Good Study Habits Part 1: Choosing a good place to study

1. Good Study HabitsPart 1: Choosing a good place to study By David Lewis

2. Not all studying spaces are equal. • In fact, trying to study in some places is simply a waste of time. • You can determine how good your regular studying space is by answering a few basic questions…

3. In your regular studying space, are there any of the following? • Games, toys and/or Videogames • Television • Lyrical music • Other people (who aren’t studying) • The Internet • If you answered “Yes” to any of these, then you should find a new place to study.

4. Games • Games, toys and videogames are great for relaxation, but terrible for studying. • Games usually require your full attention, so any attempts to focus on other things are greatly reduced.

5. Television • A common misconception amongst students is that it you can study effectively while watching television. However, viewing television requires a lot of focus. • Therefore, turning off the television will greatly improve studying efficiency.

6. Lyrical Music • It is very common for students to listen to music while studying, but they are often listening to the wrong kind of music. • Lyrical music (containing vocalizations) can often be distracting, while non-lyrical music can improve your focus by keeping you stimulated.

7. Other People • One of the most common distracters when studying is other people’s voices. • Even if you are not actively listening to other people, simply hearing their voices can easily prevent any memorization.

8. The Internet • A big problem for students who study using their computer is the urge to visit other websites. • Sometimes it is best to restrict internet access to yourself, or simply print out the required study material.

9. Other Distracters • There are many other distracters that can be as much of a problem if not more so. • In general, anything in your environment that takes your focus away from the studying material should be removed. • Some examples are: • Pets • Visual Art (i.e. Posters) • Strange/loud sounds

10. Studying and Your Brain • The reason why the previous findings are probably true is: • Your brain has different parts. • Each part can only handle a small amount of information once. • For example, your brain has only one language center, which is why it is hard to listen to two conversations at the same time (or listen to someone while reading). • Focus on one thing at a time!

11. Divided Attention • When attention is divided amongst many things, your ability to store information about these things into your memory is greatly reduced (Craik, F., Naveh-Benjamin, M., Govoni, R., Anderson, N. 1996). • Here is an example…

12. Try to remember the following sentences… • The researchers examined the effects of divided attention at encoding and retrieval. • They studied free recall, cued recall, and recognition memory in 4 experiments. • Lists of words or word pairs were presented auditorily and recalled orally. • What did you just read? Write down as much as you can remember.

13. Now try to remember these sentences… • Similarities between languages can have a number of different origins. • In the simplest case, universal properties may be due to universal aspects of human experience. • For example, all humans experience water, and all human languages have a word for water. • What did you just read? Write down as much as you can remember.

14. In Conclusion • Whenever you are choosing a studying space, try to find one as free from distractions as possible. • Common distractions are: • Television • Games • Lyrical Music • Other people • The Internet • If you can’t find a good place, then make one!