Studying for Final Exams

In the last blog we looked at the time frame and organization for final exams.  Now let’s think about exactly HOW you will study!

Gather all of the material you have for the exam and get an overview.  How many topics will be covered?  What are they?

Make a large review chart with all of the topics listed and then write the information you need to know.

If your professor gave you a study guide:
·         Write all of the information on the guide.   This means if there are people you will write out what you need to know about them.  If there are terms you will write the definitions.  If there are questions you will write the answers.  You get the idea!
·         It works much better in terms of your own learning if you do this yourself and do not divide the work among several friends and then share.
·         As above, divide this information into logical sections.

Be sure to use recall.  Practice recalling the information without looking at the material and then checking your accuracy.  You are doing what will be asked of you on the exam.  This recall strengthens how solidly the information is in your long-term memory and how easily you can retrieve it on the exam.  If you are in a study group, take turns quizzing each other and checking the answers.

Predict exam questions.  By now you have had at least one exam with this professor, so predict what he/she will ask on the final.  If it is an essay exam, predict the questions or at least the topics and outline possible answers.

Study plan:
·         Starting about one week before the exam, study one topic in-depth.
·         The next day study the second topic in-depth and review the first.
·         The next day study the third topic in-depth and review the first two.
·         Continue on until all topics have been studied.
·         Continue to review until the exam.

If it is an open-book exam the expectations are higher for complete and detailed essay answers.  You still have to prepare.  You can add page numbers lecture dates to the review chart mentioned above to help you find the information in the textbook and your notes.  Post-it notes with topics, information and page numbers are also helpful.

All of this information pertains to on-line exams.  More than likely you will have a very limited time to complete the exam, so you will not have time to look up the answers.  You still need to study and prepare!

Finally, get a good night’s sleep every night during finals and eat nutritious breakfasts!   Everything works together to ensure your success.  Good luck!

*****

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.

Looking Ahead to Final Exams

This is the time of the semester when you should start thinking about your final exams.  At my institution we have one more week of classes and at many others finals are next week.  Here are some things to consider:

Exactly when are the exams scheduled?  Is the exam schedule completely different than the class schedule or are exams scheduled around the regular class times?

Where will the exam be held?  My institution used to hold “Block Exams” where everyone in the same course with the same professor would meet in a large auditorium and take the exam together.   This was unnerving for some students, so I suggested that they go and study in that location a day or so before the exam.

Do you have several in one day?   There may be a procedure at your institution to help you space them out more.  Ask!

What will each exam cover?  Is it on the last unit of the course or cumulative?

Do you have all of the material you need?  If you missed a class be sure to get the notes from a reliable student.  (Preferably someone earning an ‘A’ in the course!)   I suggest you rewrite the notes in your own style and supplement the information with material from the textbook.   Changing from your style of notes to something different in the middle of a topic will throw you off.

And perhaps most important – When will you start to study?  (And the answer is NOT the night before so it is fresh in your mind!)  You want to space out your reviewing and learning so that the information is solidly in your memory and easy to retrieve.  This means you will start to review at least one week before the exam.

Begin to look ahead to final exams now and study.  The next blog will have specific strategies you can use to prepare for a successful exam week.    End the semester strong!

*****
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.

Strategies for Essay Exams

Final exams are fast approaching!  Many students know the information but do not do well on an essay exam.   Here are some strategies that will help you showcase what you know:

·         Read the question carefully and number the individual parts of the question.

·         Answer each part in order – do not try to write a global answer mixing everything up.

·         Make a brief outline before starting to write.  If you jump into the answer without too much thought you may not answer all the parts of the question and may write yourself totally off topic.

·         Remember that your goal is to show the professor how well you know the information, so don’t leave out important information because you know they already know it.

·         Help the reader (your professor) along by using signal words and spacing.  You want him or her to easily understand your answer and be able to identify all of the important points asked for in the prompt.

·         Watch the time.  Look at the entire exam and figure out how much time you can spend on each section.

·         Before handing it in, take a few minutes to reread your answers and be sure they are clear and that all parts of the questions have been answered.

The first and most important step to a good grade is your preparation, but how you present the answer can also make a difference in your grade.

*****

First Semester Success: Learning Strategies and Motivation for Your Frist 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.

Recitation - The Fourth Learning Ingredient

In the past I have told my students that there are three things important to learning:

Variety – Repetition – Spaced out over time

I’m going to add one more:

Recitation (restating in your own words from memory).

In addition to the first three it is important to practice recalling the information from your long-term memory – the same thing you are expected to do on the exam.  Some ways to incorporate recitation (and the other three factors) into your studying are:

·         After reading a section of lecture notes or in your textbook, close the book and restate the information back to yourself in your own words.

·         Study cards – read the front, think about the information on the back, check yourself.  Separate the ones you know from the ones you don’t know and keep going over those until you know them.

·         Quizlet (an app on your electronic devise) – expands the study card idea to make quizzes using the information you entered.

·         Online practice quizzes available with your textbook.

·         Make a practice test and share with friends.

·         Predict test questions, write them down and then write or outline the answers.  As you study cover the answer and practice answering the questions again a few days later.

Recitation is a very powerful learning tool.  You will see a difference in your learning and grades once you add it to your study routine.

*****

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.