S TUDYING S MARTER

1. STUDYING SMARTER A Student Success On-Line Seminar Presented by R e a c h (Your success is our goal!) 2009

2. LEARNING OUTCOMES At the end of this seminar the student will . . . • Be able to apply the 5 Rs as a study strategy • Distribute study for each course • Incorporate organizational, reinforcement, and rehearsal strategies into distributed study • Show greater effectiveness and efficiency “Success is always within your reach if you extend your grasp.”

3. LEARNING AND MEMORY Consider the following: “WHAT IS MEMORY?” “HOW DO YOU DEFINE IT?”

4. LEARNING AND MEMORY. . . • Learning depends upon memory; • In the absence of memory no learning can occur

5. MEMORY: 2 CATEGORIES • Working memory --holds • 6-9 pieces of information --for a • limited time span; temporary • Long-term memory --holds • unlimited information --for an • unlimited time span; permanent

6. Learning and Memory MEMORY = 3 PROCESSES 3. RETRIEVAL (Getting info out of storage) 1. ENCODING (Taking info in) • STORAGE • (Filing info for future use) Visual Auditory Tactile/ Kinesthetic “Working” memory Long-term memory

7. Learning and Memory In order for TRUE learning to occur, information must get into long term memory. HOW ?

8. Through ORR • ORGANIZE • REINFORCE • REHEARSE

9. ORGANIZE: • Weed out unnecessary words • Label information • Arrange in proper, logical sequence • Make info easy to retrieve

10. REINFORCE: • Make associations • Make connections • Use other senses

11. REHEARSE: Practice the information

12. USE: • Concept maps • Venn Diagrams • Webs • Charts • Concept cards • Other

13. Construct time lines • Make informal outlines • Summarize • Create study guides

14. Use an effective note-taking system Why ?

15. NOTE-TAKING . . . • Helps you focus (on the lecture OR textbook material) • Helps you see relationships among concepts • Helps you prepare for tests • Provides clues to what the professor/author sees as important • Provides the “raw material” for critical thinking YOU'RE WRITING YOUR OWN TEXTBOOK !

16. ALTERNATIVE NOTE-TAKING Laptops— Consider their advantages. Disadvantages? Audio Recorders—What are their advantages? Disadvantages? Which can make you more effective and efficient?

17. When taking notes from a textbook • Mark items likely to be on a test • Use arrows to connect related ideas • Number sequential points • Summarize charts, graphs, and tables • Annotate in the margin(s)

18. Annotating* A way to reduce and organize notes by weeding out, ordering, and labeling. Give attention to: • Names, dates, events • Definitions—content-specific terms • Relationships: cause/effect; compare/contrast, etc. • Theories, Hypotheses, Formulas, etc. • Lists, characteristics, properties, functions • Examples illustrating theories, experiments, etc. You can also use key word or question-type annotations. *Nist, Sherrie and William Diehl. Developing Textbook Thinking, 5th ed.Boston: Houghton Mifflin, 2002.

19. Studying • USE A SYSTEM • DISTRIBUTE STUDY • NETWORK WITH OTHERS

20. The 5Rs:an effective study system TAKE NOTES RECORD WEED OUT; SYNTHESIZE REDUCE TALK THROUGH INFO—OUT LOUD! RECITE THINK ABOUT INFO; MAKE CONNECTIONS REFLECT SELF-TEST; PREPARE FOR EXAM REVIEW

21. R1: RECORD Lecture or Textbook • Use narrative, outline, or combination • Use abbreviations, symbols, numbers • Get the whole story—the big picture • Use headings to give notes a point of reference • Summarize

22. Record = take notes • Jot down the idea; avoid sentences! • Use headings/labels to give notes a point of reference • Maintain order used by author/lecturer • Capture the thought being communicated USE YOUR NOTES !

23. Use abbreviations, symbols, diagrams, etc. • Include examples • Mark notes by asterisking, underlining, circling, bracketing, etc. USE YOUR NOTES !

24. R 2: R E D U C E • Weed out unnecessary information • Synthesize; pull remaining ideas together (Use the margin of the text or paper to pull info together by annotating—noting key info by reducing, labeling, and organizing.) (Samples provided)

25. R 3: R E C I T E • To repeat before an audience; to say out loud • Read your annotations—out loud! • WHY? • Reciting helps secure information in long term • memory • Reciting brings another sense to the learning • Reciting aids comprehension Def.

26. students make A mistake is treating information in isolation, unrelated to anything else. --SO--

27. R 4: R E F L E C T Think critically about the information and make connections. Ask yourself . . . • How does this information relate to previous lectures? • What is the relationship? • How does it connect with information in my Geography class? Political Science class? • How does it fit in the big picture?

28. R 5: R E V I E W Self test . . . • What do I know well ? • What do I need more work on ? Then . . . • More study of what you don’t know • Maintenance of what you do know

29. STUDYING SMARTER MEANS . . . Distributing your study

30. EVERY DAY short study periods

31. B E C A U S E

32. CRAMMING IS I N E F F E C T I V E !

33. DISTRIBUTED STUDY • 15 MINUTES PER DAY PER SUBJECT (MINIMUM) • USE DIFFERENT STRATEGIES (See “Rehearsal Strategies” at the end of this presentation) • ORGANIZE, REINFORCE, REHEARSE • Make learning more permanent • Address all senses of learning

34. Network • Find a study partner, OR • Form a study group, OR • Attend LA or SI sessions, OR • Sign up for scheduled tutoring, OR • Get help in the Math Resource Center, OR • Seek assistance in the Computer Resource Center R E A C Hservices, free to all U of L students!

35. EXAMPLES Note taking w/annotations Rehearsal Strategies

36. Note Taking Example The Psychology of Memory Memory Processes How are you able to remember past experiences and events? Since you do not have a camera in your mind, Memory Processes how can you remember a picture? Since you do not record Human memory a music with your brain, how can you remember a song mystery once heard? Human memory is still a mysterious process that we know relatively little about. Logically, Remembering=3 processes however, we know that remembering requires at least [3 1.Encoding: getting info in processes:] getting information in the mind, retaining it, 2.Storage: keeping info in and then getting it out. These processes are called 3.Retrieval: getting info out (encoding), (storage), and (retrieval).

37. Note taking (con’t) Encoding Memories are not the same as real events: I do not Memories =information, have actual music in my mind; my house is not not physical objects actually in my head. (Memories can be thought of as consisting of information rather than of physical objects) such as houses. Encoding= changing Encoding is the process of changing physical scenes occurrences into form and events into the form of information that can be that can be stored stored in memory. This “form” of information used in --form = kind of memory recording memories is the [memory code]. Thus the code process of encoding consists of changing the physical energy in the environment (for example, a sound) into memory codes. From Nist, Sherrie and William Diehl, Developing Textbook Thinking, 5th ed. Boston: Houghton Mifflin, 2002. def.

38. CONCEPT MAPPING Good study aid for ANY class b/c it cuts to the chase ! FAST FOOD RESTAURANTS McDonald’s Burger King Dairy Queen Big Mac Whopper Big “Brazier” French Fries Onion Rings “Fiesta Sundae” Apple Pie Vanilla Shake Notice the reduction of info as well as the logical organization. Improves efficiency/effectiveness. Chocolate Shake

39. Concept Mapping - 2 AMERICAN VALUES NEGATIVE POSITIVE WORK ETHIC PRAGMATISM WASTEFULNESS INDIFFERENCE TO SOCIAL NEEDS ACTIVISM

40. Concept Cards Good study aids for ANY class ! Selective: promotes sale of brand name products Ex.: Bayer aspirin Primary demand: promotes product, not a specific brand Ex.: Florida oranges Institutional: promotes good will toward advertiser Ex.: Oil co. advertises what it’s doing to keep prices down Types of Advertising Front Back

41. Charting(From Shepherd, James F. College Study Skills, 5th ed., Houghton Mifflin, 1994.) Great organizational tool for any class. Psychosexual Stages According to Freud Age Characteristics Oral Stage Anal Stage Phallic Stage Latency Period Genital Stage Birth to 1 yr. Pleasure from mouth: sucking, eating, biting, chewing 1 yr. to 3 yrs. Pleasure from holding & letting go of body waste 3 yrs to 6 yrs. Pleasure from one’s own primary sex organs 6 yrs to about Child denies attraction for 11 yrs. parent of opposite sex & iden- tifies w/parent of same sex Adolescence Awakening of sexuality & desire for heterosexual love

42. Timeline (From Shepherd, James F. College Study Skills, 5th ed. Boston: Houghton Mifflin, 1994.) Great for classes w/historical focus. Major Inventions 1875-1895 1875 Telephone Phonograph Cash register 1880: Hearing aid Electric fan Rayon 1885: Motorcycle Contact lenses 1891: Submarine Movie machine 1895: Safety razor

43. QUESTION/ANSWER TECHNIQUE (From Nist and Diehl, Developing Textbook Thinking, 5th ed. Boston: Houghton Mifflin, 2002.) Questions Answers • Define the “tip-of-the tongue” 1. Knowing that you know phenomenon. Why does this occur? something (e.g., a person’s name phenomenon or the 1st letter of the thing you’re trying to recall) but being unable to retrieve it. “Tip-of-the tongue” occurs because you can’t locate the information because of the way it has been “filed”. 2. Describe Lashley’s rat experiments. What was the purpose of the experi- ments and what were his findings?

44. Link to the test