GI $
288 APPENDIX ATABLE A.2 (Continued)
EXAMPLES OF ACADEMIC PROBLEMS
Self-Management Academic Problems Chapter
Components
Physical and Social [a] select or arrange the physical setting to 7
Environment make my learning easier
[a] seek assistance from peers, tutors, 7
teaching assistants, and professors when
I need help
[a] seek help from non-social resources (e.g., 7
study aids, books) when I need it
[b] have difficulty attending to or concentrating 7
on academic tasks
[b] encounter internal or external distractions 7
that interrupt my studyingOnce you select a problem, you will need to observe and evalu-
ate your problem in the same manner as a doctor observes a patient
to prescribe treatment. That is, you will need to start by providing
information (e.g., diagnostic test scores, answers to self-observation
exercises, etc.) that supports the fact that your problem exists, as
well as information (e.g., grades) that demonstrates the type of
impact it has had on your academic performance. Then you will
need to gather information on the history of your academic prob-
lem (e.g., How long have you had the problem? Under what cir-
cumstances have you experienced it?). Finally, you will need to spend
time collecting additional information (data) on your problem so
you can discover and appropriately diagnose all of the internal fac-
tors, such as beliefs, perceptions, physiological responses (e.g., anx-
iety), and behaviors that are contributing to it. Like a doctor, you
will be more likely to prescribe the appropriate treatment (i.e.,
strategies) if you take the time at the beginning of your study to col-
lect data that will enable you to determine all of the factors that are
contributing to your problem. If you choose to guess which factors
are contributing to your problem, you will most likely have to pre-
scribe several treatments (strategies) before you find one that will
effectively reduce or eliminate your problem. As a result, you will
save time by thoroughly investigating your problem at the start of
your study.
There are two ways you can gather information (data) on the symp-
toms of your problem and the internal factors and behaviors that con-
tribute to it. The first way is to look at documents to which you
already have access. Table A.3 provides a list of documents that you
may wish to consult. The second way is to set aside a period of time