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| advice_column [2019/10/01 10:24] – edit | advice_column [2020/01/05 22:22] – [How to do well in school] jhoe |
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| =====How to do well in school===== | =====How to do well in school===== |
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| I assume all of you have the mental “horsepower” if you are at CMU in the first place. It is easy to do well if 1) you enjoy what you are studying AND 2) you apply good study “mechanics”. If the former is false, you have a big problem. But, the latter just takes discipline. I was going to write about study mechanics, but then I found [[https://www.cmu.edu/student-affairs/ocsi/academic-integrity/prevention.html |this]]. (This link isn’t presented from quite the right context, but it is the case though that a lot of academic woes could have been avoid in the first place with just good study mechanics.) Now you have an actual recipe for success written down in front of you, do you have the discipline to follow through? | I assume all of you have the mental “horsepower” if you are at CMU in the first place. It is easy to do well if 1) you enjoy what you are studying AND 2) you apply good study “mechanics”. If the former is false, you have a big problem. But, the latter just takes discipline. I was going to write about study mechanics, but then I found [[https://www.cmu.edu/student-affairs/ocsi/students/avoiding/index.html |this]]. (This link isn’t presented from quite the right context, but it is the case though that a lot of academic woes could have been avoid in the first place with just good study mechanics.) Now you have an actual recipe for success written down in front of you, do you have the discipline to follow through? |
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| Studying correctly will make learning more pleasant and productive---all the while taking LESS (not more) time. Nothing is more frustrating (and a big waste of time) than showing up to a lecture and not understanding what the professor is talking about. (Did you do the reading assignment beforehand?) Nothing is more frustrating (and a big waste of time) than struggling on a homework assignment that you fundamentally have no clue about. (Did you wait until the night before the deadline so you cannot get help in office hours? Did you skip the relevant lecture in the first place? Did you do the reading assignment?) These unpleasant scenarios and others like it can be avoided if you had the discipline and mechanics to do the right thing in the first place; trying to make up afterwards is a forever up-hill battle. Every topic you don’t understand well now will make it that much harder to understand the next topic that depends on it---don’t let it snowball. | Studying correctly will make learning more pleasant and productive---all the while taking LESS (not more) time. Nothing is more frustrating (and a big waste of time) than showing up to a lecture and not understanding what the professor is talking about. (Did you do the reading assignment beforehand?) Nothing is more frustrating (and a big waste of time) than struggling on a homework assignment that you fundamentally have no clue about. (Did you wait until the night before the deadline so you cannot get help in office hours? Did you skip the relevant lecture in the first place? Did you do the reading assignment?) These unpleasant scenarios and others like it can be avoided if you had the discipline and mechanics to do the right thing in the first place; trying to make up afterwards is a forever up-hill battle. Every topic you don’t understand well now will make it that much harder to understand the next topic that depends on it---don’t let it snowball. |
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| I often get asked by students (even seniors) the question “do I need to know X for the exam.” This is a sure sign that this student is still under the high-school’ish mentality of studying for grades rather than studying to learn. Ask instead the question “do I need to know X if I want to have a career in Y.” Similarly, when you receive a low grade in a course, worry less about how it impacts your GPA; worry more about what the grade is telling you---you didn’t learn the material as well as you should or as you thought you did. | I often get asked by students (even seniors) the question “do I need to know X for the exam.” This is a sure sign that this student is still under the high-school’ish mentality of studying for grades rather than studying to learn. Ask instead the question “do I need to know X if I want to have a career in Y.” Similarly, when you receive a low grade in a course, worry less about how it impacts your GPA; worry more about what the grade is telling you---you didn’t learn the material as well as you should or as you thought you did. |
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| | =====Simplified Study Mechanics===== |
| | * care about what you are studying |
| | * do the reading assignments before lecture |
| | * attend lectures (and pay attention) |
| | * ask questions when you don't understand |
| | * do homework or lab with intent to learn (not to finish); don't wait until the last minute to start |
| | * have a place where you can work without distraction |
| | * get enough sleep, eat healthy, and exercise |
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| | Seems obvious, no? |
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| =====Asking questions in class===== | =====Asking questions in class===== |
