Motivation and Learning Strategies for College Success : A Self-management Approach

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308 APPENDIX B

Although his journal entries discuss some of the distractions he encountered,

they do not provide the reader with a clear understanding of how and when

he put off working on his paper. He could have improved his study by pro-

viding the reader with a detailed account of how he spent his time by using

the form provided in chapter 6. In addition, on Saturday the student decided

that to avoid procrastinating, he would plan out how long he would give

himself to complete each assignment. Therefore, on Sunday he allotted him-

self 5 hours in the evening to write three pages, complete his bibliography,

and make slight revisions. Most likely, the student would have benefited from

using the strategies described in chapter 6 to schedule these tasks through-

out the course of his day rather than in one large block at the end of the day.

Strategic-Outcome Monitoring

Strengths. The student’s strategic planning checklist provides a good analy-

sis of the goals he did and did not accomplish throughout his study.

Areas for Improvement. The student mentions that on Sunday evening he

was able to complete his daily tasks with an hour to spare but fails to pro-

vide the reader with evidence of this fact. He could have strengthened his

study by including a chart of when he hoped to complete his tasks and the

time when he actually finished these tasks. In addition, at the end of the

study, the student mentions that he met his goal by successfully completing

his paper in 5 days. He could have presented a copy of this paper with his

self-management study.

SELF-MANAGEMENT STUDY #2: METHODS OF LEARNING (IMPROVING

QUIZ SCORES)

Introduction

This semester I decided to take the initiative to set a goal that I am

determined to accomplish—to earn a 3.0 grade point average. This

goal should motivate me to do all of my work for my classes. At

times, I believe that the motivation I had at the start of the semester

diminished. I have found this to be especially true in my Policy Plan-

ning and Development class.

Self-Observation and Evaluation

I have elected to do my case study for my Policy Planning and

Development class. In this class, I want to improve my quiz scores

because they will heavily determine my grade at the end of the course.

These quizzes are pop quizzes, and the element of surprise is what I

find most disturbing, because the quizzes consist of both the readings