Here are the arrivals, for teachers, of the summer holidays. By this we mean two months which, according to one of my friends who has been teaching for a long time, are divided into two phases: a month of convalescence followed by a month of rest. My friend speaks from experience…
This will be the time for you to read something other than what the course preparation and the rest of the assignment require you to read. Which isn’t always exciting…
I’m talking to you this time about two very promising and very practical books that I intend to read this summer, during my convalescence — I haven’t read them yet and I will probably come back to them.
In the meantime, if you read them, feel free to send me your comments.
Succeed at school
Intended for college and undergraduate students, Bernard Dionne’s book offers techniques and strategies for “successful studies”.
Of course, it talks about, among other things, taking notes, attentive reading, preparing for exams, teamwork, writing assignments and reports, as well as oral presentations.
The presentation, with color illustrations, is very clear and didactic. For example, each chapter opens with a very useful “At a glance” overview of the content that will be presented.
I am going, while reading it, to pay particular attention to a subject which is being discussed and which is of particular interest to me these days (and no doubt you too…), a subject which is not talked about enough: stress management and anxiety. Since the pandemic, anxiety has become a serious problem: one in six young people suffer from it!
A little taste of the chapter. A clear distinction is made between stress (the good, which has positive effects on success, and the bad, which has negative effects on it) and anxiety, social or performance. Their causes and manifestations are named.
Above all, we give tips and valuable advice to manage them. For example: doing physical activity, eating well, breathing according to a certain method, doing manual work, talking about how you feel, using good working methods.
Promising!
Effective working methods
A close relative of Mr. Dionne’s book, the collective The efficient touches as it should many of the subjects addressed by him.
The first chapter, on reading, promises and makes you want to read the following ones. In particular, it gives tips to help with concentration; we present the LIMITER method (which I did not know) to manage its list of things to do; we explain what the famous method of effective reading SQ3R is, a method which I have spoken to you about here. And we talk about many other things that will certainly be useful to your students and even to you.
Take the section on memorizing knowledge. In particular, we talk about precious mnemonic tricks, review cards, the usefulness of explaining the concepts to be learned aloud, rewriting your notes, testing yourself. Valuable tips and tricks every student should know…
A notable effort has been made to make this book attractive and not “flat”, as the authors say. It succeeded ! Once again, the presentation, with color illustrations, is very clear and didactic. “True or false” questionnaires open the chapters; suggestions for going further and deepening the subject matter are offered; boxes with things to remember are present throughout the book. Without forgetting digital boosts to help to use new technologies correctly.
I can’t wait to dive into it.
This column is on hiatus this summer. It will come back to you at the start of the school year, more precisely on August 19th. Until then, good rest and good reading…
Doctor of philosophy, doctor of education and columnist, Normand Baillargeon has written, directed or translated and edited more than seventy works.