Some Students Are Having a Hard Time

• I have been teaching at UMASS/Boston for over ten years
• But the grades for some students in the last few years have been bad
• And this is true not just at UMB
• I have a friend who taught at a German university
• She reported the same problem
• I've read many reports of declining student performance
• The problem is widespread
• The root causes are unclear
• But remote teaching during COVID lockdown is certainly a factor
• If you are not getting the best grades ...
• there are things you can do that help you learn
• I will be talking about them at the end of each Thursday class
• But I will mention one of the most important techniques here
• You need to have a consistant routine
• You should set aside regular chunks of time for each course ...
• and you stick to that schedule as best you can
• The semester is long - 14 weeks
• Most of you have multiple responsibilities
• These conflicting demands can cause you to lose focus
• Having a regular schedule can keep you on track ...
• and prevent panic attacks before exams ...
• and in the closing weeks of the semester
• Time is a finite resource
• Once you have wasted time ...
• you can never get it back
• If you find your schedule is not working ...
• make some changes
• But do not use that as an excuse to abandon your schedule
• There is an old saying
• If you fail to plan ...
• you are planning to fail