February 24, 2017
Six weeks down, ten to go. Do you ever fall into the “Everybody” bandwagon fallacy when it comes
to your classes and professors? “Everybody is confused about this assignment.” “Everybody is upset
about how you graded our papers.” If you are having problems like this in class, you need to approach
the professor. Keep in mind that your professor will only focus on what is upsetting, concerning, and
frustrating to YOU. First, when you meet with your professor, deal with your issue and your issue
only. You should talk to your classmates and suggest they do the same and you will have more power
if you express yourselves individually. A professor needs to hear what each student’s problem is so
they know what issues to target. Everyone’s personal confusion could look very different. Bottom
line? Use YOUR voice. Encourage others to use theirs too. I know that you can, so go for it. It will
be a win-win for both you and the instructor.
Did you know? Contrary to popular belief, research proves that studying several subjects in one
sitting, studying them in different settings, and frequent testing helps students improve memory.
Benedict Carey wrote about this research for the New York Times on September 6, 2010:
1. Vary Your Study Space
Carey cites a study in which students who studied a list of words in a windowless room and again in a
room with a view did far better on a test than students who studied only in the viewless room.
Surprisingly, that study was conducted in 1978, and still we haven’t learned. “The brain makes subtle
associations between what it is studying and the background sensations it has at the time, the authors
say, regardless of whether those perceptions are conscious,” writes Carey.
2. Vary What You Study
The same principal may apply to what you study. Carey suggests that musicians and athletes have
known this for years. They practice cross-training.
“Varying the type of material studied in a single sitting — alternating, for example, among vocabulary,
reading and speaking in a new language — seems to leave a deeper impression on the brain than does
concentrating on just one skill at a time,” Carey writes.
3. Test Yourself Often
It also turns out that when a student is required to retrieve information, say for a test, that information
is re-stored in the brain in a more accessible way for future use. Carey reports that researchers don’t
know why this is true, just that it is. “It may be that the brain, when it revisits material at a later time,
has to relearn some of what it has absorbed before adding new stuff — and that that process is itself
self-reinforcing,” he writes. “The idea is that forgetting is the friend of learning,” Carey quotes Dr. Nate
Kornell, a psychologist at Williams College, as saying. “When you forget something, it allows you to
relearn, and do so effectively, the next time you see it.” Practice tests, then, are powerful learning
tools. There you have it!
VITA Tax Clinic – UW-W – 809 W. Starin Road - Hyland Hall – Room 1001
Free tax help and electronic filing of 2016 federal and Wisconsin tax returns is available from January
28 – April 12, 2017. The hours are: Saturdays 10a.m. – 2p.m. and Wednesdays 4p.m. – 7p.m. (No
Clinics March 18, 22, or 25) On Wednesdays, stop at the drive-thru on the north side of the Visitor
Center Building, on Starin Road and tell them you are there for the VITA Tax Clinic and ask for a
temporary parking permit. Park in Lot 7 in any non-metered site. On Saturdays, simply park in Lot 7.
Please feel free to share this information with family and citizens. For more information, including
what you need to bring to the clinic: 262-472-5449 or email [email protected].
Scholarships
Jeannette Rankin Foundation
This foundation raises money to help women who want to better themselves through education. Sixty
(60) $2,000 scholarships will be awarded for U.S. female citizens who are at least 35 years of age as of
March 1st of the year. Applicants must be pursuing a technical/vocational degree, an associate degree
or a first bachelor degree. Must be enrolled or accepted for the fall term and meet low income
guidelines. Deadline is March 17, 2017. Website: http://www.rankinfoundation.org
Working Parent Scholarship
Job-Applications.com is providing a scholarship for working parents to help pay for school. Each
school year, a working parent receives $1,000 toward college tuition costs. There is no fee for the
application. Students must simply write a short essay about balancing parenthood, working, and
excelling in school to apply. The application deadline is August 19, 2017. - Here is the link…good
luck: http://www.job-applications.com/scholarships/
Congratulations Craig Cross! Craig, a highly successful UW-W Nontrad has been accepted into
the Biochemistry Ph.D. program at UW-Madison, one of the top programs in the country. WOW!
Did you know that the City of Whitewater Parks and Recreation Department offers many activities for
you and your family to participate in? Check it out: http://www.whitewater-wi.gov/
Grant yourself the permission to do something fun this weekend. It will take your mind off school and
refresh you as we head into mid-terms soon. Have a great weekend!
Lynn Smith – Adult Student Coordinator - [email protected] – 262-472-1619