Study Prof

To become an excellent turnip you simply sit around and wait for someone to dump manure on you and water you from time to time. That makes for a great vegetable, but not a great student. So why do most students sit in class and wait for knowledge to be dumped on them?

To become an excellent hawk you roam far and wide with your eyes peeled for anything that looks tasty. When you see it, you dive on it, kill it, and take it home to the kids. That’s also–figuratively speaking–how to make a great scholar.

During a lecture or while reading a text, you are cruising, eyes peeled, (more…)

Don’t waste time rewriting the same long names and words in your notes. Create a key with your abbreviations for the particular set of notes your taking. I usually put this key on the first page of notes in the upper right. I might start off with several key terms that I know will crop up, but I usually add others as the class progresses.

Example:

N – Napoleon

W – Wellington

Br – British

Fr – French

Wl – Waterloo

Now, instead of (more…)

My friend, Aliya, listening intently

Don’t you hate it when you’re talking to someone on the phone and you can tell they aren’t really listening? The pauses between your questions and their answers get longer and … longer. They ask questions that you’ve already answered. You know they aren’t paying attention.

Failing to pay close attention in class makes for missed details, frustrated professors, and poor notes. Missed details? What if one of those details is on your next test? You’ll be getting a lower grade. You might even fail! Frustrated professors and teachers–in smaller classes–often notice your lack of attention, just as you notice when your friend-on-the-phone is otherwise occupied. That frustration can make your prof angry and resentful; not the attitude you want them to have when they’re grading your paper. Even in very large classes, professors notice when most people aren’t listening. Often that makes them (more…)

Ironing a nice fold into a shirt or some pants requires heat, pressure, and repetition. First you get the iron hot, then, applying steady pressure, you go over that crease again and again until the fold is pressed into the fabric.

Could you get the fold ironed in without the heat and pressure? Sure, but it would take forever.

Getting memories ironed into our brains is a similar process. Going over the memory again and again will eventually work, but we can make the process much faster and more effective by using the mental equivalent of heat and pressure–what psychologists refer to as elaboration.

Some ways you can use elaboration…

• Ask yourself questions about what you are learning. Where have I heard this before? What does it remind me of? Is this true? How will this be tested?
• Turn verbal information into visual information by drawing a picture, chart or diagram.
• Turn visual information into verbal information by describing what you see.
• Relate the information to something you already know. That Mussolini character reminds me a lot of my hockey coach. (All of these are integrated directly into my note taking system as discussed on the free study skills video and in my ebook).
• Act it out. For example, put on a play about cellular mitosis using tube socks in the starring roles. (I suggest you shut and lock your door before doing this since it tends to cause roommates to give you funny looks and hide their socks.)
• Set it to music. My daughter’s kindergarten teacher used this to great effect, teaching her students a song to help them recall the spelling of every color they learned (the downside is that my daughter now hums under her breath when asked to spell “yellow.”) I’ve had friends who used this method to memorize extremely complex processes, though, so don’t discount it.

Here’s how I use this to really learn complex texts I’m reading…Please log in or sign up to read the rest of this content. Find out more.

The Cliff’s Notes website has a very extensive list of online study aids for students in high school and college.

Did you know that reading over your notes repeatedly is one of the LEAST effective ways to study?  Psychology research has demonstrated repeatedly that you remember much more effectively when you work with information rather than just reviewing information.

Solution: Teach your study materials to a partner.  Look briefly at a main heading in the notes, then try to teach the rest of that section (from memory) to your friend.  Go slowly.  Explain carefully.  Devise illustrations and examples to help make your point.  This method is much more effective than just rereading your notes!

I recently recorded a live webinar revealing six of my most powerful (and immediately useful) study skills.  Just click to watch.  Premium Members Only! Use this link to watch the webinar. You’ll have to log in to see it.

Please log in or sign up to read the rest of this content. Find out more.

(this is an updated version of a post from January 2008)

I’ve posted quite a bit on how and when to study in order to maximize recall, but putting it all together may be a bit daunting.  Follow this step-by-step guide and you’ll be well on your way to the top of the class!  These may seem deceptively simple, but every one of these steps is supported by research.  Start following these steps NOW to boost your grades and recall.

Best Study Schedule

1. Study every day rather than studying for long periods on one or two days a week
2. As far as it is possible, establish a regular daily study schedule
3. Study early in the day as much as possible.  Most (but certainly not all) brains function better earlier in the day.
4. Study between classes during time that would normally be wasted
5. Study in short sessions, from twenty to forty-five minutes each
6. Take frequent breaks from two to fifteen minutes long between each session and do something completely unrelated
7. Review at the beginning an end of each study session
8. Study new material within fifteen minutes of learning it, and again within twelve hours.  Aim for 100% mastery
9. Study the cumulative class notes at least once per week
10. Don’t study at night or on the weekends when it can be avoided.  Rest is just as important as study!  Exception: A brief review right before bed can cement information in.  For example, if I spent two hours going over new notes during the day, I might take ten minutes right before I close my eyes to mentally rehearse the material.

What could be more normal than drinking a tall glass of ice tea on a hot day?  Ice tea was sold for the first time on a hot day in 1904, at the World’s Fair.  Tea concessionaire Richard Blechynden was trying to boost sagging sales, and his new-fangled iced tea was a hit with thirsty fair-goers.

Up until that time, hot was the only way most people drank their tea.  Now, in the U.S. at least, cold tea is the norm for much of the year.

Similarly, learning new habits can seem awkward at first.  They seem unnatural.  After awhile, though, they become so normal you can’t imagine doing without them.

Keep that in mind as you work on forming new academic habits, like reviewing your notes as you walk across campus.  Persist and the ungainly new habit will become as natural as drinking a tall glass of ice tea on a hot day.