By Cassie Russell,
Time management can be a challenge for both new and returning college students. Instructors can offer tips to getting around this challenge.
“If I had a time capsule and could go back to when I was a student, I would tell myself to not procrastinate,” Nicole Montgomery, SFCC history instructor, said. “Don’t wait ‘til the last minute to write that paper or finish this project; do a little bit everyday for the time period that I have the assignment.”
College life often entails a lot of writing and projects. There is usually a lot of reading involved as well.
“Most people are told ‘skim, read, then read again and take notes,’” Montgomery said. “Don’t do that. Read the book, passage, or chunk one time and take notes along the way. Otherwise you are going to miss information.”
According to Montgomery, annotating is a great tool for students to utilize.
“Sticky notes are your best friend,” Montgomery said. “If you read the page and take notes on a sticky note you can read the sticky and not the entire page over again to refresh memory for that paper or project.”
Teachers are also concerned when they notice that students aren’t taking notes or are taking very few notes.
“I wish students would take notes,” said Alexis Nelson, a SFCC literature and composition instructor. “My experience is that people think they have a memory. They imagine that because they heard it, they will recall it.”
Note-taking is an art that can take students years to perfect.
“I didn’t really know this myself till probably grad school, but its really a smarter idea to actually look at a chapter before you try to sit down and read it,” said Gayle Ekins a Business Writing and Grammar Instructor at SCC. “Some books have more hints than others, so go through it and look at it. Does the chapter have tables, pictures, illustrations, notes in the margin?
“As you look at these and think whether you know anything about this, they create hooks in your brain, then as you actually read the chapter, you can hang the information on the hooks and you learn the information faster and easier.”
“Taking notes is active listening even if you have to make up symbols and draw yourself a key,” said Montgomery
Juggling between school and work can be difficult. If a student works and then comes home to study and is up late, they may think coffee and all-nighters are a good idea.
“Coffee is a good thing,” Montgomery said. “But, all-nighters on the other hand, are not always bad but, try to avoid them because if it’s information you need to know later down the road, you won’t have it because it was only committed to short term memory.”
“The only way you will be able to juggle the things that you need to juggle is make dates with each of them,” said Ekins. “If you want to exercise, put it in your calendar and make time for it. When you need to study make time for it and put it in your calendar. Otherwise it won’t get done.”