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Chapter 5: The How-To of Studying

Getting the Most Out of Your Classes: Six Strategies

Classes, even studying for exams, can be fun if you learn how to study and know a few secrets. Follow these tips and strategies to see how productive your classes can be.

Go to class. If you can get this part right, you are halfway over the hurdle already. Academics is like anything else; you have to lay a foundation to do well. On the academic side of college, that foundation is class, each and every one.
Stay awake. For most college students, it is the morning rather than afternoon lectures that are most difficult to get through. To help you stay awake, have a cup of coffee and get a full night of sleep.
Make friends. If you know people in your classes, you will look forward to going and meeting up with them. Friends can help make it more fun and exciting and give some help when it is time to study.
Pay attention. Paying attention not only helps you learn the material, but it might even help you keep both eyes open. You are guaranteed to pass the time quicker and learn more if you get involved in the lecture. Consistently paying attention adds to your retention of the material as well.
Arrange trade-offs. A great way to get a mix of learning styles is trading off duties with a friend in class. You can switch note-taking duties every other class with another individual who is as committed and dependable as you are.
Do it for you. Going to class and taking school seriously is up to you. If you are not serious, it will show. It's your future, and it's in your hands.

How to Study: Learning What Works for You

Just as every person has a unique personality, physique, like, and dislikes, everyone has a certain way of studying that helps him or her learn the best. Learning how to study is trial and error. Try a certain technique. If it works, stick to it. If it does not, give something else a shot. Here are a couple of places to start when figuring out what works best for you:

Rewrite your notes. Rewriting notes helps ingrain them in your head. The sooner after a lecture you rewrite your notes, the better it works.
End of chapter questions. Answering questions at the end of the chapter will help you learn the material. It also gives you an idea of which areas you are a little rough on so that you can ask your professor.
Group study. Study groups can be great if you are getting a little burned out with the Lone Ranger style of studying. Plus, it can help you remember more than you would be able to do alone. Having company can make the work seem much less like work, too.

Reading Your Textbook with OIL

Generally speaking, reading-and learning-should never be passive. The more engaged you are as a reader and as a learner; the more easily and truly the learning will occur. So the most important thing to keep in mind when you're reading a textbook is that you have to allow yourself to participate in the dialogue that the authors have set up.
A good textbook is a marvelously structured creation that has been designed to lead you at a calm and orderly pace through a thicket of facts and other data. The process by which you will most easily get what you need out of your textbook has three tiers that we are going to label as:

The Overview
In the Trenches
Looking Back

Let's think of this process as OIL-it's like hitting a gusher that can fill you with knowledge.

The Overview
This is the step that orients you to the chapter you've been assigned. Sometimes chapters in a textbook can be very long and weighty. In the overview stage, you quickly look through the pages to see how the chapter is structured, and you become aware of the various indicators (colored heads, bullets, bold type, etc.) that point out the most important material. Set aside 10 minutes or so to preview the key elements of the chapter. Then, assume the role of the engaged learner and start asking questions. What does the main thrust of this chapter appear to be? How hard does this material look and how long do you think it's going to take you to read this? You may have a small mountain to climb here, and you may not want to take it all at once.

In the Trenches
Now that you've had your overview, it's time to roll up your sleeves and get to work breaking the chapter down into much smaller, more digestible units. Of course, the authors of the textbook have already done that to a considerable degree. No doubt they have provided a good many sections and sub-headings. But you may need to divide those down even more. Go at your own rate-just don't sit there paralyzed. Remember, too, that your best stance when doing this kind of reading is to be engaged and active. One way you can accomplish this is by asking a question as you enter each section. Remember those "who," "what," "where," "when," and "how" prompts when you form your questions. In addition to dividing up the chapter into manageable bites, also factor in break time.

Looking Back
Research shows that between 40 and 50 percent of the material we read is forgotten very shortly, often within 15 minutes from the time we read it. To prevent all this valuable knowledge from going down the drain, we suggest that you try the following:

Underline or highlight key points and/or make notes in the margin.
Read aloud key points and passages (particularly effective for auditory learners).
Outline the chapter on a separate piece of paper to reinforce your overall understanding of the relationships of key points in the text.
Go over the chapter with a study buddy, asking each other questions about what you've read.

Need a Boost?

Here are some good tips about motivation for those times when you feel like you need a boost.

Praise. Praise is one of the best motivators around. Who among us is above being told that we're great? When we get an "A" on a paper, we're motivated to write our next paper. When a teacher says "Good question," we're motivated to contribute more to the classroom discussion. When you're feeling low, try praising yourself: "You're doing great. Okay-you've had a rough patch-but you've got your eye on the prize and, given your natural abilities, there's no reason why you shouldn't realize your goal."
Use your friends and family. Praise is particularly nice when it comes from objective sources, but if you need a boost and you're tired of praising yourself, enlist your friends and family for the job. Be proactive and upfront about it. "Tell me something nice about myself," you might say.
Don't discount pledges, oaths, vows, and promises. Making a commitment is a good way to keep the motivation alive. Some of us are more prone to guilt than others, and the potential guilt we would feel at not meeting our commitments motivates us to get the job done. Setting deadlines can be very effective.
Remember your anti-procrastination tips. Procrastination is that insidious trap that can throw a smokescreen over your motivation. Breaking a large task into smaller ones is one good way to head off procrastination and to preserve motivation.
Find a role model. Inspiration and motivation go hand-in-hand. If you feel that you can't possibly succeed because there are simply too many cards in the deck stacked against you, find a role model in your immediate world who you can look up to and use as a resource. This could be a family member, a teacher, an employer, an older friend-someone you admire who can answer important questions and give you some of the support you'll need to get ahead as they did.
Don't neglect the creature comforts. Human beings exist on at least two plains. One is the cerebral plain, where we deal with ideas. The other is the physical plain, where we look to satisfy our bodily needs. Harmonizing these two plains will serve you well, and will help to preserve your motivation, rather than sapping you of the energy and will that is necessary to succeed. This means that you should always pay attention to your physical needs and reward yourself with things that make you feel good physically. You decide what it takes to make you feel good and provide some relief from the onus of studying.
Reflections. Have you experienced a situation in which you set a goal for yourself and then your motivation started to sag? What caused this to happen? Were you able to reinvigorate your motivation? How did you manage to do that?

Avoiding Eyestrain and Back Strain

Studying means sitting still for long periods of time, often at a computer and poring over information. This can lead to eyestrain and back strain, both of which can take a serious toll on your studying. Here's how to sidestep those pitfalls:

Avoiding Eyestrain

Keep your reading materials at a comfortable distance.
Stay on top of the glare. This may require adjusting lights and blinds, shifting your position, and so on.
Regularly clean your monitor, per manufacturer's instructions. A dirty screen can contribute to eyestrain, as will jittery or flickering images.
Take breaks at regular intervals to rest your eyes. Also rest your eyes by closing them and rolling them around.
Keep your copy at the same distance from you as the monitor.
Use humidifiers to combat dry air, which can aggravate eyestrain.

Avoiding Back Strain

Adjust your chair seat so that you are sitting upright with your feet planted firmly on a surface and your lower back well supported.
Set the chair height so that your hands and wrists are at approximately the same level as the keyboard.
Arrange your work area so that you're directly facing the monitor and keyboard and don't have to twist your body. Keep frequently used items within easy reach.
Break up your desk time. Ten minutes of every hour should be devoted to something other than desk time-walking around, stretching, and so on.
There are stretches that can be done while you're seated at your desk. These include:
- Shoulder rolls: Gently roll the shoulders forward, then up, and then drop them back. Do this slowly and rhythmically, five or ten times.
- Finger stretch: Gently open and close your hands, stretching your fingers wide when they are open.
- Trap stretch: Sit on your hands to help stabilize yourself and then tip your head down, as if looking into your shirt pocket. Hold this position for a moment.
- Side bending: Lower your head toward your shoulder and then repeat on the other side.
- Shoulder blade pinch: Rotate your arms to your back, pinching your shoulder blades together.
- Hug stretch: Grasp your arm at the elbow. Pull your arm forward and across your body as if you're hugging somebody. Repeat with the other arm.
- Chin tuck: Keeping your head level, slide your chin back to make a double chin. Hold for two seconds and then release.
- Hand stretch: Make a gentle fist. Open your hands at the first joint, keeping your fingers bent. Then open your hands, straightening out your fingers all the way.

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