Study Cards - The What, Why, and How - Part I

Study cards (or flash cards) are an effective and efficient way to study.  Here is the information you need:

WHAT ARE THEY?

THE CONSTRUCTION

Front: Write a word, phrase, name, date, topic, etc.

Back: Write the information you need to know

Size: Can be any size from 2 ½ “x 3” (half a 3x5 card) or up to 5x7 – the bigger the card the more information you can write.

Visual: If you like color or pictures, add these to your cards.

THE PROCEDURE

Effective use requires that you quiz yourself – read the front, think about the back, check yourself, make two piles (the ones you know and the ones you don’t know), go over the ones you don’t know until you know them, tomorrow add more cards and….. repeat the process!

WHY THEY WORK

Learning happens in several ways with study cards:

* You are thinking about the material during construction

* You are physically writing it down

* When you are using them you are practicing restating the information from memory (which you will do on the test)

* You are manipulating the cards – this is helpful if you like to learn with movement

* You can mix them up so you are learning the information in a different order

* You can carry them with you for a quick review when you have a few extra minutes – this is helpful if you have a very full schedule and not a lot of time to study

 

Next blog – HOW you can use the cards with different subjects and situations

First Semester Success: Study Strategies and Motivation for Your First Semester (or Any Semester) of College, by Dr. Arden B. Hamer, is now available at wordassociation.com, amazon.com, and barnesandnoble.com.

The Importance of Words

To be an effective reader you have to possess a strong vocabulary.  Here are some tips to keep yours up to par:

There are two types or vocabulary – general and content-specific.

General vocabulary is found in your everyday life – novels, newspapers, television, etc.  You usually can figure out the meaning of an unknown word by the surrounding words.  But you need to stop and learn the word if the following happens:

*You start to hear or read the word a lot
*Not knowing the word is holding back your comprehension
*You are interested in expanding your vocabulary

Content-specific words are those you find in different disciplines of study.  These need to be learned in more detail.   Particularly in textbooks, the author usually helps you out by using context clues – the first time the word is used the author often puts the definition in the sentence and/or in the margin.  After that he or she assumes you have learned the word. 

One thing that is interesting is that some words have both a general meaning and a different content-specific meaning.  Think about the word “bug” and the various meanings: insects, espionage, computer problems, or an annoying sibling!

In both cases you can also use word parts: prefixes (at beginning of word), suffixes (at end of word) and roots (usually in the middle, the main part of the word) to decipher the meaning of a word.  In your courses, many of these word parts will be common to the discipline you are studying.  (Note the use of context clues in the above sentence!)

Once you have decided to learn a word, put the word and definition on a note card. 

*For your classes you will have a stack of cards.  Go over these on a regular basis (several times a week!) throughout the semester.  The stack will keep growing as your get more in depth in the topic.
*For general words, keep the cards on your desk and review them occasionally or when you encounter the word again.

First Semester Success: Study Strategies and Motivation for Your First Semester (or Any Semester) of College, by Dr. Arden B. Hamer, is now available at wordassociation.com, amazon.com, and barnesandnoble.com.

The Importance of HABIT

We are now a few weeks into the semester and it is a good time to review what habits you are developing.  One thing that is interesting about college is that each semester is different – different classes, different time schedule, often different buildings and routes you travel each day.   So each semester you have to develop new routines and habits of studying.

Take a look at your daily habits.  Do you have free time between classes?  What are you doing – going to the Library to review class notes or going back to your room to nap or watch TV?  Are you getting up in time to have breakfast before class?  How are you fitting in exercise?  Each semester is different and each semester you have to get into productive and healthy routines.

It is exhausting if you are deciding each day how you are going to use your time and if you are constantly making choices between studying and wasting time.   It is much easier if you are in the HABIT of making productive choices!

Remember – how you spend your time on a day-to-day basis determines the results you will earn on exams and grades.  Get into the HABIT of using your time well.

First Semester Success: Study Strategies and Motivation for Your First Semester (or Any Semester) of College, by Dr. Arden B. Hamer, is now available at wordassociation.com, amazon.com, and barnesandnoble.com.

Effective Learning - Part 3 of 3

Once more – learning requires a variety of study approaches, repetition and time.

The final piece of the learning puzzle is to space your learning out over time – sometimes called Distributed Practice.  Information needs time to become firmly embedded in your long-term memory, and this does not happen after just one exposure.  This is why cramming for an exam does not work.  No matter how much you work with the material, it is within only one study session and there is no time for the information to settle in.

Here are some ways to space your learning over time:

* As mentioned before, review all information for the exam at least once a week.  This is above and beyond the class-by-class review and learning.

* Take particularly difficult material and condense it onto study cards. Then review those cards 20 minutes at least 5 days a week.

*Use extra 15 to 20 minutes you have during the day to review class information.

*When preparing for an exam, start at least a week in advance and study every day.

* For a foreign language, practice every day.

* For math, do a few problems every day.

Remember – all three parts are equally important for successful learning: variety, repetition, and time.

First Semester Success: Study Strategies and Motivation for Your First Semester (or Any Semester) of College, by Dr. Arden B. Hamer, is now available at wordassociation.com, amazon.com, and barnesandnoble.com.

Effective Learning - Part 2 of 3

Remember our definition of learning: learning requires varied and repeated exposure spread out over time.

The previous blog looked at a variety of strategies you can use to work with the material you want to learn.  This blog will examine the idea of repetition. When you first encounter information, you are using your short term memory or working memory.  When you are taking an exam or recalling the information in other situations, you are retrieving it from your long-term memory.   It takes multiple exposures to the information in order to get the information into your long-term memory.

Here are some ideas:

* Review your notes after every class (make corrections, add information to make more clear),
then do something else with the information to begin to learn it.

*At least once a week, review all of the notes that will be on the next test.  Again, do more than just reread.  This is a major point of repetition.  While reviewing and studying notes after each class is important, you need to extend this so that you are working with the information as many times as possible before the exam.

*Be sure to go to all classes – this, obviously, is an additional exposure.

*Take advantage of all extra study opportunities – SI, review sessions, tutoring, study groups.

The more you hear, read, think about and work with the information, the more solidly it will be embedded in your long-term memory and the easier it will be to retrieve it for the exam.

Next blog – Distributed Practice.

First Semester Success: Study Strategies and Motivation for Your First Semester (or Any Semester) of College, by Dr. Arden B. Hamer, is now available at wordassociation.com, amazon.com, and barnesandnoble.com.

Effective Learning - Part 1 of 3

There are three parts to successful learning:

Variety

Repetition

Distributed Practice (spaced out over time)

 

Let’s look at Variety.  In order to truly know and understand something (beyond memorization!) you have to work with it in different formats - you have to do more with the information that just read it over and over.    Here are some things to try:

Restate the information in your own words – maybe even do this out loud.  You could take it one step further and explain it to someone else.

Rewrite the information – don’t just copy, but reorganize it and put into your own words.  Outline the information; make a review chart, study cards, practice test.

Add some color – color code your study cards, highlight key points in your note, make a concept map with each branch a different color

Add sound – read your notes out loud, sing notes to a favorite tune

Add movement (large muscle) – record your notes and listen while you exercise, get together with a friend and quiz each other as your exercise

Add movement (small muscle) – remember that writing is movement so any idea above from “Rewrite”

above involves muscle movement; manipulating the information into study cards or charts also involves movement

The important thing is to work with the information in several different ways – not just the same thing all the time.

Next post we will look at the importance of repetition – one of the keys to learning!

First Semester Success: Study Strategies and Motivation for Your First Semester (or Any Semester) of College, by Dr. Arden B. Hamer, is now available at wordassociation.com, amazon.com, and barnesandnoble.com.

Advice from Your Professor

As you begin the 2014 winter/spring semester, here is some advice I wish my students had followed last semester:

Go to class!  In the event that you have a problem later on in the semester, I will be more inclined to help you if you have demonstrated your interest in learning and in my class.

Keep the handouts you receive.  Some students are constantly asking for replacements.  One important personal characteristic is to be able to keep track of your belongings.    You should have learned this in elementary school!

Don’t constantly have side-bar conversations in class.  You will not know what is happening and the people around you are annoyed and distracted by you.

Pay attention the first time.  It wastes everyone’s time when information has to be repeated because you were not paying attention.

Put your cell phone away!  You cannot do two things at once – read and send texts and pay attention to the class.  You will constantly be behind.

Try to have a pleasant expression on your face.  Look interested!  Keep in mind the impression you are giving to others.

These are small things, but they communicate a lot about who you are as a student and how much you care about your education. 

Happy 2014!  Here’s to a successful semester!

First Semester Success: Study Strategies and Motivation for Your First Semester (or Any Semester) of College, by Dr. Arden B. Hamer, is now available at wordassociation.com, amazon.com, and barnesandnoble.com.