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Study Smart

The document discusses strategies for effective studying such as scheduling study time, taking purposeful notes, using flashcards, practicing retrieval and forced recall, spacing out studying, and rewarding yourself. Effective study habits require planning, self-awareness, and applying cognitive science principles like spacing and interleaving topics.

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letitgo745wi9
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8 views

Study Smart

The document discusses strategies for effective studying such as scheduling study time, taking purposeful notes, using flashcards, practicing retrieval and forced recall, spacing out studying, and rewarding yourself. Effective study habits require planning, self-awareness, and applying cognitive science principles like spacing and interleaving topics.

Uploaded by

letitgo745wi9
Copyright
© © All Rights Reserved
Available Formats
Download as PDF, TXT or read online on Scribd
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Study Smart

Strategies for Success


Academic Success

Amy Tucker, Director of Academic Success


[email protected]
Learning is Misunderstood
• Assumptions
• Should be fast and simple
• Being good at something takes talent
• A person can be good at multitasking when studying or in class
• Fluency and familiarity are equivalent to mastery and long-term retention
• Failure is bad
Learning is Misunderstood
• Instead:
• There are illusions of knowing
• Over-confidence: Self-awareness and self-regulation is often less than realized
• Students might be aware of, but do not understand, how cognitive processes work
together for information retention
Use Your Time Wisely
• Schedule time in your planner to study
• 30-60 minutes each day per class
• Longer periods of time a few nights before big exams
• Stick to that schedule
• Turn off phone
• Close personal websites
• Identify specific goals before that time
• Review notes
• Study vocab flashcards
Take Purposeful Notes
• Be conscious of your note-taking
• It’s easy to write things down without processing
• Make your notes complete so when you return to them you don’t have questions
• Don’t just rely on PowerPoint slides
• Avoid highlighting
• TAKE NOTES IN YOUR OWN WORDS!
• Write down thoughts you have while reading or listening to lecture
• Write down questions you have and listen for the answers or ask
Take advantage of your resources
• Instructors
• Visit their office hours
• Discuss the material with them
• Tutor Center & Writing Center
• Other students in your course may
be able to help explain something
in another way
Be Realistic
• Recognize optimal study times
• Don’t schedule 5 continuous hours
of study time
• Review daily to avoid all-nighters
• Give yourself breaks during long
periods
• 5-10 minutes for every 20-30 minutes
Choose a Good Location
• Distraction-free
• Close personal websites
• Turn off your phone or leave it in another room
• Turn off the TV, etc.
• Adequate space
• Desk or table where you can spread out all necessary materials
Retrieval Practice and Forced Recall
• Practice remembering what you are trying to learn in multiple ways
• Pull the information from memory in your own words
• The more times you practice from memory, the longer you will
retain the information
• Can take many forms
Prepare a Study Guide – Test Yourself
• Write questions based on lecture and your notes
• Write a question on one side of the page or flashcard and the
answer on the other side
• Break complex topics into simple questions
• Cover the answer and try to answer from memory
• Quiz yourself a few times a week
Keep Your Notes/Flashcards with You
• Take advantage of free time
• Time between classes
• If class gets out early or is cancelled
• If you’re waiting for the doctor, an oil
change, etc.
Group Study Sessions
• Each person identifies main points and create a study guide pre-meeting
• Discuss main points as a group and identify common points
• Compile one study guide
• Take turns quizzing each other – answer in your own words, force recall
• Explain topics to each other when one person doesn’t know the answer
Beware of familiarity
• Something might look familiar, so you stop practicing recall for
the topic
• Familiarity is often mistaken for recall.
• Example of this when studying flashcards you look at the answer
and tell yourself “Oh yeah, I knew that.”
• You definitely didn’t know it.
Spacing while studying

• This is why cramming doesn’t work


• Allows for consolidation
• Happens during sleep
• Allows for forgetting – which is good, because you get to
practice recall again!
Interleaving and difficulty
• Mixing up topics as a form of spacing
• Practicing different skills for a topic in shorter segments can help
you discriminate problem solving techniques later
• All of these practices come together in a desirably difficult way
• When studying requires a considerable amount of effort, you will
improve long-term performance
Reward Yourself
• Give yourself an appropriate award
• After you complete studying, watch a favorite show,
take a bubble bath, play a game, etc.
• If you get an A on an exam, get your nails done, go
to a movie, go to a sporting event etc.
• Retrieval Practice/Forced Recall
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Pjrqc6UMDKM
• Effective Flashcards
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mzCEJVtED0U

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