In my first semester at Trent University, I believe that I did not do as well as I wanted to on my 1001-Nursing as a Profession mid-term exam. It was the only exam where I was not satisfied with my grade. Over reading week, the idea of seeing high school friends kept me away from more important tasks like studying for my exam. This demonstrates my lacking ability to choose what is more important in certain situations. I found myself not following my studying schedule and therefore backing up my time to study.

 

        I logged onto my Trent account the moment I noticed the grades were posted on Blackboard for the 1001 nursing as a Profession course. I looked at my grade, and felt my mood drop tremendously and instantly felt nauseous, emotional and insanely frustrated in my ability to study properly and effectively. I convinced myself that I was going to fail my very first year in university due to that grade. Then realizing, I knew it was virtually unlikely since I had done exceptionally well on my scholarly paper in the Nursing as a Profession course. I also have been doing well in the rest of my courses this semester. In addition, I did exceptionally well on my scholarly paper. I felt a sign of motivation that there was still hope for an improving mark on the final exam for the 1001 Nursing as a Profession course. I am aware that many first year university students experience the same situation. I understand that the high school to university transition is an overwhelming and big step for numerous people. You are not only away from your home for eight months out of the year but also working significantly hard in your program to achieve satisfying marks.

 

        First of all, “Student’s approaches to learning, self-regulation, and cognitive strategies” by Heikkila and Lonka was a compelling article for many reasons. It strongly emphasizes strategies for successful learning. It advocates that self-regulation is the number one factor for student success in studying. Strong self-regulated learners have the ability to alter their studying strategies in order to achieve academic success (Heikkila, and Lonka, 2006). Consequently, a handful of students are challenged with regulating their learning strategies which is correlated with low grades. Furthermore, self-regulation is the first step that any student should consider when fixing their studying habits. In the future, disciplining my mind and body to focus on studying for important examinations will help improve my marks (Heikkila, and Lonka, 2006). In their article, it explores two effective stages before starting the studying process. In the beginning processes, cognitive planning and behavioral outcomes are the most important stages to be successful in studying. A student has to set task-related goals and then construct efficient plans that lead to the achievement of the goal; which is organizing your studying (Heikkila, and Lonka, 2006). In conclusion, this is very important because it assures that you gain control of your learning and makes you fully understand what is needed to be successful in studying for university examinations (Heikkila, and Lonka, 2006).

 

        Another fascinating article by Gurung, “How do students really study (and does it matter)?” explores the idea of studying in the university setting. The largest fraction of university level students spend one hour studying each day. In the group of students who studied for one hour, the most used techniques were mnemonic devices, using examples from chapter material, chapter-end questions to test knowledge and lastly, reviewing figures and tables (Gurung, 2005). Looking back in the past, I noticed when I studied for exams, I frequently used chapter end questions to apply the information I recently learned. I also continuously read over my notes from each chapter, and studied with a reliable group of friends. I realized that these studying techniques were effective because my marks were exceptionally well on the tests I received back. I believed to be more of a visual and social learner rather than a solitary learner. In order to achieve excellent marks on my exams in university, I need to realize what the most effectual strategies are for me. I have finalized by reasoning that the most effective methods for me to achieve higher marks is using diagrams, taking online quizzes, and working in a group with other people. In order to achieve an effective studying ability it is important to stay away from distractions. In this study, students were unaware of the distractions around them like listening to music, texting and using the internet to help study. To be effective, students need to understand that distractions can affect the studying performance. In conclusion, finding the most appropriate studying methods for yourself is important to achieve academic success. Certain methods work with certain people to help retain learned information (Gurung, 2005).

 

 

Heikkila, A., Lonka, K, (2006). Students' approaches to learning, self-regulation, and cognitive strategies. Studying in Higher Education. 31 (1), pp.99-117. http://www.tandfonline.com/doi/pdf/10.1080/03075070500392433

 

Gurung, R. A. (2005). How do students really study (and does it matter)?. Teaching of Psychology. 39, pp.323-340. http://www.uwgb.edu/gurungr/Research/Pubs/gurungstudyskills05.pdf