Lesson 28: The Benefits of Failure

The principles of failure analysis apply to academics too. How a student deals with failure is important. Failure must not defeat or define you. Rather, become your own personal failure analyst. Gather and review data, determine why you failed and how you can succeed in the future. Knowing how to analyze, correct, and benefit from failure is not only a good college readiness skill – it’s a good life skill. View previous lesson slides Continue reading

Lesson 27: Good Citizens! Perfect Participants!

The importance of classroom participation and citizenship is often overlooked by students. However, these skills can make up a significant percentage of a student's final grade in a class, so they deserve attention. In high school and college, the level and quality of classroom participation and citizenship skills are increasingly important to a student's academic success. View previous lesson slides View next lesson slides Continue reading

Lesson 26: Ramp Up Your Research Skills!

In spite of how easy it is to research these days, one of the biggest problems faced by first year college students is their lack of basic research skills. Many students assume that because they have good tech skills, they also have good informational skills. These skills are not the same. To be college-ready students must ramp up their research skills! View previous lesson slides View next lesson slides Continue reading

Lesson 25: Ouch My Brain Hurts! Critical Thinking Skills

There are multiple levels and dimensions to thinking. People can think conceptually, make assumptions, draw inferences, consider implications, argue different points of view, and more. Critical thinking is a process of thinking that leads the thinker to the right conclusion or solution. To be college ready, students should understand the differences between higher order thinking skills and how they are demonstrated. View previous lesson slides View next lesson slides Continue reading

Lesson 24: So Close, Yet So Far…Distance Learning

Distance learning is a program or class delivered over the internet instead of in a traditional classroom, and it is a fast-growing trend in American education. In high school and college, students will take one, or possibly several distant learning courses. There are many unique challenges to distance learning. The ability to work successfully online us an important college readiness skill. View previous lesson slides View next lesson slides Continue reading

Lesson 23: Taming Test Anxiety

Almost everyone gets a little nervous before a test. But for some students, a bout of nerves can get so severe it causes them to have trouble concentrating or even blank out on answers. This is called test anxiety and it's estimated to effect about 30% of students. Students learn what causes test anxiety and some strategies for controlling it. View previous lesson slides View next lesson slides Continue reading

Lesson 22: How To Trick Out Your Oral Presentation

For a generation that has grown up on texting, Facebook and Instagram, an oral presentation requiring eye contact and complete sentences can be a challenge. Oral presentations aren't required as often as written tests, but when they're assigned, they almost always make up a significant portion of a student's grade in class. Mastering the basic oral presentation is an important skill for high school, college and career. Review previous lesson slides Continue to next lesson… Continue reading

Lesson 21: So Many Choices, So Little Time!

Multiple choice tests are so much easier than essay tests. Wrong! From knowing how to study for a multiple choice test, to using a scannable answer form, to deciding between two answers which both seem correct, multiple choice tests have unique challenges. In this lesson, students learn strategies and techniques for success on multiple choice and true/false tests. Review previous lesson slides Continue to next lesson slides Continue reading

Lesson 20: Short Answer and Essay Test Tips

There's more to taking a test than knowing the right answer! Students must be able to demonstrate knowledge in a variety of different assessment formats. Having a set of go-to test taking strategies can improve performance on all types of tests. In this lesson, students learn tips and strategies for improving performance on short answer and essay tests. Review previous lesson slides Continue to next lesson slides Continue reading

Lesson 19: The Anti-Cram: Time-Spaced Learning

As students move up into high school and college, the content they must master will be more difficult and there will be a lot more of it! Time-spaced learning is one of the most effective strategies for learning, retaining, and being able to recall information. Time-spaced learning greatly reduces the amount of content forgotten over time. As an antidote to cramming, time-spaced learning is an excellent college readiness skill. Review previous lesson slides Continue to… Continue reading