TIME MANAGEMENT, NOTE-TAKING, TEST-TAKING,
AND STUDY SKILLS
25 Ways to Get the Most Out of Your Study Time!
1) Study hard (or boring) classes first.
If your math homework puts you to sleep, then do it first. You're not going to feel like doing Math after 2 hours of studying. Save the fun subjects for last since it will be easier to get a burst of motivation to complete them.
2) Assess your best time of day.
Are you a “morning person?” Maybe a “night owl” instead? Use that time of day as your primary study time. Even if it sounds crazy to wake up 2 hours before school, you may find it very easy to get used to.
3) Use waiting time to study.
Extra time adds up fast: 10 minutes waiting for the bus or 20 minutes waiting for a doctor's appointment can equal 30 minutes or more each day. Have quick study aids like note cards or one-page vocabulary lists handy in your pocket or purse.
4) Use a regular study area.
Some people concentrate best with no noise and some people need background noise like libraries. Assess what your preferred study area is and make sure to always have it fully stocked with study supplies. If you like going to libraries, then make enough room for yourself to work and stay focused.
5) Study where you'll be alert.
Don't lie in bed and expect to stay awake! Your body will subconsciously tell you, “It's time for bed.” Instead, sit upright whether in a chair or on the floor with your study tools close at hand.
6) Use libraries more.
Not only are libraries great places to study, they are the ultimate research resource. Library lighting is bright, the noise levels are low, and materials are available. Since libraries demand that people stay quiet they are the perfect spot for meeting with study groups.
7) Where does your attention lie?
Is there something nagging at you to get done? Write a note to yourself so you don't forget, or take care of it quickly before you even sit down to study.
8) Agree with family.
Come to an agreement with your family so everyone knows your study hours. Try hanging a sign on your door as a reminder to not be disturbed.
9) Get off that phone!
If it's too much of a temptation to talk on the phone, then go to the library or simply turn it off or put it in another room. Let friends know when you can take calls.
10) Learn to say, “No.”
Saying, “No,” doesn't have to be rude if said courteously and with a reason. If people know your boundaries, they are likely to ask requests when you're not working on homework. They want you to succeed. Work out a chore schedule with your parents so they don't cut into study time.
11) Hang a sign.
Make a Do-Not-Disturb sign for your door as a reminder that you are “in session.”
12) Get ready ahead of time.
Set yourself up for the next big day the night before. Prepare your lunch, set your clothes out, clean out your back pack, replenish school supplies, and set everything in one location that's easy to grab and go. You'll feel less stressed and have more time in the morning to do last minute studying.
13) Call ahead.
Save yourself time by calling ahead to see what the library hours are instead of going there and discovering it's closed. Likewise, call ahead to see if your sport team is still practicing or if games are cancelled.
14) Avoid the noise.
Avoid televisions and music unless the music is instrumental. Studies show, people tune out instrumental songs easier than songs with vocals.
15) Don't let others waste your time.
Usually, it's the same people who are consistently interrupting. If they haven't honored your previous requests for peace and quiet, you may have to find another way of avoiding them during our study period.
16) Ask yourself: What is one task I can accomplish toward my goal?
We tend to go into “shut down” mode when overwhelmed by big projects or a multitude of projects. First, identify what needs to be done. Then prioritize tasks in order of importance. Next, break down the first task in order of the steps needed to complete. Begin step one. You'll soon discover how easy it is to tackle jobs, so get started!
17) Ask yourself: Am I being too hard on myself?
So what if you make a spelling mistake on an English exam or forget to answer a math problem on a test. Mistakes happen. Learn from those opportunities instead of beating yourself up. Maybe next time you can remind yourself to look back over the test or proofread before turning in to the teacher.
18) Ask yourself: Am I being a perfectionist?
Do you rewrite your notes even if you're the only one that ever sees them? You're wasting precious study time! Do you make note cards for yourself once you get home? Why not copy your vocabulary words and the definitions directly on note cards during class time, instead of transposing the notes into another format once you get home.
19) Ask yourself: Would I pay myself for what I'm doing?
Are you earning your wages as a student? No employer would hire someone who wastes time, takes more breaks than necessary, or leaves work incomplete. Start practicing for your future job right now!
20) Ask yourself: Can I do just one more thing?
At the end of a long day can you fit one more thing in instead of saving it for tomorrow? Even setting your clothes and backpack out at night before you go to bed is one less thing you'll have to do tomorrow. Without realizing it, you'll soon be increasing your overall productivity at school and at home.
21) Ask yourself: Am I making time for things that are not urgent and putting the urgent things on hold?
If we don't learn to prioritize and deal with the very important tasks first, then we're likely to feel worn out quickly and not get around to the urgent things until too late or not at all. If exercise is very important for you because without it you are likely to get stressed out easily, then exercise is urgent! If a math worksheet is due tomorrow and a history essay is due next week—do the math!
22) Ask yourself: Can I get help for this?
Instead of searching for a library book yourself, ask for help from someone knowledgeable about research tools or more efficient research methods like librarians or peers. Then, next time you research, you can use your newly found skills for quicker results.
23) Ask yourself: How did I just waste time?
Take time after each study session or after each day to review the tasks you had at hand and how you did accomplishing them. What could you have done different, better, or faster? Are you needlessly wasting time transposing notes onto note cards when you get home form school? In class, use note cards as a replacement for your regular notebook paper.
24) Ask yourself: Could I find the time if I really wanted to?
Students like to say they just don't have enough time to finish all the things they're responsible for. But what if they were getting paid big money—you bet they'd find the time! No excuses.
25) Ask yourself: Who will be let down?
The person you stand to let down the most is you! If that isn't enough to motivate you, think of the people in your life who sacrifice things for you or who encourage and believe in you.
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What to do When You Have Trouble Keeping Up
1) Take more time to prepare for class.
Preview materials ahead of time so you know what to expect when you get to class. Some teachers begin right away, so you don't want to miss a thing!
2) Do some yard work.
Sometimes teachers talk too fast for you to write down everything. That means you'll need to do some weeding. Go through the garden of information and weed out what you need and what you don't.
3) Compare notes.
After class or during group study sessions, compare your notes with classmates. Most of the time they will have caught things you missed and vice versa.
4) Leave gaps.
Leave empty spaces in your notes for information you know you missed and will have to fill in later.
5) Ask for help.
See your teacher after class to find out what you missed.
6) Tape it.
Use a tape recorder to tape lessons (with teacher permission).
7) Take notes before class.
Use your text book to read the chapter(s) your teacher will cover in the lesson, but leave blanks for filling in the gaps.
8) Retake.
If you have the opportunity, do a retake. If you are watching a rainy day video in a class you're successful in, then ask that teacher if you could go back to the challenging class to sit through the lesson again.
9) Learn shorthand.
Shorthand is a term for abbreviated note-taking. For words your teacher or textbook uses frequently, come up with an abbreviation. For example, if your notes contain the word government, shorten it to “gov't,” or if you use the word biology often, then try writing “bio.”
10) Ask your teacher to slow down.
It never hurts to ask someone to slow down or repeat something. Usually, people don't mind—especially if it's a rare request.
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Better Note-taking for Better Retention
1) Cornell Method:
http://www.dartmouth.edu
/~acskills/docs/cornell_note_taking.doc
The Cornell Note Taking System
| |
Name
Date
Title |
Summary Column:
|
|
| Reduce ideas and facts to |
|
| concise jottings and |
|
| summaries as cues for |
| Reciting, Reviewing, |
| and Reflecting. |
| Vocabulary |
|
| Terms |
|
| Dates |
|
| Keywords |
|
| Questions |
|
| Acronyms |
| Formulas |
| Pictures |
|
Note-taking column:
|
| Record the lecture as fully and as |
| meaningfully as possible. |
| Definitions |
| Graphs |
| Diagrams |
| Bullet points |
| Paragraphs |
|
1. Leave gaps between ideas so you can compare notes with a peer later and fill in missing items.
2. Create sample test questions for yourself in the left column directly across from the main lecture notes.
3. When reviewing your notes, color code keywords, terms, and vocabulary and come up with symbols to write/draw next to questions or important information that would be on a test.
4. Use only one side of your paper to record notes. When studying, it gets too confusing to have to keep turning over your paper to see what is on the back.
5. When reviewing what is in either column, simply cover up one side at a time.
©Academic Skills Center, Dartmouth College 2001 |
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The format provides the perfect opportunity for following through with the 5 R's of note-taking. Here they are:
1. Record. During the lecture, record as many meaningful facts and ideas in the main column as you can. And remember to write legibly!
2. Reduce. As soon after as possible, summarize these ideas and facts concisely in the Recall Column. Summarizing clarifies meanings and relationships, reinforces continuity, and strengthens memory. Also, it is a way of preparing for examinations gradually and well ahead of time.
3. Recite. Now cover the column, using only your jottings in the Recall Column as cues or "flags" to help you recall, say over facts and ideas of the lecture as fully as you can, not mechanically, but in your own words and with as much appreciation of the meaning as you can. Then, uncovering your notes, verify what you have said. This procedure helps to transfer the facts and ideas of your long term memory.
4. Reflect. Reflective students distill their opinions from their notes. They make such opinions the starting point for their own musings upon the subjects they are studying. Such musings aid them in making sense out of their courses and academic experiences by finding relationships among them. Reflective students continually label and index their experiences and ideas, put them into structures, outlines, summaries, and frames of reference. They rearrange and file them. Best of all, they have an eye for the vital-for the essential. Unless ideas are placed in categories, unless they are taken up from time to time for re-examination, they will become inert and soon forgotten.
5. Review. If you will spend 10 minutes every week or so in a quick review of these notes, you will retain most of what you have learned, and you will be able to use your knowledge currently to greater and greater effectiveness. |
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Mind Maps:
http://www.jcu.edu.au /studying/services
/studyskills/mindmap /howto.html
http://www.mindtools.com/mindmaps.html
Outlines:
http://www.indiana.edu/~wts/pamphlets
/outlines.shtml
Notes for Better Writing:
http://www.bcuc.ac.uk/main.asp?page=1759
Pictures:
Draw pictures on all types of notes to represent concepts, terms, events, etc… For Example, if you're studying the War of 1812 in Social Studies, draw a picture of a flag for “independence,” a number 2 to represent the “2-year war,” and 2 ships representing “British and American combatants.” When you review your picture notes, you'll quickly remember the details of the event. When it comes time for testing, you will remember pictures which will trigger your memory for the rest of the details.
Summarize notes:
Create a poem, acronym, or song lyrics to synthesize information. You'll never forget something you can sing!
Keep Everything in One Place :
All of your academic subjects and notes should be kept in one binder. Use tab dividers for each subject area, as well as pocket folders to hold paperwork that isn't three-hole punched. A daily planner should be the first thing you see when you open your folder. Use the left binder pocket to hold notes and permission slips that pass from your teachers to your parents/guardians.
Note cards:
Write information directly onto note cards rather than transposing the information once you get home. Keep the note cards bound with a rubber band and within reach for review during down times.
Label, Number, and Date:
Make sure to label, number, and date all notes so you can keep them in order. When a lesson or unit is complete, remove that section of notes and keep them in another notebook you can leave at home for future reference. You never know when you'll need to use old notes for essay writing or comprehensive exams.
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Test-Taking
http://www.eop.mu.edu/study/
http://caps.unc.edu/TestTake.html
http://www.state.tn.us/education
/tsteststrategies.htm
http://www.public.asu.edu/~ickpl/test-taking.htm
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