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Study Skills
Presentation by Jordan Montejano
English Instructor, Tutoring Center
02.28.2024.
Overview
Study Skills Workshop Overview
We are going to go over three important areas that will get you into better study habits, so you don't feel like Izumi (pictured).
01.
Tools: we will go over tools that will help you study better.
02.
Skills: methods, strategies, techniques to study more effectively.
03.
Stress, Fatigue, and Everything Else: How to not get so stressed out and de-stress once the tests are over.
The Basics
Physical
If you are a hands-on person, it might benefit you more to use tools you can touch, move around, highlight, and such.
Basics:
- Pencil, pen, and paper (for jotting down notes).
- Notecards (for writing down key terms and definitions).
- highlighters (for annotating)
- page flags (for marking important sections in a book or on a page).
Digital
If you prefer to do everything on your computer, phone, or tablet a digital approach may benefit you.
Basics:
- Computer, laptop or cellphone
- Microsoft word, google docs, or a notetaking app like colornote or pages.
*We do offer workshops in Notetaking and Digital Literacy.
Tools
WHERE
WE ARE
So you've got the tools
now that you have the tools of the trade, you'll need to keep them organized as you study.
The right tools won't help you at all unless you know how to use them.
Initial Notetaking Strategies
Physical Note Taking Strategies
Notes: taking exact notes and turning those into more focused bullet point notes.
Textbook: Highlight your textbook and use page flags to mark important passages.
Studying Techniques
Rewrite notes - Make them cleaner and more effective. Pair down your notes into the important parts that will likely be on the test. If you can turn ten pages of notes into five, then your study time will be more efficient.
Annotate notes - Highlight key phrases and vocabulary, circle examples, and underline definitions (this is just an example of how you might annotate).
Note Cards-Make cards on vocabulary or sample questions.
Why Rewrite my Notes
The point of revising and reworking your notes is that your studying will be more purposeful.
Small Groups
The benefit of small groups is being able to test each other and help fill in gaps in knowledge. The Stem Center has math and science study groups. The Library and Tutoring Center have study rooms.
Strategies
Example Notes from page 12 of The Writing Life by Annie Dillard
Revised Notes
Concise, Annotated, Purposeful
Initial Notes
Getting all the info down exactly or in bulleted short form
Note Cards or Problem, Vocab, and Concept Focused. Connecting ideas and synthesizing information.
Examples
How to find honey?
Catch a bee and release it. See where it goes. Repeat.
How is catching a bee like writing a book?
Catching bees and releasing them, following them one at a time to the honey hive is like an author who writes chapter after chapter leading to a finished book. "So a book leads its writer."
To find a honey tree, first catch a bee. Catch a bee when its legs are heavy with pollen; then it is ready for home. It is simple enough to catch a bee on a flower: hold a cup or glass above the bee, and when it flies up, cap the cup with a piece of cardboard...release it, and watch...bee after bee will lead toward the honey tree, until you see the final bee enter the tree.
Thoroeau describes this process in his journals. So a book leads its writer.
How to find a honey tree.
- Catch a bee.
How to catch a bee
- Use a glass and cardboard to cap it when a bee is on a flower.
- Release it and follow it.
- repeat with other bees.
Bee catching is like writing a book.
Additional Strategies
Cramming
Cramming a lot of material without rest up until the test is bad for you. You don't want to start the test tired. The more you study nonstop, the harder it will be for your brain to function during the test.
Pacing and Preventing Exhaustion on Test Day
- pacing yourself is important to avoid wearing yourself out before a test.
- When studying, take a ten minute break every hour. This will keep your mind fresh.
- Make sure to go bed early enough, so you get a good night's sleep before the test (ideally 8 hours).
- Try to start studying a week before the test. Review the material the day of the test, but don't exhaust yourself before the test starts. You want to come into the test prepared, and ready to think, not ready to drop.
Additional Strategies
Sample Study Schedule
Your study schedule might look different depending of the difficulty and length of the exam, how many classes you are taking, and how busy your schedule already is. The important thing to remember is to pace out your studying, so you're not cramming everything in all at once.
Example: It is Monday and you have a test next Monday. The test is a timed writing test that will have multiple choice questions on vocab and course content and will require short essay responses. Your professor has provided a simple sample test with practice essay questions. You know which chapter the test will be on as well.
Monday: Review your notes on the chapter and rewrite them, so they are more concise (2 hours, take a ten minute break each hour)
Tuesday: Annotate notes by highlighting key terms and phrases, underlining important content, and writing in the margins. Make notecards with vocab and sample questions from the sample test (2 hours, take a ten minute break each hour).
Wednesday: Study notecards throughout the day a few minutes at a time (1 hour).
Thursday: Review notes and textbook (1 hour).
Friday: Study in the morning before the test (1 hour).
Example Study Schedule
Test Cycle
Hopefully after this presentation, you will practice better study habits. Even so, it's easy to be stressed and tired after a test. We will go over some strategies for stress recovery.
A lot of people get nervous before a test, cram at the last minute, and crash after the test is over (As seen on this chart). We can break this cycle with the right tools and strategies, but what about when the test is over?
Study the night before up until the day of the test.
Stress, Fatigue, and Everything Else
Week after Test
Day of Test
Week Before Test
Put off studying
Get the results of the test and wonder why I didn't get a good grade.
De-Stress
Destress
Activities
Exercise
If your mind is stressed after a test, consider taking a walk.
Massage/Stretch
If your muscles are tense consider getting a massage or doing some stretching.
Food
Getting the proper nutrition is essential to keeping healthy body function. A snack break might be in order during a long study session.
Water
It's recommended that you drink eight 8-once glasses of water per day.You should consume more water on hot days and when you are more physically active.
Electrolytes
Electrolytes help restore your body after strenuous activity. Be careful about how you replenish your electrolytes. I.E. Gatorade or Powerade are best after a workout not after a nap.
Rest
You should get 8 hours of sleep. If you have trouble sleeping consider using black out blinds, an eye mask, or drinking chamomile tea with a bit of honey or lemon . Some people sleep well with white noise like rainfall or a fan.
Sleep Debt
If you don't get enough rest because you've been spending a lot of time studying, you can get extra sleep to make up for it when you have the time later in the week.
Naps
Napping for a few minutes or up to an hour can be a good way to get an energy boost, but don't make a habit of sleeping for hours in the middle of the day as this can affect your ability to sleep well throughout the night.
Reward and Recovery
Reward
For some people, enjoying a nice cup of coffee and a pastry in a cafe' is a great way to relax.
After a stressful test, consider treating yourself. This could mean a nice meal or a night out.
If you are more of a homebody, you might order in and watch a movie or read a book.
Workshops and Study Groups
The library has its own set of workshops and has study rooms for groups.
https://www.craftonhills.edu/current-students/library/index.php
- The Tutoring Center offers various workshops on Notetaking, Being an Online Student, Timed Writing, Digital Literacy, MLA, APA, Research, and more:
- https://www.craftonhills.edu/current-students/tutoring-center/workshopsandstudygroups/index.php
- The Stem Center offers Study Groups on various math and science subjects:
- https://www.craftonhills.edu/academic-and-career-programs/stem-center/stem-center-calendar.php
Other Resources
Outside Resources
Outside Resources
General Helpful Study Tips
University of Lynchburg Study Tips:
https://www.lynchburg.edu/academics/tutoring-and-academic-support/top-10-study-skills/
Helpful Tips and Strategies on Studying
Crash Course YouTube Playlist on Study Skills:
https://youtu.be/IhuwS5ZLwKY
Study Checklist, Effective Habits, and Learning Styles
Education Corner Study Skills
https://www.educationcorner.com/study-skills.html
Works Cited
Education Corner.com, Study Skills for Students,
https://www.educationcorner.com/study-skills.html. Accessed 07 Oct. 2021.
Lynchburg University, Top 10 Study Skills, 2021,
https://www.lynchburg.edu/academics/tutoring-and-academic-support/top-10-study-skills/. Accessed 07 Oct. 2021.
"Study Skills Playlist."YouTube, uploaded by Crash Course,
1 Aug. 2017, https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IhuwS5ZLwKY&list=PL8dPuuaLjXtNcAJRf3bE1IJU6nMfHj86W. Accessed 07 Oct. 2021.