Being an effective Unisa student

1 Make sure you made a suitable career and related course choice

• If you are uncertain, please work through the my career section of this website
• You can also contact us

2 How to effective

• Be active
  • Ask questions
  • Take notes
  • Do your assignments
• Be involved
  • Join a study group
  • Join tutorial classes
  • Join Vuma! (a social networking South African student portal) and communicate with Unisa students and students from other institutions
  • Take responsibility for your own learning
• Understand what you learn
  • Apply your knowledge
  • Revise often (daily!)

3 Practice self-belief

• Remember positive experiences
  • Keep a journal or write a blog to help you
• Use positive self-talk
  • I can !
• See yourself as:
  • effective
  • efficient
  • achieving

4 Use your brain effectively

• Techniques
  • Idea maps
  • Memory aids
    • Dramatic
    • Funny
• Understand your brain
  • How do you learn?
    • Visual (seeing)
    • Auditory (hearing)
    • Kinaesthetic (doing)
  • Baroque music helps
    • Mozart, Vivaldi
  • Relaxation
  • Concentration

5 Goals

• Set long-term and short-term goals to plan the life you want
• Keep yourself focused
• Set realistic goals - challenging but possible to reach
• Set concrete goals - they must be measurable - and when you want to achieve them

6 Develop study and workplace skills

• Reading skills: learn how to read with speed and comprehension
• Communication skills: develop presentation skills; how to listen; how to summarise information and write reports
• Interpersonal skills: develop your teamwork skills and improve your relationships with others
• Personal management: this includes learning to prioritise and managing your time

7 Use your time wisely

• Plan properly
• Identify priorities - list them
• Build in balance
• Use your yearplanner or diary to plan
• Recognise time wasters

8 Your lifestyle

• Diet
  • Eat a balanced diet
  • Drink enough water
  • Eat at least five portions of fruit and veg daily
• Regular exercise
  • Aerobocs/ jogging/ walking at least three times a week for 20 minutes
  • Keep flexible by stretcing
• Sleep
  • Keep your sleep patterns regular (for example, sleep between 10:00 and 6:00 daily)
  • Try to sleep 6-8 hours per night

9 Relationships

• Develop support systems
• Involve family and friends in your studies
• Learn to be assertive
• Get to know the various support systems available at the University

Talk to us