Thinking about making changes

Reflecting on past experience
It can be useful to spend a bit of time thinking about assessments you have done.  Think about the things that went well and what you did to make that happen.  Then consider other things that didn’t go so well.  This can help you identify what you probably need to change and to think about what you could do to make changes.
Below is a suggested method for doing this by writing your thoughts down.  You may find it helpful to talk through these issues with someone you trust.
How things went
1.	Take a sheet of paper and fold it to give yourself two wide columns and a narrower margin.
2.	Label one wide column ‘things that went well’ and the other ‘things that didn’t go so well’.
3.	Head the narrow margin ‘time’.  Put some category labels in the margin leaving space to complete your ‘form’. 
4.	Now fill in the sections of your form.  It is up to you how much you want to write.
What can you control?
5.	Take a coloured pen or highlighter:
•	Underline the things you did that made a difference;
•	Draw a circle around things you could control but didn’t.
Breaking bad habits
Focus on the things you can control.
6.	Take a second sheet of paper and fold it in half.  
7.	Label right-hand column ‘What I need to change’ and fill in this column.
8.	Now label the right-hand column ‘What I can do to change this’ and for each ‘need’ note down something you can do.  
Making changes
It’s OK to make changes in small steps and one thing at a time.  Some changes are simpler to make and some will have a greater impact.  
It can help to talk this over with someone - particularly if you’re not sure what changes to make.
http://www.ed.ac.uk/institute-academic-development 
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