1 B/Z/M F 06 - Lec 30 Pretend Studying “Dr. Hoefnagels, I studied so hard for this test! But I still did really awful. I don’t think I’ll ever understand this stuff.” Hmmm … It ’ s possible that you are “ pretend ” studying

2 B/Z/M F 06 - Lec 30 What’s “pretend” studying? Anything that resembles studying but does not cause your brain to form new knowledge. Examples: –Mindlessly highlighting the text –“Reading” (if you’re looking but not thinking), especially with the TV and/or music on and/or a friend on the phone –Creating (but never studying) beautiful flashcards –Memorizing words without understanding what they mean –Socializing, with your books and notes open –Wasting your in-class time (not staying engaged with lecture) –Comfortably re-studying things you already know, while avoiding the hard stuff that you don’t know –Others?

3 B/Z/M F 06 - Lec 30 Real studying teaches you stuff Examples of real studying: –Creating and discussing your own concept maps –Writing and answering your own test questions –Reading the book alongside your notes, comparing and contrasting the information in both –Closing your books/notes and writing everything you can remember about a topic –Using flashcards (writing the answer before you peek) –Confronting things you don’t understand – if you can’t figure them out, ask!