Applying Your Skills
MONITORING, EVALUATING, AND ADJUSTING FOR COLLEGE SUCCESS
When you monitor your progress, evaluate the results of your strategies, and adjust your strategies as needed, you take responsibility for your learning. Practice each of these skills in the following activity.
Monitoring Your Progress
Pretend that you’re the instructor of this course and that you have to assign yourself a letter grade as a student. Give yourself a grade that honestly reflects three class-performance criteria: your attitude, effort, and results up to this point in the term. You may use + or – designations such as A– or C+.
Evaluating Results
Explain why you gave yourself this grade by responding to the following questions:
How would you describe your attitude toward this class? How might you consciously or unconsciously convey this attitude toward your actual instructor?
What kind of effort have you put into this course so far? Such effort might include reading, taking notes, completing assignments, participating in classroom discussions, reflecting on course material, and applying your new knowledge.
What results have you achieved in this class up to this point? Results can include quiz grades, written feedback on a journal entry, points for completing an assignment, and your instructor’s verbal acknowledgment of a thoughtful response you provided, as well as class attendance, participation in discussions, and assignments turned in on time.
Making Adjustments
Give yourself both positive and constructive feedback on your attitude, effort, and results. What are you doing well? What could you improve? What adjustments will you make in the next week to improve your performance (or maintain outstanding performance) in this class?