Study Prof

Most of us have been making flash cards since an enthusiastic third-grade teacher first used them to pound the multiplication facts into our resisting little cranial cavities. Why did she do it? Why, Mrs. Payne, why?

News flash; Flash Cards, boring and basic though they may be, work. But. They don’t work nearly as well for most of us as they should. Why? Because you’re doing it wrong. At least, I was doing it wrong throughout most of my college career. Here’s how to avoid my early mistakes. (more…)

How far in advance should I start studying for a test?

You should be studying for the test at the beginning of the semester.  Every time you read a text or take notes in class, be thinking, “how will this look on the test?”.  Here’s what an optimal study schedule will look like. Study those notes…

• After each class, study the notes for that class within fifteen minutes of walking out the door, maybe while walking (more…)

If you’re like me you probably see writing as something you are assigned by sadistic, work-happy profs, but writing is actually a powerful thinking tool. It will help you focus, recall, and understand! Whether you’re trying to get a bead on Charlemagne’s leadership genius, the weaknesses of multi-variate regressions, or the in’s and out’s of stoichiometry, writing can give you the mental boost you need.

How it works

Taking a doughy, unshaped thought and turning it into a well-constructed, logically-articulated sentence forces you to process at a higher level. You’ve got to take the info-mulch roiling around between your ears and (more…)

The BBC produced a program on how to improve your memory that’s worth a watch. Warning: it’s in British, so you may have to do a bit of translating. For example, when they ask you the coin question, think about a common coin in your country.

Enjoy… http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PGz3ChZJKa4

What is a good way to study that will be fast and efficient?

Take notes in class and on your readings using some of the note taking techniques I’ve talked about before.  Study from those notes using this method, championed by Cal Newport…

• Take a page of notes and cover up everything but the key ideas written in the margins.
• Look at the first key idea and, out loud, give a lecture on that particular point to an imaginary class (or to your study group).  Take pains to explain thoroughly and give examples.  Imagine that the students are question-happy fifth graders. That means explain in (more…)

In a slick study by Peterson and Peterson (1959) participants were given a three letter sequence (AVK, for example), and then asked to count backwards by threes (100, 97, 94, 91, etc.).  After only six seconds (!) recall for the sequence of three letters had gone down to 50%. After 18 seconds, the memory was completely gone!

Apparently, the process of actively engaging the mind–the backward counting–interfered with storing the memory of the three letter sequence. Our brains need time to process and store new information in order to make strong memories. Trying to take in information too quickly is like (more…)

Here’s a great picture of exactly how we achieve our goals through repeated actions.  We become what we repeatedly do.

This is a time-lapse of a Japanese group that walked the same path over and over. After several days they had worn a path in the grass. Consider how long it will take for the path to grow over once they stop walking. Weeks? Months? Once the path is sufficiently well-trodden, it will remain for a long, long time. As you are cultivating new habits, frequent repetition is the key to changing an action into a habit.

In the same way weaning yourself from a bad habit is not an overnight proposition. It will take time and effort to keep yourself from travelling the well-worn path long enough for it to grow over and disappear.

The lesson also applies to creating memories, although this illustration would represent brute-force repetition. Easier: use mnemonics to create a stronger path initially. That will cut down on the number of repetitions you’ll need to make that memory rock solid.

Here’s a useful site with a solid overview of memory principles and how they apply to your studies.

McMaster University has put together a nice little video on how to get info from the text book into your long term memory. It’s only 4 minutes long and well worth your time. (But what’s up with him standing in the locker room?)

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