The road to success can be a tough one, taking its toll in many different ways on those that embark on it. Speaking to a successful Senior Instructor at EMU with a plethora of achievements under her belt, particularly in the field of psychology, Assist. Prof. Dr. Gulen Uygarer shared her advice on how to succeed for a healthier mind and body, as well as healthier grades.
Exam season is upon us again and students across the campus are taking in their final notes and completing their studies before they take their seats and are tested on what they have learnt so far this semester. While the stress of examinations can take its toll on anybody, some helpful to know tips and tricks can help during the next difficult fortnight and future exam periods. Assist. Prof. Dr. Gülen Uygarer, a former student of EMU shared with us some highly effective tips that she believes are sure to help better prepare for exams.
Be Motivated to Reach your Goals
Assist. Prof. Dr. Uygarer who is currently a senior instructor at the department of Educational Sciences, started off by sharing some of her tips for examination success by explaining that in order to succeed, students first of all need to understand why it’s important to be successful in their academic life, emphasizing that students should always remember what their aiming for in their educational journey, and that exams are stepping stones to their goals. This is where their motivation to do well will come from, which was another area covered by Uygarer, as no one else can be motivated for you and you cannot be helped if you have no motivation. Uygarer continued by highlighting the importance of having a support system in place, be it from your family, friends or even your teachers.
Effective Study Habits
Effective study habits were also on the agenda for the Educational Sciences Senior Instructor, who has a BA, MA, MSc and PhD under her name. The effective study habits go hand-in-hand with good time management skills, as she elaborated that as a student you need to plan ahead and give yourself enough time to study. “Students should discover how she or he can learn in an easy and permanent way. There is no universal formula to tell people how they can improve their retention. They should focus on their internal factors, such as motivation, anxiety, age for example, and external factors such as day, time, psychological environment, lighting, weather, substance addiction, alcohol intake, medication etc.”
Anxiety and Coffee don’t Mix Well
One of the most important areas for Uygarer is anxiety management, which she stated is frequently seen among students, which causes physical and psychological changes and prevents students from reaching their full potential. Methods for prevention include sufficient sleep, where she stated that sleep deprivation is a major cause of exam anxiety. She explained that there is a bilateral relationship between sleep quality and anxiety and that relying on coffee to harvest more study should be avoided, as should eating or drinking anything that the student may not normally consume.
Finding what Works for you
Elaborating on the subject of retention, Uygarer explained that one must learn their own pattern of retention. Discovering this pattern that enables you to remember is key to succeeding in your examinations. Some particular styles of learning are visual learning, auditory learning and kinaesthetic learning and it may be handy to locate which style works best for you.
As a final note, Assist. Prof Dr. Uygarer advised students to remember what their end goal is; what they want for their future and to remember that their future is in their control.
