NOTES ON HOW TO STUDY

General Preparation I. Part of your preparation at the beginning of the semester involves setting up a study place and a study schedule. A. Starting with one special place for study is the most effective first step for most people. However, if you are a person who seeks change and variety as a way of life, you will probably want to set up several different study areas and rotate the use of them on a regular basis. 1. Trying to study in many different places usually increases the difficulties of trying to study efficiently because of the tendency to be distracted and, as well, not having all the tools of your profession handy. Trying to study in many different places increases the difficulties of concentration on the subject matter. Time can be lost in "settling in." By studying in the same place, you become conditioned or habituated to study at a certain time and a certain place.

2. 3. B. II.

Keep all distractions away from your desk, but have all the study tools handy.

Slight amounts of muscular tension generally lead to increased efficiency and accuracy in mental work. Studies have shown that studying in a lounge chair, the floor, or in bed increases the time necessary to complete a task.

Deciding When to Study I. Deciding when to study depends in part the subjects to be studied and the kind of learning sought. A. Most people learn more slowly just before going to bed than they do earlier in the day, but subjects reviewed just before going to bed are remembered better. 1. Thus, try to schedule your learning early in the day and spend an hour just before retiring to review what you have learned. Make this a habit (habits generally take about three weeks to establish--at the three week point for many activities, the probability that the "habit" will continue is just above 50%). Reviewing immediately after class (if only for 5 to 10 minutes) consolidates learning and is paramount for classes with new conceptual content (e.g., mathematics, logic, and the sciences).

2.

B.

For rote memorizing, spaced practice is distinctly superior to massed practice. Spaced practice results in markedly higher retention. 1. 2. For foreign language, biology, and other classes requiring large amounts of memorized material, study in 15 to 20 minute sessions. The increase in retention for shorter periods of study for memorized lists is dramatic compared to the retention had for longer periods of study. Some researchers report two to three more information is remembered using spaced practice in comparison to the same number of minutes using massed practice.

C.

For understanding, massed practice is the superior study method.

1. 2.

Massed practice results in markedly higher retention for subjects such as mathematics, science, and philosophy. If you are attempting to gain insight into a difficult subject, massed practice (40 minutes to 90 minutes of study) is much more effective in developing your understanding of the content.

II.

If your attention persistently wanders, it is usually better to stop studying and reschedule than to reinforce inconsistent and unproductive study periods. Before you stop, however, it is useful to write yourself a contract as to when and where you will replace the lost study time.

Starting Study I. Setting up a study schedule requires that you set aside a reasonable amount of time for your school work. A. Make a temporary schedule of fixed periods in your week for classes, work, sleep, meals, and study. 1. If you are aiming at a B or better, in many classes at Lander University, you need to schedule at least 2 hours of study for 1 hour of class. At other universities, you might need to schedule more for classes with time-intensive homework assignments such as mathematics and computer science. Some classes require fewer hours of study per hour of class. Your schedule must be reasonable; after all, you are planning to follow it. At the beginning, plan a bit less than you think you can do and later adjust your schedule, if necessary.

2.

B.

Every time you begin to study, make a conscious decision (even write yourself a short contract) on what you will study and how long you will study. Above all, be reasonable. Your success at this can only be fulfilled by the history of your successes in the contract. 1. 2. Once your decision has been reached, throw yourself into the project enthusiastically. It is psychologically important to begin with the idea that with all the possible alternatives available to you, studying for this time is the one thing that you want to do most.

1.

If you have trouble about deciding whether to study when something special comes up, flip a coin. By seeing the outcome of the toss, introspect to your immediate reaction in order to determine what you really want to do. There is not much point is trying to study when your mind continues to wander if it is likely you will be reinforcing poor study habits. End the study period with a definite statement about what is to be done for your next study period in that subject. Take a minute and write out: What ideas are to be reviewed. What questions still remain to be answered. What page you are to start on.

2.

II.

Classes in the humanities and social sciences might have fewer homework problems assigned, but the study time required to do well in these classes is often quite as much as courses assigning many practice problems.

How to Take Book Notes

I.

In many University classes, taking book notes often marks the difference between an A and a B course grade for a normally good to average student. A. If you tend not to be organized, the following suggestions concerning book notes are matters of personal preference yet should prove helpful. 1. Use 3-hole loose-leaf notebook paper and a binder with dividers for various subjects. a. b. c. 2. In this manner, you can loan specific sets notes without risking the loss of the whole notebook. You can also easily interleave lecture notes, Photostats, diagrams, and other sources. Add your syllabus with the aid of a 3-hole punch.

Begin study notes with the following record at the top or margin of the page: Text: Subject: Date: Time: If your teacher is a poor lecturer but follows the textbook, take good notes from the text and supplement them with the lecture notes. Hence, you must read ahead and take notes before the class presentations.

3.

B.

The Use of Books: the P, Q, R, S, T method. Each hour of study should be divided into the following time-periods. 1. 2. Preview: scan the chapter noting italicized and bold-face type, introductory and concluding sentences, diagrams and tables. (5 minutes). Question: write out what appear to be key questions covered in the chapter and answer them orally based on what you already know about the subject. (5 minutes) This step is especially important. (The rationale for this step might be initially difficult to understand. Psychologically, we tend to remember better if we have already have in place a conceptual structure by which to compare new information. Consider the student who argues about a 1 point question on a test--this student has a vested interest in the answer and is unlikely to forget the correction.) 3. 4. Read: read the chapter carefully and critically. Either underline and make notes in the text or jot down an outline of the key ideas in your notebook or both. (20 minutes). Study: fill in your outline and mentally review the important concepts by comparing your answers to the text. (20 minutes): fill in your outline and mentally review the important concepts by comparing your answers to the text. (20 minutes).

This step is the "study" in the P, Q, R, S, T Method. It's quite surprising to many teachers that even at the college level, many students assume that the "R" step is the whole sum and substance studying.

5.

Test: shut your book and notes. Repeat, as precisely as you can, all that you can remember about your notes. Important points should be given almost verbatim. Of all steps, this one is the most important. (10 minutes)

I.

Do not look up information you have forgotten at this time. Instead, jot down the concept to be reviewed at the next study period (q.v., III, B, 2, b above). (The fact that you don't remember the information at the present time will be of some concern until the next study period when you can put the annoyance to rest.)

How to Take Lecture Notes I. Good lecture notes record the meaning of the lecture, its general direction, and points for further study. A. If special presentations are made (e.g., film, audio, DVD, overhead, or PowerPoint presentations), take especial care to take thorough notes. (Yes, the taking of notes will affect the enjoyment of the presentation, but your grade isn't usually based solely on how much enjoyment you derive from the presentation.) B. Classroom preparation should be thought out in advance. 1. Sit as close to the front of the room as will make you slightly anxious, yet not too uncomfortable. a. Sit on the right-hand side of the class if the teacher is right-handedespecially in language, mathematics, and science classes. (You can see the blackboard as the teacher is writing; on the left-hand side the presence of the teacher obscures the board.) b. c. If you cannot initially see, hear, or concentrate, immediately move to a place where you can. Generally speaking, a right-handed teacher tends to call on students toward the back of the class on the teacher's right, and a left-handed teacher tends to call on students at the back of the class on the teacher's left. (To escape notice, it sometimes works to sit toward the front of the classroom at the left of a right-handed teacher and vice-versa for a left-handed teacher.) 2. If you can afford a course planner, by all means, use one. In any case, begin all lecture notes with the record in the left-hand margin or at the right-hand top: Class: Date: Topic: Assignment: 3. C. Be ready to start taking notes before the teacher enters the class.

The major difficulty in lecture classes is that you must listen, select, and write at the same time. Most students will have to overcome twelve years of classroom experience where they have

become accustomed to passive listening. Initially, you will have to dedicate yourself to the attempt--after about two or three weeks, most note-taking difficulties are overcome. 1. Doggedly try outline form; it's better to write down too much than too little, at first. Studies have shown that even good listeners remember only about 25% of the spoken word immediately after classand next to nothing a week later. Select the main heading for your outline form by a. b. c. d. 3. the logical structure of the lecture announced by the teacher, the basic principles drawn from assigned readings, definitions, and/or new topics.

2.

Do not write out verbal illustrations or examplesjot down only some key words to remind you of the examples later. If possible, fill in the left-out steps immediately after that class. Leave four or five blank lines between major topics and subject-points so you can supplement with book notes or other references later.

4.

II.

(Error on the side of leaving too much white space.) If you have an acquaintance or friend who also wishes to do well in a course, it's a good idea to compare notes not only to supplement your own notes, but also to obtain concrete tips for improving your own note-taking skills. Look through your lecture notes at the earliest opportunity after class for corrections and amplifications. Usually, these revisions are best done immediately after class while the material is still fresh on your mindeven if you only have a few moments between classes. On days when you do not feel like doing anything (and there will be days like this), keep track of the subject in key words only, or think of this class as an opportunity to improve your handwriting skills. As Aristotle pointed out, usually, your actions determine your state of mind, rather than your state of mind determining your actions. By "pretending" to take notes, you will often be surprised to find yourself actually taking notes.

III.

Reviewing For Exams I. Techniques for reviewing for tests form an essential part of being a student. A. Under most conditions, it is more efficient to study alone. There are, however, three exceptions: 1. If two or more persons have already mastered the material very well, quizzing each other may be more effective than self-quizzing alone. Some studies have shown the students learn from each other as much as they learn from the teacher If the course material is too difficult, then collaboration with another student or setting up a study-group can be profitable; however, study groups work best when they meet on a regular basis well before the exam is scheduled. Sometimes in order to reduce anxiety and conflict, it is more profitable to study with others than to study alone. Avoid mixing socializing and study--it seldom works for difficult classes.

2.

3.

B.

Intensive studying the night before an exam has serious disadvantages. 1. Anxiety impairs thinking, reasoning, and learning.

2.

Anxiety is incompatible with enjoyment. By studying intently the night before an exam, you are learning not to enjoy not only the subject being studied but also learning not to enjoy the study and leaning process. If you have already formed the habit of cramming the night before a test, then your task is made much more difficult, since just the sight of a textbook at any time, not just before an exam, may cause anxiety. Even the thought of studying can cause apprehension because past study has been associated with tension, dread, and negative feedback. The "institutional syndrome" can be seen to be established when our natural creativity, discovery, and curiosity is hindered by past negative reinforcement.

3.

4. II.

Cramming is psychologically unsound for other reasons as well. Having spent an enormous amount of effort and loss of sleep the night before an exam, a student is usually rewarded with a less than acceptable grade. The negative conditioning leads to the loss of desire to study until some sort of an emergency situation crops up--i.e., usually, the next test, and so the effect tends to perpetuate itself.