My first essay for WRT 105 is worth 10% of my grade, which caused me a lot of stress. When Dr. Blumin first introduced the Target Planner in
class, I knew it would be perfect for this essay. My teacher only assigned the class two due dates; the rough draft of the first two pages was due September 13th and the final paper was due September 23rd. I was able to fill in a schedule of what I should do by when to stay on task. The dates were:
- September 9- go to writing center for help with a claim
- September 13- rough draft of first twopages
- September 15- writing center for four page rough draft
- September 18- polish essay
- September 19- final visit with writing center
- September 20- ESSAY DUE
The reason why I choose to create a planner for my essay was because it forced me to sit down and work on it. I am a visual learner as I stated before and seeing what I needed to accomplish by when allowed me to complete the assignment on time and not leave it for last minute. I looked at the essay requirements thinking it would be easy because it was only four pages, yet, it was very difficult. If I did not plan time for the writing center, I would have received no help and potentially failed. I found it so challenging because I needed to make my own claim and support it with my thoughts rather than evidence. The only material I was allowed to use was a reading for our textbook. By setting deadlines for facets of the essay, I was able to review and edit multiple times.
My experiment with my Target Planner for my MAT 285 exam is still going under way. The reason I say this is because the exam is not until Tuesday. I still decided to write about it in my blog to prove that is helping me prepare. I grouped each chapter together by date to prepare. Monday my teacher will be putting up a list of practice problems that will look similar to the test. I wanted to have all my material studied by then so I could see what areas I needed to review again. The dates are:
- September 19: complete all homework
- September 21: review chapter 1
- September 22: review chapter 2
- September 24: review chapter 3
- September 26: complete all review questions
- September 27: EXAM
(Target Planner for MAT 285 on right)
I choose these dates and this setup because by completing all the assignments I will have enough time to practice and hopefully do well on the exam without too much extra studying. This is an excellent way for me to learn the materials as well because it is all visual learning. By completing the work and seeing how the professor works through the problems helps me absorb the materials.
This is a great way to manage your time because anyone can take the simple target planner and adjust it to their preference, dates, and assignments due. The planner also allows you to use all your materials to full advantage and shows you when to do work so you are never behind. I will continue to use the target planner in the future for other long term assignments.
I liked how you played to your strengths as a learner by choosing the Target Planner to help you prepare. When I used the Target Planner I found it challenging to do the required things on each date. You were right about the simplicity of the Target Planner, I was able to make a planner that suited me as a learner and as a student. I think I should try to use the planner on different subjects like you did to see if it works better in some classes than others.
ReplyDeleteI am glad that the Target Planner worked well for you. I, however, did not find this strategy very helpful because I see the Target Planner as somewhat just a list. I am more of a kinesthetic learner, so the Target Planner doesn't do it for me. I need to visualize assignments then break it down into smaller assignments so I can actually complete it. I liked the way you incorporated LAME while you described how you used the Target Planner for your two courses.
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