STUDY MATERIAL

1. Read the material to be covered in the next lecture BEFORE coming to

class. You may not understand it all, but this will help to reduce the feeling of
being overwhelmed by new terms and concepts. Also, you will have a sense of
the topics about which you may wish to ask question during the next class.
2. Re-copy your notes. This may sound like unnecessary busy work – but it is
not. Re-copying your notes is a slow-motion review of the lecture material. If
while re-copying your notes something does not make sense, then you have
identified a problem area. Maybe you missed or misunderstood something in
class. You should now ask for a clarification of the topic in question. This can
be done before or after class, at office hours, or an appointment.
3. Re-read the material. You will find that you will likely pick up some of the
finer points that may have eluded you during the first reading and class
discussion.
4. DO NOT TRY TO DO IT ALL THE NIGHT BEFORE! Falling behind
is a proven way to fail. Cramming the night before results in very short-term
retention. As a result, it will be much more difficult to remember the material
when you need it. Do your studying on a regular basis. Spread it out. The night
before the test should be reserved for review, not learning significant amounts of
new material.

There are five principles for listening:

1) It is a matter of choice - you decide to listen.
2) How committed are you to get something out of the exchange? A good listener
takes 51% out of the conversation, i.e. takes an active role.
3) Concern for the person speaking - There must be a sense of value for the person
speaking. You must respect the right of the person speaking to be heard.
4) Confidence - A good listener is a confident person, one who feels self-esteem
and self-worth. A lack of preparation concerning terms and homework leads to a loss of
confidence.
5) Communication is more in the mind of the listener rather than the speaker.
Your responses are based on what you hear or what you think you hear.
Listening is essentially a fantasy process as we use our minds to create things thru
imagination. If we find it difficult to concentrate there are three elements that we can
look at:

1) ATTITUDE - It is difficult to concentrate for more than a few minutes. Ask

yourself - Why am I here? - What do I want out of this? You are not able to remember
100% therefore look for certain things. Concentration depends on focus - is it narrow or
broad? Decide ahead of time what you need. If we are committed to the conversation
we will be more patient during the exchange even if the speaker is boring. Say to
yourself "I will listen well enough to explain this lecture to someone else." Sometimes
the effort to get something is not worth the time we have to invest. At this point we need
to re-evaluate our purpose.

2) PHYSICAL ASPECTS - What can I do to control either the environment or

myself? Worry about your personal comfort in terms of light, temperature, and seat in a
room. Try to eliminate as many disturbances as you can in order to concentrate more
fully. Motion disturbances are very difficult to correct because when your eyes move
your mind also moves. Sit up front rather than in the back. Visually attend the speaker
by concentrating your attention on the speaker and even on the lips of the speaker. Try to
eliminate sound distractions.

3) CONTENT OF MESSAGE - You may have to bring the speaker back to the
topic if they begin wandering off. You can practice selective attention, i.e., focusing on
one aspect when you have more than one choice. Ask questions to get back into focus.
What is the most penetrating question I can ask?

Writing is an integral part of oral communication. Make use of written summaries or

paraphrases. We hear more quickly than we think which leads to a gap we can call
mental flex time. Use your mental flextime positively by attempting to create a mental
picture of what you are hearing. This will help you remember later. Try to process
information during your mental flextime.
TAKING NOTES

You can increase your rate by using the following techniques because you can lose
material by taking notes to slowly.

1) Make much broader use of abbreviations during note taking. You can make up
abbreviations before class or you can make them up on the spur of the moment. If you do
the latter just be sure you put down what the abbreviation meant shortly after class before
you forget their meaning. You can even use one letter abbreviations.

2) Use the following symbols for common words, which you can fill in at a later
time:

a) t/ = this, these, those, that

b) w/ = which, what, when, where, why

c) . = and, a, the

d) noun endings: For nouns that end in -ion, -tion, -ment, -ness, -ity you can
draw a squiggly line to end the word. At a later time you can go back and fill in what
the words were based on the context of the notes.

3) Drop vowels from words - In many instances you don't need vowels and it is
relatively easy to fit in the proper vowels again based on the context.

4) Work up a format for taking notes - This will help you to decide what is key and
what is not. If you know what information you need you can create a format for that
information and then write it down when you hear it during the lecture. All of these
techniques will open up more time for your mental flex time which you can then use
productively to create mental pictures of what you are hearing or to process information.
 STUDY HABITS FOR SUCCESS

1. HOW MUCH TIME DO I NEED FOR MY SUBJECTS EACH WEEK?

I would recommend that you spend 2-3 hrs studying for each credit you are taking
per week. Thus, for example, if you were taking 15 credits you would need to
spend between 30 and 45 hrs per week studying these subjects. If the world
history course is 4 credits that would mean 8-12 hrs/week of study time on that
course alone.

2. Keep all of your graded materials you receive back from the instructor either using
binder clips or folders to hold all of the material. Thus, if you have any questions
about the materials you received and the grades you got you can take it back to the
instructor to have a look at. It could also be used to correct a mistake in a grade.
For example, if the instructor put down a 65% for a test and the test in question
you received back said 85% you could take that test back to the instructor and have
them correct their grade book.

3. Go over your tests to see what you missed and what to restudy if you have the
wrong conception. Use the tests as study material for the final and go back and ask
the instructor for the correct answer to each question, if they do not post a key.
You can also use this material during a study session with a possible study group.

4. Join or form a study group for each course you are in that are causing you
problems. Having to explain a concept to others is the best way to learn the
material and if you are an auditory learner hearing material being expressed orally
is very helpful

5. What is your learning style? The two major learning styles are either auditory or
visual. You either must hear the material or you must see the material to make the
most impact on your ability to learn the material. Discover what your learning
style is and attempt to do things that will be the most helpful to you in the learning
process.

6. Remember the learning curve. Notice the following diagram of material learned
vs. the amount of time it took. You will see that the curve flattens out after one-
two hours of constant studying. Thus, spending 4-6 hours in a single learning
session is not nearly as productive as spending it in three two hour sessions
separated by breaks. Therefore, once you are ready to study spend about one to
two hours on the material in front of you and then take an extended break and do
something else other that study. I can’t emphasize the importance of this idea for
improving your study habits.
7. Buy a planner and use it religiously. Buy one that provides enough space for each
day so you can write down extensive notes to yourself. First, put down all test,
quiz or project due dates on your calendar. Then you can see where the clogs will
be in terms of the number of test, etc in a given week. Try to get the dates for the
final for each subject that has one and put those down also. Then, page back one
week from each test, quiz or project date and write you a reminder note. For
example, if you have a test on November 10, put down a reminder note on
November 3 that says Test #X will be in one week. This will help remind you so
that you will not be caught and realize that an important test or project is due
tomorrow.

8. Do what is called “active studying”. Study with a pencil in your hand. In addition
to the idea of recopying you notes mentioned on the first page of this handout you
should also consider writing down summaries of or outline of each chapter
assigned by the professor in the text(s) used in each course. This is much better
than just using a yellow highlighter and highlighting the material. That is passive
studying and gets you nowhere.

9. Read the syllabus handed out for each course carefully and note how the grade will
be arrived at in terms of tests, finals, quizzes, projects, etc. Also note what sort of
curve the professor is using to grade the material handed in. The syllabus is
essentially the contract between the professor and the student as to what will be
covered and how it will be tested. Once the syllabus is given out the teacher
cannot change it without total ascent of the class. Essentially the professor is
bound by the terms of the syllabus he has handed out.

10. Review your test taking strategies, and talk to other students in a possible study
group you are in as to what they do. If there is an office on campus that has
resources for studying and test taking skills be sure to visit them and talk to them
for help. Ifthere is no office like that on campus check with the library to see what
they have available in this area and review it. One thing I will tell you is for
multiple choice tests give yourself no more than one minute per question. This is
to give yourself time to finish the test in the time allotted. If the answer is not
immediately apparent skip it and go on to the next question! If you have enough
time at the end then go back to those questions. Also later questions may trigger
the correct response to a question you skipped earlier.

11.Make the library your second home. In addition to being a quiet place, it has tons
of resources, including the librarians who really want to help student.
12.Find a quiet place to study on campus. That may be the library or there may be
study carrels located in other places on campus. The library is probably your best
bet in this regard. Be sure you also go online everyday and read any emails from
professors to their students. Once a campus goes online as far as the teachers and
students are concerned the professors will assume you are actively reading the
material from them online. It saves them a lot of time and tells everyone at once
what is going on.

13.Find a tutor if you are having serious problems in a course. The university may
provide some tutoring or there may be a list of people who will tutor you. If they
are private tutors they may charge an hourly fee for their assistance.

14.Whenever you turn in a project or something else you did outside the classroom
that required you do some writing, please run it through spellchecker first before
you turn it in! Professors do not like turned in material that you did not check
thoroughly before turning it in. It indicates a careless attitude.
 OTHER SUCCESS HABITS

1. EATING. You need to keep up proper eating habits for success. This means you
should have at least 25% of your daily calories in your breakfast. If you want to
skip meals do not skip breakfast!! Proper nutrition will lead to a healthier body
and therefore more success. Thus, be sure to eat salads, veggies, and fruit in what
you consume. Do not just eat bread products and skip the salads, veggies, and
fruit.
2. SLEEPING Here at UT we have a week or so before classes in which we do
various things with new, incoming freshman. One year we had a guest speaker
who asked the students who wanted to have a GPA between 3.5 and 4.0. Of course
almost everybody raised his or her hands. One of the three suggestions and the one
I remembered was this. Are you ready? GET 10 HOURS OF SLEEP PER
NIGHT. That’s right 10 hours!! There were a lot of groans after that statement.
So he said, take a contiguous two-week period and take 10 hours of sleep each
night during those two weeks. Note what happens to your studying, taking tests,
etc. It turns out research suggest that much sleep is needed by teenagers in your
age group bracket. Lack of sleep in most age groups studied always shows the
detrimental effects of the lack of sleep. I cannot emphasize this too much – YOU
NEED YOUR SLEEP!
3. Read a Time or Newsweek magazine each week as well as look at a local and/or
national paper. You can find these at the library. It doesn’t have to be a detailed
reading of every story being printed but scan all of the major stories and articles
presented and read more of the ones that interest you. This is an excellent device
to keep you current and more well read.
4. Join a club on campus, especially one that is involved in campus activities or
community activities. These are sometimes called “community service hours”.
You should keep track of these hours as well as other extra curricular activities so
you can recall them when you need to do so. For example, you are being
interviewed for a job or to go to graduate school and they ask you – What did you
do outside of the classroom during your freshman year in college? Will you be
able to remember them four years from now? If you do join a club on campus you
need to consider being an officer of the club. This will help your resume
immensely. Most employers and graduate programs really like students to be
involved in something other than coursework, especially as an officer of a club.
Again keep track of all of this type activity.
5. Read your Bible; pray about your relationships, studying and performance in all
facets of your campus life.
6. Go to church on a regular basis.