Student Story #2

One of my students emailed me asking to be excused from my class because he had to study for exams in two other classes.  He wrote that he had stayed up all night studying and was not quite ready for the exams.  This student was on a sports team, but could not participate until he was off probation.

My response to this student was that he did not understand learning, time management or how his body works.  

First - He could not learn the information he needed to know the night before the exam.  Learning takes time.  He should have been learning the information over the past five weeks of the semester, not just the night before.

Second – He was not using his time properly.  Again, he should have been studying all along.  He is getting into a very bad habit by skipping one class to study for another.

Third – There is more and more information about the importance of sleep.  Sleep is important to memory – both for the learning and the output of the information.  Also, because he was tired he was not able to think properly during both exams and it took him more than a day to get back on track.

How did things turn out?  One exam has not been returned.  My student earned an A on the second exam, but made the statement that he hoped the final was not cumulative because he already had forgotten everything he had studied. 

So the moral of this story is:

• Understand how you learn.
• Manage your time.
• Get proper sleep.
• Hope you have an understanding professor who will help you succeed by giving you the information explained above that you need for sustained academic success.

Lecture Notes – Part IV - Different Delivery Systems

Continuing on with lecture notes, there are a variety of ways that professors deliver the information to the students.  Each format has its own challenges and strategies to maximize your learning.

Format:  Traditional spoken lecture

Challenges:  It is easy to drift off, doodle on your paper, or think about something else when attending a traditional lecture.

Strategies:

• Bring a drink or hard candy with you to keep you alert.
• Read the textbook and review previous notes so that you are familiar with the information
• Sit up front
• Every time your mind wanders, make a hash mark on the top of your page when you bring your attention back to the lecture.  Over time you will become more aware of your mind wandering and be more attentive.
• Be sure to continue to write – that will keep you involved

Format: Power-point

Challenges:  Sometimes professors move too fast because they do not have to write anything and do not realize how fast they are moving through the slides.

Strategies:

• Ask the professor to slow down (everyone else in the class is thinking the same thing!)
• If possible, print out the slides ahead of time and take notes directly on the slides.  Use the format where the slides are down the left side of the page and there is room for notes on the right.
• Review the strategies for the traditional lecture.

Format:  The entire lecture is available on the internet.

Challenges:  Thinking, “Why should I go?  I can read the information on my own.”

Strategies:

• Go to class.  You will understand and learn better if you hear the professor explain the information as well as give additional examples.
• Read the lecture beforehand.  Treat it the same way you would a textbook assignment.
• You can take notes on the printed lecture, noting where the professor emphasized something or added examples.
• Take separate notes.
• Review strategies for the traditional lecture.

Whatever you decide to do – Go to class!  Listen!  Write! 

Learning from Lecture Notes: Part III - How to Extend and Complete the Learning Process

So far we have examined some strategies for taking effective notes in class and things you should do with the notes after class and before the next class.  The last strategies I discussed were to review your daily notes in logical chunks and to use recitation.  These strategies are sufficient for the immediate review, but you are far from done.

First of all you must review all of the notes that are going to be on the next exam at least once a week if not more.  You need constant repetition and review in order to completely master them.  Also, you need to use some different strategies with your notes above and beyond reviewing them and using recitation.

Here are some ideas:

• Do something with your notes that requires you to physically manipulate the information and reorganize it.  These could include making concept maps (mind maps), review charts, time lines or some other format.
• Add color if you find that enjoyable.
• Make study cards and take them with you for spur-of-the-moment study.
• Form a study group and compare notes, then teach each other the material or quiz each other.
• Make a practice test, put aside for a week or so, and then take it yourself.
• Make use of any study aids in the textbook or on-line – practice quizzes, terms to know, review questions, etc.
• Make use of any professor review sessions and Supplemental Instruction or walk-in tutoring offered by your institution.
• Finally – review, review, review and use recitation all the time.  You MUST be able to explain the information in your own words with complete recall for the exam!

Good luck! (But with good preparation you won’t need luck!!!)

Learning from Lecture Notes - Part II - After Class

One aspect of college that many students do not consider is that they are responsible for their own learning. Particularly in a lecture class, you are gathering information during class but the actual learning happens individually after class.  So...what should you do?  How can you learn all the information you wrote down during class?

Here are some ideas:

• Read over your notes as soon as possible after class
• Make any corrections
• Be sure they are clear – if you cannot understand something now the chance of understanding later is slim
• Identify any questions
• Check in the textbook for any information you can add to your notes
• Begin to learn the information: 
• Chuck into logical topics
• Use recitation – read each section, then look away and repeat in your own words what you just read
• At least once a week, review all of the notes that will be on the next exam, again using chunking and recitation.

Next week Part III – How to extend and complete the learning process.

Learning from Lecture Notes - Part I - In Class

When you are taking lecture notes, you are actually creating a new document that you will use to study and learn the class material.  Here are some suggestions to take notes that you will be able to learn from later:

• Go to every class – be on time – get a good seat as near as possible to the front.  (Sounds obvious, but it needs to be stated!)
• Read the textbook before class.  This helps you know what will be covered and to be familiar with the vocabulary the professor will be using.
• Leave spaces between topics or ideas.  This helps you see the organization of the material, gives your eyes some place to rest, and provides space to add more information if needed.
• Similarly, just write on one side of the paper.  It looks much neater and you have a blank corresponding page if you need to add more notes.
• Use abbreviations, but be consistent.  
• Write so that you will be able to understand what you wrote a year from now.  You think you will understand what you wrote a week later, but you won’t!
• Watch for clues from the professor about what he or she thinks is important.  If they write anything on the board, be sure to write that in your notes.
• Watch for signal words such as “three points” or “on the other hand.”
• Review the previous class notes right before class begins and follow along in those notes if the professor reviews the information before starting the new material.

Next week we will think about how to learn from that excellent set of notes you have just taken!

Three Keys to a Successful Semester

There are three simple things that you can do to be sure that you have a successful semester:

Go to class.

This is common sense, but it is easy to start to skip classes and then it becomes a habit.  If you find yourself skipping, print or write out your weekly schedule and cross off each class as you attend it.  Crossing off the class will be additional motivation to go and as you consistently attend you will feel more comfortable in class.

Review you notes after each class.

As soon as possible review your notes after class, definitely before the next class.  A future post will list various strategies you can use with your notes, but for now be sure to go over them several times a week.  At least once a week go over all of the notes that will be on the next exam.

Recitation

This means to restate in your own words from memory. Once you have reviewed your notes, close your notebook and explain what you learned in your own words.  Divide the notes into manageable, logical segments – don’t try to do this with 5 pages all at once.

Log on next week for multiple learning strategies that you can use when reviewing your notes.