Study Prof

Taking chemistry, biochem, physics, calculus, or their ilk? These courses are light on information to be memorized and heavy on problems to be solved and concepts to be grasped.

That takes time, effort, and repetition, just like learning to play the violin or to draw realistically. Here are some steps to make these sorts of courses much more manageable.

1. Don’t wait to get started. You can’t cram for these courses, so start studying on day one of the class.
2. Study regularly with frequent breaks. Your brain needs time between each study session to process new concepts, so study a little in the morning, a little in the afternoon, and do it each day. Research shows that marathon study sessions tend to be less effective.
3. Don’t substitute learning-about for learning. It’s very tempting to just read through your class notes or the textbook repeatedly. You feel like you are studying, but you really won’t get any better at solving the problems. To get better at the violin, you play the violin; you don’t read about playing the violin. Do practice problems, starting with easier ones and working to harder ones. Please log in or sign up to read the rest of this content. Find out more.

You aren’t going to like the answer, I’m afraid. They way to become an expert is to really work at it. I’m not being glib. Malcolm Gladwell explains (brilliantly, as usual) in his new book, Outliers, which I highly recommend.

Gladwell builds a very convincing argument that math skill is much more closely related to persistence and hard work than any innate ability. Bottomline: The more you do math, the better you get at math.

Most convincing study: Every four years, elementary and junior high students around the world take the TIMSS test of math and science. The test begins with a long, boring series of 120 questions designed to get the students’ background–parents level of education, home life, views on science, etc.

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You could just take those syllabi professors are passing out like popcorn this time of year and shove them deep into the bowels of your backpack, forgetting about them until necessity forces you to resurrect them from their linty tomb. But that’s a surefire recipe for cramming, all-nighters, and mediocre grades.

Instead, go over each syllabus with an eye towards due dates. Add major events to your semester calendar and then break each assignment/project/major-exam-prep into hour-sized chunks. Now schedule the chunks on that same calendar.

You’ll quickly see which weeks turn it to eye-popping, caffeine-fueled, study-thons. Sweeeet. So easy now to reschedule and lighten the load. You’ll be panic-free and well rested come finals time.

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Helpful stuff from the University of Minnesota! Just plug in your start date, your paper’s due date, and the subject. This site will map out your daily tasks with helpful resources for each stage. It will even send you email reminders. Pretty slick.

The next time you catch yourself casting about for something (anything) to do to avoid that looming project or research paper try this little activity.  Take out a blank sheet of paper and a pencil and start listing all the possible negative consequences of not working on whatever-it-is-you’re-avoiding.  Go for at least seven and don’t settle for anything less than five.

Next to each of those consequences, list the consequences of that consequence.  Make a diagram like this…

After you’ve (hopefully) scared yourself a bit, take a few minutes and imagine how it would feel right now if the dreaded task were actually done!  Feel your sense of accomplishment and freedom.  Imagine how good it would be to have it finally over with!

Now pull out that dreaded task and get to work.  Each time you feel like avoiding it, remember how good it will feel to just get it done!

After you’ve worked steadily for thirty minutes or so, reward yourself.  Let yourself be pleased and proud that you overcame your procrastination and actually got something accomplished.  Make yourself a big bowl of chunky monkey ice cream and sigh contentedly.

This technique got me through a lot of boring homework.  Apply it consistently and see for yourself.

The SAT Reasoning Test (note: NOT the subject specific SAT tests) is used widely by colleges and universities as one of their admissions criteria.  It is also often used as a criterion in awarding scholarships. It is claimed to test students’ abilities in subjects such as reading, writing, and mathematics; subjects that are supposed to predict those students’ college success. It does not, however, do a very good job at this task, even by the admission of the College Board, the company that makes the SAT.

Normally taken by high school juniors and seniors, it’s become a dreaded rite of passage for many high school students around the world.  Let’s take a look at the basic layout of the test.

Given seven times a year in the U.S., and six times a year overseas. the SAT tests three different areas; reading, writing, and math.  Each of these are scored on a 200 to 800 point scale, and people usually talk about a combined score, adding the scores from each section together.  A mid-level score might be 1500, while a perfect score would be 2400.

SAT Sections

The SAT has several different question types including a short essay, five-choice multiple-choice questions, and grid-ins, where the student enters their answer on a number grid.

The Writing Section

The SAT Writing section takes a total of sixty minutes; thirty-five minutes test grammar and word usage in the form of multiple-choice questions.  Students will also be asked to spend twenty-five minutes writing an essay.

More details about this section, including exact question types and examples can be found here.  The writing section is relatively new and many colleges and universities do not even consider it in their admissions.  To find out how your schools of choice handle it, you will have to ask their admission’s counselors directly.

The Reading Section

The critical reading sections of the SAT include two twenty-five minute sections and one twenty minute section.  Question types include sentences with a blank or two blanks in which you must pick the best word or words to go in the blanks.  This mainly tests vocabulary.  There are also short reading passages over which students must answer a series of questions about passage details, structure, main idea, author’s intentions, etc.  These questions mainly test reading comprehension and are the single, hardest section in which to increase your score, mainly because reading comprehension takes months or years to improve significantly.

See more details and examples of these question types here.

The Math Section

The math section of the SAT is also divided between two twenty-five minute sections and one twenty minute section.  While the majority of the questions are five-choice multiple choice questions, there are also grid-in questions (the College Board calls these “student-produced response” questions), where students must fill in their answers.  The math section tests algebra, geometry, graphing, functions, basic statistics, and data-analysis.  American students can expect to have learned everything they might see on the SAT by tenth grade.

Students are allowed to use a calculator, although every question can be answered without one.  To see the specific question types and examples as well as more details on calculator usage look here.

The Unscored Section

Students will also have an additional twenty-five minute section in either critical reading, mathematics, or writing multiple-choice.  This section is used by College Board to try out new questions, and it does not count towards your score.  However, it will not be identified as an experimental section, and you shouldn’t try and guess which section is the unscored section.  Just do your best on all the sections.

College Board claims that this section is used to make sure tests and question types are comparable from test to test and to “insure fairness.”  It also enables them to do some research at your expense.

Test Format

The SAT has a total of 10 sections. The 25-minute essay always comes first, and the final section will always be a 10-minute long, multiple-choice, writing section. Sections two through seven are always 25-minutes each and will alternate between reading, math, and writing in relatively random order. Sections eight and nine are 20-minutes each. In a single SAT administration you and the test-takers next to you may all have different versions of the test with section types (math, reading, writing) in different orders.  There are also two, ten-minute breaks; one after the third test section, and one following the sixth section.

Preparing

It is very important to prepare for the SAT, not only to make it easier for you to get into the college of your choice, but also to put yourself in the best position to get scholarships and fellowships.  Plan on taking it two or even three times.  You can take a free SAT test here.  I’ve also written about my preferred test prep books here, and I’ve written about the advisability of taking a prep course here (although the article is specifically about the GRE test–similar to the SAT but used for graduate school admissions–the principles are much the same.  I’ve also written on the best schedule to prepare for a test such as this (again, it’s written specifically for the GRE, but the principles are identical.)

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!

You spend a lot of energy making graduation plans, but do you have a plan of action for after graduation to jumpstart your career? Many people struggle with career choices before making that important life-changing decision that will define who they are for years to come. It is hard to imagine that a new graduate would still struggle with what they want to do with their new college degree. Even if they know, they might not know the next step to take. This article will give a few pointers on how to get started with a plan of action. (more…)

From the series Better Test Performance the Navy SEALs Way.

In a recently televised interview, the Navy SEALs command psychologist, Eric Potterat, listed four key mental techniques taught to SEAL candidates.  Self talk, the third technique listed, concerns how we focus our thoughts in high-stress situations.  Here’s how you can apply this to help increase your own test performance.

Students who panic on the SAT, GRE, or on classroom exams often have destructive patterns of self talk.  They think to themselves, “Oh no.  I missed those last two questions.  I just know it!  I’ll probably fail this whole test and make a D in the class.  I’ll have to drop out of school.  My parents are going to kill me! I’ll probably end up playing xBox 24/7, eating cheesie poofs out of the giant family-size bag, and drinking massive amounts of Mad Dog 20/20 just to drown the pain of the train wreck that is my life!”

Needless to say, that sort of thinking doesn’t help you solve the next calculus problem.  In fact, it produces massive amounts of panic chemicals that make higher-order thinking almost impossible.

Solution?  Instead of talking yourself into a panic, talk yourself into a better state.  One easy way to put this into practice is a technique I call the personal cheerleader.  Here’s how…

1. Think of someone right now who encourages you when you feel defeated or depressed.  Could be your mom, dad, a coach, a boyfriend, girlfriend, whoever.
2. Mentally take that person with you to the test.
3. When you start to panic, have your mental cheerleader give you a little pep-talk.  “You can do it!  Don’t worry about that question.  Concentrate on the next one.”
4. BONUS: You can take as many mental cheerleaders as you like to the test, and you can take whoever you want.  Try Brad Pitt or the Dallas Cowboys Cheerleaders.  Try Brad Pitt AND the Dallas Cowboys Cheerleaders.

Changing the way you talk to yourself as a way to increase your success is supported by scads of great research.  But it doesn’t work unless you do it.  Put it into practice today!

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From the Series “Better Test Performance The Navy SEALs Way”
Part 1
Part 2
Part 3
Part 4
Part 5

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Cody Blair has spent over a decade helping students and teachers discover the secrets that make learning simple! His ebook, Secrets Smart Students Know, reveals how the best students use powerful study skills, maximize their memory, avoid procrastination, and maximize their focus to achieve fantastic grades with much less work! Click now to find out more about simple methods to maximize your study skills.

© Cody Blair, All Rights Reserved. You may reprint the above article as long as you include the above bio/resource information in full, including the functioning links. Do not make any changes to the article or bio. If you can't include clickable links, please ask permission to reprint.

From the series Better Test Performance the Navy SEALs Way.

In a recently televised interview, a Navy SEALs representative listed four key mental techniques taught to SEAL candidates. The second of those techniques was mental rehearsal.  Here’s how you can apply this to help increase your own test performance.

That gray organ betwixt your ears is a virtual time machine that can be used for helping or harming your test performance.  As a highschool teacher I noticed that some of my students–eager and able to answer questions during class discussions–were bombing miserably on my tests.

I began researching test anxiety to try and find a solution to their problem, and soon discovered some rock-solid techniques for reducing that stress that was hindering their performance.  One powerful tool I uncovered was mental rehearsal, that is, carefully and clearly envisioning a successful performance before the event.

Here’s how… (more…)

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Cody Blair has spent over a decade helping students and teachers discover the secrets that make learning simple! His ebook, Secrets Smart Students Know, reveals how the best students use powerful study skills, maximize their memory, avoid procrastination, and maximize their focus to achieve fantastic grades with much less work! Click now to find out more about simple methods to maximize your study skills.

© Cody Blair, All Rights Reserved. You may reprint the above article as long as you include the above bio/resource information in full, including the functioning links. Do not make any changes to the article or bio. If you can't include clickable links, please ask permission to reprint.