three ways you can add more opportunities related to diversity in your campus goals/activities. Discuss them with your peers.

24. Read and review the “Expanding Your World View” section (page 42). Prior to your next class, choose two of these suggestions and complete them as homework. Write a paragraph about what you did and what you learned.

25. The benefits of community service are highlighted on pages 46-48. Make a personal plan to engage in community service this semester. Summarize your plan and share it with a peer in your class.

26. Chapter 6: Taking Notes Rate your present note-taking practices: excellent, good, mediocre, poor? Indicate why you gave yourself this rating. List three to five ways you can improve your note-taking based on information in this chapter.

27. Tips for effective note-taking. Review all tips on pages 56-57. Put a plus sign (+) by each tip that you currently use and a minus sign (-) by tips you don’t use. List three goals for improvement.

28. Review note-taking methods. Form three small groups and review the note-taking methods in the text: Cornell, Sentence and Outlining. How can these help improve your note-taking skills?

29. Practice using all of these methods. Using content from the textbook, practice using each of the three techniques listed above. What are your preferences and why?

30. Select a method to use in each of your classes for a week. Try using a preferred method for one week. Report on what worked well and what remains challenging to you.

31. Chapter 7: Critical-Thinking Skills What is the significance of “critical-thinking skills” in your day-to-day routine? How can these skills inform your studies?

32. Define critical thinking. Based on your work on pages 66-67 in the text, create your own definition of critical thinking.

33. Review the best practices/tips on pages 69-73 of the textbook. Going through each of the 20 tips, put a plus sign (+) next to tips you currentlyuse and a minus sign (-) next to tips you can use in the future.

34. Develop a plan. Think about how you could improve your own critical-thinking processes. Write out a plan for improvement/extension of your present practices. Include three to five suggestions.

35. Locate two Web sources. Investigate two credible Web-based sources that help you learn how to improve your critical-thinking abilities.

36. Chapter 8: Studying for & Taking Tests What works as effective strategies for test-taking? In small groups, list five highly effective strategies from the text or personal experiences.

37. Test prep tips. Review the test prep tips on pages 80-81. Select two and create a plan to improve your skills based on these tips.

38. Do you experience test anxiety? If you’ve experienced test anxiety, share any tips you’ve used to manage it. Review and evaluate the tips on page 82.

39. After the exam: What can you learn? In small-group discussion, list three to five ways you can enhance your learning and test-taking skills after the exam. Implement these suggestions.

40. Upper-class student survey. Prior to the next class period, survey two upper-level students. Ask for their best advice regarding test preparation and test-taking. Share a list of these suggestions with the class.

41. Chapter 9: Personal Planning and Goal-Setting Individually, write responses to the basic questions at the top of page 89. Share and discuss your responses with a peer.

42. Develop a plan for achieving personal goals. Based on the prompts on page 89, develop three goals that you can implement this month. One month from now, assess your progress and refine your goals.

43. Setting a good schedule. Develop a daily, weekly, monthly, and semester schedule. List each step of this process; analyze the tasks required for completion.

44. Plan for internships. Carefully planned and researched internships add considerable practical value to your studies. List five reasons why planning an internship is beneficial to your academic career.

45. Learn about planning and goal-setting. Identify upper-class students who appear to have well-focused goals. Talk with them about goal-setting and planning, then list three to five of these tips that you can implement in your studies.

46. Chapter 10: Financial Responsibility Critically review and complete the “Budget Breakdown” on pages 98-99. Make a list of five areas that you can work on to improve your overall financial health.

47. Talk with people who know your financial habits and practices. Share your self-assessment with someone you’re comfortable with; ask them for suggestions on how to improve your financial habits.

48. Being a savvy spender. Review the tips for “Becoming a Savvy Spender” on pages 100-101. Highlight areas where you can improve your spending habits.

49. Credit card usage and credit scores. Research two reliable websites with information on how to use credit cards responsibly. Research two additional sites about how to achieve and maintain a good credit score. Make a to-do list of ways to improve your practices in both areas.

50. Financial aid. Study the financial aid Web site of your campus. Write down questions and suggestions for applying for or enhancing financial support. Create an action plan to become more knowledgeable about your financial aid situation.