This week’s tips focus on how you can use your time efficiently and effectively for studying during the Thanksgiving holiday. 

Be alert to your “highs” and “lows” in planning your study schedule.  Do the hardest tasks when you are the most alert.  It often helps to do the most difficult or most unpleasant task first so that it does not hang over you all day.  Do more active tasks when you are feeling more drained:  flashcards, practice questions, making graphics, etc.  Read and review outlines when you are the most focused.  Be aware of when you need a short break to restore your focus. 

This week’s tips focus on how you can use your time efficiently and effectively for studying during the Thanksgiving holiday. 

Realize that it is your responsibility to carve out the time you need for study.  Talk to your family and friends about why it is important for you to have study time during the break period to prepare for exams, to write a paper, or to accomplish whatever tasks you need to do.  If you have always played during undergraduate school on breaks, they may not understand why law study is different.  Even if family and friends do not fully understand, you need to make personal decisions that you will not regret later.  You may need to make some compromises and get up earlier or stay up later.  Do not use your family and friends as an excuse to procrastinate. 

This week’s tips focus on how you can use your time efficiently and effectively for studying during the Thanksgiving holiday.

Once you decide your priorities, plot out on a calendar which tasks you will complete each day.  Be realistic.  Mark down the actual hours you will spend on each task.  Consider the following possibilities:

• Listen to CD’s in the airport, on the plane, or while driving.
• Review outlines while in the airport or on the plane.
• Photocopy the pages you need to read for classes rather than lugging all of your books with you.
• Ask a family member or friend to quiz you with flashcards while you are at home.
• Get up earlier or go to bed later than family so that you can carve out time to study.
• Negotiate time to study when family/friends are doing other activities that do not need to include you.
• Schedule time with family and friends so that you know when you can study and they know when they will see you.
• Consider whether you can study in a different location than home in order to get time, space, and quiet for studying.
• Plan to take Thanksgiving Day off if possible.  If you have too much to do, at least take a portion of the day off and have fun.
• Use the template calendar attached.
  

This week’s tips focus on how you can use your time efficiently and effectively for studying during the Thanksgiving holiday.

Create a task list for each exam course or paper/project.  Determine which tasks are your priorities to complete over your break period.  Weigh the following factors:

• Are there projects/papers/presentations that will be due before the end of the semester?
• Are your outlines up-to-date for all of your exam courses?
• Are certain courses extremely difficult for you and need additional review time?
• Are you aware that you are behind in certain courses or portions of courses?
• Do you need to make tables, flowcharts, or other graphics if you are a visual learner?
• Are there certain supplemental materials that you want to read and study to clarify certain topics?
• Have you had a chance to do practice questions for your exam courses?
• Do you need to spend more time on memorization of the law?
• Will you be meeting with a study group during the break period?
  

Louisville Metro Police Chief, Robert White, Chair of the Pan-African Studies Department, Dr. Rajack-Talley, and Professor Cedric Powell will present a panel moderated by Jamie Izlar.

The program begins at 12 noon in room 275. A complimentary light lunch from Expressions of You will be available at 11:30 AM.

This forum is sponsored by BLSA, Lambda Law Caucus, the Pan-African Studies Department and the ACLU of Kentucky.

The Thanksgiving holiday is around the corner.  What does that break period mean for you?  This week’s tips will focus on how you can use your time efficiently and effectively for studying during the holiday. 

Be realistic about your holiday plans.  It is common to tell yourself that you will study at least ten times more than you actually can or will do.  Lay out a study plan that will be achievable rather than unrealistic.  Think about your travel mode, your travel time, your family expectations, your priorities for studying, and your need for balance.  Sit down with your calendar now and plan your study strategy for exams.

The deadline to submit forms to Student Records for spring registration is 4:00 p.m, Thursday, October 29.

The School of Law is not using the wish list option this year for spring registration.

If you have questions, please feel free to contact Barbara Thompson in Student Records or Associate Dean Kathy Bean. 

Tackle any test anxiety that you have now.  There are a number of strategies for test anxiety.  The sooner you implement them, the better.

• The deeper your understanding of the material, the more likely that you will remember it during an exam.  Study to understand and not just to remember.
• The more “avenues” that you create to retrieve information from long-term memory, the more likely that you will remember it during the exam.  For example: read your outline; create a graphic; drill with flashcards; create hypos to illustrate; do practice questions; discuss with friends; etc.
• Do as many practice questions as possible.  You will be more confident in your approach to the type of exam questions and more confident that you can apply the material to new facts.
• Begin doing relaxation exercises now.  For tips on relaxation exercises, watch the stress management presentation that is available online at http://media.law.louisville.edu/.  
• Get extra sleep during the last week of classes and exams.  You are more likely to remain calm during exams and remember material if you are rested.
• If your test anxiety is especially serious or long-standing, make an appointment with the Counseling Center to discuss additional techniques.  852-6585

Christie Floyd, formerly our Academic Success Director, passed away Wednesday October 21, after an illness.  Grief counseling is available at the Counseling Center. Their number is (502) 852-6585.  Christie will be missed by all of us.

Those wishing to celebrate Christie's life and work are invited to attend an open visitation to be held at Saint Mark's Episcopal Church at 2822 Frankfort Ave. (map) from 4-8 PM on Friday, October 30, 2009. A private ceremony will be held at Cave Hill Cemetery the following morning.

Here is a brief biography:

Christie graduated from the University of Louisville Brandeis School of Law in 2001. While there, she served as Editor-in-Chief of the Brandeis Law Journal.  Her Student Note, "Admissibility of Prior Acts Evidence in Sexual Assault and Child Molestation Cases in Kentucky: A Proposed Solution That Recognizes Cultural Context," 38 Brandeis L.J. 133, was published in 1999.  She graduated magna cum laude and was named Oustanding Graduate of 2001 by the National Women Lawyers' Association. She accomplished all of this while working full-time, attending classes in the evening and raising a family.

Prior to joining U of L, Christie practiced as an Assistant Commonwealth's Attorney and Deputy Division Chief of the Commonwealth Attorney's Office Domestic Violence/Child Abuse Unit.  In that capacity, she also served on the Kentucky Sex Offender Risk Assessment Advisory Board and Kentucky Sex Offender Management Task Force.  Christie was instrumental in founding Kentucky's first child advocacy center in 1991 and participated in numerous groups targeting legislative and policy changes in areas of domestic violence and child abuse.  She also played a significant role in training new prosecutors and police officers.  

Source: Law School Academic Support Blog, friends and colleagues

Those wishing to celebrate Christie's life and work are invited to attend an open visitation to be held at Saint Mark's Episcopal Church, 2822 Frankfort Ave., from 4-8 p.m. Friday October 30, 2009. A private ceremony will be held at Cave Hill Cemetery the following morning. 

Details and guestbook are available at Courier-Journal.com.