Study Skills A useful guide, By Mr. Mejia

Remember as many as possible Car Lion Tennis Motorcycle Frog Plane Cake Corn Truck Baseball Golf Dog Coke Bus Basketball Horse

The workings of the brain. According to numerous studies and scienti- fic research there are several features of study notes that can cause better retention. Four hours a week of study should provide fantastic results.

Know your brain 80% of what you learn is lost after 24 hours if you do not revise it! Know how you learn best. But take advantage of ALL ways Maximise the brain’s potential to cut down on wasted study time.

How to Study Study in 30 minute blocks with small breaks in between. Schedule these blocks around your normal day. Don’t just “wait” until you feel like studying. You never FEEL like studying. Using MSN will increase the time it takes to do a task by 4 to 5 times longer. Turn off all distractions! This will give you MORE time to do what YOU want to do.

There is ALWAYS something to do! Paste in sheets, organise work from the day Complete your homework. Look through the day’s work and highlight key ideas Work on assignments and test preparation Make study notes, review difficult work, do some extra reading, extension work.

Ways your brain learns Visual Auditory Kinaesthetic Even if you think you are one of these, why not use all three? What are some of the techniques you can use for each of these learning styles?

A little each day is better than cramming before an exam Your brain can only take in so much at a time. Imagine you are Simon Carrington. You cannot just lift weights all in one session and expect to be huge. It is little by little. The brain is the same, except it uses chemical paths.

Eat, Sleep, and Rest Proteins, low fats, and water are the best for the brain. Studies have shown the ideal amount of sleep is 9 hours and 20 minutes for retaining information and keeping the brain at its peak. Make use of the alpha state

Myth Busters Myth 1: Listening to music helps me study Studies have shown the ONLY music that helps retention of information is music with NO lyrics at no more than 65 beats per minute. E.g. Baroque and classical.

Myth Busters Myth 2: I don’t have anything to do when I get home. Again 80% of what you learn is gone after 24 hours. You need to keep this information fresh in your mind.

Myth Busters Myth 3: I can learn it all before the exam 20 minutes per night for each subject is almost 2 hours a week. 2 hours over a 10 week term is 20 hours. You will not cope trying to do 20 hours of cramming before an exam.

Myth 4: I know how to study for exams How many of you simply copy out notes over and over again. This may have helped you before, but it is not the most efficient or effective way to study.

Myth 5: I work best under pressure and last minute. You may work more productively under pressure or last minute, but this is not necessarily your best work.

How to do assignments Do the research and collect your ideas Organise and assess the information. Find out where you need more info and where you need to cut down. Do the first section Do the second section Work on the presentation of the assignment Finalise, edit, and review your work.

Myth Busters Myth 6: Diaries are just for due dates In your homework diary, write in not only when things are due, but when you will work on them. You should only need to open your diary to one page to know what you need to work on that week.

Back to Basics You should only ever need to open your diary to a few pages. Separate personal information from exams and from assignments. Don’t just write in due dates, write in when you will actually do the assignment. Prioritise in terms of due dates but not in terms of what you will get in trouble for.

Tools for effective studying Make use of different ways of learning Your notes should be clear and concise, with a hierarchy of information, tabulated from left to right. The brain isn’t good at remembering more than 7 points at a time. You need to also practise your exam technique. That means exam conditions, no music, no text book.