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Preparing for Midterms You may have observed that by midterm of the semester, your son or daughter’s workload has increased dramatically. Major tests are scheduled and a number of project deadlines may collide. College freshmen in particular may now begin to understand the need to juggle these many responsibilities, and parents often want to know how they might be able to help. First, you might want to remind your son or daughter of the many campus resources that might help. They might want to identify responsible classmates to form a study group or take advantage of their instructors’ office hours to discuss questions about key concepts. In addition, the Learning Assistance Program offers a number of free resources, such as tutoring for most courses as well as interdisciplinary tutoring to help students develop overall strategies. Drop-in help labs for math, physics, and accounting are also available. Individual consultations with a learning skills advisor and elective courses are available. The Writing Center offers individualized support to students at any stage in the writing process, for any class. In addition to these services, you may also want to ask your son or daughter a few questions: 1. Have you been using your planner? Juggling multiple deadlines means students need to find a system that works for them. Typically, students should always carry a paper planner or a cell phone PDA can help them keep up with upcoming due dates, meetings, events, etc. It is important that they consult the planner frequently, looking ahead at least 2 weeks at a time. Reverse planning can also help—a student identifies the due date, then breaks up the work into mini-deadlines to lead up to that final due date. This technique can help alleviate procrastination by breaking up what may seem to be an overwhelming task into more manageable steps. 2. Have you begun treating college like a full-time job? For a college student, their job is to attend every class and set aside time every day to study for each class. The work should not take place just a few days before midterms, but rather, should be an ongoing process. This mindset may also ease the transition from college to the working world. 3. Which review strategies work best for you? Everyone is different with respect to what will help them understand and remember what they learn. Students who deliberately seek out and develop active ways to engage with their studies will remember more, and will be more likely to enjoy the process. Many ideas and strategies for review can be found at www.lss.appstate.edu. |
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