This site is a great resource that helps to develop study skills
| Preparing |
- Schedule weekly reviews and updates
- Prioritize assignments
- Postpone tasks or routines that can be put off until school work is finished
- Develop alternative study places
- Use your “free” time wisely
- Review notes and readings just before class
- Review lecture material immediately after class
- Have a planner
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| 4 Steps in Learning | - Begin with the past
- Proceed with the present
- Consider the process
- Build in Review
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| Studying |
- Things you can control when you study:
- "Here I study"
Get a dedicated space, chair, table, lighting and environment
Avoid your cellphone or telephone
Put up a sign to avoid being disturbed or interrupted
If you like music in the background, OK, but don't let it be a distraction. (Research on productivity with music versus without music is inconclusive) - Stick to a routine, efficient study schedule
Accommodate your day/nighttime energy levels
- Focus
Before you begin studying, take a few minutes to summarize a few objectives, gather what you will need, and think of a general strategy of accomplishment - Incentives
Create an incentive if necessary for successfully completing a task,
such as calling a friend, a food treat, a walk, etc.
For special projects such as term papers, design projects, long book reviews, set up a special incentive - Change topics
Changing the subject you study every one to two hours for variety - Vary your study activities
Alternate reading with more active learning exercises
Ask yourself how you could increase your activity level while studying? Perhaps a group will be best? Creating study questions?
Ask your teacher for alternative strategies for learning. The more active your learning, the better. - Take regular, scheduled breaks that fit you
Do something different from what you've been doing (e.g., walk around if you've been sitting), and in a different area - Rewards
Give yourself a reward when you've completed a task - For Memorizing Tips go to: http://www.studygs.net/memory/
- A.S.P.I.R.E. - a study system: http://www.studygs.net/aspire.htm
- Note Card Tips: http://www.studygs.net/tstprp4.htm
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| Learning with others |
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| Classroom participation | - Preparing for the classroom
Before class:
- Do your homework!
Read critically; form your own opinions
- Review your notes
from the previous lecture and reading for the day
- Communicate immediately with professors
about any study problems
- Focus on the task at hand before class:
take a moment of silence to gather your thoughts and mentally prepare yourself to the topic
- Write any objectives
that come to mind at the head of your notepaper: - preparing for an up-coming test,
- understanding a particular concept,
- gaining a good foundation on a topic
- understanding or reviewing the reading
In Class:
- Arrive on time for class.
Professors do not take lateness lightly
- Position yourself in the classroom
to focus on the subject matter; consider the best location for: - listening
- asking questions
- seeing visual materials
- discussing--not only with the teacher but also your classmates
- Avoid distractions
that may interfere with your concentration
(daydreaming, looking around the room, talking to a friend, passing notes, dozing)
- Evaluate as you listen:
- Decide what is important and should be placed in your notes and what can be left out;
- Listen long enough to be sure you understand what was said before writing.
- Ask clarifying questions (but wait for "breaks" in the instructor's stream).
- Review your class objective(s) throughout the class period
- Did your objective(s) mesh with the instructor's introductory remarks?
- Has the class digressed from stated objectives, yours or the instructor's?
- Make a "to do" list including
- assignments;
- reviewing difficult concepts;
- joining study groups;
- making appointments with a study pal, tutor, or the instructor.
One resource often overlooked is a classmate who seems to have a good grasp of the material. If it seem appropriate, seek the individual out for help. Paying attention
- Try to anticipate the main ideas of the coming lecture:
Look over your notes of the previous lecture and read the course material.
If you have questions about material from the previous class or text, ask the instructor before class about them
Prepare a few questions
you expect to be answered on new material if possible - Resist distractions
by sitting in front of the room away from disruptive classmates and by focusing on the instructor through active listening and note taking - Put yourself in the "mood" with
attentive expression and posture; do not sprawl - Shift position in your seat every so often
Don't sit frozen in one position
Shifting on occasion will help keep the blood circulating,
send more oxygen to your brain, and help you remain alert - When appropriate: ask a question, ask for more clarity,
or engage an instructor and the class in dialogue - Train yourself not to give in to distractions
The following are some strategies to demonstrate your interest and curiosity:
- Don't criticize, condemn, or complain to the teacher about his or her performance:
rather: focus on, and discuss, the material and your understanding of it. - Let the teacher know what you appreciate about the course
- Smile
- Know and use the teacher's name
- Listen to what the teacher has to say about himself or herself
- Talk in terms of what the teacher is interested in
- Let the teacher know that you think he or she is important
- Avoid arguing
- If you are wrong, admit it quickly and emphatically
- Ask questions rather than give orders
- Try honestly to see the teacher's point of view
- Let the teacher know that you sincerely want to do well in the course
- Always have the course textbook in your hand whenever you see the instructor
- Hand in all assignments on time throughout the semester
You can develop your own note taking system and study strategy:
Record * Reduce * Recite * Reflect * Review Get a good loose-leaf notebook:
This will enable you to add, delete, and re-sequence pages and materials. Begin each session's notes with a cover page for later summaries and test preparation. A typical notes page:
Heading
- Date
- Class/subject or title or number (e.g. 3/34)
| Heading, continued - Guest speakers' names,
including your fellow students' contributions | 2. Reduce; after class note: - key/cue words
- phrases
- questions
Link information from the text or other sources | 1. Record/take notes here: identify the main points
capture the main ideas
Use outlines or concept maps
Use words and pictures and graphs or whatever it takes to get the information down quickly. Avoid quoting unless it is very necessary. | Place for notes when reviewing/studying
(see 5 below) | 3. Recite: Talk aloud!
- Review from memory what you have learned
- Using the left hand margin's key words and questions, talk through, or illustrate definitions, concepts, etc.
- Create your own examples
4. Reflect: Think over!
- How does this relate to what you knew before?
- Note the essay terms and find the best ones that refer to your studies: Apply, Compare, Diagram, Evaluate, etc...
5. Review the notes you took
- At your next study session
- Before reading new material
- When studying for tests
Make notes on your "notes page" Multiple pages of notes for one lecture:
- summarize each page at its bottom,
- summarize the lecture on a cover or end page
Adapted from Walter Pauk (1989) and the Cornell Notetaking System (Dartmouth College, Hanover, NH) - Classroom discussions
- Guided notes
- Online learning
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Preparing for Tests | Study the chapter homework assignments before the test. Sometimes he uses the exact same questions as the homework, or at least very similar questions. Also listen to the lectures online. They helped me out a ton. |
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