Counselor to speak on test-taking skills

By Tristian Evans/reporter

South Campus counselor Annie Dobbins will present How to Take a Test and Pass 12:30-1:30 p.m. Nov. 18 in the SSTU Texas Room.

“You have to study,” said Dobbins, who has been with the district for 31 years, teaching topics such as psychology for success orientations and study skills before moving over into counseling.

Dobbins believes student success is a top priority.

“The [faculty and staff] are moving toward student success,” she said. “I’ve always felt strongly about this as a counselor.”

During the seminar, Dobbins will cover various test-taking strategies and methods, such as the different types of study techniques students can use to improve their grades.

She will also cover topics such as deep cognitive processing, which she describes as a “test-taking system by which you use deductive reasoning and educated guessing for the information that you don’t know.”

Dobbins said she will also talk about the eight steps of successful test taking, positive thinking and ways to select a study method.

“We work with students to reach their full potential,” she said about the South Campus center for academic success.

Dobbins started the College Student Success Seminars more than 20 years ago as a way to help students survive college.

“We used to call them student survival workshops,” she said. “Students needed these.”

Dobbins said she is a strong believer that nothing can take the place of studying, reading and reviewing. She hopes her seminar will help students sharpen their test-taking skills.