Strategies for Creating Success in College and in Life On Course Strategies for Creating Success in College and in Life Chapter 1 GETTING ON COURSE TO YOUR SUCCESS

FOCUS QUESTIONS TAKING THE FIRST STEP What does “success” mean to you? When you achieve your greatest success… what will you have, what will you be doing, and what kind of person will you be? Consider asking students to spend two minutes jotting down their initial answers to these questions. 2

Success Is staying on course to your desired outcomes and experiences, creating wisdom, happiness, and unconditional self-worth along the way.

THE POWER OF CHOICE: THE KEY TO YOUR SUCCESS Success in college—and, in life—depends on the quality of the choices we make. This course is about making wise choices that promote success as you define it. Let's take a look at the eight "choices of successful students."

CHOICES OF SUCCESSFUL STUDENTS 1. 2. 3. 4. 5

CHOICES OF SUCCESSFUL STUDENTS 5. 6. 7. 8. 6

Write a Great Life Journal work is an excellent approach to uncovering hidden truths about ourselves…… Marsha Sinetar

Five Suggestions for Creating a Meaningful ON COURSE JOURNAL Copy directions. Be spontaneous. Be honest. Be creative. Dive deep!

SELF ASSESSMENT: WHY? What is the purpose of the Self-Assessment? To assess your strengths and weaknesses in the eight "choices of successful students." What is the value of this information? As you develop the “choices of successful students,” you make wiser choices and, thus, achieve more of your desired outcomes and experiences.

MAKING YOUR SELF-ASSESSMENT SCORE VALID Do NOT try to figure out the "best" response for each item. The best response is an honest one! Remember, the purpose of this self-assessment is to give you an accurate picture of where you are today on each of the eight choices.

SELF-ASSESSMENT: PREDICTING YOUR SCORES Before you begin the Self-Assessment… Review the eight Choices of Successful Students (see the inside front cover). On which of these eight choices do you think you will score highest? Why? On which of these eight choices do you think you will score lowest? Why?

QUICK REVIEW: EIGHT CHOICES OF SUCCESSFUL STUDENTS Personal Responsibility Self-Motivation Self-Management Interdependence Self-Awareness Lifelong Learning Emotional Intelligence Belief in Yourself

ONE STUDENT'S STORY: Jalayna Onaga As you read Jalayna's story, what statements reveal her weaknesses in the Eight Choices? For example, "And I never asked anyone for help" shows her weakness when it comes to choosing Interdependence. Realizing what she truly wanted for herself allowed Jalayna to make a strong commitment to being successful in college. What do you really want and how will a college education help you achieve it?

BECOMING AN ACTIVE LEARNER FOCUS QUESTIONS How does the human brain learn? How can you use this knowledge to develop a highly effective system for learning? Consider asking students to spend two minutes jotting down their initial answers to these questions. 14

THREE PRINCIPLES OF DEEP AND LASTING LEARNING Prior Learning: Relate new information to previously learned information. Quality of Processing: Use numerous and varied deep processing strategies. Quantity of Processing: Use frequent practice sessions of sufficient length distributed over time.

Quantity of Processing QUICK REVIEW What principle of Deep and Lasting Learning is reflected in each of these examples? Remembering what I learned in my tennis class, I decided to try using topspin in racquetball. After each class, I organize my notes, creating outlines or graphic organizers to help me remember the important points. In math, I do at least fifty practice problems of each type! Prior Learning Quality of Processing Quantity of Processing

CORE LEARNING SYSTEM Collect- collect information/skills Organize- organize information so that it makes sense to you Rehearse- practice to strengthen neural networks and improve skills Evaluate- assess the effectiveness of your learning

BECOMING AN ACTIVE LEARNER How could you apply the three principles of deep and lasting learning to a course that you are now taking? Be specific.

The next slide provides the answers… JOURNAL REVIEW This chapter offers five suggestion for creating a meaningful On Course journal. List as many as you can. The next slide provides the answers…

This list is repeated on the inside back cover of On Course. How many suggestions for creating a meaningful On Course journal did you recall? Copy directions. Be spontaneous. Be honest. Be creative. Dive deep! Instructors: if you wish, you can pause after each image to allow time for students to identify each related suggestion before clicking for the words to appear. This list is repeated on the inside back cover of On Course. 20

On Course Principles at Work Career success or lack of it affects nearly every part of your life: family, income, self esteem, whom you associate with, where you live, your level of happiness, what you learn, your energy level, your health, and maybe even the length of your life.

Career Success Hard skills – the knowledge needed to perform a particular job. Soft skills - taking responsibility, making effective decisions, setting goals, managing time, prioritizing tasks, persevering, giving strong efforts, working well in teams, communication effectively, having empathy, knowing how to learn, exhibiting self-control, and believeing in one’s own self-worth.

ON COURSE PRINCIPLES AT WORK Identify each of the following as a "Hard Skill" or "Soft Skill." Properly mixing epoxy tooth filling material Identifying bacteria cultures Working well in teams Planning work time in order to get everything done on schedule Effectively applying tax laws to help a client avoid an IRS audit Setting work-related goals Hard Skill Hard Skill Soft Skill Soft Skill Hard Skill Soft Skill

APPLYING THE CONCEPT A career specialist once said, “Having hard skills gets you hired; lacking soft skills gets you fired.” In your work experience, what evidence have you seen that supports this statement? Explain what happened.

Self -Esteem Is the ability to value one’s self and to treat oneself with dignity, love and reality. Virgina Satir

BELIEVING IN YOURSELF: DEVELOP SELF-ACCEPTANCE FOCUS QUESTIONS Why is high self-esteem so important to success? What can you do to raise your self-esteem? Consider asking students to spend two minutes jotting down their initial answers to these questions. 26

Tips on Raising your Self Esteem Stop comparing yourself to other people. If you play this game, you're likely to compare yourself in a negative way and set yourself up for continuing to have low self esteem. Why continue to play a game where you've set the rules against yourself, so that you're less likely to win!   Don't keep putting yourself down! You can't develop high self esteem if you constantly repeat negative comments about your skills and abilities. Other people will pick up on it and take on board the negative way you view yourself. How are they likely to treat you? Also don't beat yourself up over "mistakes" that you've made - learn how to reframe them so that they work for you.

Using positive affirmations is an excellent way to raise your self esteem. If you can program your mind to repeat negative phrases about yourself (and see how effective that's been!), then you can certainly get into the habit of continually thinking (and saying to yourself) positive statements about you. When you do, allow yourself to experience the positive feelings about your statements. Also use inspirational quotes to assist you.   Accept all compliments graciously. Don't dismiss or ignore them. When you do you give yourself the message that you do not deserve or are not worthy of praise, which reflects low self esteem. It also means that others will become more reluctant to praise or acknowledge your abilities, if you don't. Take advantage of and use life coaching programs, workshops, books on how to raise your self esteem and develop a more positive attitude. Whatever material you see, read it acts as subliminal learning, which means that it will plant itself in your mind and dominate your behavior. Talk about food for thought - what diet is your mind on? Is it a nourishing one?

Mix with positive and supportive people Mix with positive and supportive people. Who you associate with influences your thoughts, actions and behavior - another form of subliminal learning. Negative people can put you and your ideas down and it lowers your self esteem. On the other hand, when you are surrounded by supportive people, you feel better about yourself, which helps to raise your self esteem. Learn how to develop your positive personal support network.   Acknowledge your positive qualities and skills. Too many people with low self esteem constantly put themselves down (back to no 1 again!) and don't appreciate their many positive attributes. Learn how to truly affirm and value your many excellent qualities. If you find this difficult, ask others to tell you. They'll come up with things you would never have imagined! Stop putting up with stuff! Not voicing or acknowledging your needs means that you are probably tolerating more than you should. Find out what you're putting up with and zap those tolerations. By doing so, you're giving yourself the message that you're worth it.

Make positive contributions to others Make positive contributions to others. This doesn't mean that you constantly do for others what they could be doing for themselves. But when you do make a positive contribution to others, you begin to feel more valuable, which increases your sense of your own value and raises your self esteem.   Involve yourself in work and activities that you love. So many people with low self esteem stop doing those activities that they most enjoy. Even if you're not in a position to make immediate changes in your career, you can still devote some of your leisure time to enjoyable hobbies and activities. Start taking action! The universe rewards action. Backing away and avoiding challenges means that your self esteem muscles become weak and flabby. When you start to take action - regardless of the outcome - you will start to feel better about yourself, develop your self confidence and raise your self esteem.

SELF-ESTEEM Psychologist Nathaniel Brandon said, “Self-Esteem is the reputation we have with ourselves.” How do you think the “reputation we have with ourselves” is formed?

ONE STUDENT'S STORY: Phyllis Honore What did Phyllis need to accept about herself before she could make positive choices? How did that acceptance help her get on course to her success in college? Choose one key quotation from Phyllis's story that provides an insight into being a success in college and in life. Be prepared to explain your choice.

WISE CHOICES IN COLLEGE If you were going to spend a number of years in a foreign country, what would you do to prepare for a great experience? What does this suggest about preparing yourself for a great experience in the strange and mysterious country called "Higher Education?"

REVIEW: THREE PRINCIPLES OF DEEP AND LASTING LEARNING Which principle relates new information to previously learned information? Prior Learning Which principle uses numerous and varied deep processing strategies? Quality of Processing Which principle uses frequent practice sessions of sufficient length distributed over time? Quantity of Processing

KEY CHOICES FOR GETTING ON COURSE TO YOUR SUCCESS Developing Self- Acceptance Becoming an Active Learner Taking the First Step: Self Assessment

TICKET OUT Which of the eight choices of successful students do you think has the most potential to help you get on course to achieving your desired outcomes and experiences? Why? Have students show you their answers in their journals or have them write their responses on a small note card and hand those to you at the door. 36

End Chapter One