SLS Strategies For Success Final (Chapter 5-7)

Job Search Tips

-Create a well-organized resume that communicates key accomplishments -Write a customized cover letter that communicates your interest and explicitly shows a connection between the required job duties and your experiences and accomplishments. -Focus on your network as this is the most likely to lead to job offers -Identify employment opportunities and companies that match your values, interests, and abilities -Research companies prior to applying and interviewing -Prepare and practice prior to your official interview -Send a follow up thank you note that communicates your continued interest in the position

Revision Tips and Strategies

-Start by reviewing assignment expectations -Allow time (a day or so) before beginning the review process

Major-Specific Coursework

-Taking the required coursework in your declared major will help you learn the discipline-specific knowledge and skills related to your area of study.

Beginning and Ending Strong: The Golden Rule

1. Tell the audience what you are going to say. 2. Saying it, and then. 3. Telling the audience what you just said.

Developing A Plan

Begin by focusing on your outcome or destination (goal). Choose a clearly defied topic; not one that is broad. Organize your main ideas and supporting details.

Academic Integrity

Engaging in academically honest behaviors. It involves doing your work without unapproved aids and creating your own academic product, such as a paper or presentation, while giving appropriate credit to those who shaped and influenced your work.

Financing Your Education

Need-based scholarships- based on your financial situation; requires you to apply for FAFSA. Merit-based scholarships- offered to students with exceptional academic performance. Scholarships can be one-time or renewable and often have GPA requirements. Loans- must be paid back as you are borrowing the money. Generally, you have to start paying back loans six (6) months after you stop attending school (graduating or no longer attending).

Citing Sources and Paraphrasing

Paraphrasing- summarizing someone else's idea in your own words. To avoid plagiarism: - Cite all ideas unless they are purely your own or are considered common knowledge. -If you are using someone else's exact words or other work, be sure to use quotes. - Always cite the source whenever you are paraphrasing someone else's thoughts or ideas.

Plagiarism vs Cheating

Plagiarism- presenting someone else's work as your own. Cheating- engaging in any activity that gives you or another student an unfair advantage.

Online Classes

Synchronous- class meets on scheduled days and times, but the meeting is online rather than in person. Asynchronous- class members are not scheduled to be online on the same day and time; work is completed at any time of the day as long as it is submitted on time.

Using Multimedia Effectively

The Multimedia Principle (Images Are Powerful) -Adding an image significantly increases learning The Coherence Principle (Less Is More) -Keep the slides focused on one or two main points. The Signaling Principle (Bring Attention To Main Points) -Highlighting or emphasizing main points through tools such as arrows or larger, bold fonts increases learning. The Personalization Principle (Conversation Language) -Use simple conversation rather than more formal language; avoid complex terminology. The Modality Principle (Be Quiet) -Use only images or very few words with narrated descriptions. If there are a lot of words on the screen "be quiet" and let the learner read the slide silently.

Audience Engagement

The involvement and attentiveness of your audience members. -Give a brief one or two question quiz. -Poll the audience with a show of hands. -Pause for questions or brief comments. -Encourage a Turn and Talk.

Managing Performance Anxiety

The most effective way to manage performance anxiety is through preparation. These factors are positively connected to high-level performances: -Total time preparing for the speech and total time spent practicing. -Amount of time spent on preparing the visual aid. -Total number of rehearsals. - Time rehearsing silently and time rehearsing out loud.

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Establishing Good Credit

-A credit score communicates how well you are managing your finances. Credit scores are used to determine eligibility for loans, interest rates or even rewards programs; so having a good credit score is very important. -Pay bills on time. -Get a credit card. -Use your credit card wisely: only charge up to 25% of the limit.

Elective Options: Minors and Double Majors

-A minor is a great way to get more in-depth knowledge in an area of interest while still having some free electives to explore other areas as well. -Students who want to explore two fields in depth can often double major, but it is difficult to complete all the requirements on schedule.

Crafting An Elevator Speech

-An elevator speech is a very brief description of your skills and goals that is used to summarize your key strengths (about 30 seconds long). It forces you to determine which strengths and values are most important to highlight. Tips for creating an effective elevator speech: -Keep it simple and short. -Focus on one or two key accomplishments. -Be creative and use your imagination. -Know your audience.

Test Taking Strategies (Multiple Choice)

-Anticipate Answers -Reading all choices -Eliminating Wrong Answers -Skipping Difficult Questions -Writing on the exam to highlight key terms, draw figures or diagrams, and mark questions -Changing your answer if you have a good reason -Prepare as if you were taking an essay exam -Carefully read questions while removing answers from view -Highlight key terms

The Writing Process

-Begin with a strong opening that clearly addresses the purpose of the paper and your main idea. It should also gain the reader's attention and interest. -Keep your concept map or outline in front of you, reviewing it regularly as you work. -End with a strong conclusion that summarizes the key points.

Staying Motivated: Behavioral Motivators

-Behaviorism is the belief that consequences guide our actions -Use rewards; they serve as a positive consequence and we get a positive feeling when getting a reward is associated/connected to a task Reward Strategies: -Celebrate the positive feelings of accomplishing a task -Reward yourself with a fun activity after working hard on a task -Share your accomplishments with friends and family so that they can celebrate with you -Be sure the reward is personally meaningful to you -Match the reward to the task- small rewards for small tasks and big rewards for big tasks

Celebrate Success

-Celebrating can increase motivation, positively impact your overall well-being, improve your self-efficacy, and increase the likelihood of future success -Sharing your accomplishments allows others to know about your success and join in on the celebration

Cognitive Feedback vs Outcome Feedback

-Cognitive: occurs during the homework or studying process. Involves making judgements about your progress to guide your behaviors. -Outcome: occurs after receiving a grade or other feedback from your professor. Involves engaging in reflection to guide your future actions. -Exam wrapper: reflecting on your study behaviors and on the nature of the errors made.

Networking

-Establishing and maintaining personal and professional relationships with others -Networking is related to social capital: the collective value of all social networks and the trust, reciprocity, information and cooperation generated by those social networks. -It's about who you know; quality over quantity

Self-Determination Theory

-Focuses on how our needs for autonomy, competence, and relatedness impact our personal growth and well-being -Autonomy: your ability to be self-sufficient and function independently -Competence: your belief in your ability to complete tasks (self-efficacy) -Relatedness: the need to feel a sense of belonging and to be connected to others

Understanding Curriculum Requirements

-General education or core requirements -Major requirements -Minor requirements or free electives

Mindset

-Having a positive, productive mindset is one of the most powerful factors associated with being resilient -Seligman's learned optimism, Rotter's locus of control, Dweck's growth mindset

Support

-Having others in life is one of the most important factors associated with being resilient -Being around others who share your passion and goals and are willing to keep at it until the goals are achieved will make it more likely that you develop grit -Quality over quantity when regarding support systems -Individuals with higher levels of support are more likely to be resilient -The key is to have a support system that meets your needs -Support systems can include family, friends, significant others, or professionals such as mental health providers -Utilize campus support for help through professors, tutoring, advisors, librarians, personal and career counselors, disability service providers, resident advisors -Stick with tasks, develop a positive mindset, and have a strong support system

Connecting With Your Advisor

-Helps you determine your interests, values and abilities -Assist with identifying possible career pathways -Provide access to academic and career resources -Inform you of academic and professional opportunities -Provide encouragement and motivation, especially when challenges are encountered -Expand your network -Assist with course selection -Serve as a member of your support system

Strategies To Help You Be Academically Honest

-Know definitions of plagiarism and cheating. -Focus on learning as your goal. -Prepare well for exams. -Use effective time management strategies. -Learn how to cite sources appropriately. -Consult tutors, librarians, and professors as needed

Seligman's Learned Optimism

-Learned optimism: believing that individuals with pessimistic thought patterns can learn to instead develop optimistic thought patterns Ways to become more optimistic: -Focus on the positive -Start each day with a positive thought -Talk about positive events with others -Surround yourself with optimistic people

Rotter's Locus of Control

-Locus of Control: a belief system about whether your actions contribute significantly to consequences -Internal vs External: -In: belief that your actions significantly impact your consequences, you are in control -Ex: belief that your actions have little or no impact on consequences -Students with an internal locus of control perform better -To increase internal locus of control, think about how your effort plays a significant role in the outcome

Attribution Theory

-Looks at how we interpret our successes and failures -Internal: something within you caused the success or failure -External: something outside of you caused the success or failure -Changeable: you have the power to change the cause -Unchangeable: you do not have the power to change the cause Shift to a productive attribution style; focus on: -The amount of time you invested and your study schedule -The strategies you used when reading, note-taking and studying -Whether or not you asked for help or support -Overall effort Two types of mistakes that should be avoided: 1. A mistake causing harm to you or someone else 2. The same mistake (because learning didn't take place) -Develop a mistakes-are-for-learning mindset -View mistakes as learning opportunities and focus on internal, changeable factors such as effort

Strengthening Your Network

-Maintaining contacts -Volunteering for tasks that have high visibility -Participating in community events -Professional activities -A solid network can provide you with a strong support system and give you access to new career opportunities.

Creating an Academic Plan

-Mapping out when you will complete all of the academic requirements needed for graduation, identifying which electives to take, and determining what additional learning opportunities such as co-curriculars or study abroad you would like to take advantage of as a college student.

Social Motivators

-Our relationships with others significantly impact our motivation for tasks -Surround yourself with a social network that shares your commitment and passion for success to help you get/stay motivated -Getting involved on campus can also help increase your motivation

Cognitive Motivators

-Our thoughts impact our moods and behaviors -Our interpretation of the events in our lives lead us to be more or less motivated -Look at your thought pattern and reduce negative thoughts -Self-efficacy is the most powerful motivating factor in student success Build self-efficacy and confidence with more positive messages: -Have courage to take risks and try new tasks -Identify action steps you can take now to move towards your goals -Reflect on your academic experiences -Expect mistakes to happen from time to time -Access help when needed

Expanding Your Network

-Participate in extracurricular activities -Attend college or community sponsored events -Join professional organizations -Stay in touch -Volunteer Mentoring Relationships: -Seek out a faculty or professional mentor. This will help you learn valuable skills while also developing a professional relationship. -You may also find it rewarding to be a mentor, as you gain additional listening and problem-solving skills, as well as improve your own decision-making, information literacy, and critical thinking skills.

Maslow's Hierarchy of Needs

-Physiological Needs: be sure to eat a good breakfast and sleep well in order to strive toward self-actualization. -Safety: emphasize safety and use college campus security, police, or the counseling department to address any concerns. -Love and Belonging: the need for belonging is strong and can be met through a variety of ways, such as sense of community in a classroom, being part of a sports team, club, sorority, fraternity, or other campus organization. Living in a residence hall is another way to facilitate a sense of belonging. -Esteem: academic self-esteem is based on your academic performance. If you are not doing as well as you had hoped, reach out and access help from your professor or other campus resources. Students who feel good about themselves and their accomplishments are more likely to stay motivated and move towards self-actualization. -Self-actualization: addressing all of your lower-level needs and staying motivated leads you to reach your potential and achieve your goals.

Test Taking Strategies (Short Answer and Essay)

-Planning (1/5 of the time) -Writing (3/5 of the time) -Proofreading (1/5 of the time) -Read the question carefully -Plan effectively by jotting down main ideas and supporting details -Begin with a strong opening that sets the stage for your response -End with a solid conclusion that directs the reader back to your main point -Read the question again and check off the parts you answered -Proofread for spelling, grammar, and organization

Presentation Skills

-Practice -The Golden Rule -Grab audience attention with a good hook -Maintain eye contact with your audience -Integrate active learning techniques, such as brief quizzes, questions or discussions -Create effective visual aids -End with a compelling conclusion

Prerequisite and Corequisite Courses

-Prerequisites must be taken before you are allowed to register and take another course. -Corequisites need to be taken at the same time, or before, another desired course.

Resilience and Grit

-R: a person's ability to bounce back after a traumatic or tragic event -G: your ability to be resilient when faced with adversity; it also involves being deeply committed to something and sticking with it on a long term basis -Three key factors related to resilience and grit: perseverance, mindset, and support

Self-Regulation Process

-Self reflection, the process of pausing to carefully consider the progress you have made towards your goals, is at the heart of the self-regulation process. 1. Setting Goals 2. Monitoring progress towards these goals 3. Making changes as needed so that the goal can be realized

Humanistic Motivators

-Self-Actualization: your desire and ability to achieve your potential ("You will be all you can be") -Met or unmet needs can play an important role in motivation -Maslow's Hierarchy of Needs: illustrates how needs impact our motivation -Physiological needs, safety, love and belonging, esteem, self-actualization -Self-determination theory: focuses on how our needs for autonomy, competence, and relatedness impact our personal growth and well-being -Autonomy: your ability to be self-sufficient and function independently -Competence: your belief in your ability to complete tasks (self-efficacy) -Relatedness: the need to feel a sense of belonging and to be connected to others Intrinsic vs Extrinsic motivation -In: an internal drive to begin and continue a task -Ex: being motivated by external factors, such as rewards

The Accuracy of Self-Assessments

-Self-assessments are only valuable if they are accurate. -Students who make accurate judgements about their learning progress perform better than students who are inaccurate. -Many students are overconfident, having illusions of competence. As a result, these students may stop studying too soon, which can lead to poorer performance. -Students may overestimate the usefulness of study strategies (reviewing notes) that are only minimally effective and undervalue techniques (testing yourself) that result in higher performance.

Financial Planning and Budgeting

-Start with the end in mind; what is your long term financial goal? -Review your plan to pay for your education; meeting with a financial expert is recommended -Weigh the pros and cons associated with paying for other expenses such as transportation -As emotions go up, logic drops down; so wait before making a big purchase to allow for more logical decisions Budgeting- determine how much money you have coming in, deduct required expenses, then decided what to do with additional money -Look for ways to reduce your monthly expenses -Look for bundling discounts, such as with insurance or technology companies -Evaluate whether all of your expenses are essential

Perseverance

-Sticking with a task and being committed to your goal is essential to being gritty -To help you develop grit, use the ABCs goal-setting framework

Stress Management

-Stress is the #1 impediment to academic performance -Facilitative anxiety: good anxiety that serves as energy to help you perform well -Debilitating anxiety: too much anxiety which can hinder your performance Techniques: -Get a good night's sleep -Eat nutritious meals (avoid vending machines) -Exercise regularly (30 minutes daily) -Talk with others -Challenge nonproductive thoughts -Muscle Relaxation to release tension -Regularly take deep breaths

General Education Coursework

-Taking courses in many different fields and viewing the world through multiple perspectives helps you to become a critical thinker. -General education coursework is designed to help you develop general knowledge and skills that will help you be a productive citizen while also benefiting you in your desired career.

Return On Investment

-The financial benefits associated with investing your money in something, such as education or the stock market. -High return on investment for college degrees (14-15% over the past 10 years for a bachelor's) compared to other investments. -Two types of costs for education -Direct Costs: any costs associated with obtaining the degree; ex: tuition, fees, books. -Opportunity Costs: what is lost as a result of attending college; ex: the wage you would've gained if you were working.

Mindfulness

-The state of being attentive to and aware of what is taking place in the present -First-year students benefit from engaging in mindfulness-based stress reduction training Ways to be mindful: -Direct all of your attention to one task that you are doing at the moment -Remove all distractions such as your phone when eating or working -Practice taking deep breaths throughout the day -Pay attention to information coming in through your senses -Respond to your body, stretching and breathing when you experience tension

Avoiding Unhealthy Behaviors: Substance Abuse

-Using and abusing alcohol can lead to addiction and an increase in unprotected sexual encounters/casual sex (long-term negative consequences) -Recognize the signs that you or someone you care about needs help by visiting online resources -Express your concerns to family and friends -Reach out to a psychologist or counselor at your college or a mental health professional in your community -Consider attending a self-help or support group on your campus or in your community

Creating A Professional Presence

-Your future employer may look at your online presence (social media) during hiring decisions To create a professional online presence: -Delete inappropriate posts -Check privacy settings and review what is public -Use a professional photo and email address -Before posting, ask yourself if you would be comfortable with a future employer seeing the post -Create a LinkedIn account -Follow professionals in the field -Share your accomplishments via social media

Steps To Calculate Return On Investment

1. Determine the net price for the college you are/will be attending 2. Determine the approximate debt you will have upon graduation 3. Find out how long it will take you to earn the degree 4. Investigate your earning potential upon graduation 5. Identify missed opportunities for income

Asynchronous Coursework Advantages and Disadvantages

Advantages: -Convenient -Flexible -Save travel time -Higher-level discussions -Opportunity to review course content -Possibly more social connections Disadvantages: -More difficult to identify main points -Easy to forget to "go to class" -Technology problems may arise -Missing immediate feedback during conversation -Delay in getting questions answered -Social connections may be less personal

Loans

Comprised of principal and interest. Principal- the amount you borrowed. Interest- the additional amount you are paying to the lender as a service fee for lending you the money. Two types: federal and private Federal- require you to fill out the FAFSA. Private- often have high interest rates and may be required to pay immediately. Subsidized vs Unsubsidized -Sub: don't accrue interest, amount will be the same -Unsub: start to accrue interest the moment you sign, amount will be more than what you originally borrowed Variable vs Fixed Interest Rates -Variable: often low at first, but can go up or down at any time. -Fixed: interest rate stays the same. -Most federal student loans are fixed while private loans are often variable. General rule of thumb: if your total student loan debt is less than your starting salary, you will be able to pay it off in 10 years.

Benefits Associated With Having And Being A Mentor

Having: -Develop your network -Knowledge and skill development in field of interest -Increased motivation -Access to opportunities Being: -Develop your network -Personally rewarding -Soft skill development

Experiential Learning Opportunities

Internships- opportunities to gain work experience in your field of study while also earning credit toward graduation, allowing you to apply what you have been learning in your coursework to a real working environment (Often part time and may be paid or unpaid). Co-Ops- full time, paid practical learning experiences. Study abroad- going to another country to learn and continue your studies. When you study abroad, you become immersed in the culture and language of another country and continue to make progress towards your degree requirements because you will be taking college courses. Service learning-a teaching and learning strategy that integrates meaningful community service with instruction and reflection to enrich the learning experience, teach civic responsibility, and strengthen communities. Benefits of service learning include increased self esteem, self-efficacy, engagement in learning, academic performance, civic engagement and responsibility, and social problem-solving skills.

Writing Process Figure (The Flexible Writing Process)

Planning -Topic, outline, sources Writing -Main points, details Reviewing -Revising -Proofreading

Program Outcomes and Course-Level Outcomes

Program- define what graduates of each major should be able to know, think or do. Course-Level- outline what students will be able to know, think or do as a result of taking the course.

Pros and Cons of Credit Cards

Pros: -Builds credit if bills are paid on time, which will help later when making big purchases such as a mortgage for a home. -Tracks spending habits easily -You get the product now -Rewards may be associated with credit card use (ex: cashback or airline miles) Cons: -Interest adds up quickly -If you don't pay off your balance each month, you will be paying more for the product due to interest -If you don't pay the balance on time, it negatively impacts your credit score -Can easily create long term debt if not paid off each month

Dweck's Growth Mindset

Two types of mindsets about intelligence: -Fixed: intelligence is something you are born with and there is not much, if anything, that can be done to increase intelligence. -Growth: intelligence is something that is changeable or malleable, and it can be improved with practice, effort, and learning.