3 Tips for Effective Studying

Many students have little motivation to study because they lack the tools for effective study. Here are some general guidelines to help you get the best out of your studying.

 

Learn time management skills. Organization is the key to improving study skills. Set out a plan before you begin and stick to it. Allotting a certain amount of time or a period of time each day when you feel that you learn best and studying during that time is usually a good strategy. It will not only help you accomplish your goals, it will keep you on track time-wise. Don’t get behind on your studying or homework; keep up to date with your assignments to relieve some stress in the long run and to study more effectively.

 

Study in short bursts. There is nothing worse than burnout when you are trying to study. Don’t try to do a marathon session of studying, as you will not be able to remember everything all at once. Take breaks every now and then between chapters or subjects to give your brain a rest! Cramming is not the answer–don’t put off studying for a test until the last minute. Most teachers give you plenty of advance warning before an upcoming test, so studying in small sections at a time over a span of days  will help you to remember more. Then you can review everything right before the test if it is necessary. You might be surprised at how much you actually remembered!

 

Block out distractions. Turn off your phone, shut off your IM program and the TV, and close your door. Nothing will derail your studying as quickly as interruptions. If you really want to be successful, you need to focus. Another great tip is to make sure you have everything you need–books, paper, and pencils/pens BEFORE you start studying to cut back on distractions.

 

Most importantly take your time, make a plan, and stick with it. The key to improving study skills is to study smart, not hard. Don’t procrastinate and don’t get distracted and you’ll be acing the test sooner than you think!

Top 3 Tips for Great Studying

One of the big things that I’ve been asked about lately has been how to help students study more efficiently and effectively. To be efficient, they must be able to do it with as little time investment as possible and to be effective; they have to be able to retain as much knowledge as possible.
Here are my top 3 tips for great studying:

Location, Location, Location
Two of the most common areas for study are the kitchen table and the bedroom. Both have their drawbacks. The kitchen tends to be the hub of the household, so the student is frequently interrupted. The bedroom is a poor choice because it’s generally full of distractions (a computer, stereo, cell phone) and it’s where your child sleeps, which makes for a naturally lethargic mood.

My best suggestion is a neutral location that is quiet and has good lighting – for most people, that’s actually the dining room! The student should bring only what he/she needs to study to the dining room, and pack it up at the end of the study session, to define a clear start and end to the activity.

Timing Is (Almost) Everything
There are two points to the timing issue. One is when your student studies and the other is how long they study on any particular subject.

Most students operate on a sleep-deprived schedule – going to bed late and getting up late (when they can!). This means that their most effective non-school hours are generally mid to late afternoon, and attention trails off towards the end of the day. By having your student do their studying when they get home from school, they also tend to have better recall from what they learned in class that day.

The length of the study session is also important. Most high school classes run in 45 minute segments, which is just about perfect for maximum retention. That’s not to say that your student should be limited to under an hour, but after 45 minutes it’s important to take a 10 minute break and move around (get a snack, check email, take the dog for a walk). The student can then return for another 45 minute study segment, but for most effective study, they should switch subjects to exercise a different part of their knowledge base.

Looking for Relationships
Let’s be honest – studying can be boring. More importantly, there’s a difference between passively reading and studying. Studying should be an active verb – the student is meant to absorb knowledge, not just memorize information.

One of the most innovative ways to ensure that your student is engaging his brain and not just his eyes is for him to use relationship mapping for subjects. Start with a core theme or topic (generally the first paragraph in a text book, or the summary on the back of a fictional book) and take notes on the relationships to that core theme. Your student’s mind is a neural net, where one concept links to other concepts – putting this on paper (instead of the traditional list-style notes) can help students retain the component parts better.

EG: A relationship map (also called a mind map) for studying Romeo and Juliet may have three central themes of Love, Conflict, and Tragedy.

The Love section would include all the characters and scenes where love is demonstrated (i.e. Romeo loves Juliet – ACT 2: “What light through yonder window breaks?”).

Conflict could be broken down into family conflict (i.e. Feuding families – PROLOGUE “From ancient grudge break to new mutiny”) and fighting (i.e. Tybalt kills Mercutio ACT 3- Mercutio “A plague on both your houses.”)

Tragedy could be broken down into sadness (i.e. Juliet mourns Tybalt ACT 4-Paris “Immoderately she weeps for Tybalt’s death”) and death (i.e. Juliet kills herself ACT 5-Juliet “Happy dagger, here lies your sheath.”

The point of the relationship map is not to memorize the specific events, but to create a concept narrative that helps the student understand the relationships between the different subjects and recall those more easily later.

Rhonda Manns, Blogger

A2Z College Planning

Top 3 Tips for Great Studying

One of the big things that I’ve been asked about lately has been how to help students study more efficiently and effectively. To be efficient, they must be able to do it with as little time investment as possible and to be effective; they have to be able to retain as much knowledge as possible.

Here are my top 3 tips for great studying:

Location, Location, Location

Two of the most common areas for study are the kitchen table and the bedroom. Both have their drawbacks. The kitchen tends to be the hub of the household, so the student is frequently interrupted. The bedroom is a poor choice because it’s generally full of distractions (a computer, stereo, cell phone) and it’s where your child sleeps, which makes for a naturally lethargic mood.

My best suggestion is a neutral location that is quiet and has good lighting – for most people, that’s actually the dining room! The student should bring only what he/she needs to study to the dining room, and pack it up at the end of the study session, to define a clear start and end to the activity.

Timing Is (Almost) Everything

There are two points to the timing issue. One is when your student studies and the other is how long they study on any particular subject.

Most students operate on a sleep-deprived schedule – going to bed late and getting up late (when they can!). This means that their most effective non-school hours are generally mid- to late afternoon, and attention trails off towards the end of the day. By having your student do their studying when they get home from school, they also tend to have better recall from what they learned in class that day.

The length of the study session is also important. Most high school classes run in 45 minute segments, which is just about perfect for maximum retention. That’s not to say that your student should be limited to under an hour, but after 45 minutes it’s important to take a 10 minute break and move around (get a snack, check email, take the dog for a walk). The student can then return for another 45 minute study segment, but for most effective study, they should switch subjects to exercise a different part of their knowledge base.

Looking for Relationships

Let’s be honest – studying can be boring. More importantly, there’s a difference between passively reading and studying. Studying should be an active verb – the student is meant to absorb knowledge, not just memorize information.

One of the most innovative ways to ensure that your student is engaging his brain and not just his eyes is for him to use relationship mapping for subjects. Start with a core theme or topic (generally the first paragraph in a text book, or the summary on the back of a fictional book) and take notes on the relationships to that core theme. Your student’s mind is a neural net, where one concept links to other concepts – putting this on paper (instead of the traditional list-style notes) can help students retain the component parts better.

EG: A relationship map (also called a mind map) for studying Romeo and Juliet may have three central themes of Love, Conflict, and Tragedy.

The Love section would include all the characters and scenes where love is demonstrated (i.e. Romeo loves Juliet – ACT 2: “What light through yonder window breaks?”).

Conflict could be broken down into family conflict (i.e. Feuding families – PROLOGUE “From ancient grudge break to new mutiny”) and fighting (i.e. Tybalt kills Mercutio ACT 3- Mercutio “A plague on both your houses.”)

Tragedy could be broken down into sadness (i.e. Juliet mourns Tybalt ACT 4-Paris “Immoderately she weeps for Tybalt’s death”) and death (i.e. Juliet kills herself ACT 5-Juliet “Happy dagger, here lies your sheath.”

The point of the relationship map is not to memorize the specific events, but to create a concept narrative that helps the student understand the relationships between the different subjects and recall those more easily later.

How to Study Mathematics

Buy used textbooks. Sometimes we don’t understand a concept because the explanation is just plain bad or it’s not written in a way that we can understand. It’s good to have a text that gives alternate explanations and additional sample problems to work out. Many used book stores will have inexpensive texts. Just double check to make sure that the explanations and answers from the previous owner are correct!

Study actively. Don’t just work out a problem, draw pictures and diagrams of a process and make up stories to go along with them. If you are an auditory learner, you may want to make brief recordings of yourself defining some terms or processes.

Read actively. Use sticky notes or flags to mark important things in your chapter or things you need to ask about in class. If you have a sample problem that you’ve worked out and you’d like to have similar problems for additional practice, mark it with a flag and ask the teacher next time you are in class.

Use college prep study guides. If you can’t find an old textbook to use in addition to your class text, try using an SAT, ACT, or CLEP study guides. They often provide great explanations and sample problems. You can also find free online study guides for these tests.

Take breaks. If you come across a problem that you don’t understand, read it over a few times and give it a try—but then walk away from it and make a sandwich or do something else. Your brain will continue to work on the problem subconsciously.

Review old tests. Old tests are the best clues to future tests. They are good for establishing a strong foundation for the newer information, but they also provide insight as to how the teacher thinks.

Practice neatness. How unfortunate would it be to miss a test question out of sloppiness? It’s important to make sure you can line up problems neatly so you don’t confuse yourself, and also to make sure you can tell your sevens from your ones.

Find a study partner. A study partner can test you and help you understand things you can’t get on your own.

Understand the process. You sometimes hear that it doesn’t matter how you come up with the right answer, just as long as you get there. But, this is not always true. You should always strive to understand an equation or a process.

Getting Through the Exam Time Blues

It’s that time of year again—and no, we’re not referring to winter or the holidays, but that time when everyone starts to camp out in the library, sleep deprived and totally immersed in textbooks and note-taking. But exam time doesn’t needto be the few weeks out of your year when you are exhausted, frazzled and stressed out. There are plenty of things that you can do to maximize your study time while still taking good care of yourself and de-stressing.

Devise a studying timetable and stick to it! Allocating slots of 40 minutes to each topic with 10 minute breaks has been scientifically proven to help students gather and assess information in a more efficient manner. Don’t read the information straight out a book or off of the internet, make sure you copy and rewrite it in your own words. Also, color-code and star certain aspects of your notes to bring the make sense of the information and help you to remember it in the long run. You should also try and study the most difficult areas first thing in the morning because you’re more likely to retain tedious information first thing, as opposed to doing it last thing at night when you’re tired and in a rush to get it done with.

Eat healthy. Make sure that you’re eating properly–3 meals a day with a healthy breakfast, your main meal at lunch, and a lighter meal in the evening. Some foods, such as fish, nuts and dried fruit, have also been known to help student memory. You could also try making some fruit and veggie smoothies to make sure that you get your 5 a day on the go!

Sleep. Students should ‘shut down’—that means no notes, study sessions or textbooks– at least an hour before going to bed. You should also aim for at least 8 hours sleep per night so that you’ll wake up well rested the next morning. Try and steer clear of any sleep medication, including herbal remedies, and instead try running a warm bath before going to bed to help you relax.

Drink plenty. We are of course talking about water and other non-alcoholic fluids. Research has shown that keeping your body hydrated helps you ingest information and keep you more alert. Though your morning routine may call for that first cup of joe, try and resist – coffee makes you nervous and can actually dehydrate you! If you aren’t ready to give it up completely, at least cut back to one or two cups per day.

Be positive. Stress loves negative energy. Believe in yourself and don’t forget to treat yourself to something you enjoy, i.e. music, food, or shopping, every now and again to keep you motivated and willing to learn.

Tips On Taking Effective Notes In Class

Taking good notes is essential to your success as a student. You can’t rely on your memory alone; research shows that after only 24 hours, you will have forgotten up to 80% of what you absorbed in a lecture. Regular review from effective notes, however, can reverse these numbers so that you retain at least 80% of the course material. Here are some tips on how you can help yourself to take effective lecture notes.

·         Write down the date and the topic of the lecture–this will help trigger your memory when you are studying. Also, try to number the pages so that if they get mixed up, you can easily get reorganized.

·         Learn to write, or if you are using a laptop, type quickly. Don’t worry about getting down every word, especially words like “a” and “the.”

·         Write down definitions. If your instructor defines a term, make sure you write it down and understand what it means.

·         Don’t copy outline or PowerPoint notes word for word—this is a very common problem! Students are so busy writing down every word on the slide that they stop listening to the lecture, causing them to miss information that was discussed in the lecture, but not written on the slide. It also makes proper listening impossible.

·         If your instructor indicates that something is important, mark it with a “*” or in a different color–this is a strong clue that it is something that may be on the test.

·         Reviewing your notes is very important. Review your notes to make sure you understand all the information and to keep it fresh in your head.       

·         Get help if necessary. If you’re having problems, show your professor your notes and ask for some guidance. Or stop by your campus study skills center and have someone go over your notes with you.

·         To be an effective note taker, you have to be a good listener. A great tip is to listen for the main ideas and concepts of the lecture so that you can determine what should be included in your notes.

·         When you’re having trouble grasping a concept, take a deep breath and ask for clarification from the instructor. Chances are, you’re not the only one having difficulty understanding it.

·         Sit close to the instructor. You’ll be able to hear more clearly, and distractions will be minimized and it’s easier to get the instructor’s attention for questions and comments.

·         Use abbreviations–developing your own set of abbreviations and symbols will save you time in class. For example, w/o=without, or b/c=because.

How to Start the School Year Off Right This Year

Summer is over, the days are shorter and the weather is cooler—this is the start of the new school year. Instead of groaning, why not take this as an opportunity for a new start and the chance to make it the best academic year yet!

Go to bed early and get enough sleep–a good sleep makes you more awake during the school day, which means you’re more focused and are much more fun to hang with during the day. You should ideally get between 7 and 8 hours a night, and also, to make sure that you are getting quality sleep, make sure to shut off computer and cell phones at least 1 1/2 hours before going to sleep.

Watch your eating habits—make sure that you are getting enough whole grains, fruits and vegetables so that you don’t find yourself getting sick or feeling sluggish during the day because you are hungry or lacking vitamins. Also, don’t forget to eat something for breakfast, even if it means grabbing a granola bar or banana on the run.

Do homework right away—don’t put off doing homework or projects until later in the night or after your favorite TV program. Do what you need to do right away so that you don’t run the risk of not having enough time to finish later or leaving it too late to go to sleep at a reasonable time.

Be prepared–Have everything you need for the school day set up and ready to go the night before, so you won’t find yourself running around getting even more stressed in the morning.

Be on time for classes–by showing up on time or even a little early, you immediately give the impression that you are reliable. Punctuality and making deadlines are crucial to your success as a student. If you are known for being on time, a punctuality slip in the future is more likely to be forgiven.

Keep your focus–the reason that you are at school is for school. Worry about socializing before or after school or on weekends; don’t ignore teachers or talk with friends during class instead of paying attention. The only one who will suffer is you—and your grades! 

Engaging with your teacher in class–ask questions, make comments and volunteer for demonstrations. You want to be in their mind as someone who is listening to their lecture. Even if you just ask for clarification from time to time, it shows a willingness to learn and improve. Stepping out in class is gutsy too; you’ll establish yourself to your teacher, as well as your peers, as a confident person.

How to Catch Up On College Work if You Fall Behind

There are few things worse when you are a student than that feeling of being completely out of control with your workload. Here are some ways to help you get caught up with everyone in your class.

Talk to your teacher or tutor. Explain to teachers what may have leaded you to fall behind and ask what you can do to get caught up. Also, ask which assignments is priority and which you should aim to complete first. Your teacher may also be able to connect you to additional resources, like tutoring, check-ins or counseling. Try to get additional help and support from tutors–they were students too once upon a time and will probably be happy to give you some advice.

Write a list of everything you need to get done.It can be scary, but you need to be able to determine exactly how much you have to do–look about a month ahead and factor everything in to get on top of it all. If you don’t write everything down, you could easily forget it all together and fall even further behind. As you finish each task be sure to cross it off of the list; that way you will see yourself making progress and will know how much further you have to go.

Take an hour.Even if you feel totally swamped with little to no free time, chances are you can find time to sit down and get started on one piece of work. Try to find an hour somewhere–between lectures, before or after dinner or in between TV shows. Even if you don’t finish what you started to work on, it will certainly help you to make progress.

Hand in all upcoming work on time.Make sure not to fall behind while you work on catching up—the last thing you want to do is get further behind. Set aside time every day to gather all upcoming assignments and make a detailed plan for how you will complete them.

Get a study partner.Having the support of a real person can be helpful, so finding someone to work with is a great idea. Organize study sessions in the library, set deadlines together, compare notes and ideas or even just meet for coffee and take time to talk about things. You may find that the added support and development of good study habits helps you to stay well ahead, rather than lagging behind.

Don’t be ashamed about falling behind. It happens to everyone, and the important thing is that you are dealing with it now and taking care of it before it gets out of hand.

Developing Good Study Habits – The Earlier the Better

A large number of parents do not help their children develop good study habits during the formative years. Whether it is an oversight or because the adults in the family are tired from the workday, this is an often neglected part of parenting responsibilities.

Failure to properly motivate study can cause problems in high school leading to grades that are not as good as they could be. Poor study habits at the college level can mean the difference between passing and failing.

When Is It Too Late to Instruct?

Although it may be late to influence a child on how to study as a sophomore in high school, it is still better to begin there than when an 18-year old is leaving for college. Unfortunately, that is what happens in many situations.

If you still have a year or two to prepare for your child to attend college, take some time to observe their study habits.

Many students “study” while the television blares in the background or with headphones in their ears. This often is not an exception, but the rule. Of course, this is not the recommended way of learning, and after a child does it for some time, it seems normal, acceptable, and the preferred way to go about studying. When the time comes for college, learning a different routine will be difficult.

What to Expect from Poor Study Habits

Poor study habits in the middle and high school years will only lead to those that are just as bad or worse in college. It’s easy to understand why so many college students never complete their studies. The material in college is harder than in high school, and the work done outside of class has less structure and fewer hours put toward it.

A parent may sound like a broken record to their child, but parents should continually stress the importance of having some quiet time every day in college to study. This may not work out in the dorm room because of a roommate, but there are usually places for communal study, supervised and quiet, such as the library.

Closely Watch the Early Grades

The student who has problems early in college is often the one who never studied properly in high school. Parents cannot go back in time and teach better habits, but they can keep close tabs on what happens in the first weeks of college before grades begin to slip. They can encourage study groups to enhance the understanding of harder subjects or look for tutors who will instill better studying habits for the new college student.

The earlier in your child’s life you teach and enforce good study habits, the better, and setting the standard in the elementary years is highly recommended.

Effective Tips for Studying

Spring is in the air, and with it comes proms, sports tournaments… and final exams. If you’re  struggling with your study habits, consider these simple tips for effective study sessions.

Set the Stage

A clean, tidy and distraction free zone for studying is important. Have everything you need on the desk. Put away what you do not need for the study session. Seeing reminders of other assessments or domestic bills may increase your anxiety and distract you.

Pick the Right Time to Study

Study according to your body-clock. Are you sharpest in the morning or at the evening? Schedule your most difficult materials when you are mentally at your best, and schedule the easier ones when you are mentally less efficient.

Fuel the Study Machine – Your Body

Avoid eating a big meal before a study session. Too much food will send your body into a ‘rest’ mode. On the other hand, don’t starve yourself either. Frequent small meals are best. Drink plenty of water during a study session, especially when you feel sluggish. Caffeine may help you to stay awake, but it can increase your anxiety – use it in moderation.

Give Yourself a Break

It is important to take a break before you feel tired and lose your concentration completely. Regular breaks, at least once an hour, helps to sustain your concentration. If the work is not going too well and you have difficulties in concentrating, you may need a long break and go back to it later. When you take a break, take a few deep breaths and get more oxygen to your brain: try walking around and doing some light stretching for a few minutes. It will help to release tension in your body, and help your circulation.