NUR3846: Success Strategies Paper

Success Strategies Paper Purpose: Nursing requires the nurse to have knowledge, clinical reasoning, and creativity. The process of acquiring these skills starts in your nursing program and is a life-long process. Success as a nursing student is dependent on the students maximizing their strengths and improving upon their weaknesses. This assignment is designed for the student to examine his/her strengths and weaknesses and reflect on strategies employed for success. (CLO 7) Guidelines: 1. The paper is composed of the following sections: Title page Introduction Strengths, weaknesses, and study strategies reflection Strategy analysis Conclusion Reference page 2. Utilize APA formatting and style throughout the paper. 3. The final paper scoring will be based on the rubric. 4. A minimum of 2 valid sources must be used. Valid and reliable sources for this assignment are journal based literature and valid and reliable websites. A minimum of 1 source must be a journal article. Sources such as textbooks, Wikipedia, and a dictionary are not acceptable as the 2 minimum resources. 5. The ideas expressed should be supported with the literature. 6. The paper should be 2 to 3 pages in length. 7. See the Course Schedule (Appendix A) for the due date of the paper. 8. The paper should be submitted to OWL prior to submission. 9. A librarian should be consulted with any difficulties finding or retrieving articles. Process: 1. Review the literature related to learning styles, student success, and study strategies. 2. Evaluate yourself in the following areas: • Test-taking • Listening • Memory • Reading • Writing • Note-taking • Library research • Studying • Problem solving • Decision making • Strategic planning • Learning style(s) • Time management • Goal-setting • Prioritizing 3. Based on reflection of the above listed areas, complete a SWOT analysis (strengths, weaknesses, opportunities, and threats). The SWOT analysis can be done on the template found on the following page. Include the SWOT table with your submission. 4. Based on reflection of the above topics, select one or three areas that you feel you feel are your areas that you most need to improve on to ensure success in the BSN program and identify strategies you may use. to improve upon the identified areas of weakness. 5. Reflect on a new strategy that you plan to utilize this semester in your courses. Describe how you will go about implementing the strategy. SWOT Analysis Worksheet Strengths Weaknesses • Academically, what do you do well? • What could you do to improve your academic success? • What resources can you use to be academically successful? • What resources do you feel you are lacking to be academically successful? • What do others see as your academic strengths? • NUR3846: Success Strategies Paper

What are others likely to see as academic weaknesses? Opportunities • What opportunities are open to you for academic success? • What trends can you take advantage of contributed to your academic success? • How can you turn your strengths into academic opportunity? Threats • • • What threats could harm your academic success? What are the barriers to your academic success? What threats to your weaknesses expose you to that could prevent academic success? *The SWOT analysis is adapted from SWOT Analysis Worksheet by MindTools. Retrieved from file:///C:/Users/lrstutte/Downloads/SWOTAnalysisWorksheet%20(2).pdf LEARNING STRATEGIES Never Give Up What Type of Learner Are You? ■ NCSU Index of Learning Styles Questionnaire Active and Reflective Learners Active Learners Reflective Learners ■ Doing something with information ■ Think about initially ■ Group work ■ Work alone ■ Taking notes is not best way to learn ■ Taking notes is not best way to learn Active and Reflective Learners Learning Strategies Active Learners Reflective Learners ■ Study in groups ■ Review what have read ■ Explain topic to each other ■ Write short summaries ■ Make graphs, charts, maps Sensing and Intuitive Learners Sensing Learners Intuitive Learners* ■ Like facts and memorization ■ Like discovering relationships ■ Like methodical problem solving ■ Like innovation ■ Dislike complications and surprises ■ Dislike repetition ■ Do not like being tested on content not explicitly covered in class ■ Better grasp new concepts ■ Like hands on/laboratory work ■ More practical and careful ■ Do not like courses not connected to the real world ■ Comfortable with abstractions ■ Work faster ■ Don’t like “plug-and-chug” courses with memorization and routine calculations Sensing and Intuitive Learners Learning Strategies Sensing Learners Intuitive Learners ■ Relate to specific examples from real world of how apply ■ Ask for interpretations or theories that link facts or try to find connections ■ On tests, take time to read the entire question before answer ■ Check your results Visual and Verbal Learners Visual Learners* Verbal Learners ■ Remember best with pictures, charts, demonstrations, etc. ■ Learn best with spoken or written information Visual and Verbal Learners Learning Strategies Visual Learners Verbal Learners ■ Find or make diagram, chart, pictures ■ Write summaries or outlines of class notes ■ Make concept maps ■ Work in groups and explain to each other ■ Color code notes Sequential and Global Learners Sequential Learners* Global Learners ■ Learn in linear steps ■ Learn in large jumps – does not have to see connection and then suddenly “gets it” ■ NUR3846: Success Strategies Paper

Follow logical step-by-step approach ■ Do not like topics that jump around ■ Solve complex problems quickly ■ Once see “big picture” can create new idea (may have difficulty explaining how they got it) Sequential and Global Learners Learning Strategies Sequential Learners Global Learners ■ If topics jumping around, ask or fill in the skipped steps ■ Skim through the entire chapter to get an overview of the topic ■ Make outlines of class to create the steps ■ Concentrate on a topic at a time rather than several topics at on time ■ Connect how each new topic relates to what already know ■ Relate new content to what already know ■ Keep the faith that you will “get it” DEVELOPING STUDY SKILLS AND HABITS Just because there is nothing due does not mean there is nothing to do. Developing Study Skills ■ Time management – Write down all scheduled assignments and exams ■ Scheduled time each day for studying ■ Take 5 – 10 minutes every other day to organize ■ Study buddy ■ Get enough rest ■ Get enough exercise ■ Have some fun Get adequate amount of sleep every night Eat a healthy diet and exercise regularly Plan study breaks Seek help when do not understand material Find a place to study that is free from distractions Study the most difficulty material when most alert Avoid proscrastination Set goals for your study time Try not to do too much studying at one time Plan daily specific times for studying Listening Skills ■ Good listening skills – Key statements: “never forget” “please understand” “this is on NCLEX” ■ Identify what is important and when it is important – ABCs – Safety Priority Setting Self-Actualization Hope Spiritual well-being Enhanced growth Self-Esteem Control Competence Positive regard Acceptance of worthiness Love and Belonging Maintain support systems Protect from isolation Safety and Security Protect from injury Promote feeling of security Trust in nurse-patient relationship Basic Physiologic Needs ABCs, Nutrition, Elimination 15 Reading Skills ■ Keep dictionary close ■ Ask yourself what questions do you have about topic ■ Read 1 section at a time, highlighting key words ■ Did you answer your questions ■ Review key areas again Note Taking Skills ■ Shorthand – Signs and symptoms of nausea, vomiting, and diarrhea: s/s of n/v/d – Hyperkalemia = ↑K ■ Rewrite notes as outlines or diagrams Respiratory Acidosis ↓ pH ↑ CO2 Hypoventilation Respiratory Alkalosis ↑ pH ↓ CO2 Hyperventilation Metabolic Acidosis Metabolic ↓ pH ↓ HCO3Alkalosis Gain of metabolic ↑ pH ↑ HCO3acids or Loss of metabolic loss of HCO3acids or gain of HCO3- Remembering Content ■ Reading content prior to class ■ Highlight key points ■ Rewriting class notes ■ Reading notes after every class and identify what is not clear ■ NUR3846: Success Strategies Paper

Create flash cards ■ Explaining to someone else Decorticate Posturing versus Decerebrate Posturing Mnemonics Try Pushing Mom Again Apple Pie To Mouth Study Groups ■ Like to learn in groups ■ Motivated and stay on topic ■ Size 3 – 5 people ■ Each session should have goals ■ Each member responsible for part of learning Critical Thinking Skills ■ Starting now, always think like a nurse ■ Be curious ■ Ask self and others questions ■ Be creative in how learn rather than just learn facts – Standard precautions – think about why each procedure is followed – At work in in CNA class when did I use standard precautions rather that another type of isolation ■ Do not make assumptions about what you see and hear ■ Think out loud ■ Identify commonalities, differences, and patterns LEARNING STYLES AND STRATEGIES1 Richard M. Felder Hoechst Celanese Professor of Chemical Engineering North Carolina State University Barbara A. Soloman Coordinator of Advising, First Year College North Carolina State University ACTIVE AND REFLECTIVE LEARNERS2     Active learners tend to retain and understand information best by doing something active with it—discussing or applying it or explaining it to others. Reflective learners prefer to think about it quietly first. “Let’s try it out and see how it works” is an active learner’s phrase; “Let’s think it through first” is the reflective learner’s response. Active learners tend to like group work more than reflective learners, who prefer working alone. Sitting through lectures without getting to do anything physical but take notes is hard for both learning types, but particularly hard for active learners. Everybody is active sometimes and reflective sometimes. Your preference for one category or the other may be strong, moderate, or mild. A balance of the two is desirable. If you always act before reflecting you can jump into things prematurely and get into trouble, while if you spend too much time reflecting you may never get anything done. How can active learners help themselves? If you are an active learner in a class that allows little or no class time for discussion or problem-solving activities, you should try to compensate for these lacks when you study. Study in a group in which the members take turns explaining different topics to each other. Work with others to guess what you will be asked on the next test and figure out how you will answer. You will always retain information better if you find ways to do something with it. How can reflective learners help themselves? If you are a reflective learner in a class that allows little or not class time for thinking about new information, you should try to compensate for this lack when you study. Don’t simply read or memorize the material; stop periodically to review what you have read and to think of possible questions or applications. You might find it helpful to write short summaries of readings or class notes in your own words. Doing so may take extra time but will enable you to retain the material more effectively. 1 1993 by Richard M. Felder and Barbara A. Soloman. See for additional details about the Index of Learning Styles and the Felder-Silverman learning styles model upon which the ILS is based. 2 R.M. Felder and R. Brent, Teaching and Learning STEM: A Practical Guide, San Francisco: Jossey-Bass (2016), pp. 107–109. . SENSING AND INTUITIVE LEARNERS3      Sensing learners tend to like learning facts, intuitive learners often prefer discovering possibilities and relationships. Sensors often like solving problems by well-established methods and dislike complications and surprises; intuitors like innovation and dislike repetition. Sensors are more likely than intuitors to resent being tested on material that has not been explicitly covered in class. Sensors tend to be patient with details and good at memorizing facts and doing hands-on (laboratory) work; intuitors may be better at grasping new concepts and are often more comfortable than sensors with abstractions and mathematical formulations. Sensors tend to be more practical and careful than intuitors; intuitors tend to work faster and to be more innovative than sensors. NUR3846: Success Strategies Paper

Sensors don’t like courses that have no apparent connection to the real world; intuitors don’t like “plug-and-chug” courses that involve a lot of memorization and routine calculations. Everybody is sensing sometimes and intuitive sometimes. Your preference for one or the other may be strong, moderate, or mild. To be effective as a learner and problem solver, you need to be able to function both ways. If you overemphasize intuition, you may miss important details or make careless mistakes in calculations or hands-on work; if you overemphasize sensing, you may rely too much on memorization and familiar methods and not concentrate enough on understanding and innovative thinking. How can sensing learners help themselves? Sensors remember and understand information best if they can see how it connects to the real world. If you are in a class where most of the material is abstract and theoretical, you may have difficulty. Ask your instructor for specific examples of concepts and procedures, and find out how the concepts apply in practice. If the teacher does not provide enough specifics, try to find some in your course text or other references or by brainstorming with friends or classmates. How can intuitive learners help themselves? Many college lecture classes are aimed at intuitors. However, if you are an intuitor and you happen to be in a class that deals primarily with memorization and rote substitution in formulas, you may have trouble with boredom. Ask your instructor for interpretations or theories that link the facts, or try to find the connections yourself. You may also be prone to careless mistakes on test because you are impatient with details and don’t like repetition (as in checking your completed solutions). Take time to read the entire question before you start answering and be sure to check your results. VISUAL AND VERBAL LEARNERS1 Visual learners remember best what they see—pictures, diagrams, flow charts, time lines, films, and demonstrations. Verbal learners get more out of words—written and spoken explanations. Everyone learns more when information is presented both visually and verbally. 3 R.M. Felder and R. Brent, Teaching and Learning STEM: A Practical Guide, San Francisco: Jossey-Bass (2016), pp. 187–188. . 2 In most college classes very little visual information is presented: students mainly listen to lectures and read material written on chalkboards and in textbooks and handouts. Unfortunately, most people are visual learners, which means that most students do not get nearly as much as they would if more visual presentation were used in class. Good learners are capable of processing information presented either visually or verbally. How can visual learners help themselves? If you are a visual learner, try to find diagrams, sketches, schematics, photographs, flow charts, or any other visual representation of course material that is predominantly verbal. Ask your instructor, consult reference books, and see if any videotapes or CD-ROM displays of the course material are available. Prepare a concept map by listing key points, enclosing them in boxes or circles, and drawing lines with arrows between concepts to show connections. NUR3846: Success Strategies Paper

Colorcode your notes with a highlighter so that everything relating to one topic is the same color. How can verbal learners help themselves? Write summaries or outlines of course material in your own words. Working in groups can be particularly effective: you gain understanding of material by hearing classmates’ explanations and you learn even more when you do the explaining. SEQUENTIAL AND GLOBAL LEARNERS4   Sequential learners tend to gain understanding in linear steps, with each step following logically from the previous one. Global learners tend to learn in large jumps, absorbing material almost randomly without seeing connections, and then suddenly “getting it.” Sequential learners tend to follow logical stepwise paths in finding solutions; global learners may be able to solve complex problems quickly or put things together in novel ways once they have grasped the big picture, but they may have difficulty explaining how they did it. Many people who read this description may conclude incorrectly that they are global, since everyone has experienced bewilderment followed by a sudden flash of understanding. What makes you global or not is what happens before the light bulb goes on. Sequential learners may not fully understand the material but they can nevertheless do something with it (like solve the homework problems or pass the test) since the pieces they have absorbed are logically connected. Strongly global learners who lack good sequential thinking abilities, on the other hand, may have serious difficulties until they have the big picture. Even after they have it, they may be fuzzy about the details of the subject, while sequential learners may know a lot about specific aspects of a subject but may have trouble relating them to different aspects of the same subject or to different subjects. How can sequential learners help themselves? Most college courses are taught in a sequential manner. However, if you are a sequential learner and you have an instructor who jumps around from topic to topic or skips steps, you may have difficulty following and remembering. Ask the instructor to fill in the skipped steps, or fill them in yourself by consulting references. When you are studying, take the time to outline the lecture material for yourself in logical order. In the long run doing so will save you time. You 4 R.M. Felder, “Meet Your Students: 2. Susan and Glenda.” Chemical Engineering Education, Winter 1990, pp. 7–8. . 3 might also try to strengthen your global thinking skills by relating each new topic you study to things you already know. The more you can do so, the deeper your understanding of the topic is likely to be. How can global learners help themselves? If you are a global learner, just recognizing that you aren’t slow or stupid but simply function differently from most of your classmates can help a great deal.4 However, there are some steps you can take that may help you get the big picture more quickly. Before you begin to study the first section of a chapter in a text, skim through the entire chapter to get an overview. Doing so may be time-consuming initially but it may save you from going over and over individual parts later. Instead of spending a short time on every subject every night, you might find it more productive to immerse yourself in individual subjects for large blocks. Try to relate the subject to things you already know, either by asking the instructor to help you see connections or by consulting references. Above all, don’t lose faith in yourself; you will eventually understand the new material, and once you do your understanding of how it connects to other topics and disciplines may enable you to apply it in ways that most sequential thinkers would never dream of. 4 …