{"id":14651,"date":"2017-10-19T14:03:13","date_gmt":"2017-10-19T21:03:13","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/blogs.georgefox.edu\/dminlgp\/?p=14651"},"modified":"2017-10-19T14:03:13","modified_gmt":"2017-10-19T21:03:13","slug":"getting-organized","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/blogs.georgefox.edu\/dlgp\/getting-organized\/","title":{"rendered":"\u201cGetting Organized\u201d"},"content":{"rendered":"

In the first chapter of his book, \u201cLearn How to Study,\u201d Derek Rowntree begins in the first chapter with a compelling reason for this book: \u201cWe usually don\u2019t improve at it unless we give some thought both to our own purposes and to what those other people expect of us.\u201d[1]<\/a> In a manner designed around a particular style of retention-based learning by requesting active participation of the reader throughout the book, Rowntree aims to provide the serious student with resources and tools to become a more effective modern academic learner and student, especially in today\u2019s university environment.<\/p>\n

The first three chapters of the book serve as the foundation, while the remainder of the book serves as a collection of tools and strategies for various aspects of university student learning. At the end of chapter one, the author writes: \u201cThe next two chapters (2 and 3) are meant to get you thinking about your purposes in studying and the demands being made on you. Chapter 4 is about getting organized to meet those demands. And the remaining chapters should get you into the habit of reviewing the approaches and skills you will need in learning and in demonstrating what you have learned to the satisfaction of your tutors and yourself.\u201d[2]<\/a><\/p>\n

While the content of chapters 6-10 were either covered in my previous education programs, or they are not yet relevant to where I am in my doctoral program, they will potentially serve as helpful references as my research develops. For now, Chapter 4: Getting Organized For Learning, is the most relevant for my current situation and therefore the most meaningful to reflect on for this post.<\/p>\n

It\u2019s possible that my interest in this chapter is in part inspired by the helpful Xcel map that Kyle produced as a nice a visual of the scope of this program. Chapter 4 encourages the student to get organized with her calendar, looking out a year, a term, a month, and a week. The author encouraged the reader to find freedom in understanding which to invest more time in depending on how one\u2019s life tends to flow. Now that we have the map, it would be very helpful for me to re-establish a discipline (I used to do this) of mapping out my week on Sunday night, and carving chunks of time each day to set aside for studying and doctoral work. And then of course, sticking to it, which is usually my bigger challenge. I loathe the idea of sitting on schoolwork for a few months and then finding myself under unnecessary stress and pressure.<\/p>\n

I started using iStudiez Pro and spent a few hours mapping out all the assignments, categorized by course and date, for the semester. One could easily just use her regular calendar to do this as well. It helped to give perspective and to help me set a reasonable pace for myself with my various other responsibilities. This chapter was especially relevant to me because of the variety of responsibilities I have in this season of life, and the limited time at my disposal. Effective time management is critical for my success in this program.<\/p>\n

I\u2019ve had the privilege of running a handful of marathons and more half-marathons. My first marathon I hit the wall at Mile 17 largely because I did not set my pace correctly for miles 11-16. In a program like this, setting pace is important in the same way. Set the pace too fast, and we burn out. Because of my limited time, that\u2019s not my risk. My risk is to set the pace too slow, and finding myself needing to spring at certain mile markers in order to catch up. This would make for an unfortunate experience. I see Kyle\u2019s Excel sheet as perspective on the whole race, and the semester organization as the setting of my steady pace, and the weekly organization as my regular checking of the mechanics and making adjustments to stay on pace.<\/p>\n

While I did not find delight or entertainment in this book, I found this chapter in particular, and the one that follows, as helpful tools to get me started on the journey on the right foot. For others who are like me, I have copied and pasted this most helpful quote from the book to keep in mind:<\/p>\n

\u201cKnowing what is likely to happen over the year as a whole should help you plan for shorter periods \u2014the next semester or term, the next month, the next week, tomorrow.<\/p>\n

Obviously, the nearer the period for which you are planning, the more specific your plans can be.<\/p>\n

Planning week by week<\/p>\n

Here are some suggestions as to how you might set about planning your study one week at a time: Draw up a timetable chart (on screen or paper), showing seven days of the week each divided into, say, hourly blocks of time from, say, 9 am to 10 pm, and label those blocks that are already taken up by your regular study commitments (lectures, lab work, meeting of self-help group, etc.) and any regular non-study commitments. Fix on a regular time in the week (say, Sunday evening) when you sit down and plan for the coming week. Check with your long-term diary or calendar to see which milestones or fixed events may demand some of your time in the week, e.g. assignments for which you need to prepare. Make a list of study tasks that must be accomplished during the coming week, e.g. prepare a presentation for Friday\u2019s seminar; draft outline of essay; write up lab notes. Make a list of study tasks that could be tackled (and should be if you can make sufficient time available), e.g. reviewing any topics from past weeks that are still troubling you. Decide how many hours you can devote to private study next week. Here we are talking about blocks of time other than those you have already labeled in your timetable for regular commitments.\u201d[3]<\/a><\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

[1]<\/a> Rowntree, Derek.\u00a0LEARN HOW TO STUDY: Developing the study skills and approaches to learning that will help you succeed in university \u2014 a virtual tutorial with Professor Derek Rowntree<\/em>. UNKNOWN, 2015. Kindle edition, loc: 119.<\/p>\n

[2]<\/a> Ibid, loc: 373.<\/p>\n

[3]<\/a> Ibid, loc: 1762, 67, 71<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

In the first chapter of his book, \u201cLearn How to Study,\u201d Derek Rowntree begins in the first chapter with a compelling reason for this book: \u201cWe usually don\u2019t improve at it unless we give some thought both to our own purposes and to what those other people expect of us.\u201d[1] In a manner designed around […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":101,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"_monsterinsights_skip_tracking":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_active":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_note":"","_monsterinsights_sitenote_category":0,"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[1051],"class_list":["post-14651","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-uncategorized","tag-derek-rountree","cohort-lgp8"],"acf":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/blogs.georgefox.edu\/dlgp\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/14651","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/blogs.georgefox.edu\/dlgp\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/blogs.georgefox.edu\/dlgp\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.georgefox.edu\/dlgp\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/101"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.georgefox.edu\/dlgp\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=14651"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.georgefox.edu\/dlgp\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/14651\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":14652,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.georgefox.edu\/dlgp\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/14651\/revisions\/14652"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/blogs.georgefox.edu\/dlgp\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=14651"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.georgefox.edu\/dlgp\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=14651"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.georgefox.edu\/dlgp\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=14651"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}