TOPIC 12: LEARNING TO BE A BETTER STUDENT

Dr. Marie Benita E. Balagan, RGC

“They are able who think they are able”. – Virgil

We all learn differently, and we each have our

own style of studying. No two people are exactly
the same when it comes to study preferences. To
get the most out of your studying, it's important to
better understand what works for you, and what
doesn't. This chapter will enable you to strategize
ways on improving yourself as a student.

LEARNING OBJECTIVES

At the end of this lesson, you will be able to:

1. to know the meaning and importance of self-efficacy.

2. to relate self-efficacy with academic success.
3. differentiate between self-efficacy and time management
4. apply the techniques of time management
5. build effective study habits

LET’S LEARN

Try This! Study Skills Checklist

To get started we recommend printing out the study skills checklist below. Once
you've done this, read each statement and determine if it applies to you. If it does,
then mark Y. If it doesn't, mark N. The purpose of this checklist is to provide you
a basic self- assessment of your study habits and attitudes, so you can identify
study- skill areas where you might want to focus on.
1. Y__ N__ I spend more time than necessary studying for what I am learning.
2. Y__ N__ It's common for me to spend hours cramming the night before an
exam.
3. Y__ N__ If I dedicate as much time as I want to my social life, I don't have
enough time left to focus on my studies, or when I study as much as I
need to, I don't have time for my social life.
4. Y__ N__ I often study with the TV or radio turned on.
5. Y__ N__ I struggle to study for long periods of time without becoming
distracted or tired.
6. Y__ N__ I usually doodle, daydream, or fall asleep when I go to class.
7. Y__ N__ Often the notes I take during class notes are difficult for me to
understand later when I try and review them.
8. Y__ N__ I often end up getting the wrong material into my class notes.
9. Y__ N__ I don't usually review my class notes from time to time throughout
the semester in preparation for exams.
10.Y__ N__When I get to the end of a chapter in a textbook, I struggle to
remember what I've just got done reading.
11. Y__ N__I struggle to identify what is important in the text.
12. Y__ N__I frequently can't keep up with my reading assignments, and
consequently, have to cram the night before a test.
13.Y__ N__ For some reason I miss a lot of points on essay tests even when I feel
well prepared and know the material well.
14.Y__ N__ I study a lot for each test, but when I get to the test my mind draws a
blank.
15. Y__ N__ I often study in a sort of disorganized, haphazard way only
motivated by the threat of the next test.
16. Y__ N__ I frequently end up getting lost in the details of reading and have
trouble identifying the main ideas and key concepts.
17. Y__ N__ I don't usually change my reading speed in response to the difficulty
level of what I'm reading, or my familiarity with the content.
18. Y__ N__ I often wish that I was able read faster.
19. Y__ N__ When my teachers assign me papers and projects, I often feel so
overwhelmed that I really struggle to get started.
20. Y__ N__ More often than not I write my papers the night before they are due.
21. Y__ N__ I really struggle to organize my thoughts into a logical paper that
makes sense.

If you answered "yes" to two or more questions in any category listed below, we 126
recommend finding self-help study guides for those categories. If you have one
"yes" or less in one of the categories, you are probably proficient enough in that
area that you don't require additional study help. However, no matter how you
score it's always advisable to review all study guides to help you improve your
study skills and academic performance.

 Time Scheduling - 1, 2, and 3.

 Concentration - 4, 5, and 6.
 Listening & Note taking - 7, 8, and 9.
 Reading - 10, 11, and 12.
 Exams - 13, 14, and 15.
 Reading - 16, 17, and 18.
https://www.educationcorner.com/study-skills-checklist.html/

LEARNING TO BECOME A BETTER STUDENT

Learning to become a better student is learning to study smarter, not harder. When
you study effectively, you apply certain techniques of time management, study
habits, self-discipline and self-efficacy. Each of these techniques will be learned
in this topic. Let us first begin with self-efficacy.
Self-efficacy is a construct anchored from the Social Cognitive Theory of Albert
Bandura. It is associated with self-confidence. Self-efficacy refers to an
individual’s belief in his or her capacity to execute behaviors necessary to
produce specific performance attainments ( Bandura, 1977, 1986, 1997). It
reflects confidence in the ability to exert control over one’s own motivation,
behavior and social environment (Bandura, 1994).

When developed, self-efficacy positively affects all aspects of human life. One
can be self-efficacious when he/she forms positive thoughts about himself/herself.
Positive self-thoughts build our self-esteem and create in us the inner strength to
take control of social situations. According to Bandura (1997), there is a tangible
way to develop self-efficacy. When you apply these tips, then you are likely to
succeed as your self-efficacy grows.

1. Mastery experience. Savor your mastery experiences, but the key to

mastery is approaching life with dedicated efforts and experimenting with
realistic but challenging goals. According to Bandura (1997), Easy success
with little effort can lead us to expect rapid results, which can in turn,
make us easily succumbed to failure Experiencing failure is important so
we can build resilience to it. This is done by treating failure as an
opportunity to learn and a chance to reach competence with a different
approach.

2. Vicarious experience. Choosing role models who demonstrate self-

efficacious behavior can help you develop similar behavior. Priming or
role-modeling is a way of addressing ambivalence, which is a common
problem among young people like you. Ambivalence puts you into a state
of uncertainty when you make difficult decisions.

Contemplating on what your role model has done to achieve success can
help you build competence and mastery skills. Seeing people similar to
oneself succeed with consistent effort, raises the observers’ belief in their
own abilities to succeed (Bandura, 2008). Role models do not necessarily
come from your social environment, the internet and digital resources can
provide windows into the lives of many inspiring models. However, the
potency of the persuasion depends on the credibility, trustworthiness and
expertise of the persuader.

3. Social Persuasion. Social persuasion is about having others directly

influence one’s self-efficacy. While social modeling refers to the
observation of a role-model, social persuasion is about having others
directly influence you by providing opportunities for mastery experiences
in a safe manner.
 In line with social modeling, social persuasion is choosing the right
mentor. When competency builds and positive self-beliefs are formed,
self-efficacy becomes self-fulfilling prophecy.

4. Emotional States. Emotional states or physiological states are also

sources of efficacy information. Powerful emotional arousal such as
anxiety can effectively alter individual’s beliefs about their capabilities.
People may view a state of arousal as an energizing factor that can
contribute to a successful performance, or they may view their state of
arousal as completely disabling.

HOW TO IMPROVE YOUR SELF-EFFICACY:

By: Madhuleena Roy Chowdhury

1. Set your goals above your abilities. In setting your goals, keep in mind
your three personal zones - your panic zone, comfort zone and stretch
zone. Your panic zone constitutes everything that is outside your abilities.
Trying to do such things will decrease your self-efficacy and might lead to
panic. Your comfort zone are all things that you like to do. Being in your
comfort zone allows you to do things skillfully. By staying in your
comfort zone, you may maintain your self-efficacy but you might not be
able to improve it. If you continuously stay on your comfort zone, you
might not be able to explore opportunities for growth. The stretch zone is
where you are supposed to be. You stretch zone consists of all things that
are challenging but possible to achieve. These are the things within your

reach yet make you feel uncomfortable. Being in your stretch builds your
self-efficacy. You need to set goals above your abilities to build your self-
confidence. Achieving high goals can do wonders to your self-efficacy.

2. Simplify your goals into small pieces. People with low self-efficacy
imagine that tasks are harder than they are. Hence, they do not make an
effort or even plan to complete it. When this becomes a cycle, the goals or
plans that you have set for yourself remain as a plan. Tasks are harder if
you fail to make the few steps to complete them. The core to developing
your confidence in building your skills is to learn how to break your goals
into smaller pieces. What does this mean? Learn to cut from your list the
unessential ones and focus on the more manageable ones. Select those that
will make you feel comfortable and confident in reaching.

3. Focus on the main goals. It was emphasized earlier on that to develop self-
efficacy, you need to set your goals and simplify them. If you were to
improve self-efficacy, try to look at your bigger goals and make a plan.
But before making a plan, believe in your abilities first. A person with
high self-efficacy will identify his/her priorities and works hard to achieve
the main goal.
 4. Think positive. Keeping this attitude will help you overcome all obstacles.
This is not like being like “superman” or “wonder woman” but it is how
you can reframe negative thoughts into positive ones.

5. Take control of your life.

IMPROVING ONE’S STUDY HABITS:

If you want to succeed in school, try to apply the following techniques:

1. Plan when you are going to study. Set a fixed schedule for studying.
Students who whimsically and sporadically study do not perform well as
those who have set a study schedule. Even if you are all caught up in your
studies, following a schedule will help you manage your time well.

2. Never cram. Successful students typically space their work schedule into
shorter periods of time. Spacing your study sessions will reduce the risk of
forgetting during written examinations.

3. Set a specific for each study session. Simply studying without direction
is not effective. You need to know what exactly you want to accomplish
each study session. Each specific study objective must in harmony with
your overall academic goal.

4. Never procrastinate your planned study session. Successful students

Do Not Procrastinate. Procrastination leads to rushing and rushing
consequently leads to errors.

5. Start with the most difficult subject. When you give more time in
studying the most difficult subject, it would be faster to work on the less
difficult ones; thus enabling you to complete the work.
6. Make sure you are not distracted while studying. Free yourself from
any form of distraction. When you are distracted while studying, you will
lose your train of thought and unable to focus. Both will lead to poor and
ineffective study habits.
7. Join study groups. Working in groups will benefit you in three ways:
1) get help from others when you are struggling to understand a concept,
2) complete assignments more quickly,
3) teach others. Effective students use groups effectively.
8. Review your notes, schoolwork and assignments over the weekend.
Reviewing what you have learned for the week over the weekend will
make your long-term-memory system work more efficiently. Our long-
term memory system keeps information for longer storage and use.
Forgetting is less likely to happen during examinations when information
are stored in our long-term memory.
 LET’S PRACTICE

Do This! My Checklist

To have a healthier self-image, you may use self-affirming statements. The

purpose of these statements is to remind yourself of the good qualities that you
possess in order to give your strength and resilience when confronted with
distressing situations. These statements will remind you that hidden underneath is
an inner strength that will enable you to handle overwhelming emotions.
Here are some self-affirming statements. Check the ones you’re willing to use and
then create your own.

_____1. “I might have some faults but I’m still a good person”.
_____2. “I care about myself and other people”.
_____3. “I accept who I am.”
_____4. “I love myself.”
_____5. “I am a good person, not a mistake”.
_____6. “I am good and nobody’s perfect.”
_____7. “I embrace both my good and bad qualities.”
_____8. “Today, I take responsibility for everything I do and say.”
_____9. “I am becoming a better person every day”.
____10. “I am a sensitive person who experiences the world differently”.
____11. “I am a sensitive person with rich emotional experiences.”
____12. “Each day I do the best I can.”
____13. “Even though I forget sometimes, I’m still a good person.”
____15. “Even though bad things happened to me in the past, I am still a good
person.”
____16. “I am here for a reason.”
____17. “There’s a purpose in my life even though I might not always see it.”
____18. “I radically accept myself.”
Other self-affirming statements:
__________________________________________________________________
Adapted from McKay, Wood, J., & Brantley, J. (2007), The dialectical behavior
therapy skills workbook: Practical DBT exercise for learning mindfulness,
interpersonal effectiveness, emotion regulation and distress tolerance

Note to the Teacher: To further enhance learning, let the students watch this
video: https://youtube/how self-efficacy develops