Things to Consider at the Beginning of the Semester

Whether you are a freshman or a returning student, there are several things to consider at the beginning of each semester.

• How are your classes scheduled throughout the day?  Is there time to study between classes?  Will you, or will you be tempted to go back to your room and relax or nap?

• Exactly when and where are you going to study?  Make sure you start the habit of enough study time this first week!

• How are you going to keep your assignments and exams under control?  Where will you record your assignments?   Make sure it is someplace you look at every day.

• How are you going to keep all of your class material organized?   Will you use one large notebook or individual notebooks?  Will you have a folder for each class?

• Are you able to buy your textbooks?  If not, ask your professor if you can borrow one or use one in the Library.

• Do you understand your school’s technology system – any programs your professors are using, the formal email account, etc.?   Many professors will not answer email from an outside account plus you will miss any all-class emails the professor sends if you are not using your school account.

• What is your plan to stay healthy?  When will you exercise?  What exactly does it mean to eat a healthy diet?  

• What help is available if you get sick?  Think about it now, not if it actually happens and your feel terrible.

This is a lot to organize and we have not yet thought about how you will actually LEARN the material from your classes.  That will be next week’s topic.  Until then, enjoy your academic experience and start the semester with good habits!

Returning for the Fall Semester

If you are a returning college student headed back to college, here are some things to think about:

                                                    

If you are doing well:

• What learning strategies do you use that work well for you?
• What academic habits do you have that are helping you be successful?

If you are struggling:

• What have you been doing (or not doing) that is getting in the way of your success?
• What positive steps can you take this semester to improve things?
• What concrete learning strategies can you add to your studying?

For all students:

• What classes are you taking this semester?
• How are they spaced out during the day?
• What will be good times for you to study?
• Which class will be the most challenging?  What will make it challenging?  What learning strategies can you use in that class?  Is there help on campus for that class?

Think ahead and plan now how you will approach the semester.  Then hit the ground running that first week. 

 

Keep Learning Over the Summer

If you are not taking classes over the summer, what can you do to keep moving forward in your academics and future career?  Here are some ideas:

• Read the newspaper.  Look for articles that connect to your major as well as any Liberal Studies classes you are taking in the fall.
• Read books that pertain to your major.
• Read anything!  This keeps your brain working and improves your vocabulary.
• If you will be taking courses in the fall that involve math, do some work to keep up your skills – get a workbook and study, go to www.freerice.com and do some practice problems, get a math book from your local library and review.  There are multiple options!
• Consider doing some service for others.  Not only does this prepare you for the working world, you will gain leadership experience and have something to put on your resume.
• If you have a job, pay attention!  What is happening in the business?  How are people interacting?  How can you use this experience to your advantage?
• If you know someone working in your future field, ask if you can accompany them to work for a day or a few days.  Ask questions.  Learn all you can about the field.

There are always ways to move forward and gain knowledge and experience.  Be aware of what is going on around you and be open (and prepared!) for opportunities.

Learning Through Your Senses – Muscle Movement

Many students like to be on the move – they don’t like to sit still.  They get restless during long classes and have a hard time paying attention.  They don’t like to sit and read or listen for a long time.  If they want to learn something, they prefer to do it themselves as opposed to reading the directions or having someone tell them what to do.   If this is you, here are some ways to add large and small muscle movement into your studying:

• Make and use study cards.  You will like the manipulation aspect.
• Take notes, rewrite notes, make charts, graphs and study guides – you are using small muscles!
• Likewise, annotate when reading.  The small muscle movement of writing will help keep you engaged.
• Take your review chart and study it while on the treadmill or exercise bike.
• Tape your notes and listen while walking or running.
• Make use of small segments of time by carrying your study cards with you.
• Try to avoid 3 hour, once-a-week classes if possible.  If you must take a long class, be sure to get up and walk around during the break.
• When studying, take breaks every 30 minutes or so.  (By a “break” I mean a few minutes to walk around, not two hours to hang out with friends!)
• Seek out classes with a lab component or where students do projects as opposed to exams.

Any way you can add movement will help you stay on task and learn!

Learning Through Your Senses - Hearing

Think about how you like to get directions to somewhere you have never been.   Do you like to follow a map or a list of directions like you get from MapQuest?  Or do you remember best if someone verbally tells you where to go and maybe you repeat the information back to them.  If this second way seems the best, you may like to learn through your sense of hearing.  There are several study strategies you can use that use sound and words:

• Read your textbooks or notes out loud.
• Read them to some sort of rhythm.
• Tape yourself reading them and then listen while driving or exercising.
• Form a study group and explain the class information to each other or quiz each other.
• Teach the information to someone else.
• Background noise is fine while studying; just don’t let it overpower your thoughts.  And remember that you will be taking the exam in silence.
• Of course, make sure that you attend all classes so that you hear your professor explain the information as well as your classmates’ discussions.

Next – study strategies using large and small muscle movements.

Learning Through Your Senses - Visual

One way you can increase your learning is by using your various senses (sight, hearing, touch or movement) while studying.  Here are some ways to incorporate the visual sense in your learning:

• Create charts or graphs
• Add color to your notes, charts, study cards, etc.
• Draw pictures
• Look at pictures or videos on the Internet
• Pay attention to diagrams
• Create your own diagrams
• Visualize what you are reading or studying
• If you are studying a person, find a picture so that you know what they actually looked like

You even might find that you can visualize your study aids when you are taking an exam!  

If you like color and visuals, these suggestions will make your learning and studying more effective and enjoyable.

Study = Learning + Review

I was talking with my grandson who is finishing seventh grade about what it means to “study.”   He had “looked over” his science notes, but was that really studying?  My reply was that what he did was “review” and he had yet to fully “study.”

So what is the difference? 

There are two parts to studying:

1. Learning – this is your initial and ongoing work with the information and is quite in depth.   You can use a variety of strategies to learn the material.  These include:

• Reading and note-taking
• Rereading
• Making Study Guides such as concept maps, charts, study cards, questions and answers
• Recitation – restating in your own words from memory
• Rewriting
• Working through practice problems

2. Reviewing – this is what you do to keep the information fresh in your memory after you have learned it.  Strategies to do this include:

• Recitation using the study guide you made during the learning stage
• Distributed practice – review the information for short periods spread out over time
• Rereading notes and/or study guides
• Practice problems
• Taking any practice quizzes or tests available through the textbook or your professor

You can see that this is quite time consuming, but learning does not happen quickly.  It takes time and effort.

Keep up the hard work!