Ann Marie Tran
Midterm Reflection Paper
When I first decided to enroll in this course, my main goal was to get an easy A and my second one was to maybe improve my motivation. Now that I have been in the course for some time though, my main goal has changed. I have realized through our activities and assignments that I can really improve how well I do academically by applying some of the strategies I have learned in this course to my other classes. My aim upon completion of this course is no longer for the high grade for this class, but to learn strategies to help me improve my grades in others. Throughout the course so far, I have tried applying what I learned into my life and there are times that it has help me significantly. On the other hand though, there were also times where the concepts I have learned were not helpful due to the fact that it is hard to change immediately how I am used to living.
The first concept we learned about in this class had to do with motivation. Motivation had always been a problem for me. With this problem, studying was what I had the hardest time dealing with. One of the strategies I learned in the first chapter to deal with this problem was increasing my level of interaction. For example, when I study for exams, I usually just study off the practice exams. This is usually the case when I am provided with answers to the exams. I have realized that this might be one of the many factors contributing to my low exam grades. Over the years I have increased my level of interaction little by little, but learning about it specifically made me realize even more how important doing the problems myself and taking good notes were.
Another tip that was a big help with increasing my motivation was breaking down my tasks. Whenever I study, it is extremely difficult for me to start because the amount of material I have to go through is overwhelming; I just don’t know where to start. Now I break down each chapter I have to study and what...