Purpose Statement
An attempt to help
students in my Cultures Around the World course overcome their problems with
procrastination.
Description of Activity
ABOUT SELF-SCHEDULING
This is, as you know, a self-scheduled, self-paced course, and that can be a
real advantage to you. But that can also boomerang on you and prove disastrous,
unless you truly schedule your time and your work for this course. Judging from
the many students who get dropped for failure to turn in work, or, even worse,
receive F's for not finishing in time, my guess is that many students have
never learned how to schedule their time for college. As a result, I want to
give you some suggestions for time-scheduling (with acknowledgements to
Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University, and the 1999/2000 SBCC
Social Science Workshop on Student Success):
1. Long Term Schedule
Construct a schedule of your fixed commitments only. These include only
obligations you are required to meet each week: e.g., job hours, classes,
church, organization meetings, etc. I strongly suggest you include the
completion of one Anthro.121-126 Culture Module each week.
2. Intermediate Schedule - One per week.
Now make a short list of MAJOR EVENTS and AMOUNT OF WORK to be accomplished in
each subject this week. This may include non-study activities. For example:
• Biology quiz Monday.
• View Bali program Tuesday afternoon.
• Write Bali answers Tuesday night.
• Turn in Bali answers Wednesday afternoon.
• Ball game Wednesday night.
• Finish reading one chapter in History by Friday.
These events will change from week to week, and it is important to make a
NEW LIST FOR EACH WEEK. Sunday night may be the best time to do this.
3. Short Term Schedule - One per day.
On a small notecard each evening before retiring, or early in the morning make
out a specific daily schedule. Write specifically WHAT is to be accomplished.
Such a schedule might include:
Tuesday
• 8:00-8:30 - Review History
• 9:30-10:30 - Preview Math and prepare for Quiz
• 1:00 - Pick up graded Bali answers at LRC Desk
• 1:05-2:00 - View Pakistan program
• 4:45 - Pick up cleaning on way home
• 7:00-10:00 - Write Pakistan answers
• 10:00 - Phone calls
CARRY THIS CARD WITH YOU, and cross out each item as you accomplish it. Writing
down things in this manner not only forces you to plan your time, but in effect
causes you to make a promise to yourself to do what you have written down.
Materials Needed
The above sheet, now a
part of the Syllabus for the course.
Application
No extra time on my part
after creating the above document.
this web page was created
on 11/3/99 at 7:42:34 PM
and modified on 11/3/99 at 7:42:34 PM