The 10 Steps of Being a Successful Student

1. Setting Goals – Students, who set goals are continuously working toward being successful. These students have something positive to strive for, which keeps them on target for success. Another benefit of setting goals involves teaching the students how to develop a successful plan of action for school, which can be carried over to life. Students should develop a variety of goals both short and long term. To keep the focus the students should write goals down and review their progress on a regular schedule.

2. Managing Time – Students are very busy and in order to have success they need to organize their time each day. This can begin by having a planner or calendar that can be used to record all assignments and activities. The planner should be utilized daily, weekly, and monthly. When developing a schedule the students’ first priority is having enough time to study each day. School related business is also a high priority on the planner. In addition to the planner, the student can use a to-do- list of all activities for that day. The list should have all activities scheduled for that day, and time should be allowed to complete the most important task.

3. Positive Habits– Students should develop routines for school that will lead them to being successful. Successful students train themselves to be serious about all the following habits; being on time to school and class, attending class regularly, studying two or more hours a night, turning in assignments on time, bringing supplies to class, being prepared for test and quiz, getting a good nights’ sleep, participating in class discussion, eating healthy, and being involved in physical exercise on a regular schedule.

4. Reading– Successful students should always find time to read. Reading should be incorporated into their daily life. They should read books, magazines and the internet regularly. Successful students should utilize the bookstore and/or take out books at the library on a regular schedule. This is how they increase their knowledge and keep their mind sharp. They also should read all assignments for their classes, and stay ahead of the class by reading future assignments. Their goal is to become knowledgeable about as many subjects as possible.

5. Get To Know Your Teachers– Getting to know teachers will raise student chances of getting help from the teacher. Teachers are more willing to help students who seem genuinely concerned about learning. The student should take time to get involved into meaningful conversation with the instructor, which could lead to positive recommendations from the teachers.

6. Sit in Front of the Class– Students, who sit in front of the class can observe every detail from the teacher, and develop a positive rapport with the teacher. The teachers will also be able to recognize the student and observe how the student is very attentive. This can lead to more opportunities to be called on by the teacher for classroom participation.

7. Extra Credit – Successful students take advantage of extra credit when available. This demonstrates their concern for getting good grades. This can also help boost the student grades in class, and keep grades at the highest academic level of the class. The extra credit is also another motivator for the students to be successful and gain more knowledge about the class.

8. Quality of Work – Students who are successful make sure all assignments are turned in on time and look neat and professional. Extra effort is given to the quality of any assignment turned into their instructor. They take pride in their assignment and will do whatever it takes to perfect their work. Time is always allowed to make sure it is a quality work being turned in. Teachers appreciate students who are conscientious about their assignments.

9. Classroom Participation– Successful students are very attentive in their classes, and they get involved in the class. They don’t mind asking questions for clarification of subjects or asking questions to keep a discussion going. Successful students also utilize class participation to learn more about the topic being taught. These students demonstrate to the instructor that they are active participants in the learning process, and that they take the job of being a student seriously.

10 Take Good Notes – Students, who want to earn high grades take notes in all classes. These students develop a method of taking notes with language that is easy to understand. Most students will abbreviate words in order to write faster. In addition, these students take notes when they are reading their text books, and they have a method for doing so. Summarizing chapters has been very helpful for them.

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