Lecture on study skills

2. When and how do you
start preparing for an
exam?

3. Prepare for the exam
Study – start early
• Build (and stick to) a study schedule
• Action plan your study plan
• Avoid cramming

4. Finding the time and place to study
• Where do you have time in your schedule to study?
• When do you do your best studying?
• How long should you study for at a time?
• 1 – 1.5 hours is a good time to aim for
• Where are good places to study?
• While we’re all taking online classes, it is import to find a
space for yourself that you can dedicate to studying
• Minimize distractions

5. • This schedule includes
blocks of time to study
• This student also
included tutoring and SI-
PASS
• They also included
breaks!

6. So why don’t you just
start studying??

8. Avoiding Procrastination
Studying starts in class
• Use class time efficiently
• Arrive to class early and prepared
• Look for instructor hints
• Use your resources
• Example: thinkTANK or Writing Center
• Remember your motivation

9. Avoiding Procrastination
Getting organized
• Arrive at the space and breathe
• Bring tools, books, notes, pencils – anything you might need
• Minimize distractions
• Identify the goal of the work session
• Create an action plan

10. Action Plan Your
Study Plan!

11. Action Plan Your Study Plan
• Develop a study plan for you a class you have right now
• Example:
• 1) Find two text sources (Tuesday 9/29)
• 2) Skim first and last chapters (Thursday 9/30)
• 3) Take notes on one chapter (Friday 10/01)
• Include at least one resource to help you while you study
• What are some roadblocks you might run into?

12. The Pomodoro Technique
One way to get started
• Organize how you work
• Understand the task – break it into chunks (pomodoros)
• For each 25 minutes of intense focus, give yourself a 5 minute break
• 25 minute session = 1 Pomodoro
• 1 Pomodoro = 5 minute break
• 4 Pomodoros (100 minutes) = 30 minute break

13. Other Ways to Get Started
• Look for an easy way to enter your work
• Rewrite your notes
• Return to material you feel confident in
• Identify some steps in problems you’ve worked on
• Try Working for only 10 minutes!
• Slowly build up how much time you are studying

14. Your notes are a study tool –
they should be helpful!

15. Reviewing And Revising Notes
• Revisit your notes after class
• Summarize key points
• Fill in any gaps in your notes
• Review notes before the next class
• Rewrite notes to solidify concepts

16. Write Your Steps For STEM
Translating STEM
problems from
equations to plain
words is a great way to
check understanding
Clearly identify
the goal of your
problem

17. Summarize Your Notes
• For a couple sections of your notes write 2-3 sentence
summaries for pages/sections
• Highlight sections that you have questions on
• Make a list of questions that you can email your instructor

18. Fill in the Gaps
• Drop-In Tutoring
• Online “zoom” sessions are available for select courses
• SI-PASS
• Writing Center
• thinkTANK
• Your professor and your TA

19. Studying needs to be
active!

21. Active Studying
Build Connections
• Build connections in the material
• Connect topics covered
• Find ways to make the information stick with you
• Listen to the same type of music while studying a subject
• Chew one flavor of gum while taking practice tests
• You can think about these connections when you are taking a
test

22. Find Memory Devices
• Acronym
• Example: FOIL for multiplying binomials
• Acrostic
• Make a catchy sentence to remember material
• Example: King Phil Came Over for the Genes Special
• (Kingdom, Phylum, Class Order, Genus, Species)
• Association
• Connecting material to outside sources

23. Prepare for the exam
“Know thy enemy”
• Understand the exam format
• Make practice questions that follow the exam format
• Anticipate the ways material will be presented on the exam
• Practice solving the exam questions
• Developing the habit, developing the skill

24. Prepare for the exam
Study – Practice
• Practice your answers
• Hand-write, talk aloud, make graphs, solve equations
• Do something that engages the material in a meaningful way
• Meet with others to come up with sample questions
• Answer each other’s questions
• Correct each other’s answers
• This is still possible online: you can trade questions over email!

25. Give An Elevator Pitch
• Give a 1-2 minute speech on a topic you are studying
• Word it in a way that is understandable by anyone
• This can serve as a way to check your understanding of the
material
• The ability to summarize material in a clear and concise way
can help you get a sense of how well you understand things

26. Breathe
Make time for yourself
• Learn to decline
• You are a human
• Connect with family or friends
• Treat yourself to a nice meal, Netflix, or a long walk
• Practice structured breathing
• Make sleep a priority

27. Takeaways
• There is no time like the present to start
• Quality over quantity
• Active over passive studying
• Practice the way you need to perform
• Take a break!