Listen Here
By Lincoln Bash and Tyreeq Reaves
As the semester comes to an end, students are constantly told to “finish strong.” There are resources provided at the University of Findlay to help students do just that.
UF Director of Advising Glenn Miehls said the University already offers an extensive network of help.
“We have several different resources, you could use the Academic Support Center for tutoring in different classes, we also have the Oiler Success Center here, we have faculty coaches,” said Miehls.
“This semester, we’ve seen a steady increase in students seeking tutoring and testing accommodations, especially around midterms and finals. There’s also been more interest in note-taking strategies and live captioning support,” said Heather Vennekotter, director of accommodation and the academic support center.
“I’ve been going to the success center more recently and they helped me tremendously.” UF freshman football player and biology major Peyton Brock said. “Every time I leave there, I leave feeling more confident in myself, knowing I can count on them.”
Even students who do not feel the need for the Academic Support Center can still benefit from understanding study skills. Studies conducted by the University of North Carolina’s learning resource center found that certain studying methods improve performance and productivity.
The University of North Carolina’s learning center stated that students retained information better when extending study sessions to days rather than small increments. The learning center also noted that study sessions should be intense. One way to improve the intensity of these study sessions is to self-test with tools like Quizlet, Kahoot, or even paper flashcards.
Finishing the semester strong is more than improving study habits or cramming study sessions together. It’s also a mindset of reminding yourself of your goals and purpose. Understanding how far you have made and how close you are to finishing is key.
Jacob Burmeister, clinical psychologist, associate professor of psychology and chair of the Department of Behavioral Sciences at UF, says studying is all about give and take.
“There is what I like to call a dose/response relationship between time spent studying and academic achievement,” Burmeister said. “The more time you put in, the more you get out. It’s very clear.”
“The most common mistake I notice is procrastination. Students get stressed about everything, and they worry and they feel in them some nervousness, and they try to make that go away,” said Burmeister. “And one of the easiest ways to make that go away is unfortunately to say ‘I’ll do it later’.”
“One of the most important things for students is detecting the thing that is important to them that is hard to do, and then doing it despite the fact that it’s uncomfortable,” Burmeister said.
“The problem is almost always how we think and feel about the activities in our lives, it’s rarely the actual activity,” Burmeister said.
