Tag: study skills

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Attn: Loading Too Much On? Here’s a Theory of How to Fix It

By Maya Estes

Do you ever feel like you are taking too much on? Responsibilities are piling up and you cannot for the life of you get on top of everything? You, my friend, are not the only one. At one point in time, everyone has been in your place; they have said ‘yes’ one too many times and now they have so many things on their plate that they are overwhelmed. It is not always saying yes though. Life is full of numerous distractions; it is amazing the world is still turning with the many ways you can avoid all of life’s responsibilities. There is never going to be a tried and true way of eliminating all these stressors, but there are some ways to help reduce them and focus on what is important.

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Memory Consolidation is a Great Excuse to Sleep

By Kelsey Klein

Imagine this: you’re a freshman in college who just graduated from high school. Each year of your high school career, you were able to get by with taking a quick glimpse of your notes before a quiz or exam. Even though you didn’t put much effort forth when it came to studying, you still managed to get a relatively good grades in all of your classes (shocking). Although you know that you will have tougher teachers and harder classes when you get to college, you think you will be able to get by just fine with the way you study now. When your first test rolls around and you use the same techniques as you did in high school, but you get the test back and your grade is not good, oh boy are you surprised. 

If anyone ever told you that once you get out of college and your teachers will be relatively relaxed, they are not wrong. However, just because they are laid back does not mean you can slack off. It also does not mean that they will go easy when it comes to their tests. Even though people may have been lucky to get a teacher who is very chill, people still tend to freak out when a quiz or test comes sneaking up. Skimming your notes a couple minutes before the exam or quiz won’t cut it. Even hoping that studying quickly before you go to bed is wishful thinking that something will stick with you. Although it is not ideal, college is much different than high school, which means that you need to find new studying techniques that will help you excel when tests and quizzes come around. 

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Seeing Without Seeing? Imagine That!

By Kate Aukes

Welcome to college! The next four (or more) years may be some of the most interesting and fun of your life, but a good work-fun balance is important. You will likely find yourself spending some time working on your study strategies as you settle into a new routine and a new school. When it comes to studying the material that you’ve learned and remembering it when test-day arrives, visual imagery will likely be at play. This type of imagery can be very helpful to your performance on exams and your overall studying method. When I started college, my study habits tended to be lacking, and that reflected in some of my grades. As a senior, I can look back and see that my habits have improved greatly over the years and my grades have followed suit. My hope is that this post can help you learn from my mistakes and do well in your first year of college!

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Recall issues? Learn about Interference

Interference may be why you did poorly on your test

By Miranda Molleck

“Did you fail your first college exam? Its okay! Just breathe and keep reading.”

College can sure be rough. You have classes to attend, homework (papers, presentations, assignments), groups presentations, plus studying. You have to balance a lot. Its no wonder students run into interference issues.

“Oh, what is interference? Keep reading my post to find out. There are ways to help reduce the likelihood of interference.”

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Take A Study Break, Why Don’t You?!

By Dymond Hunley 

What are you doing? In college studying for tests or maybe even finals. Let me Guess?! You’ve been cramming information for the last several hours. Let me guess again… You’re tired and ready to crash. Well let me be the one to tell you that you should not study for several hours constantly without taking a break. Time management is your best friend and procrastination is your worst enemy. When I started as a freshman that was one of my biggest flaws and sometimes still is.

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Solving Problems With Problems

By Kali George

Picture this: You’re in your first abnormal psychology class learning about endless psychological disorders, and possible diagnoses. Your brain is cluttered with new information and you’re not sure how you’re going to recall it for your first test. Come time for test day you’re struggling to remember examples of obsessive compulsive behaviors, but sure enough you remember a prime example that your professor had given you on the famous show, Hoarders. Without a doubt you are able to use the analogy in order to remember the original concept discussed in class.

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Meditation for general focusing and stress relief

By Collin Aimone

Everyone has had the issue of being stressed and has experienced trouble when trying to focus. A lot of times this is seen in school as the regular pressures of a learning environment can weigh heavy on the student. The amount of stress a student may endure can sometimes go unnoticed, and this stress soon leads to trouble focusing which in return can lead to falling grades. It has most likely been presented to all of us before as a solution to our problems, meditating, but of course we would not take the time to sit in our rooms and cross our legs and find our happy place. However, studies have shown that meditation can induce a physiological state of momentary deep rest, which has shown proof of lowering stress levels and helping individuals focus better. Continue reading “Meditation for general focusing and stress relief”

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Test Better Using the Testing Effect

By Sydney Abdnour

We’ve all heard the saying “you get out what you put in.” This statement applies perfectly to schooling, specifically studying and test taking. In high school, it is easy to cram the night before a test and get a good grade. Unfortunately, that is not the case in college. Even if you consider yourself a “good test taker,” it is important to put more time into your studies than you did in high school. There are many techniques out there to enhance the learning and studying experience for students of all ages. One of the effective ways to help students (especially college students) study and retain information better is the Testing Effect, known more commonly as the Retrieval Practice Effect.

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Music While Studying: Does It Motivate Or Distract?

By Marissa Corder

Can music help you study more efficiently? Unfortunately, this question is not easy to answer, and research has yielded contradictory evidence. The effect of music on cognitive performance depends on a multitude of factors including tempos of songs, types of cognitive tasks being performed (such as reading comprehension or solving algebra problems), and prior listening experiences. The arousal and mood hypothesis proposes that music’s influence on cognitive performance is a result of physiological responses (1). This hypothesis was developed to explain the “Mozart effect” – the popular misconception that listening to Mozart makes you smarter; that is, after Mozart-listening sessions, participants scored higher on spatial abilities compared to silent conditions or listening to instructions on relaxation (2). Later research found supporting evidence for the arousal and mood hypothesis and thus, “busted” the erroneous conclusion of a causal relationship between music and intelligence.

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