Study Habits – lecture outline

Materials needed:

- simple toolbox with a few tools (4)

- bigger tool box with more tools (14)

- (optional) essential oils: lavender, lemon, peppermint, spruce

- (optional) access to Baroque music online

Preparation:

Ask students to read “Effective Study Habits” on pp 177-180 and fill out the Study Habits Self-Evaluation on p 178 (before reading the rest of it).

Discussion:

1. Hours of studying per week

How many hours a week do you think that you spend on schoolwork outside of class?

Ask students to write down a number. Ask for a few volunteers.

Let's do a calculation:

how many credit hours are you taking? 15

multiply by 2 = 30

that's how many hours a week you should be studying!

(Utah State Board of Regents policy: 3 credit hours = 3 hours in class, 6 hours studying; so that is how much work your professors should be giving you)

How does your number compare?

What could you be spending this time doing? (write on board, ask peer mentor for ideas)

  • reviewing notes – we already talked about this
  • doing assignments and projects – do you have any assigned that you haven't started on?
  • reading your textbook – is there reading you should be doing?
  • studying for exams – shouldn't start two days before
  • meeting with study groups – has anyone tried this yet?
  • writing papers – who has a paper assigned? Have you started?
  • taking exams – will take more time as the semester goes on

2. Object lesson:

Show a simple toolbox containing a hammer, pliers, screwdriver, and short tape measure

OK, during high school you developed some tools for studying. You

  • took some notes
  • did a little studying
  • worked some problems
  • learned some memorizing techniques
  • etc.

And hopefully they served you pretty well.

Now that you're at a university, it is time to seriously upgrade your toolbox. You're going to be building much bigger and more complex things.

Get out a much bigger tool box. Pull out some more complex tools – needle nose pliers, adjustable wrench, bigger tape measure, different sizes of screwdrivers, etc.

You need to learn to

  • use your syllabus to prepare for class (already talked about it)
  • use class time to learn, not just be there (“)
  • take good notes and review them daily (“)
  • use campus resources like the Writing Center, Tutoring Center, library (“)
  • learn good time management skills (next time)
  • organize study groups (future topic)
  • read your textbook effectively (future topic)
  • use active study techniques (future topic)
  • write multiple drafts of papers (future topic)
  • seek help from professors (future topic)
  • learn test-taking skills (future topic)
  • get to know your classmates (future topic)

Students who struggled in high school often have limited tools and not much practice with using them well. If this is you, resolve that college is going to be different. You are going to get serious and do this right, because your future career is at stake. Start acquiring tools and learning how to use them effectively! (It doesn't cost any money, only time and effort.)

Students who did well in high school often still have limited tools, but are better at using them. Their biggest problem is that they stubbornly stick to what worked before even if there is a much better solution. If this is you, don't keep using pliers to do a wrench's job! Expand your tool set and use them.

There is an underlying principle here – it's called self-regulation. To be an effective learner, you need to always be looking at what you're doing and asking if it's working. Is it giving you the results you want? Take responsibility for your learning.

3. Study Habits

Let's start by looking at your overall study habits. Take notes on anything you think might help you. (I'm going to mix up the order from the book a bit.)

1 – time of day: What are some good times to study?

Morning? Afternoon? Evening?

After midnight? At 5 am?

Between classes? Right after class?

After you get home and relax for a bit?

Same time each day helps your brain/body get on that schedule.

Break it up during the day – you don't have to study at only one time.

Don't leave it to chance – make a plan! (more on Thurs)

4 – length of time: How long do you study?

10 minutes? Two hours?

20 minute rule!

Switch subjects after an hour

Crazy idea – get up and move every 30 min (different chair, other side of the couch, get a drink, etc) Laboratory animals who ran on their exercise wheel learned new tasks better than those who didn't!

3 – prior to exams: How long before an exam do you start studying for it?

You already should be!

Don't wait to start learning until an exam comes up – many students fall in this trap.

Master each day's material before the next class. Memorizing and dumping won't prepare you for any career.

Your brain is an expert at dumping information – you'd go crazy if you remembered everything you heard and saw. How to convince your brain something is important enough to remember?

1) strong emotion (not generally useful for studying)

2) repetition: study more than once; study different ways; study in ways that forces you to recall it, not just recognize it, be creative with it, write it, sing it, etc. (Lauren's spelling words)

2 – location: Where is a good place to study?

At home: Living room? Kitchen table? Bed? (not) Desk in room?

On campus: HCC (library)? Outdoor pavilions or tables? Tutoring Center? Hazy? Snow? Gardner? SAC? (study rooms in library have white boards! Use colors and write big!)

Use more than one place to study the same material: study with people memorizing a vocabulary list a week apart in the same room or different rooms – different rooms people remembered more.

What does a good study place need? Enough light, enough room, comfortable but not sleep-inducing, few distractions, interruptions

Other:

Study environment: try peppermint, lemon, pine, cinnamon or lavender scents

essential oils, candles with warmer, gum, etc

Use Baroque music (or Enya) – don't use music with lyrics (I'm learning to use Pandora)

Who do you study with?

Alone – ok, most common

with friends – ok if you actually studying

with classmates – good for some of your studying

Do you eat while studying?

A little snacking is ok if it helps keep you on task

Try to stick to healthy snacks (sunflower seeds, Greek yogurt, OJ, granola bars, strawberries, celery, bananas, dark chocolate, beef jerky, cashews, apples, protein bars, almonds, carrot sticks and broccoli, raisins, etc).

Drinking water is very good for your brain!

Don't study while eating meals; enjoy your food.

Do you allow your cellphone to interrupt you while studying?

If you are constantly texting or checking Facebook, Instagram, etc, your learning will be shallow and ineffective. Use it for your 20 min break!

notes / studying
problems / memorization techniques
syllabus / learn in class
review notes / Tutoring Center
manage time / Writing Center
study groups / textbooks
active study techniques / multiple drafts
professors / classmates
test-taking skills / library