Materials to Print
Need to Know Activities Guide
Session 02
For every activity, the focus of discussions should be on how students will apply that information or those skills to their experience in college. For these activities, students might not have decided what schools they want to attend. Have them pick a possible school and practice the researching skills. Tell them they can use the same process when they do narrow down their college searches.
Note to facilitators: In each session, the timing of the activities is less than the 2 ½ hours of the session. This allows for time for transitions between activities, a short break, and time to just talk to students about your experiences, along with their questions and expectations. You may find that some activities take more or less time depending on the group, so be aware of timing and make adjustments as needed. Early sessions have more activities. If you don’t think you will have enough time, use discretion and choose the ones that best meet the needs of your group. Make sure to read over ALL session guides before starting the workshop to get an overview and to plan for the best approach. Then re-read each session guide before you meet with students. Make sure to have needed materials. You might be able to carry some activities over to later sessions if you run out of time.
01. Self-Assessment of Attitude Toward Learning
Timing: 25 minutes
Description: The first questions deal with how much control students have over how they learn—and how they deal with situations that are outside of their control. Later questions have students consider how they feel about learning and how they approach studying and exams. Students should try to uncover patterns in their own attitudes.
Having students distribute themselves according to their numbers can give them a visual of how their answers compare to other students in the group. Point out patterns and ask students why they answered the way they did as they move to answer the question.
Objectives:
· To improve student understanding of their own attitudes toward learning
· To help students realize how much attitude affects their learning
· To have students consider the role of responsibility for their own education
Materials: writing utensils, 4 sheets of paper numbered 1 through 4
Notes: Encourage students to be honest about their feelings about school.
Students should take about 10 minutes to answer questions individually. It takes about 10 minutes for the group activity (if it seems to be taking too long, just choose the most important questions and skip some that might be similar or less important). You should have a few minutes left over for discussion of what the exercise demonstrated for them.
02. Feeling Involved
Timing: 15 minutes
Description: Students should get into small groups based on interest in the same college and research when that college offers a student organization fair (under various names). Students should look through the various student organizations that meet on campus and make a list of those that they might join. They should do additional research into those organizations to find out what is involved in joining and what the group does.
Objectives:
· To improve researching skills so students are able to seek resources when they need them
· To make students aware of opportunities on campus beyond classes
· To encourage students to get involved in campus organizations to improve their college experience
Materials: optional: colored pencils, markers or crayons, paper
OR white board and markers
Smartphone, tablet, or laptop
Notes: Students who are involved in campus organizations are less likely to drop out and have better experiences. Given the increase of students’ reporting feeling lonely on campus, it’s even more important for students to plan ahead to make sure they have ways to connect with others. Emphasizing the advantages of student organizations can help students in many ways.
03. Feeling of Accomplishment
Timing: 15 minutes
Description: Students should tell each other brief stories about a time they accomplished something they feel proud about. Then they can take a few minutes to answer questions about that experience.
Objectives:
· To help students develop comfort with talking about themselves and promoting their accomplishments
· To tap into the power of positive thinking and help students form/enhance a positive self-image
· To remind students of the strengths they have exhibited in the past and which they can call on to face new situations.
Materials: writing utensils
Notes:
04. Your Brain
Timing: 15 minutes
Description: Students should get into groups of 5 or less. They should have read the section, “Your Brain,” prior to meeting, but can review it there. Students should construct a summary of that section—something each student can do individually or that they can work on in the group. Then each student should come up with a strategy that could be useful to all students when faced with learning new materials. Together they should develop a description of how they can use that strategy in a practical way in their classes. The implementation column should focus on practical steps they can take. Example: Strategy = Review notes Implementation = Each day after classes go through notes and add in questions I have and expand on the explanations I have given.
Objectives:
· To practice summarizing skills
· To develop methods for improving learning
· To develop practical steps that can be taken to improve learning
Materials: writing utensils, “Your Brain” from Need to Know
Notes: Students will have different levels of ability when it comes to summarizing a reading. It might be helpful after they finish to offer a sample summary paragraph so they can compare their answers. It is also helpful to offer an example of what is meant by Strategy and Implementation. For example, a strategy might be to repeat information frequently. Implementation might include developing notecards on an app or that can be carried to review whenever the student has a few minutes to kill.
05. Inventory of Strengths and Weaknesses
Timing: 15 minutes
Description: Students often consider academic skills as the only skills they need for college success. In truth, academic skills and intelligence only play a partial role in success. Students should consider the soft skills they have and how they can use those skills to become more confident as they approach college. If they feel they are lacking soft skills, they have an opportunity to consider how they can develop them.
Objectives:
· To help students understand the soft skills that are vital to college success
· To encourage students to assess their own skills
· To off students the opportunity to think about areas of improvement
Materials: writing utensils
Notes: This is a good activity for students to work on independently. If there isn’t enough time during the session, this can be homework for students to consider on their own. Time can also be saved by having the students skip the instruction to discuss the meaning of each skill in their groups.
The activity can also be done with the whole workshop rather than dividing up into small group discussions.
06. Purposes of Education
Timing: 10 minutes
Description: Understanding why they want or need a college education can help students feel more motivated. This is an activity that works well with the large group, where a facilitator writes answers that everyone calls out on the board—often after giving students a minute or two to consider their motivations. Then students can work individually to rank the purposes for going to college to see how their own motivations compare to other students in the group.
Objectives:
· To encourage students to explore their own motivations
· To emphasize the intrinsic value of a college education
Materials: writing utensils, white board and markers
Notes: A lot of students go to college because it is the obvious next step without considering their individual and personal motivations for going to college. Bringing those motivations to the forefront can spur students on to success in college. It is a good idea to differentiate the intrinsic and extrinsic motivations and have students honestly explore what college means to them.
07. Your Future Goals
Timing: 10 minutes
Description: Nobody knows the future, and plans need to be flexible enough to account for changing circumstances, but having goals can motivate students to succeed and can help them define the experiences they want to have. Students can work individually to think about what they want in their futures.
Objectives:
· To have students define their goals
· To help students feel invested in their education
Materials: writing utensils
Or you can make this an art project with paper and markers or colored pencils
Notes: Future goals can be specific (I want to be partner in a law firm before I am 30) or more general (I want to have a career I enjoy so I can afford a home and travel).
08. Goal Setting
Timing: 20 minutes
Description: Session 1 includes “Steps to Achieving Goals.” At the end of Session 1, tell students to be prepared to set their own goals during Session 2. Students should work individually to determine the steps for achieving a specific goal they have.
Objectives:
· To understand how to break goals into manageable steps
· To understand and see how effective goal setting strategies are
· To pick a specific goal and decide how best to work toward achieving it
Materials: writing utensils
Notes: Goals are individual and specific. This is an opportunity to walk around and work with students individually. Students may feel they don’t have specific goals, so having a few suggestions or stories about your own goals may be helpful.
09. Wrap Up: Gist and List
Timing: 5 minutes
Description: Students should be able to summarize what they learned in the session under the “Gist” column. Then they can pick out specific points that are important and list them under the “List” column.
Objectives:
· To help students digest and think about material
· To serve as a memory aid
Materials: writing utensils
Notes: This is an opportunity for students to process the information they learned and put it in their own words. This will facilitate learning and let students control their use of information. If you run out of time, this can be assigned as homework—it should only take a few minutes and will serve as a reminder for students of what they learned before moving to the next session.