The document summarizes 7 common study myths and provides evidence against each one. It argues that studying with music or other distractions harms focus and learning. It also disputes that speed reading courses improve grades, as the eye can only process words in brief fixations. Additionally, it claims last-minute studying is just procrastination in disguise, and while male and female brains differ, study skills do not need to. Note-taking is also emphasized as an active learning tool. Highlighting alone is deemed insufficient. Finally, cheating is said to undermine learning and integrity.
4. Studying with music on is the most destructive to your
learning. The sooner you accept this and cure yourself of
the “distraction addiction”, the sooner your results will
soar.
Anything that competes with your studies for your
attention is sucking your power to learn, retain and
remember. Turn off every distraction when you are
studying.
When you allow the presence of distractions during your
study time, you are making your brain work harder, not
smarter.
5. There is no such thing as speed- reading.
Your eyes move in a specific pattern called
“saccade”. Only when your eye is at rest is light able
to form a recognizable pattern on your retina. There
are maximum of three saccadic fixations per second-
or 180 per minute. The moment of fixation is the
only time you can take in the printed words.
6. Myth 3: It’s
Okay to Leave
it To the Last
Minute-I work
Better under
Pressure
7. This is a typical rationalization used
by the procrastinators trying to
justify their laziness to themselves
and to others. Sometimes it seems
like you are “working well under
pressure,” when what is really
happening is that you are finally
getting around to focusing. When
you have two choices: 1) abandon
all hope and give up, or 2) give it
your best shot in the time you have
left.
9. This is a very sensitive subject
because it is often
misunderstood and misapplied.
The bottom line in terms of study
skill is this: just because there
are noticeable differences in the
electrochemical workings of
female and male brains, it does
Not follow that they are so vastly
different than men and women
have to use different study
techniques for formal classroom
learning. The brain‟s basic
functioning is the same for both
the sexes.
10. Myth 5: I
Don’t
need to
take
Notes in
Class– I
Remembe
r Better
If I Just
Listen
11. Main reasons why you should take notes:
• You need to have a record of what the instructor said for
later to study.
• Writing down notes requires you to think about the ideas
behind the words before you write them. Your brain does
some initial work with the material and begins the process of
making the information a part of you.
• The act of writing engages other senses and intelligences. It
re-inforces reason2, and gives you a strong foundation on
which to base your later review.
You are sitting there anyway, so why waste the time? Pick
up your pen and put your brain to work. A little extra effort
now saves a lot of stress later on.
12. Myth 6: I Don’t Need to Take Notes while
Reading- Highlighting and Underlining are
Good Enough
13. Writing note either in the margin
or on a separate sheet of paper
doesn't take a lot of extra
time, but it saves hours of study
time and anxiety later on. This is
active learning, and it is vital to
making the information a part of
you--- which is the only way you
will remember it during an
exam…
15. 90 % of the students admit to cheating at some time. The worst part is
that the majority do not see anything wrong with it. Everyone else does
it, so why shouldn‟t you?
Don‟t ever do it…. The four main reasons why you should never cheat:
• You won‟t learn anything. You cheat yourself.
• It degrades the learning environment for every other student.
• Eventually, you will get caught– and the penalty and humiliation may
stick to you for the rest of your life.
• Cheating defines who you are. Anyone who cheats is a „ cheater‟. It
makes the person you really are a fraud and a liar. There is no
escaping that fact if you cheat.
