GE1 : Understanding the Self

Week 8-9 Module

Your Let’s Check, Let’s Analyze and Nutshell will be in Quipper.

What I attached in the study guide is for your reference only

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BIG PICTURE
Week 8-9: Unit Learning Outcomes (ULO): At the end of the unit you are
expected to:
a) Construct schemes that would help in the better management of one’s self and
behaviors.
b) Apply these schemes to one’s self and functioning for a better managing of one’s
self and behaviors.

Big Picture in Focus : ULOa. a) Construct schemes that

would help in the better management of one’s self and
behaviors.

Metalanguage:
For you to demonstrate the ULO, you will need to have an operational
understanding of the following terms below. Please note that you will also be
required to refer to the previous definitions found in week 7 unit.

Self-management - self-management helps you become a successful learner.

It refers to strategies, techniques and approaches we use to direct our activities
and behaviours effectively. When it comes to study, self-management includes
goal setting, planning and managing your time. Self-management is a key skill
that will help you throughout your life.
Self-management skills - are the abilities that allow people to control their
thoughts, feelings and actions.
Self-care - is any activity that we do deliberately in order to take care of our
mental, emotional, and physical health. Although it’s a simple concept in
theory, it’s something we very often overlook. Good self-care is key to
improved mood and reduced anxiety. It’s also key to a good relationship with
oneself and others. https://psychcentral.com/blog/what-self-care-is-and-what-
it-isnt-2/
Cognitive Coping Strategies - These refer to ways of dealing with stress
using our minds. Goals Setting – involves the development of an action plan
designed to motivate and guide a person or group toward a goal.
Planning - is the process of thinking about the activities required to achieve a
desired goal. It is the first and foremost activity to achieve desired results. It
involves the creation and maintenance of a plan, such as psychological
aspects that require conceptual skills. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Planning
Set S.M.A.R.T. Goals
One of the most important things about
setting goals while you're in school is that
each one needs to be distinct, achievable,
and rewarding in order to keep you moving
forward. Before you set any major goals for
yourself, try to ensure they meet the
following criteria.
Specific – Know exactly what you need to accomplish and what you hope to
gain from doing so, whether it's simply finishing a paper, writing a personal
statement for an internship or scholarship application or finishing some
research for a larger project.
Measurable – Make sure you can easily evaluate whether or not your goal was
met and how beneficial it ultimately was to you.
Achievable – Be realistic when setting goals. This can help you avoid missing
deadlines and getting behind, as well as giving you a more accurate overview
of how much time you have to invest in other tasks throughout the week.
Results-Focused – Have very clear, distinct outcomes for meeting your goals,
and hold yourself to them.
Time-Bound – Set a deadline for each goal or, for more complex tasks with
multiple steps, establish deadlines for each major stage of the process.
https://www.aiuniv.edu/degrees/business/articles/smart-goals-for-college-students

Essential Knowledge :

Metacognitive Study Strategies - Do you spend a lot of time studying but feel
like your hard work doesn’t help your performance on exams? You may not
realize that your study techniques, which may have worked in high school, don’t
necessarily translate to how you’re expected to learn in college. But don’t
worry—we’ll show you how to analyze your current strategies, see what’s
 working and what isn’t, and come up with new, more effective study techniques.
To do this, we’ll introduce you to the idea of “metacognition,” tell you why
metacognition helps you learn better, and introduce some strategies for
incorporating metacognition into your studying.
What is metacognition and why should I care? - Metacognition is thinking
about how you think and learn. The key to metacognition is asking yourself self-
reflective questions, which are powerful because they allow us to take inventory
of where we currently are (thinking about what we already know), how we learn
(what is working and what is not), and where we want to be (accurately gauging
if we’ve mastered the material). Metacognition helps you to be a self-aware
problem solver and take control of your learning. By using metacognition when
you study, you can be strategic about your approach. You will be able to take
stock of what you already know, what you need to work on, and how best to
approach learning new material.
Strategies for using metacognition when you study - Below are some ideas
for how to engage in metacognition when you are studying. Think about which
of these resonate with you and plan to incorporate them into your study routine
on a regular basis.
 Use your syllabus as a roadmap - Look at your syllabus. Your professor
probably included a course schedule, reading list, learning objectives or
something similar to give you a sense of how the course is structured. Use this
as your roadmap for the course. For example, for a reading-based course, think
about why your professor might have assigned the readings in this particular
order. How do they connect? What are the key themes that you notice? What
prior knowledge do you have that could inform your reading of this new
material? You can do this at multiple points throughout the semester, as you
gain additional knowledge that you can piece together.
 Summon your prior knowledge -Before you read your textbook or attend a
lecture, look at the topic that is covered and ask yourself what you know about
it already. What questions do you have? What do you hope to learn? Answering
these questions will give context to what you are learning and help you start
building a framework for new knowledge. It may also help you engage more
deeply with the material.

 Think aloud - Talk through your material. You can talk to your classmates, your
friends, a tutor, or even a pet. Just verbalizing your thoughts can help you make
more sense of the material and internalize it more deeply. Talking aloud is a
great way to test yourself on how well you really know the material. In courses
that require problem solving, explaining the steps aloud will ensure you really
understand them and expose any gaps in knowledge that you might have. Ask
yourself questions about what you are doing and why.
 Ask yourself questions - Asking self-reflective questions is key to
metacognition. Take the time to be introspective and honest with yourself about
 your comprehension. Below are some suggestions for metacognitive questions
you can ask yourself.
 Does this answer make sense given the information provided?
 What strategy did I use to solve this problem that was helpful?
 How does this information conflict with my prior understanding?
 How does this information relate to what we learned last week?
 What questions will I ask myself next time I’m working these types of problems?
 What is confusing about this topic?
 What are the relationships between these two concepts?
 What conclusions can I make?
 Try brainstorming some of your own questions as well.

 Use writing - Writing can help you organize your thoughts and assess what
you know. Just like thinking aloud, writing can help you identify what you do
and don’t know, and how you are thinking about the concepts that you’re
learning. Write out what you know and what questions you have about the
learning objectives for each topic you are learning.
 Organize your thoughts -Using concept maps or graphic organizers is another
great way to visualize material and see the connections between the various
concepts you are learning. Creating your concept map from memory is also a
great study strategy because it is a form of self-testing.
 Take notes from memory - Many students take notes as they are reading.
Often this can turn notetaking into a passive activity, since it can be easy to fall
into just copying directly from the book without thinking about the material and
putting your notes in your own words. Instead, try reading short sections at a
time and pausing periodically to summarize what you read from memory. This
technique ensures that you are actively engaging with the material as you are
reading and taking notes, and it helps you better gauge how much you’re
actually remembering from what you read; it also engages your recall, which
makes it more likely you’ll be able to remember and understand the material
when you’re done.
 Review your exams - Reviewing an exam that you’ve recently taken is a great
time to use metacognition. Look at what you knew and what you missed. Try
using this handout to analyze your preparation for the exam and track the items
you missed, along with the reasons that you missed them. Then take the time
to fill in the areas you still have gaps and make a plan for how you might change
your preparation next time.
 Take a timeout - When you’re learning, it’s important to periodically take a time
out to make sure you’re engaging in metacognitive strategies. We often can get
so absorbed in “doing” that we don’t always think about the why behind what
we are doing. For example, if you are working through a math problem, it’s
helpful to pause as you go and think about why you are doing each step, and
how you knew that it followed from the previous step. Throughout the semester,
you should continue to take timeouts before, during or after assignments to see
how what you’re doing relates to the course as a whole and to the learning
objectives that your professor has set.
 Test yourself - You don’t want your exam to be the first time you accurately
assess how well you know the material. Self-testing should be an integral part
of your study sessions so that have a clear understanding of what you do and
don’t know. Many of the methods described are about self-testing (e.g., thinking
aloud, using writing, taking notes from memory) because they help you discern
what you do and don’t actually know. Other common methods include practice
tests and flash cards—anything that asks you to summon your knowledge and
check if it’s correct.
 Figure out how you learn - It is important to figure out what learning strategies
work best for you. It will probably vary depending on what type of material you
are trying to learn (e.g. chemistry vs. history), but it will be helpful to be open to
trying new things and paying attention to what is effective for you. If flash cards
never help you, stop using them and try something else instead. Making an
appointment with an academic coach at the Learning Center is a great chance
to reflect on what you have been doing and figuring out what works best for
you. https://learningcenter.unc.edu/tips-and-tools/metacognitive-study-
strategies/
Stress Management - Coping resources can broadly be divided into cognitive
coping strategies and physical coping strategies. Some of these coping
strategies will suit some people, others will not. The key is to have a range of
resources that can be applied, depending upon the situation and the individual.
Furthermore, it is important to have strategies one is comfortable using.

STUDENT GUIDE TO SURVIVING STRESS AND ANXIETY IN COLLEGE &

BEYOND

According to Melissa Cohen a Licensed Clinical Social Worker and Certified

Coach in New York City, feelings of stress and anxiety are a part of life. Some
levels of stress can actually be good for us, as the right kind of stress
encourages us toward change and growth. However, when stress and anxiety
exist for an extended period of time, they can become a burden or even a health
risk. This guidebook will help you recognize and understand feelings of stress
and anxiety and learn how to manage them so that they don’t become
overwhelming.

What is Stress? - Stress is the body’s reaction to a challenge. Though stress

is often perceived as bad, it can actually be good in some respects. The right
kind of stress can sharpen the mind and reflexes. It might be able to help the
body perform better, or help you escape a dangerous situation.Stress produces
a physiological reaction in your body. Hormones are released, which results in
physical manifestations of stress. These can include slowed digestion, shaking,
tunnel vision, accelerated breathing and heart rate, dilation of pupils and
flushed skin. This process is often referred to as the “fight or flight” response.
That is just what it sounds like: Our bodies are poised to either run away from
the stressor or stick around and fight against it.
Symptoms and Signs of Stress - There are four primary types of symptoms
of stress: physical, emotional, cognitive and behavioral. Depending on the
individual and the cause of the stress, the number of symptoms from each
 category can vary. The below chart will give an overview of types of symptoms
that may be present in someone suffering from stress.

Physical Symptoms
 Irregular bowel movements
 Involuntary twitching or shaking
 Irregular or missed periods
 Getting sick more often than normal
 Reduced libido
 Chest pain with or without tachycardia
 Headaches
 Nausea
 Muscle aches
 Trouble sleeping
 Heartburn or indigestion
 Fatigue
 Flushed skin
 Clenched teeth
 Unusual changes in weight
Emotional Symptoms
 Less than normal patience
 Feelings of sadness and/or depression
 Feelings of being overwhelmed
 Restlessness
 Reduced or eliminated desire for activities once enjoyed or regularly done
 Irritability
 Sense of isolation
 Trouble coping with life’s issues
 More frequent or extreme pessimistic attitude
Cognitive Symptoms
 Impaired concentration
 Trouble with remembering things, such as homework assignments or deadlines
 Chronic worrying
 Anxious thoughts or feelings
 Reduced or impaired judgment
 Impaired speech (mumbling or stuttering)
 Repetitive or unwanted thoughts
Behavioral Symptoms
 Change in eating habits
 Change in sleeping habits
 New or increased use of drugs, tobacco or drugs
 Nail biting
 Pacing
 Abnormal failure or delay to complete everyday responsibilities
 Significant change in school or work performance
 Unusual desire for social isolation
 Frequent lying
 Trouble getting along with peers, such as coworkers, classmates or teachers
Causes of College Stress:

1. Living Away From Home - For many students, college is the first time they
have lived away from home or been away from their family for any significant
period of time. Besides that, it’s a very unfamiliar environment. Everything is
different – the food, the people and the living accommodations. Even though
most students eventually get used to these new things without a problem, the
first few weeks of college can create a stressful environment. This is true even
if you are truly excited about the changes. Remember that even positive
changes can induce stress. There is also a change in the support environment.
When there is a big test, bad day or confusing situation, family members and
old friends are not readily available for support and if they are, it’s through a
telephone or computer rather than in person. This can be tough to adjust to,
especially during those first few months.
2. Academic Demands and Test Anxiety - This may be the most common long-
term cause of stress for college students. After all, that’s why students go to
college – to learn. When you don’t get the results you think you should get, or
you feel pressured to get certain academic results, this can cause a lot of stress.
For some students, college is the first time they are academically challenged. If
high school was a breeze for you, college may be the first time you get a low
grade on a test. Consequently, test anxiety may be experienced for the first
time or with increased intensity.
Test anxiety is anxiety that usually comes before or during the taking of tests.
The symptoms can be physical and mental and usually inhibit your ability to
perform as well as you otherwise could.
Ways to manage or reduce the anxiety include:
 STUDY AS MUCH AS YOU CAN. One of the causes of test anxiety is the fear
that you didn’t study enough. By studying as much as you can, you can reduce
this fear.
 TRY TO MIMIC TEST TAKING CONDITIONS. It might be taking practice tests,
studying in the same classroom or building where you will be taking the test or
doing practice problems under timed conditions. These steps can help
familiarize you to otherwise unfamiliar test taking conditions.
 LEARN TO STUDY MORE EFFECTIVELY. Maybe it’s getting a tutor to help
explain concepts, someone to double check your work or using something as
simple as flashcards to study, but finding someone to help you study more
effectively can make all the difference.
 FIND WAYS TO CALM DOWN. What cools you down? Squeezing a stress
ball? Taking deep breaths? Whatever relaxation technique you choose can help
reduce the symptoms of text anxiety.
 WATCH YOUR DIET. Eat well and eat properly. For example, too much
caffeine can exacerbate the physical symptoms of test anxiety.
 GET ENOUGH SLEEP. Research is clear that not getting enough sleep can
impair one’s memory and reasoning abilities. The more clear-headed you are,
the less anxious you will feel.
 EXERCISE REGULARLY. Exercise can release tension, and the less tension
you feel as you go into the test, the better off you might be.
 MAKE SURE YOU HAVE PLENTY OF TIME. You’re worried enough about the
test. No need to add more worry about being late and having less time to take
the test as a result of unexpected traffic or a test location change.

3. Finances - In addition to being on your own physically and maybe even

emotionally, you may also be on your own financially. Everything from rent and
food to gas and entertainment is now your financial responsibility. You might
find that you need to take on a part-time job when you aren’t in class. Even if
you have a scholarship or loan, or have a “full ride” that helps you pay for it all,
there are still the required phone calls, questions, paperwork and deadlines that
have to be met in order to ensure the funds keep coming.
4. Post-Graduate Plans - After college is over, then what? That’s a huge
question: Figuring out the answer is like laying out blueprints for the rest of your
life. There are many stressors that can affect your plans, such as not having a
job upon graduation, being forced to settle for a job you don’t really want, or
struggling to get into graduate schools. On the other hand, you might land a
great job, but the prospect of paying back student loans is now starting to hang
over your head. Ultimately, the fear of the unknown can really make a huge
difference in how much stress you feel about your post-graduate life.

5 School Stress Busting Tips:

 GET PLENTY OF SLEEP. Not getting enough sleep impairs academic
performance and makes it harder to get through the day.
 THINK POSITIVE. Research has shown that positive thinking may improve
physical well-being, produce lower feelings of depression and produce lower
levels of distress.
 HAVE A STRESS “OUTLET.” This could be a social activity like going out or
participating in intramural sports, finding a hobby or joining a social club.
 ENGAGE IN RELAXATION TECHNIQUES. This can include things like slowly
counting to ten, meditation, thinking positive thoughts, visualization or playing
with a stress ball.
 TALK TO SOMEONE. Sometimes just talking about what’s stressful or having
someone listen to your problems can drastically reduce stress.
https://www.learnpsychology.org/student-stress-anxiety-guide/

Data shows:
 Research shows many people misunderstand what effective self-care is and
how they can best benefit from it.
 A recent Harris Poll reported that self-care isn’t a priority for consumers
because 44 percent believe self-care is only possible for people with enough
time.
 About 35 percent believe self-care is only possible for those with enough
money.
 Incorporating healthy self-care practices into daily life can have lasting benefits.
These don’t need to be expensive or time-consuming to be effective.

Self-care is a term thrown around a lot, but experts say it’s often
misunderstood. - “Most people approach self-care from the thought, ‘I’m going
to make myself better,’ and that doesn’t work,” Gracy Obuchowicz, self-care
coach, told Healthline. She says self-improvement is often mistaken for self-
care, though they’re subtly different. “Self-improvement comes from a
perfectionist mind-set, where we think there is something we need to fix about
ourselves — that we’re lazy or procrastinators — all the stories we tell ourselves
when we have a goal for our well-being and we don’t achieve those, so we go
into a shame spiral and we tell ourselves we’re not good enough in some way,”
Obuchowicz said. She says the aspects of the self-improvement industry, such
as diet and weight loss, send the message that if people work harder and find
their discipline, they’ll be able to fix what feels defective, and only then will they
be worthy of self-care. “But self-care is different because it’s about allowing
yourself to have a nurturing experience of life right now as opposed to when
you work harder in the future,” Obuchowicz said. She also says numbing
behaviors, like drinking, eating, or surfing social media in excess, are often
mistaken as self-care. “When a lot of people think about self-care, they think
about how they can feel better, and numbing in the short term makes you feel
better, but self-care is a more proactive response that requires you process
what is causing you to numb,” she said. Because it can be hard to distinguish
between the two, she advises people think of it in another way. “Self-care is
something that when you do it, you wake up the next morning feeling better,
while numbing is something that when you wake up the next day, you think,
‘Maybe I didn’t need that extra glass of wine or dessert.'”
https://www.healthline.com/health-news/self-care-is-not-just-treating-yourself

Goal Setting - Goal setting involves the

development of an action plan designed to
motivate and guide a person or group toward
a goal. Goal setting can be guided by goal-
setting criteria such as SMART criteria. Goal
setting is a major component of personal-
development and management literature.
Wikipedia

Goal-setting theory refers to the effects of setting goals on subsequent

performance. Researcher Edwin Locke found that individuals who set specific,
difficult goals performed better than those who set general, easy goals. Locke
proposed five basic principles of goal-setting: clarity, challenge, commitment,
feedback, and task complexity.
One of the most effective ways to stay motivated is to set goals for yourself.
However, the type and quality of goals you set affects how well they will work.

Imagine you are 30 pounds overweight and want to drop some extra weight.
When setting your goal, you have several options. You could say, “I want to
lose weight within the next year. I will go on a diet to lose the weight.” This goal
is pretty vague and poorly defined; you haven’t specified how much weight you
want to lose or what concrete steps you will take to lose it.

Alternatively, you could say, “I want to lose two pounds a week for the next four
months. I will exercise for at least 30 minutes, five days per week. I will also
change my diet to include three servings of fruits and vegetables as well as
 whole-grain products. I will also limit myself to eating out just one day per week.”
This goal is much more specific and includes actionable steps.

The simple act of setting an effective goal gives you a better chance of realizing
that goal. In fact, listed below are several principles crucial to setting effective
goals.

Effective goal-setting principles:

 Clarity. A clear, measurable goal is more achievable than one that is poorly
defined. In other words, be specific! The most effective goals have a specific
timeline for completion.
 Challenge. The goal must have a decent level of difficulty in order to motivate
you to strive toward the goal.
 Commitment. Put deliberate effort into meeting this goal. Share your goal with
someone else in order to increase your accountability to meet that goal.
 Feedback. Set up a method to receive information on your progress toward a
goal. If losing 30 pounds in four months turns out to be too hard, it is better to
adjust the difficulty of your goal mid-way through the timeline than to give up
entirely.
 Task complexity. If a goal is especially complex, make sure you give yourself
enough time to overcome the learning curve involved in completing the task. In
other words, if a goal is really tough, make sure you give yourself some padding
to give you the best chance at succeeding.
How do I use this in my life? - Setting a goal is a great way to encourage
achievement and stay motivated. However, many of us set goals that are
ineffective at pushing us to do our best. When you are helping your youthling
with a project or trying to improve an aspect of your daily life, think carefully
about the goals you set. Ensure that each goal accounts for some or all of the
principles above: clarity, challenge, commitment, and feedback.

Work with your youthling to set goals that are appropriate and achievable given
her abilities. Begin by letting her set her own goal. Perhaps she wants to get
100% on her next math test. This goal meets the criteria of being clear,
challenging, and is something she has committed to. Talk together about
whether that is an attainable goal. If she routinely gets C’s on math
assignments, achieving a perfect score might be a poor goal. Next, set a clear
action plan for achieving the goal. Consider the complexity of the task and how
much time will be needed to be successful.

In the end, her goal might read something like this: “I want to get 100% on my
next math test. I will perform 5 algebra problems every night for the next two
weeks. My mom will give me feedback on whether I am getting the problems
correct and how to fix my mistakes.” This clear, achievable goal provides
motivation and a specific plan for receiving feedback. Even if she does not
reach 100% on her test, goal-setting theory states that she will perform much
better than had she made a non-specific, easy goal.
https://gostrengths.com/what-is-goal-setting-theory/