The Power Of Study Groups (Part 1)

The Power Of Study Groups (Part 1)

Working Together Helps Everyone: You may have noticed that when you’re explaining something you’ve learned to a friend, you being to understand it better yourself. This happens because, when you explain an idea, you need to think more deeply about it.

The same principle makes study groups useful. Studying with others in a small group is helpful because you:

Ø  Think out loud

Ø  Share ideas

Ø  Learn from one another

In an effective study group, you and other students hash out the lesson materials together—explaining concepts, arguing about them, figuring out why one person’s answer differs from another’s—and in the process, you most likely learn more than you would have studying by yourself.

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Successful Students 10

Successful Students 10

10. Successful Students are good time managers. Successful students do not procrastinate. They have learned that time control is life control and have consciously chosen to be in control of your life.

An elemental truth: you will either control time or be controlled by it! It’s your choice: you can lead or be led, establish control or relinquish control, steer your own course or follow others. Failure to take control of their own time is probably the no. 1 study skills problem for college students. It ultimately causes many students to become non-students! Procrastinators are good excuse-makers. Don’t make academics harder on yourself than it has to be. Stop procrastinating. And don’t wait until tomorrow to do it!

The 10 items listed above are paraphrased from an article by Larry M Ludewig called Ten Commandments for Effective Study Skills which appeared in The Teaching Professor, December 1992.

“Learning Technologies and Online Education”

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Successful Student s 7-8

Successful Student s 7-8

7. Understand that actions affect learning. Successful students know their personal behavior affect their feelings and emotions which turn can affect learning.

If you act in a certain way that normally produces particular feelings, you will begin to experience those feelings. Act like you’re bored, and you’ll become bored. Act like you’re disinterested, and you’ll become disinterested. So the next time you have trouble concentrating in the classroom, “act” like an interested person: lean forward, place your feet flat on the floor, maintain eye contact with the professor, nod occasionally, take notes, and ask questions. Not only will you benefit directly from your actions, your classmates and professor may also get more excited and enthusiastic.

8. Talk about what they’re learning. Successful students get to know something well enough that they can put it into words. talking about something, with friends or classmates, is not only good for checking whether or not you know something, it’s a proven learning tool. Transferring ideas into words provides the most direct path for knowledge from short- term to long-term memory. You really don’t “know” material until you can put it into your own words. So, next time you study, don’t do it silently. Talk about notes, problems, readings, etc. with friends, recite to a chair, organize an oral study group, pretend you’re teaching your peers. “Talk-learning” produces a whole host of memory traces that result in more learning.

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Study For Multiple Exams Part 3

Study For Multiple Exams Part 3

English, math, foreign language: Practice—especially foreign language. It is hard to succeed in a foreign language class if you are just showing and doing the work. But if you are in your room and look at objects and try to say them in a language you are learning it actually helps. Or if you send a simple text to a friend think about it, can you translate that to German or Spanish?  These are the little things that will help. Here are my final words of wisdom for students who want to get better grades in college: Time management and organization are critical key factors to success in college. And never be afraid to go ask your teacher for help. They have office hours for a reason-use them!

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Study For Multiple Exams Part 1

Study For Multiple Exams Part 1

How I study for multiple exams, deal with multiple projects: really it is time management that I explained above. If I see I have multiple things due or study for all the same time I spread out my time beforehand. For example, if I have a test on Monday, and 2 test Tuesday then I will study for my Monday test Thursday and part of Friday. Start studying for my other test on the second half of Friday and part of Saturday, then my second Tuesday test on Saturday as well and part of Sunday. Then Sunday night I can review for my Monday test because I already studied for it. When that test is over I can begin reviewing for the other tests. My overall study method: I try to break it up over several days or at least two. I get bogged down if I try to pull an all nighter. How I’ve overcome an initial bad grade: if I received a low grade I probably knew it was coming because I didn’t prepare properly or I didn’t use the right study habit for that class. I usually try to go over what I did wrong and sometime discuss with the teacher what I can do differently on the next exam or what they suggest I do to for studying for the next exam.

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Sarah’s Academic Success Story Part 2

Sarah’s Academic Success Story Part 2

My test study method: I have different strategies different for different types of test or subjects. For me, any type of math is exceptionally difficult so I had to spend extra time on that. I would go back through the homework problems focusing on the problems that I had extra difficulty on. Many times I would ask the teacher for any additional study materials they could provide. If it was a class that required memorization or applying concepts I would create a sort of a study guide for myself many times focusing on what were key focal points in the class. If I knew there were going to be essays I would try to take the terms and apply them to an example or create different questions on the concepts focused on throughout the semester.

My time management secret; I always, always, always carry a planner with me. I even use different color highlighters to show what each event on my calendar is for. For example, pink is personal, yellow is school, orange is work, blue is for appointments and green is for my sorority. Although I use white-out frequently, I can see in bright yellow that if I have that project for finance due on Tuesday, I need to start working on it on [the previous] Wednesday so I can just get it done. My friends have always been amazed at how early I get things accomplished but that is really all I do.
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Sarah’s Academic Success Story Part 1

Sarah’s Academic Success Story Part 1

Time management became a key factor in my study skills for college. In high school, there were times I was able to study for an hour or two the night before a test and get away with it. This was not the case in college. I made sure in college I was prepared for each class. Sometimes that meant writing out the terms for the chapter we read (even if when it isn't required) to better understand them. That way when the midterm or test comes around I was able to understand what I was studying. I started talking excellent notes in class in college. I may have done this in high school, but in college I started typing up the notes after class. This helped me remember what I just went over in class then when I had a test one week later I was more likely to remember then as well.

My overall study method: Structured. One thing I learned I had to adapt or change my study method according to the class. I couldn't study for a Religion Class the same way I studied a Finance Class. But making sure I had enough time to study for each class—even if it meant carrying a planner with me at all times was a big part of my success.

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Work Together Part 2

Work Together Part 2

English, math, foreign language tips: for math, all I can say is do the problems assigned. It is the only way to practice and that’s really all it is for math. It’s the same for chemistry; if you do the practice problems you will understand the material so much better because those subjects are not just memorization like history, you need to be able to apply what you have learned in practical situations. As for English, I am no longer taking it, but I would say to leave yourself plenty of time to write essays and papers. They take time to get all the information out of your head and onto the page, so don’t leave them until the last second.

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You Can Succeed Every Day Part 1

You Can Succeed Every Day Part 1

My overall study method: I break up studying over several days and over the course of the evening and day. Cramming never works for me so I try not do it. I will have longer sessions on nights before big test, but I never stay up much later than normal before test. I know what if I take the test tired the next day I will not do as well as if I was tested.

How I’ve overcome an initial bad grade: I usually look over the test or paper to see what I did that the teacher did not want. Basically, I do not stress out about grades that much because for me they are not worth getting really upset about. I do well because I know that I know the material. However, if I do get a bad grade, or one lower than I expected, I make sure that the next time a test is coming I study even more that I won’t be surprised by the questions.

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Effective Study Methods Part 2

Effective Study Methods Part 2

My time management secret: my secret is to use time wisely. I know that on certain days I do not have time to run errands or hang out with friends even. Each minute of each day is used for something. One thing that works really well for me is to write everything down. I mean everything. I write down if I am going to email people, write letters, or study. It works for me to have a planner that goes by the day and shows me what I am going to be doing every day. Knowing what I have to do every day helps me plan out my week and my days. If I know that I don’t have time on Tuesday, I will try to get more things done on Monday or Sunday. I plan ahead, especially if I am going to be on the road for volleyball. When I am on the road, I bring my books and read on the bus/plane/hotel room. Missing class is killer to make up from, but if you are upfront with your professors, they are usually nice about having to turn things in late not being in classes.

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