Strategy

This past week with preparations for taking this huge test I have been realizing how much weight I put on the concept of "strategy."

I have strategies for many different things. For instance

• Going to the grocery store with three children I park nearest the cart return rather than worrying about parking close to the store. That way I can grab a cart before heading in so that I can put kids in it and then when I get back to the car I can dump the cart easily.
• Getting the kids in bed I just keep them moving. It is sort of a changing strategy as the kids get older and more independent, but I run them through a strategy of routine (clothes off, potty, jammies on, brush teeth, etc.) and that seems to work.
• I have sort of unwritten strategies for trying to accomplish something new on the computer (look at the possibilities in the menu, try some things, Google it if I am getting no where...)

So my strategy for preparing for comps has been to take advantage of a reasonably good memory and my knowledge of mnemonics. Hopefully by this point I am familiar with my content area. The first thing I did when I got to the test was type out the citations and key words and then I started working on the actual writing. The citations actually helped me focus my writing so that I remembered what I wanted to talk about.
For today and the three questions I had I memorized 22 citations that included one to three names, a year for each, and then a key word to remind me what the article was about. I am working on 37 citations for the 4 questions I will answer on Wednesday. For my keywords I am using a sentence with the words and typing them in after I have the main information there. For the names and dates I am trying to notice patterns and develop silly associations (that's where the mnemonics comes in) to help me remember. Things such as a gentile green bear coughing becomes Greene 2006, Kaufman, Gentile, & Baer, 2005, and Milne, & Reis 2000 (since Milne is also the author's name for Winnie the Pooh). So that with lots and lots of practice is what my strategy is to get me through.
Oh, and if you want to say a small prayer for me I certainly wouldn't mind.