Chapter 2: Organization
One reason some students struggle is they are not organized, and they don’t recognize that their disorganization wastes time. Some students don’t have a system for keeping track of papers, notes or due dates. They spend time digging through piles of papers looking for handouts, they can’t remember where or how they saved an important electronic document, or they keep notes for all of their classes in a disorganized notebook.
A student’s ability or organize (or lack-there-of) is hidden– unless faculty or tutors see an overflowing, messy backpack or witness a student searching endlessly for a document, it is easy to forget that many students don’t have the organizational skills most academic professionals have. There are a few simple things we can do to help students get more organized.
Want the Resources?
Each resource is downloadable as a Word doc! Look for the link at the end of the chapter.
2.1 Beliefs and Challenges Students Might Have Related to Organization
High school to College Transition Issues
- They believe they have a better memory than they do. Many students assume they will remember due dates and the details of homework assignments, so they don’t write them down or check D2L regularly.
- They believe someone else is responsible for making sure they remember to do assignments. Many students come from high school environments where parents and teachers remind them what is due when. Students might enter college expecting reminders. It is important for students to realize that college classes don’t meet every day, and multiple instructors use one classroom so techniques they relied on in high school are gone—for example, their college instructors cannot write important due dates on the whiteboard so students can see it daily when they come to class. Parents cannot access D2L unless the student grants them permission. Some faculty are good at reminding students to turn work in and contacting students who don’t complete work, while others will simply give students a zero for work that isn’t completed.
- They believe that accommodations are automatically set up. If a student had accommodations in high school, they might not know that it is up to them to make an appointment with the Office of Accessibility Resources, provide the appropriate paperwork and request accommodations. They might believe the Accessibility Resources person is responsible for contacting them to set up services and reminding them of due dates, etc.
- They are inconsistent. For example, sometimes they make lists on their phone, and other times they use a notebook. Then, they cannot remember which notebook contains the list. Students might also not take notes consistently—they might use multiple notebooks, or jumble English and History and math notes altogether.
- They believe that disorganization is “just the way it is.” If students have been disorganized throughout their grade and high school years, they may not realize they can make different choices. Without guidance, it may never occur to them to analyze how they organize their materials.
Study Space
- They don’t have an organized place to study. Students might sit down to study only to get up minutes later because they don’t have a pen, or they left their notebook in another room. Others don’t have a consistent place in their house or apartment to study, which increases the likelihood they will lose things.
- They Can’t or Don’t Minimize Distractions. Some students are constantly interrupted by texts or other alerts. Some students try to study in busy rooms with TV’s and computers going or with family members having conversations. Others try to multi-task by doing homework while they watch children or do housework.
2.2 Discussion Points about Organization
Disorganization leads to students:
- Failing assignments because they didn’t realize something was due.
- Feeling constantly overwhelmed because they feel out of control
- Feeling a sense of shame when they miss a deadline
- Always “running to catch up”—which results in assignments being completed at the last minute.
- Deciding that college isn’t for them, or that the people who work at the college don’t care about them.
However, students who has a history of disorganization might be so used to being disorganized that they don’t realize they are. If they do recognize that they are disorganized, they might just believe that is “the way they are.” Having conversations with students about how being disorganized can harm their success without shaming them can be challenging. Making a statement like, “I noticed it took you a few minutes to find that handout,” might be enough to get a student talking about their disorganization. Another way to discuss organization is to name how being disorganized might make the student feel– i.e. “It is really frustrating when you don’t realize something is due,” and then explain that it might reduce their stress and save their time if they spend a few minutes developing a system.
It is also important to remember that organizational systems are personal– what works for one person might drive another crazy. Faculty and tutors might be inclined to push their own organizational strategies onto their students. To avoid this, begin with an overall goal and leave the details up to the student. For example, “We need to work on a system so you don’t forget any more due dates. What do you think would work?” Then, you can help the student problem solve.
2.3 The Organization Checklist
The Organization Checklist
Overview
The organization checklist provides “to do” lists focused on things to buy, do or find out to be organized. The goal of the organization checklist is to help students create systems for organizing physical and digital items so they don’t lose them.
How It Helps
The organization checklists will help students with the following aspects of executive function:
Inhibitory Control— This resource might help students eliminate distractions such as cell phones, and it might encourage them to consider how to set up a study space that encourages focus.
Time Mangement— Even though this resource doesn’t directly contribute to time management, it impacts it, since being disorganized wastes time.
Self-Monitoring— This resource encourages students to analyze their own time management practices for effectiveness, thus building up their self-monitoring skills.
Organization Checklist
Being organized reduces stress and allows you to focus energy on completing assignments instead of looking for lost papers or digital files. The “To do” list below will get you started. Check off items as you complete them.
Papers and Books To Do List
_______Buy a separate notebook or have a three-ring binder for EACH class
_______Buy a separate two-pocket folder for each class
______ Buy a small notebook you can use to write down all of your assignments.
Study Space To Do List
_______Set up a specific place to study and ask family members and roommates leave it alone
_______ Buy study supplies (pens, highlighters, sticky notes, etc.) for your study area.
_______ Buy a printer or find out where you can print on campus for free.
_____ If you live in a loud house or apartment, consider buying noise-cancelling headphones
_____ If you plan to do most of your studying on campus, get in the habit of keeping study supplies organized in a backpack or briefcase.
Computer Access To Do List
_______If you don’t have your own computer, learn to use Google Docs or OneDrive so you can access your files wherever you get the internet
_______If you have to share a computer with family members, think through how you will schedule computer time
_______Learn where the computer labs are on your campus or in your community so you have a backup plan in case your computer breaks down
Digital Files To Do List
_______Create digital folders for each class you are in, and break down those folders into projects, weeks or units– depending on how your instructor organizes the class
_______Name digital files with enough detail that you can tell what they are. (I.e. “English Paper” is too general. “Draft 1 of Research Paper Sept 30” is much better)
_______If you don’t have a laptop, see if your campus rents them or allows students to check them out for the semester
If You Are a tutor . . .
- You can complete this checklist with students you work with. Since students can check off tasks they have completed, it lends itself to follow up conversations about what where students are struggling with organization and what works well.
- Help students understand that organizational skills can be developed and worked on just like any other skill—and that it often takes trial and error to find out what works for them personally.
- Ask questions instead of making statements. For example ask, “What is your system for keeping track of assignments and due dates?” as opposed to saying, “In college, your instructors aren’t going to remind you to do your work, so you better have a good system for keeping track of work.”
- Share your own struggles with getting and staying organized.
In Practice . . . .
I teach a study-skills course, and the Organization Checklist is one of the first assignments we do. It is surprising to me how many students have never considered organizing their digital files by class or unit. Even though many of our students are “digital natives,” they don’t know how to make a digital folder and use it organize assignments by unit. This ends up being a valuable exercise for them to think through.
Kathryn
If You Are faculty . . .
- Tailor this handout to your course by identifying specific things students should do to be prepared for your class, or for specific events in your class. (i.e. buy a lab kit by a certain date.)
- Design a lecture or create a video that identifies specific organizational challenges related to your class and ask students to work in pairs or teams to select organization suggestions that work for them.
- Share a story about an organizational challenge you faced as a college student and what you did about it. If someone helped you develop a good system (a tutor, an older sibling, a professor) tell students that to make the point that getting help with these things is also part of the college experience.
- If you teach a study skills course or a developmental course, create scenarios centered on fictional students who struggle with some aspect of organization. Divide students into teams, give each team a scenario and ask them to provide advice to the fictional student in the scenario.
- As a follow-up assignment to the scenarios, students could journal on an organizational problem they have and how they can solve it.
Download the Chapter 2 Resource
Download the Chapter 2 Resource as a Word doc. Customize it to suit your students’ needs.
Click the link: Chapter 2-Organization Resources
Media Attributions
- Download
- InhC
- Time M
- Self-Monitoring
- In Practice
