Journal Entry 1:

This week (the week of september 29) in class we talked about active listening and

note taking. As a class we discussed different ways we can improve, what we need to work

on to get better and what habits we need to change for our listening habits. In this class we

also discussed ways to improve, things we need to change and different styles of note taking.

During this class I discovered many things about how I listen. To begin, I learned that

I am not a good active listener, I tend to be side tracked and focus on other things going on

around m rather than listening during a lecture. One way I can improve my active listening

skills is being more conscious and present when listening to someone speak or during a

lecture. I can accomplish this by puting my phone on focus mode so I am not tempted to look

at it when I hear notifications. Another way that I can improve my listening skills is by

participating in class discussions to help me want to listen and make sure that I am taking in

the information.

I also learned during this class that my note taking skills need some work as well.

During this class we took a self assessment which showed me that I have a lot that I need to

work on. Some things whic pertain to my note taking which need improvement include, the

style of note taking I do, the pace I do it, and what I write down. Firstly, the style of note

taking I do is very chaotic and has not real pattern of what I do, I just tend to write what I

think is important. I also tend to write as much as I can in as much detail as possible.

Secondly, I tend to write slower which is note good when professors or speakers talk fast, this

causes me to lose my train of thought and leave sections in my notes unfinished because I did

not catch what the speaker was saying. Lastly, I have no real depiction of what I should write

I just tend to write what I think is important and nothing else, this hurts me because

sometimes what I think is important is not what is actually important, instead it can be the

complete opposite.
 To conclude, some ways I will improve my listening are by being present in the

discussions occurring by removing all distractions and being sure to participate in class

discussions to help me recite information and ensure that I am understanding. Some ways

which I am able to improve on my note taking is by practicing taking notes through watching

ted talks or during lectures at home, trying different styles to see which suits me best, and

practicing writing whats important in shorter words. I will enforce these habits by making

sure I am puting all distractions away, taking the time out of my day to complete these tasks

and by practicing these habits 3 times a week making sure I give myself a break so I am not

overwhelmed.

Journal Entry 2:

During this week (The week of October 13) we talked about tests, the before, during,

and after. When discussing the before we talked about studying, how we view tests and our

emotions. While discussing the during we talked about strategies, test formats, and how to

manage dealing with the stress. When discussing the after we talked about, debriefing, how

we feel and how we can improve next time.

To begin, the before the test is the most important stage. For the before we discussed

studying habits, how we view and approach tests as well and our emotions leading up to the

test. First, the way we study has a big impact on our results for our test which we all probably

know. Some ways we discussed to improve those study habits are by creating mock quizzes

and studying for a little bit each day instead of just the night before. Secondly, the way which

we approach test also impacts the outcome of our mark. If we approach our test with the

anticipation of failure than we are going to fail. Some ways which we can improve are by

being confident in yourself and making sure you are fully understanding the material and

getting help where you need it. Lastly, our emotions have a big impact on the way which our

learning can be taken. For example, if we are not interested in learning about a certain topic
our focus will be shifted and we wont be able to retain the information. Some ways we can

improve our emotions when leading up to our test is by, making sure we are taking breaks so

we are not overwhelmed, making sure we get enough nutrients to help us with energy, and

getting enough sleep at night.

Next, we discussed during the test. During class we talked about strategies for being

prepared, test formats and how we manage stress. To start, when we discussed strategies for

being prepared we mentioned different ways we could be ready for our test. For example, we

talked about getting enough sleep, making sure you are on time so you have maximum

amount of time to complete your test, and putting everything you remember about the topic

on the back of your page so you can go back to reference your information later on. To

continue, we then talked about test formats and how to approach them. We discussed true or

false questions first and their key words. For example, when an answer is mostly pertaining

to the answer false it may contain words such as; none, never, always, or only. When an

answer is most likely pertaining to true the answer will most likely contain one of the

following words; often, sometimes, generally, or ordinarily. We also discussed multiple

choice questions which the correct answer most of the time is the choice containing the most

wording. Lastly, we talked about managing stress. We all manage stress in different ways but

we can deal with them in the most common ways. Some ways we can reduce stress in our

lives during a test is taking a moment to breath and focus on being calm, this helps us when

we are overthinking and doubting every answer we are giving.

To conclude, in class we discussed the after of the test. For the after we discussed

debriefing, how we feel, and habits we can improve on for our next test. Firstly, we talked

about debriefing, debriefing after a test is important because we are able to go over answers

we were unsure of and figure out where we might have gone wrong. Secondly, we talked

about our emotions. We got into groups and discussed how we all felt after our tests and
almost everyone talked about feeling some sense of relief or like a weight lifted off their

shoulder because they dont have the stress of having to worry about studying. Lastly, we

talked about improvements we can make after our tests. After my tests I always find

something I can improve upon to make myself more prepared for the next test. For example,

after my psychology test I found that I needed to improve upon my study habits. I realized

studying all the information in two days was not doing me any good and I could not continue

to do that because it was causing too much stress and I was not as prepared for the test as I

wanted to be.