Long and Short-term Motivators

The majority of my blogs focus on specific strategies you can do in order to be a successful student, ranging from tools to manage your time, exactly what to do when studying, and how to maximize your test-taking strategies.  But there is one important part that needs to be addressed – how to motivate yourself to actually do the things you know you should do!   I asked my students what motivates them and here are some of their answers:

·       They are paying to be in college

·       To get good grades

·       Thoughts of success

·       Want a specific person to be proud of them – parents, grandparents, younger siblings

·       Be able to make money after graduation – to have no more money problems

·       To get a good job

One problem, however, is that these are very abstract and several years in the future, while the decisions that are going to make a difference in their academic success are immediate.  Here are some short-term motivations the students described:

·       Avoid stress of last-minute work or missed deadlines

·       Avoid procrastination

·       Mid-term grades

·       To be able to have free time later

·       Keeping in mind the student I want to be

·       To be able to do what I want later

Your success is built on small, daily decisions that, put all together, will make the difference in your grades and your future.   Take some time to think about what motivates you.  Write them down and post them where you will see it every day.

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First Semester Success: Learning Strategies and Motivation for Your First Semester (or Any Semester) of College, by Dr. Arden B. Hamer, is available at amazon.com,  wordassociation.com and barnesandnoble.com.  Click on the upper right link.

Test-taking Strategies

An exam is your opportunity to show what you have learned.  No strategy can take the place of studying and preparing, but there are some things you can do during a test to maximize your performance:

In general:

·         Look at the whole test to see format, length, etc.  Pay attention to the point value for the different questions and use your time accordingly.

·         Watch the time.  Divide the time and the test into equal segments. For example, if there are 50 multiple choice questions and one hour, plan to be done with 25 questions when the time is half over.  Or if there are 25 multiple choice and one large essay, spend half the time on each.

·         Use questions from one part of the test to help you answer questions on the other parts.

·         If you are drawing a blank, start with a question that you know.  You will access that information in your memory and begin to remember. 

·         Splash Down – As soon as you get the test write down whatever you are worried about remembering or a mnemonic device you created.   Writing it down will free up your working memory to focus on the test.

·         If you are feeling anxious, pause and take a deep breath or two.  This will help you relax.

Essays:

·         Pause and think before starting to write.   Create a small outline of your answer in the corner of the page.

·         Be sure to answer ALL parts of the question.   Don’t try to write a global answer, address each part of the question in order.

·         Use signal words to help the professor follow your thinking.

Multiple Choice:

·         Read the question carefully.  Make sure you are answering the question asked.

·         Use process of elimination.

·         Use the test to take the test.   You may be able to get hints to an earlier question you are unsure of through the later questions and answers on the exam.

·         If it is a scantron format, be very sure you are on the right number on the answer sheet.

·         Watch out for “not” and “except” in the questions.   They are confusing, so slow down your thinking.

Nothing beats preparation, but using these strategies will help you display what you know and earn a good grade!
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First Semester Success: Learning Strategies and Motivation for Your First Semester (or Any Semester) of College, by Dr. Arden B. Hamer, is available at amazon.com, wordassociation.com and barnesandnoble.com.   Click on the upper right link.

Memory Strategies

There are several extremely effective strategies you can use to help information get securely into your long-term memory (the part of your memory you are calling on when you are taking a test!).  

Sleep – If you are not rested you will be unable to pay attention and effectively learn.  In addition, some research indicates that you need solid sleep at night to consolidate the information you have learned and studied that day.

Review right away – It is best to review information as soon as possible after receiving it.  This starts the learning process.

Recitation – This is restating information in your own words from memory.  What you are really doing is practicing retrieving the information just like you will be doing on the exam.  This is one of the easiest strategies to add to your study routine.   After you have read a section in your textbook or reviewed a section of your lecture notes, close your book or notebook and restate what you just read in your own words.  Check your accuracy.  If you are correct move to the next section.  If you are wrong, reread and try again.

Organization – You must see the big picture to understand how everything fits together and to accurately store the information in your memory so you can retrieve it.

Chunking – We cannot effectively work with large amounts of information at one time.   You will learn better if you break the information into meaningful “chunks” and work with them one at a time.  By seeing the big picture as mentioned above, you can be sure you’re are filing each “chunk” in its proper place in the overall body of information.

Distributed Practice – This is studying above and beyond the initial learning when you are reviewing lecture notes, reading textbooks, making study guides, etc.   The idea is to use recitation multiple times a week in short segments (maybe 20 minutes) to study what you want to know. 

These are six practical strategies that don’t require that much effort but that will make a very large impact on your learning and your grades! 

*****
First Semester Success: Learning Strategies and Motivation for Your First Semester (or Any Semester) of College, by Dr. Arden B. Hamer, is available at amazon.com, wordassociation.com and barnesandnoble.com.  Click on the upper right link.

Beyond "Just Reading"

For the most part, “just reading” your textbook is not enough.  You have to do something more with the information while you are reading it to truly understand and start to remember.   The most common strategy is to highlight, although the tendency is to highlight everything!    Many college students, especially freshmen, just color everything without really thinking.   Here is a more effective way to use highlighting:

1. Read the paragraph or section
2. Think about what is important
3. Highlight that information (about 25% - 30% of the text)

You can see that you are now doing three things with the information as opposed to simply reading.  An even more effective strategy is to take notes, either annotations in the margins or separate notes.  In this case you are adding one more step:

1. Read
2. Think            
3. Put the information into your own words
4. Write the information

If your goal is to add variety and repetition to your learning, you have done so!

Taking notes involves more time and effort, but the increased learning is well worth it.  An added bonus is that you will more than likely not have to reread the chapter before the exam.  You can reread your notes for a very effective review.
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First Semester Success: Learning Strategies and Motivation For Your First Semester (or Any Semester) of College, by Dr. Arden B. Hamer, is available at amazon.com, wordassociation.com and barnesandnoble.com.  Click on the upper right link.