By Fifi Harteeny bt Marzuki
As time passed by, we are already in our second semester for 2016/2017. Starting from 30 January 2017, students have already been busy with their classes while some students are still struggling with their timetable for add and drop subjects. Many of us are anxious to start our activities as we wake up to head for class to acquire knowledge. It is time to set our mind to shine and perform well this semester and to get good grades. However, some students still find themselves hard to perform well in their studies.
Here are some suggestions that could guide us to perform well in our studies this semester.
Participate in Class
To gain more understanding from what the lecturer teaches us in class, we need to participate in each of the lessons to overcome our problem of not knowing about the subject. By participating in the class, we make our lecturer realise of our existence. It can help us to obtain good grades by showing interest and by being actively involved in the class lecture.
In addition, students must put aside their feelings of what others might think of them when asking questions or the thinking that make them look ‘stupid’ by ignoring the negative vibes. Students must remember that even if we ask questions that may be seen as “dumb,” it shows that we are genuinely engaged in the subject, and this would help improve our knowledge and indirectly it would also improve the knowledge of our classmates.
Moreover, most universities also have the system where lecturers give participation marks to their students who actively participate in class where it encourages students to ask their lecturers any question that they have in their mind that are related to the course.
Ask for help
Life as a student may not be as easy as what other people may think of. A lot of assignments, presentations and other course works need to be done and submitted within certain deadline. Besides that, students also need to prepare for final exams where determination and hard work are required to complete all the tasks given.
To overcome or reduce this burden, a student may ask for help from those around them whom they are closest to or are familiar with. This is one of the best methods for us to perform well in our study. As a student, our job is to study and to acquire knowledge and if we do not know something, we need to ask for help from people who know more about a topic than we do.
More importantly, when we ask for help, we seek to know more about something a person has dedicated his or her life to understand the subject, and this will make them feel more appreciated. In addition, asking for help from knowledgeable people shows how eager we want to progress and to deepen our understanding. Knowledge can also be learned outside of the classroom.
As students, we must put aside our ego whenever we seek for help, for example, when we feel demotivated in our study. This behaviour is important to gain knowledge to show our humbleness in learning and afterwards we can share the knowledge with other people.
Hence, as students we should not be afraid to ask for help as this should not be taken as a sign of weakness. Les Brown, an American motivational speaker once said, “Ask for help not because you are weak, but because you want to remain strong.” This serves to show that asking for help indicates your desire for self-development.
Have Some Fun!
Being students doesn’t mean that we need to study 24 hours. Scores of studies have shown that the brain performs better when they are not being worked to death. It means that we must balance between education and life to ensure that we have a healthy lifestyle. Even if it’s just watching a funny thirty-second video online, be sure to do it well. Just don’t do it a hundred times a day.
Spending time to do beneficial things like working out or going outside to take some fresh air also influences our mind and thoughts. As students, we need to be multitasking in performing our work to get used to pressures that will arise in the future. Performing several tasks at one time can have benefits in our life.
Having a healthy lifestyle can also help us to perform well in our studies as it is related to our emotions and psychological wellness. We must remember that when it comes to study, we must try our best to give optimal concentration, and not just for educational purpose, but also in everything we do. Hence, the need to balance our lifestyle is one of the key factors for a student to perform well in their study.
In a nutshell, we must remember to take care of our lifestyle as a good mind comes from a good body which is derived from a healthy lifestyle. ***