LLCC Learning Lab
1-11
Choices of Successful Students
From On Course: Strategies for Creating Success in College and in Life by Skip Downing
SUCCESSFUL STUDENTS. . .
STRUGGLING STUDENTS. . .
1. . . ACCEPT SELF RESPONSIBILITY, seeing
themselves as the primary cause of their
outcomes and experiences.
1. . .see themselves as Victims, believing that
what happens to them is determined primarily by
external forces such as fate, luck, and powerful
others.
2. . .DISCOVER SELF-MOTIVATION, finding
purpose in their lives by discovering personally
meaningful goals and dreams.
2. . .have difficulty sustaining motivation, often
feeling depressed, frustrated, and/or resentful
about a lack of direction in their lives.
3. . . MASTER SELF-MANAGEMENT, consistently
planning and taking purposeful actions in pursuit
of their goals and dreams.
3. . .seldom identify specific actions needed to
accomplish a desired outcome. And when they do,
they tend to procrastinate.
4. . . .EMPLOY INTERDEPENDENCE, building
mutually supportive relationships that help them
achieve their goals and dreams (while helping
others to do the same.)
4. . . are solitary, seldom requesting, even
rejecting offers of assistance from those who
could help.
5. . . GAIN SELF AWARENESS, consciously
employing behaviors, beliefs, and attitudes that
keep them on course.
5. . . make important choices unconsciously,
6.. . ADOPT LIFE-LONG LEARNING, finding
valuable lessons and wisdom in nearly every
experience they have.
6. . . Resist learning new ideas and skills,
viewing learning as fearful or boring rather than as
mental play.
7. . .DEVELOP EMOTIONAL INTELLIGENCE,
effectively managing their emotions in support of
their goals and dreams.
7. . . live at the mercy of strong emotions such
as anger, depression, anxiety, or a need for
instant gratification.
8. . . BELIEVE IN THEMSELVES, seeing
themselves capable, lovable, and unconditionally
worthy as human beings.
8. . .doubt their competence and personal
value, feeling inadequate to create their desired
outcomes and experiences.
being directed by self-sabotaging habits and
outdated life scripts.
“To learn is to change. Education is a process that changes the learner.
George Leonard
Major Points About Learning
From We’re Born to Learn by Rita Smilkstein
1. Your brain was born to learn, loves to learn, and knows how to learn.
2. You learn what you practice.
Practice is making mistakes, correcting mistakes, learning from
them, and trying over, again and again.
Making and learning from mistakes is a natural and necessary part
of learning.
3. You learn what you practice because when you are practicing your brain is
growing new fibers (dendrites) and connecting them (as synapses). This is
what learning is.
4. Learning takes time because you need time to grow and connect dendrites.
5. If you don’t use it, you can lose it. Dendrites and synapses can begin to
disappear if you don’t use them (if you don’t practice or use what you have
learned).
6. Your emotions affect your brain’s ability to learn, think, and remember.
Self-doubt, fear, etc., prevent your brain from learning, thinking,
and remember.
Confidence, interest, etc. help your brain learn, think, and
remember.
7. Remember, you are a natural-born learner.