Stress and Studying - Some Helpful Hints

Exams are just over 2 weeks away and students are already starting to plan ahead.  Here are some hints to help while you are putting together your study material:

1. Be Purposeful - work; intend to listen when you're learning
2. Be Selective - figure out what you think is important
3. Get it Right the First Time - if you're unsure, ask!
4. Understand - if given info, put it into your words, develop your own short hand; try to explain it out lout, write it out, teach it
5. Organize - make it easy to follow
6. Recite - hearing it makes it easier to remember
7. Small Practice Sessions - gives you a higher percentage of information recalled

Scheduling:

• When you plan, you reduce stress
• Review right away
• Know material that will be called
• Study when you're most awake
• Study the hardest material when you're most alert
• Take breaks
• Increased fitness=increased learning

Students and Study Techniques

Four Distinguishing Characteristics of a Successful Student:

1. The successful student has a clear educational goal
2. The successful student recognizes that education offers a unique opportunity for intellectual development, and they are willing to subordinate their other concerns to take advantage of that opportunity
3. The successful student has good study skills
4. The successful student has the will to succeed

Helpful Study Techniques

• Preview material before it is taught; even if you just familiarize yourself with the day's material before class, you will be surprised how much more you understand
• If you have a series of exams, study for them in reverse order; this way you give adequate time to each exam, not five days for the first, a day for the second, half a day for the third, etc.
• guess at possible exam questions; sit down and write out answers
• Form a study group to decide what upcoming exam questions might be; everyone takes a question and prepares an answer: you can then swap answers for studying
• Do not get behind; if you relax and let things slide for a while, it is usually too late and too difficult to get back on top of things
• Do an immediate review after class; write things down and make your own notes

DID YOU KNOW?? Two or three hours of efficient study in quiet surroundings does more than ten hours in noisy conditions