Chapter 8, Taking Notes, Writing and Speaking

This week read the chapter on taking notes, writing and speaking and then make two comments on any of these topics:


Psychologist and philosopher William James said, “The essence of genius is knowing what to overlook.” How can you take steps toward being a genius by being selective at school, at work or in your personal life?

Many students have difficulties with writing assignments because of writer’s block. Read the section on writer’s block in the text and comment on some ideas that you can use to overcome it.

Write some intention statements about what you will do to become a better writer or note taker.

Ask a question or discuss any aspect of college success that is relevant to your college experience at this point.    

Make a comment on another student's post. 

Chapter 7, Improving Memory and Reading, March 18-24

 I enjoyed reading about all your goals and time management strategies. Many of you have challenges with work, family, school and social life. Keeping your focus on your priorities, breaking the tasks into small parts and finding a reward will keep you on the right path. For this week, read the following situations and comment on two of them using ideas from Chapter 7, Improving Memory and Reading. Have a great week.

1. You just read the assigned chapter in economics and cannot remember what you read. It went in one ear and out the other.
2. In your anatomy and physiology class, you are required to remember the scientific name for 100 different muscles in the body.
3. You signed up for a philosophy class because it meets general education requirements. You are not interested in the class at all.
4. You have a mid-term in your literature class and have to read 400 pages in one month.
5. You must take American history to graduate from SDSU. You think that history is boring.
6. You have been introduced to an important business contact and would like to remember his/her name.
7. You are enrolled in an algebra class. You continually remind yourself that you have never been good at math. You don’t think that you will pass this class.
8. You have noticed that your grandmother is becoming very forgetful. You want to do whatever is possible to keep your mind healthy as you age.
9. Comment on any other students' posts.  

Chapter 6, Managing Time and Money, March 11-17

This new chapter is about time management and is one of the most powerful chapters in the text. For this week's discussion, share one of your lifetime goals and describe the time management techniques you will use to accomplish this goal. If there are obstacles in the way, how will you deal with them?

For your second post, read another student's post and make a comment about it. Sometimes it is helpful to read about other students' goals and how they are managing to accomplish them. The first post can be longer and the second one can be shorter.

I will share with you one of my lifetime goals and how I used the ideas in this chapter to accomplish it. My lifetime goal was to write a book on how to be successful in college because I struggled as a young college student and learned how to be successful. Then I taught the topic for 30 years. I had some time off from work and set as my goal to write the text. I found myself distracted by things around the home. I would get up in the morning and exercise, make myself a nice breakfast, read the paper and do a few household chores. Soon the day was gone and I had not accomplished my goal. I decided to work on my goal first and then reward myself with exercise and other things that I wanted to do. It was just a matter of rearranging my tasks. I still found it difficult to get started. I used the idea of a leading task. I would just sit at the computer, fill my head with ideas and start to write. Then I would refine the writing the next day. Within 6 months I had the first draft of the text written. Today it is used in about 60 colleges across the country. The CollegeScope material is my latest project. 

Ok, I have shared one of my goals and how I accomplished it. Now it is your turn. Tell about something you accomplished in the past or something you hope to accomplish in the future. See if you can use some of the time management ideas in the text.  

Chapter 5, Planning Your Career and Education, Mar 4-10

The chapter for this week is "Planning your Career and Education." It has some useful information as you think about your future career. Choose any topic below. You can choose 2 topics of 100 words each or one topic for 200 words.

Make a comment about how this semester is going for you. Are you facing any challenges or roadblocks? How can you deal with them?

Add your comment to another student's posting. Can you relate to what they are saying and can you share similar experiences?

What is your generation? Baby Boomer? Generation X? New Millennial? How will your generation affect your future career choices?

Review the employment trends presented in the career chapter. How will these employment trends affect your future career plans?

What tips would you give to a friend before he or she interviewed for a job that was really important?

Go to www.assist.org and explore this site. This site is designed to help you understand the courses needed to transfer to a four year university. Share with the group what you found there.

Go to http://www.cuyamaca.edu/transfer_center and explore this site. This is our Cuyamaca College Transfer site. Share with the group what you found at this site.

Chapter 4, Exploring Interests and Values, Feb 25-Mar 3

Hello Students,

For this week, choose any two topics below.

Comment on a successful decision you have made and how it matched your values.

Comment on an unsuccessful decision you made and how it did not match your values.

Comment on another student's post. Can you add to their comment or raise new questions?

Read the following 2 scenarios and comment on one of them. Based on the individual’s values, give your opinion about what would be the best decision.

Scenario 1: What should be my major?

Shawn is twenty years old and has completed two years of college. He has been trying to decide whether to major in engineering or music. He has completed all of his general education requirements as well as several courses in music, math, and physics. As a child, Shawn was interested in science and dreamed of making new inventions. He always took things apart to see how they worked. Math was always easy for Shawn, and he received awards for achievement in science. He also took part in band throughout his school years and learned to play several instruments. As a teenager, he had a garage band and became so interested in playing the piano that he spent two hours a day practicing. Shawn’s dilemma was that he was becoming stressed out trying to do both majors and
no longer had time to do well in both music and engineering. He also wanted to have time to get a part-time job in order to become more independent. Shawn’s top five values are being independent and living on his own, having a secure future, doing interesting work, achieving something important, and being able to relax. Based on his values, what major should Shawn choose?

Scenario 2: Should Maria continue her education?

Maria is a married mother of two young boys ages five and seven and a part-time college student. Maria and her husband, Juan, are very proud of their Mexican heritage and value their marriage and family. They both think that it is important for Maria to spend time with the children. Maria learned to speak English as a second language and has made sure that her children speak both English and Spanish. While the children are in school, Maria has been attending college part-time with the goal of becoming a teacher’s aide in a class for bilingual children. She has some experience as a teacher’s aide and gets a great deal of satisfaction from helping the children. Juan works in construction, and the family has sacrificed to come up with the money to pay for Maria to attend college. Maria has struggled to earn her associate’s degree and is proud of her accomplishments. She values her education and wants her children to do well in school. Now Maria is considering continuing her education to earn the bachelor’s degree so that she can become a teacher. She would enjoy having her own classroom, loves working with children, and would have a higher income as a teacher than she would as a teacher’s aide. Maria’s husband is concerned that she will spend too much time at college and will not be home for the children. He is also relieved that Maria has finished college and plans to work part-time to supplement the family income while the children are in school. Should Maria continue her education and earn a bachelor’s degree?

Chapter 3, Learning Style and Intelligence, Feb 18-24

Remember to make 2 postings of at least 100 words each this week. You can comment on these scenarios using what you have read about learning styles and personality type, reply to other student's comments or write about anything related to college and career success.

1. You have just been assigned a 10 page term paper.
2. You have to study for a challenging math test.
3. You have to write up a lab report for a biology class. It includes drawing of a frog you have just dissected.
4. You are taking a required course for your major and it is taught by only one professor. You dislike this professor.
5. You are taking a business class and have been assigned a group project to design a small business. It is worth 50% of your grade. One of the group members wants to control the group and the others seem to be rebelling.
6. You have signed up for an economics course and find it difficult to stay awake during the lecture.
7. You signed up for a philosophy course to meet a humanities requirement. The vocabulary in the course is unfamiliar.
8. As part of the final exam, you have to prepare a five minute presentation for your art history class. 

Chapter 2, Personality, Feb 11-17

I was inspired reading all your blog posts on motivation.  Motivation sets the stage for success.  Many of you mentioned careers and the economy as motivators for going to college.  You are more likely to be employed and to like your career if you have an education.  One of the keys to success is to match your talents with the world of work and find your passion.  Julia Amonette says, “If you can’t motivate yourself, no one else in the world will be able to.  Keep up with your passion and motivation will follow.”  

 Many of you will face difficulties along the way and it is important to remember your lifetime goals to stay the course.  Thanks to Jessica Calleros for this quote:

"An arrow can only be shot by pulling it backward.  So when life is dragging you back with difficulties, it means that it's going to launch you into something great.  So just focus, and keep aiming."

Chapter 2 began with the Do What You Are (DWYA) personality assessment which has a 4 letter code used to summarize your personality type based on your answers in the assessment.  For example, my code is ISTJ which stands for introvert, sensing, thinking and judging type. 

Posting 1:

Choose one of your letters and write 100 words about this aspect of your personality focusing on the positives of your type. Remember that one personality type is not better than any other.  Each type has different talents that can be useful in your personal or career life.  You may think that you are a combination of 2 different types.  It is OK to describe your unique combination. 

Here is a sample of about 100 words:

Based on the DWYA, I am a judging type.  I know that this is true because I can only feel relaxed when things are orderly and organized.  I plan my work and think about priorities when managing my time which helps me to accomplish my goals.  I even plan out my vacations in advance and like to have everything planned so I can relax and have fun.  I have met some opposite types in my lifetime and try to appreciate their differences.  I have found that perceptive types can usually introduce an element of fun in the situation and they motivate me to be a little more spontaneous at times.  I’m still most comfortable with my plans and don’t like to change them.

Posting 2:

Read another student’s posting who has the same personality type as yours and write a response to their post.

Here is a sample response of about 100 words:

I am a judging type also.   I could relate to your need to be orderly and organized.  I generally plan my time and like to have all my things organized.  I get stressed when things are out of order.  I have also met some perceptive types and I have to admit that they drive me a little crazy.  I like your idea of appreciating their differences and just trying to have fun with them.  I know that these opposite types think I am too set in my ways.  Being a judging type has lots of positives.  I plan to major in accounting and this seems to be a natural fit for my personal strengths. 

Just as a quick review, here is a brief definition of all types on DWYA.  Please review these definitions before you make your comments.

Introvert: private, likes quiet for concentration, likes to think before speaking

Extravert: social, likes variety, sometimes speaks before thinking

Sensing: works step-by-step, learns from experience, trusts what is concrete and certain

Intuitive: values imagination and innovation, focus on possibilities, creative and imaginative

Thinking: calm and objective, makes decisions based on logic, analyzes emotions, likes debate

Feeling: makes decisions based on personal values, values empathy and harmony, caring, emotional

Judging: orderly, organized, work first and play later, follows a routine, meets deadlines (Note: it does not mean to judge others!)

Perceptive: spontaneous, go with the flow, play first and do the work later, dislike routine, difficulty meeting deadlines