ESL

Resource

Learning to be a Successful student

(A Compilation)

Patrick Michael Mc

Murphy, Med.

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Table of Contents Strategies What Makes a Good Language Learner? Becoming a Better Listener Learning Strategies for Studying English Study Strategies Learning and Remembering Curve of Forgetting Learning and Note Taking Review Techniques Concentration and Distraction Reading Reading techniques SQ3R Time Management Developing Time Management Skills To Do Lists Preparing for Exams Concept Mapping Gantt Charts

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What makes a good Language Learner?

(http://esl.fis.edu/parents/advice/good.htm)

They think about how they are learning. If they do not understand the goal an exercise, they ask the teacher.

They are willing to experiment and take risks. For example, they will try out different ways of learning vocabulary until they find the way that helps them best. They are also not afraid of making mistakes, because they know that they will learn from them.

They are realistic. They know that it will take time and effort to become proficient in English, and that there will periods where they do not seem to be making much progress.

They are independent. They do not expect to learn English just by sitting in the classroom, and do not rely on the teacher to totally direct their learning.

They are organized and active. They use their time to learn English both inside and outside of the classroom.

Learn these useful classroom sentences. Practice saying them with a partner.

I do not understand. I do not know. Excuse me, can you explain what you mean? Would you say once more, please? What does ________________ mean? How do you say ________________ in English? How do you spell _______________? Is this OK?

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Strategies for:

Becoming a better speaker

Speaking is a very hard skill to learn. However,

speaking is a skill like learning to swim. The more

you practice, the better you will become, until

finally you can do it without needing to think much

about it. Here are some ways that you can get as

much speaking practice as possible:

ask and answer questions in class

try to answer all the teacher’s questions silently in your head.

Do not worry about making mistakes! Everyone who speaks makes mistakes. Even native speakers make mistakes when they talk, because speaking is such a hard skill. It doesn’t matter if your spoken English is not perfect. What is important is that you can tell what you want to say.

Keep talking! If you don’t know a word try and explain what you want to say using other words. If you are not sure whether your grammar is right, it doesn't matter. Keep talking! ( It's ok to make mistakes!)

If you talk to people, they will talk back to you. Usually, they will simplify what they say so that you can understand better. This gives you good listening practice, too.

Think in English! Don’t think in your own language and then translate it.

Becoming a better listener

There are also a few things you can do to

better understand what you hear. For example:

ask the speaker to repeat or put another way what they said

look at the speaker

ask questions (aloud and silently)

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listen to the other students

keep listening even if you don’t understand at first

ask someone after the lesson to explain what you didn’t understand

Learning New Words

Learning new words is a very important part of learning a language. The more words you

know, the more you will be able to understand what you hear and read; and the better you will be

able to say what you want to when speaking or writing.

Which words to learn

Every day you hear or read many new English words. You also find them in your

dictionary when you are translating from your own language. You can’t possibly learn all these

new words, so your first problem is to decide which ones to concentrate on. Here are some

suggestions:

learn the words that are important to the subjects you are studying

learn the words that you read or hear again and again

learn the words that you know you will often want to use when speaking

How to learn words

Once you have chosen which words to learn, you next have to decide how you are going

to learn them. Here are a few ideas:

write the words in a notebook (with their translations or definitions)

say the words many times

make associations (in pictures or with other words)

use the words in your own speaking or writing

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Learning Strategies for Students Studying English

(http://www.ccbcmd.edu/esol/strategies.html)

Learning English Quiz:

How do you learn English?

1. ______ Study with other people 2. ______ Study by myself 3. ______ Study with music 4. ______ Read books, newspapers, magazines 5. ______ Read with a dictionary 6. ______ Read without a dictionary 7. ______ Watch TV 8. ______ Listen to the radio 9. ______ Speak with Americans at work, at the store, at the college 10. ______ Make vocabulary cards 11. ______ Put the vocabulary cards in your home (kitchen words in the kitchen) 12. ______ Listen for and use idioms 13. ______ Use the Internet to study English 14. ______ Learn English songs 15. ______ Study grammar books 16. ______ Tape myself speaking English (video or audio) 17. ______ Listen to tapes and repeat 18. ______ Write a diary 19. ______ Write stories 20. ______ Use an email account with your teacher or another student 21. ______ Focus on pronunciation and intonation

There is no right or wrong way to learn English-there is only what works for you! For the most success try as many methods as possible.

Strategies to Help You Learn English

Strategies are techniques we use to help us learn and remember better. Here are some strategies students have found helpful for learning English.

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Strategy: Use What You Already Know

Ask yourself, "What do I already know about this topic?" You can think about information you already know about the topic, the world, and the language to help you do the task. You can think of the kinds of words, phrases, and information that you can expect to see or to use.

Examples: If you want to buy a concert ticket, think about what you will need to say to the cashier; for example you will want to know how to ask about dates, times, and prices in English. If you are reading a weather report in English, think about what you already know about weather reports-what kind of information do you expect (temperature, rain, sun, etc.)

Why should I use this strategy? Although you may be new to America and English, you are an adult and have had many experiences. You already know a lot about the world and language! Use what you know. Thinking about what you already know can help you solve problems and work through the task. It will also make you feel better about yourself because you know that you already have many skills and a lot of knowledge.

Three Problem-Solving Strategies

What do you do when you don't understand a word? Use one of these strategies to help you solve the mystery word or phrase:

Problem-Solving Strategy 1: Guess

Use logic to guess the meaning of the unknown word or phrase. You can use what you know about English, your native language, the context, pictures, and anything else to help you.

Example: You are reading a dialogue about school and you see the word "to study", which is not familiar to you, again and again. Based on your knowledge of English, you figure out the word is a verb. You also notice that many of the words close to the mystery word are school subjects such as mathematics, literature, biology, and music. Based on all this information, you guess (correctly!) that the word must mean to study.

Why should I use this strategy? There are too many words in English for you to look up all of them in the dictionary. Imagine what a difficult and boring task if you spend the time always in a dictionary. Guessing can help you solve your problem quickly.

Problem-Solving Strategy 2: Ask a Question

If you need help or don't understand something, ask a question.

Example: Your teacher uses an unfamiliar word, such as "accountant", when you are studying professions. You could find out the meaning by asking a question such as, "Does this person

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work in the city or country? Does this person work with money?" Asking specific questions can give you the information you need. Sometimes a general question like "What does it mean?" does not give you the most accurate information.

Why should I use this strategy? Asking a question makes you an active, responsible learner.

You will understand and feel better in class if you know what's going.

Problem-Solving Strategy 3: Use a Resource

If you need help, you can use reference materials such as dictionaries, textbooks, computer programs, and the Internet.

Examples: You are studying at home and you don't understand a word. You try to guess the word but you still don't understand. You feel like the word is very important and without knowing the word you cannot understand the story. You decide to use your dictionary to find out the meaning.

You are studying English in the computer lab with your class. You don't understand the grammar in the English Discoveries exercise. You want to ask your teacher for help but she is helping another student. You decide to use the help feature in English Discoveries to learn about the grammar on your own. You know if you still don't understand, you can always ask your teacher later.

Why should I use this strategy? Looking up unfamiliar information in a reference source can

help you solve complex problems, especially if no one is available to help you.

A Strategy for Remembering Vocabulary-Keyword Method

How can I remember so many words? Use the Keyword Imagery Method to remember vocabulary

Step 1: Think of a "keyword" that sounds like the new word, and imagine it as a picture. Step 2:Think of a picture that describes the meaning of the new word or information. Step 3: Link the pictures together in my mind. Crazy linking pictures are easy to remember. word: Geriatric; Definition: Old; Keyword Image: A star in the sky with the face of an old man with a long white beard.

Why should I use this strategy? Using the keyword method creates a visual and personal association between meaning and sound, and these mental links help you remember the vocabulary item

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Study Strategies

Time Management

1. Start to manage your time at the beginning of the semester. 2. Organize your semester by plotting the following on a large calendar: due dates for

assignments, mid-term exams, and other important dates. 3. Set some goals for yourself, such as the grades you would like to receive in your courses

and what you expect to learn from each course. Think about how much time it will take to accomplish these goals.

4. Break tasks into smaller, more manageable jobs (Example: Week 1 = Essay outline, Week 2 = Research, Week 3 = Rough Draft, Week 4 = Final Draft)

5. Make a weekly schedule to indicate lectures, labs, seminars, study time, etc.

6. Use "To do" lists when you have a lot to do in a day.

7. Set priorities.

Listening and Note taking

1. Go to class - there's no substitute for the real thing.

2. Have assigned readings done before each lecture.

3. Listen actively by anticipating what the lecturer will say.

4. Screen and evaluate information by comparing with your text and your own knowledge.

5. Concentrate.

6. Take notes. Note topics and subtopics. Use brief point form, putting things in your own words.

7. Use the margin or draw a column to note key terms or questions you have.

8. Use diagrams where possible, especially to illustrate relationships.

9. Review your notes before each class, and plan a weekly review.

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10. Ask your lecturer to clarify points you don't understand.

Textbook Reading

1. Do required reading on a regular basis. Keep a weekly schedule.

2. Preview material to get an overview. See how the chapter is organized.

3. Use different reading speeds. Pay attention to your attention.

4. Think of questions to answer as you read through the material.

5. Summarize what you have read. Note important points. Integrate with lecture notes or in text margins.

6. Take breaks. Set targets to work towards and break in-between.

7. Review your readings on a regular basis.

8. Review course material weekly to keep material fresh in your memory.

Exam Preparation

1. Study in a quiet, comfortable (but not too comfortable!) location where distractions and interruptions are minimal.

2. Be organized. Make a study schedule by breaking down what you have to do. Have all your materials with you.

3. Study in small chunks of time. Two-hour blocks then a 15 minute break works well for many people.

4. Anticipate exam questions. Do practice questions, including questions from old tests which can be found on reserve in the library, at the department office, or from students who have taken the course already. Make up sample questions and answer them.

5. During the test, read the instructions and questions carefully. Budget your time. Organize your answer. Make up an outline for essay questions if possible.

6. Relax. Be aware of tension build-up. Don't forget to breath!

7. Follow-up. See the Lecturer to discuss where you went wrong so that you can improve next time.

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Learning and Remembering

Most students express a wish to be more efficient in their studies. Knowing how your brain takes in and processes information, and then working with this system, will greatly improve your efficiency.

TRY taking a break of 10 minutes for every 50 minutes of work; this will help you retain information.

WHY? Because learning does not occur by simply stuffing material into short-term-memory. Learning occurs when what you put into short-term-memory connects--integrates--with what you already know (which is stored in long-term-memory). This connection occurs naturally--and you experience the peak of your learning--when you stop inputting and relax (although you may think about the connections that are occuring).

TRY reviewing your notes (by doing something with the new material--reading, thinking, writing, or talking about it) at the end of the day, giving 10 minutes for every hour of new material you took in and want to retain.

WHY? Because research (into something called the Curve of Forgetting) has shown that if you don't recall or review or work with what you have learned on a given day, within 24 hours you will forget 50 - 80% of it.

TRY reviewing your notes (see above) at the end of the week, giving 5 minutes to each hour of new material for that week, then giving the same material 2-4 minutes of review at the end of the month.

WHY? Because the Curve of Forgetting indicates that these reviews are also required to be able to remember and reproduce something. If you pay attention to the daily and weekly reviews, the monthly ones may be taken care of in the course of studying for mid-terms.

TRY changing subjects or tasks every hour.

WHY? Because the brain does not easily assimilate the same or similar material hour after hour. This means that, when studying, you might read for an hour then do questions for an hour. And you wouldn't follow French verbs with German verbs. This also means that anything you want to learn and remember (like an assignment) should be started early and done over many nights. (Besides helping your brain take in the material, this sets up a routine of working with it more than once, which aids the review process that is essential to learning).

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The Curve of Forgetting

The Curve of Forgetting describes how we retain or get rid of information that we take in. It's based on a one-hour lecture.

On Day 1, at the beginning of the lecture, you go in knowing nothing, or 0%, (where the curve starts at the baseline). At the end of the lecture you know 100% of what you know, however well you know it (where the curve rises to its highest point).

By Day 2, if you have done nothing with the information you learned in that lecture, didn't think about it again, read it again, etc. you will have lost 50%-80% of what you learned. Our brains are constantly recording information on a temporary basis: scraps of conversation heard on the sidewalk, what the person in front of you is wearing. Because the information isn't necessary, and it doesn't come up again, our brains dump it all off, along with what was learned in the lecture that you actually do want to hold on to!

By Day 7, we remember even less, and by Day 30, we retain about 2%-3% of the original hour! This nicely coincides with midterm exams, and may account for feeling as if you've never seen this before in your life when you're studying for exams - you may need to actually re-learn it from scratch.

You can change the shape of the curve! A big signal to your brain to hold onto a specific chunk of information is if that information comes up again. When the same thing is repeated, your brain says, "Oh-there it is again, I better keep that." When you are exposed to the same information repeatedly, it takes less and less time to "activate" the information in your long term memory and it becomes easier for you to retrieve the information when you need it.

Here's the formula, and the case for making time to review material: Within 24 hours of getting the information - spend 10 minutes reviewing and you will raise the curve almost to 100% again. A week later (Day 7), it only takes 5 minutes to "reactivate" the same material, and again raise the curve. By Day 30, your brain will only need 2-4 minutes to give you the feedback, "Yup, I know that. Got it."

Often students feel they can't possibly make time for a review session every day in their schedules - they have trouble keeping up as it is. However, this review is an excellent investment of time. If you don't review, you will need to spend 40-50 minutes re-learning each hour of material later - do you have that kind of time? Cramming rarely plants the information in your long term memory where you want it and can access it to do assignments during the term as well as be ready for exams.

Depending on the course load, the general recommendation is to spend half an hour or so every weekday, and 1½ to 2 hours every weekend in review activity. Perhaps you only have time to review 4 or 5 days of the week, and the curve stays at about the mid range. That's OK, it's a lot better than the 2%-3% you would have retained if you hadn't reviewed at all.

Many students are amazed at the difference reviewing regularly makes in how much they understand and how well they understand and retain material. It's worth experimenting for a couple weeks, just to see what difference it makes to you!

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Listening and Note-taking

While it is expected that students come to the university with the ability to take a good set of notes, this is not always the case. High school may not have demanded it, so good listening and note-taking skills may need to be developed.

TRY being a positive, active learner.

HOW? Come to class with an interest in the material and with questions to be answered. You can develop these by thinking about and anticipating the lecture and by pre-reading the text (This latter is especially helpful if you find yourself having difficulty keeping up with the material.)

TRY getting accurate notes, with special attention to the main ideas.

WHY? There may be an overhead; if so, get that material down. In addition, look for points of emphasis-- from the prof's verbal language, body language, or careful reading of his notes. If you still feel you're missing the main points, try showing your notes to a classmate.

TRY leaving lots of space between ideas.

WHY? Because you want lots of room to continue to add notes in your own words; this will help you learn the material on a deeper level by integrating it with what you already know. Also, the extra space will make it easier for you to find material when you are studying.

TRY going over new notes--10 minutes for each class--within 24 hours.

WHY? Because you lose 50 - 80% of the material if you don't.

TRY setting your notes up so you can study effectively from them.

HOW? Leave wide left margins; here you will write questions from which to study your notes. Leave the back of the page blank, so you can fold the page, cover the notes, and answer the questions when studying.

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Review Techniques - Keeping Knowledge in Your Short-Term Memory

Normally peoples' memories of things they have learned are clearest immediately after they have learned them. They will then forget more and more knowledge as time goes on. After a few months they may only be able to recall only a tiny percentage of what was initially learned. This makes relearning information difficult when it needs to be done.

If you review knowledge frequently, however, then you will be able to keep it fresh and alive in your mind. This makes it easy to recall when you need it with a minimum of effort.

This section explains how to review material in a structured and effective way.

The first step is to spend a few minutes reviewing material immediately after the learning session. This helps you to:

Confirm that you understand the material

Reduce the time needed to relearn information when you need it, and

Improve the quality of future learning, by building on a well-remembered foundation. This helps your mind to make connections and linkages that it would not otherwise make.

A good way of carrying out this review is to rewrite or tidy up notes. You can do this effectively by putting the information learned into a Concept Map.

After this, reviewing information should be relatively easy and need not take long. Carry out reviews at the following times:

After one day

After one week

After one month

After four months

Review the topic by taking a few minutes to jot down everything you can remember about the subject, and compare this with your notes.

If you review information often, it should stay fresh in your mind, and will be easily accessible when you need it.

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Concentration and Distraction

Most students report dissatisfaction with their ability to concentrate: they may have trouble getting down to work in the first place or feel that they never work as efficiently as they would like. While it is impossible to concentrate 100% of the time, it is possible to minimize external distractions and to begin to work on internal ones.

TRY seriously examining your place of study. (Make what changes you can, or consider the cafeteria, library, or an empty classroom.)

HOW?

Does it have adequate lighting? (A light bulb in your face can cause eye strain.) Does it have adequate ventilation? (Lack of circulating air can make you sleepy.) Does it offer space and comfort? (You need a clear desk for writing and a comfortable chair for reading.) Is it too warm or too cool? (Both extremes of temperature can make you sleepy.) Are there too many line-of-sight distractions? (Some students cannot work with a bed or pictures from home in view.) On the other hand, does it feel like a sterile prison? (Some students work more efficiently with their doors open.) Are there too many audio distractions? (Some music may be fine, but loud rock with lyrics is "stupefying.") Do friends find and distract you easily? (Hide, or learn to say "No, I'm studying," either by pre-estabished signals or by sheer force of will.) This is all very personal and individual; find out what works for you.

TRY establishing a regular routine of eating, sleeping, and exercise.

WHY? Because the ability to concentrate depends on adequate sleep, decent nutrition, and the increase in well-being that comes with exercise. Students who have all three, generally show higher marks.

TRY bringing interest in the material and a sense of purpose to the task.

WHY?

Because human beings are bored by what is not relevant to them. Therefore, you may need to create relevance--by talking to others or by relating the material to what interests you. In addition, it helps to always sit down to work with a clearly defined purpose and task.

TRY establishing rewards for accomplishments.

WHY? Because human beings work best with positive reinforcement.

TRY starting a WORRY BOOK if frequent worrying undermines you.

WHY?

Because worrying deals with issues of the past or future, and studying requires that you be clearly focused on the present. Writing your worries down initially helps to diminish them somewhat; setting aside time and problem solving around what you have written helps further.

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Reading

Many students open their books, read until they finish (lose interest, or fall asleep), and

are convinced that their concentration, comprehension, and speed are poorer than everyone

else's. Students need to recognize that reading may be the most demanding work they do here

and that nearly everyone reports difficulty with the volume of reading required.

TRY getting into the material more often but for shorter periods of time.

WHY? Because some students may only read for 20 minutes without losing concentration. Also, learning is improved by changing tasks each hour, spreading the work over time, and dipping into it more frequently. (For further explanation of these ideas, see 1) of this series.)

TRY reading groups of words at a time and without mouthing them.

WHY? Because your brain can read faster than your mouth and more than one word at a time (A single word has little meaning anyway). Speed and comprehension will increase if you read in meaningful phrases.

TRY establishing a context by beginning with an overview of the material; this will improve comprehension and retention.

HOW? Read the introduction, headings, charts, graphs, diagrams, conclusion, and summary, then take a minute to think about the material before beginning to read in depth.

TRY reading with a purpose: to answer questions and to note the answers (the most important points) where they occur.

HOW? Establish a list of questions--from questions at the end of the chapter or by turning the headings into questions--and read to answer these. Put ticks in the margins when you think you've found answers. (It's better not to take notes, highlight, or underline at this point; you won't know which are the most important points until you are finished.) Take one more run through, focusing on the ticks in the margin and now deciding which are the most important points; now you can make an informed judgement, so it's appropriate to highlight, underline, or take notes.

TRY setting your text up so you can study effectively from it.

HOW? Write your questions in the margins, opposite the answers. Regularly review the material by covering the page and answering the questions.

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Reading Strategies - Reading More Efficiently by Reading Intelligently

Good reading strategies help you to read in a very efficient way. Using them, you aim to get the maximum benefit from your reading with the minimum effort. This section will show you how to use 6 different strategies to read intelligently.

Strategy 1: Knowing what you want to know The first thing to ask yourself is: Why you are reading the text? Are you reading with a purpose or just for pleasure? What do you want to know after reading it?

Once you know this, you can examine the text to see whether it is going to move you towards this goal. An easy way of doing this is to look at the introduction and the chapter headings. The introduction should let you know whom the book is targeted at, and what it seeks to achieve. Chapter headings will give you an overall view of the structure of the subject.

Ask yourself whether the book meets your needs. Ask yourself if it assumes too much or too little knowledge. If the book isn't ideal, would it be better to find a better one?

Strategy 2: Knowing how deeply to study the material Where you only need the shallowest knowledge of the subject, you can skim material. Here you read only chapter headings, introductions and summaries.

If you need a moderate level of information on a subject, then you can scan the text. Here you read the chapter introductions and summaries in detail. You may then speed read the contents of the chapters, picking out and understanding key words and concepts. At this level of looking at the document it is worth paying attention to diagrams and graphs.

Only when you need detailed knowledge of a subject is it worth studying the text. Here it is best to skim the material first to get an overview of the subject. This gives you an understanding of its structure, into which you can fit the detail gained from a full reading of the material. SQ3R is a good technique for getting a deep understanding of a text.

Strategy 3: Active Reading When you are reading a document in detail, it often helps if you highlight, underline and annotate it as you go on. This emphasizes information in your mind, and helps you to review important points later.

Doing this also helps to keep your mind focused on the material and stops it wandering.

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This is obviously only something to do if you own the document! If you find that active reading helps, then it may be worth photocopying information in more expensive texts. You can then read and mark the photocopies.

If you are worried about destroying the material, ask yourself how much your investment of time is worth. If the benefit you get by active reading reasonably exceeds the value of the book, then the book is disposable.

Strategy 4: How to study different sorts of material Different sorts of documents hold information in different places and in different ways. They have different depths and breadths of coverage. By understanding the layout of the material you are reading, you can extract useful information much more efficiently.

Reading Magazines and Newspapers: These tend to give a very fragmented coverage of an area. They will typically only concentrate on the most interesting and glamorous parts of a topic - this helps them to sell copies! They will often ignore less interesting information that may be essential to a full understanding of a subject. Typically areas of useful information are padded out with large amounts of irrelevant waffle or with advertising.

The most effective way of getting information from magazines is to scan the contents tables or indexes and turn directly to interesting articles. If you find an article useful, then cut it out and file it in a folder specifically covering that sort of information. In this way you will build up sets of related articles that may begin to explain the subject.

Newspapers tend to be arranged in sections. If you read a paper often, you can learn quickly which sections are useful and which ones you can skip altogether.

Reading Individual Articles:

Articles within newspapers and magazines tend to be in three main types:

News Articles: Here the most important information is presented first, with information being less and less useful as the article progresses. News articles are designed to explain the key points first, and then flesh them out with detail.

Opinion Articles: Opinion articles present a point of view. Here the most important information is contained in the introduction and the summary, with the middle of the article containing supporting arguments.

Feature Articles: These are written to provide entertainment or background on a subject. Typically the most important information is in the body of the text.

If you know what you want from an article, and recognize its type, you can extract information from it quickly and efficiently.

Strategy 5: Reading 'whole subject' documents When you are reading an important document, it is easy to accept the writer's structure of thought. This can mean that you may not notice that important information has been omitted or that irrelevant detail has been included. A good way of recognizing this is to compile your own table of contents before you open the document. You can then use this table of contents to read the document in the order that you want. You will be able to spot omissions quickly.

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Strategy 6: Using glossaries with technical documents If you are reading large amounts of difficult technical material, it may be useful to photocopy or compile a glossary. Keep this beside you as you read. It will probably also be useful to note down the key concepts in your own words, and refer to them when necessary.

Usually it is best to make notes as you go. The most effective way of doing this may be to use Concept Maps.

Key points:

This section shows 6 different strategies and techniques that you can use to read more effectively.

These are:

Knowing what you need to know, and reading appropriately

Knowing how deeply to read the document: skimming, scanning or studying

Using active reading techniques to pick out key points and keep your mind focused on the material

Using the table of contents for reading magazines and newspapers, and clipping useful articles

Understanding how to extract information from different article types

Creating your own table of contents for reviewing material

Using indexes, tables of contents, and glossaries to help you assimilate technical information.

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SQ3R - Increasing Your Retention of Written InformationSQ3R is a useful

technique for fully absorbing written information. SQ3R helps you to create a good mental framework of a subject, into which you can fit facts correctly. It helps you to set study goals. It also prompts you to use the review techniques that will help to fix information in your mind.

By using SQ3R to actively read a document, you can get the maximum benefit from your reading time. The acronym SQ3R stands for the five sequential techniques you should use to read a book:

Survey: Survey the document: scan the contents, introduction, chapter introductions and chapter summaries to pick up a shallow overview of the text. Form an opinion of whether it will be of any help. If it does not give you the information you want, discard it.

Question: Make a note of any questions on the subject that come to mind, or particularly interest you following your survey. Perhaps scan the document again to see if any stand out. These questions can be considered almost as study goals - understanding the answers can help you to structure the information in your own mind.

Read: Now read the document. Read through useful sections in detail, taking care to understand all the points that are relevant. In the case of some texts this reading may be very slow. This will particularly be the case if there is a lot of dense and complicated information. While you are reading, it can help to take notes in Concept Map format.

Recall: Once you have read appropriate sections of the document, run through it in your mind several times. Isolate the core facts or the essential processes behind the subject, and then see how other information fits around them.

Review: Once you have run through the exercise of recalling the information, you can move on to the stage of reviewing it. This review can be by rereading the document, by expanding your notes, or by discussing the material with colleagues. A particularly effective method of reviewing information is to have to teach it to someone else!

Key points: SQ3R is a useful technique for extracting the maximum amount of benefit from your reading time. It helps you to organize the structure of a subject in your mind. It also helps you to set study goals and to separate important information from irrelevant data.

SQ3R is a 5 stage active reading technique. The stages are:

Survey

Question

Read

Recall

Review

If you use SQ3R, you will significantly improve the quality of your study time.

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Time Management

Students, whether first year or graduate, typically complain about a) the size of their workload and b) the amount of unstructured time. On the surface, these two issues appear to go together, but it takes time management skills to resolve them.

TRY keeping track of your time for one entire week. (Account for every 1/2 hour by filling in your schedule every few hours.) Add up totals for sleep, studying, and recreation.

WHY? Because you need to know if you are putting in enough hours. Normal for sleep is 50-60hrs; students who are sleep-deprived have lower marks than students who are getting enough sleep. Normal for school work is 1hr homework for every hour in class plus overtime for studying; this varies from one faculty and program to another, and mature and part-time students may need twice these hours for homework, so check with your advisor. Normal for recreation is 10-25hr, depending on your program.

TRY planning your schedule in advance, to whatever degree you are comfortable, adjusting your hours to desired totals. Make clear contracts with yourself regarding time, place, and study task.

WHY? Because you will work best with a clear sense of purpose.

TRY writing everything down--long term goals (course requirements) on a calendar, short term goals (weekly requirements) on your schedule or "goals" sheet, daily goals (errands) on a "to do" list.

WHY? Because time management is about goals--clarifying them (on paper, leaving short-term-memory free for learning), setting them, assessing them, developing methods for meeting them, and rewarding them.

TRY doing some work on a task the day that it is assigned, then developing a plan for finishing it by dividing the task into at least 5 "chunks" of work with established deadlines and rewards.

WHY? Because all of these activities help with motivation. First minute motivation is a powerful tool; after using it to gain momentum, set deadlines--with rewards--and chip away at the task to get it done.

TRY doing your most difficult work during hours when you feel best. (Save pleasant tasks for less productive times of the day).

WHY? Because this will make you more efficient. Most of us have high energy time each day, with two periods of medium and one of low energy. Find these times for yourself and work with them--doing difficult work during high time and easier work during lower times.

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Developing time management skills

One goal is to help you become aware of managing your time as a tool in organizing, prioritizing, and succeeding in your studies in the context of competing activities of friends, work, family, etc.

One approach is to develop

Exercises that help you become aware of time as a resource. Developing a daily and weekly schedule or planner is a start

Exercises that alert you to when you are productive and comfortable for study, for socialization, for job, sleep, etc.

Realistic daily and weekly schedules developed out of this information

Review of your experience

Focus on those portions that relate to an effective study schedule:

Help develop blocks of study that are comfortable for each (about 50 minutes?) Do you know how long it takes for you to become restless? More difficult material may require more frequent breaks. Some learners need more frequent breaks.

Schedule a weekly review and update

Prioritize assignments When studying, get in the habit of beginning with the most difficult subject or task

Develop alternative study places free from distractions to maximize concentration

Got "dead time"?

Think of using time walking, riding, etc. for studying “bits”

Help develop schedules for effective class participation:

Review studies and readings just before class

Schedule time for critical course events Papers, presentations, tests, etc.

Review lecture material immediately after class (Forgetting is greatest within 24 hours without review)

Develop criteria for adjusting schedules to meet your needs, both academic and non-academic

"To Do" list Write down things you have to do, then decide what to do at the moment, what to schedule for later, what to get someone else to do, and what to put off for a later time period

Daily/weekly planner Write down appointments, classes, and meetings on a chronological log book or chart. Always know what's ahead for the day, always go to sleep knowing you're prepared for tomorrow

Long term planner Use a monthly chart so that you can always plan ahead. Long term planners also serve to remind you to plan your free time constructively

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Benefits of developing and following a schedule:

Thinking through your time commitments to gain perspective on how you spend your time

Written and posted plans to manage and attain your objectives

Scheduled tasks are more likely to be completed to help you avoid last-minute rushes

Weekly schedules

These change as the school term progresses

Planned and scheduled in blocks of hours.

Developed into a routine Inform your family and friends to avoid distractions and interruptions

Reviewed to track accomplishments

This week's activities, such as classes, study times, appointments, work, and social events:

Month: Dates:

Mon Tues Wed Thurs Fri Sat Sun

You have calculated how you allocate your time during the week, and now we will evaluate your time management:

List three goals in your education that are most important to you:

1.

2.

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3.

Which goals are long range, and which are more immediate?

long range medium range immediate

1.

2.

3.

How much time have you set aside to meet these goals (above)?

1.

2.

3.

Does your time allocation reflect the priority of your goals?

Can you change your hourly commitments to meet your priorities?

Where do you have the most flexibility: weekdays or weekends? Can you change one or the other? or both?

Can you change your goals? What are your options?

Can you postpone long range goals until school breaks?

How will assignments and tests affect your time allocation? What can you change to meet your class responsibilities?

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To Do Lists

Remembering To Do All Essential Tasks, In The Right Order

A 'To Do List' is a list of all the tasks that you need to carry out. It consolidates all the jobs that you have to do into one place. You can then prioritize these tasks into order of importance. This allows you to tackle the most important ones first.

To Do Lists are essential when you need to carry out a number of different tasks or different sorts of task, or when you have made a number of commitments. If you find that you are often caught out because you have forgotten to do something, then you need to keep a To Do List.

While To Do Lists are very simple, they are also extremely powerful, both as a method of organizing yourself and as a way of reducing stress. Often problems may seem overwhelming or you may have a seemingly huge number of demands on your time. This may leave you feeling out of control, and overburdened with work.

Preparing a To Do List The solution is often simple: Write down the tasks that face you, and if they are large, break them down into their component elements. If these still seem large, break them down again. Do this until you have listed everything that you have to do. Once you have done this, run through these jobs allocating priorities from A (very important) to F (unimportant). If too many tasks have a high priority, run through the list again and demote the less important ones. Once you have done this, rewrite the list in priority order.

You will then have a precise plan that you can use to eliminate the problems you face. You will be able to tackle these in order of importance. This allows you to separate important jobs from the many time-consuming trivial ones.

Using Your To Do Lists

Different people use To Do Lists in different ways in different situations: if you are in a sales-type role, a good way of motivating yourself is to keep your list relatively short and aim to complete it every day.

In an operational role, or if tasks are large or dependent on too many other people, then it may be better to keep one list and 'chip away' at it. It may be that you carry unimportant jobs from one To Do List to the next. You may not be able to complete some very low priority jobs for several months. Only worry about this if you need to - if you are running up against a deadline for them, raise their priority.

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If you have not used To Do Lists before, try them now, as they are one of the keys to being really productive and efficient.

Key points:

Prioritized To Do Lists are fundamentally important to efficient work. If you use To Do Lists, you will ensure that:

You remember to carry out all necessary tasks

You tackle the most important jobs first, and do not waste time on trivial tasks.

You do not get stressed by a large number of unimportant jobs.

To draw up a Prioritized To Do List, list all the tasks you must carry out. Mark the importance of the task next to it, with a priority from A (very important) to F (unimportant). Redraft the list into this order of importance.

Now carry out the jobs at the top of the list first. These are the most important, most beneficial tasks to complete.

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Preparing for Exams

Students know that they need to study and that they should probably start well in advance of the exam. But because high school may not have demanded much in the way of studying, students find they really don't know how to study early and properly.

TRY not cramming!

WHY? Because short-term-memory hasn't enough space for all you need to know. Also, cramming stupefies long-term-memory (where well-learned material lives), and it can set you up for panic and "blanking."

TRY starting well in advance, breaking your studying into chunks, and reviewing often.

HOW? 1. A week or more before the exam, do an initial overview (a 2-4hr quick review of the material); this will help to motivate you and to determine the structure of the course, where your difficult material is, and the volume to be covered.

2. Develop and follow a plan for getting yourself through this volume of material, starting (if possible) with your most difficult stuff.

3. At the beginning of each study period, do a 10min review of the previous period's material.

TRY studying "from the top down."

WHY? Because it is easier to understand and retain material that is well-organized. Therefore, start with a good grasp of the course's main ideas, then follow with the sub-topics and supporting details.

TRY studying by jogging your memory.

WHY? Because real understanding comes not when we stuff information in but when we draw it out. Exams require this same drawing out of information. So this should be the focus of studying: answering questions, solving problems, writing essays, defining, explaining, and applying terms, and working through past exams.

TRY taking in no new material the night before an exam.

WHY? Because you want to build confidence by reinforcing what you know rather than running the risk of scaring yourself by discovering something you don't know. Also, you want to avoid a temptation to cram.

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Concept Maps - A Powerful Approach to Note Taking

How to Use Tool:

Concept Maps are very important techniques for improving the way you take notes. By using Concept Maps you show the structure of the subject and linkages between points, as well as the raw facts contained in normal notes. Concept Maps hold information in a format that your mind will find easy to remember and quick to review.

Concept Maps abandon the list format of conventional note taking. They do this in favor of a two-dimensional structure. A good Concept Map shows the 'shape' of the subject, the relative importance of individual points and the way in which one fact relates to other. Concept Maps are more compact than conventional notes, often taking up one side of paper. This helps you to make associations easily. If you find out more information after you have drawn the main Concept Map, then you can easily integrate it with little disruption.

Concept Maps are also useful for:

summarizing information

consolidating information from different research sources

thinking through complex problems, and

presenting information that shows the overall structure of your subject

Concept Maps are also very quick to review, as it is easy to refresh information in your mind just by glancing at one.

Concept Maps can also be effective mnemonics. Remembering the shape and structure of a Concept Map can provide the cues necessary to remember the information within it. They engage much more of the brain in the process of assimilating and connecting facts than conventional notes.

Drawing Basic Concept Maps This book was researched and planned using Concept Maps. They are too large to publish here, however part of one is shown below. This shows research into time management skills:

Figure 1: Part of an Example Concept Map

To make notes on a subject using a Concept Map, draw it in the following way:

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1. Write the title of the subject in the center of the page, and draw a circle around it. This is shown by the circle marked 1 in the figure 1.

2. For the major subject subheadings, draw lines out from this circle. Label these lines with the subheadings. These are shown by the lines marked 2 in figure 1.

3. If you have another level of information belonging to the subheadings above, draw these and link them to the subheading lines. These are shown by the lines marked 3 in figure 1.

4. Finally, for individual facts or ideas, draw lines out from the appropriate heading line and label them. These are shown by the lines marked 4 in figure 1.

As you come across new information, link it in to the Concept Map appropriately.

A complete Concept Map may have main topic lines radiating in all directions from the center. Sub-topics and facts will branch off these, like branches and twigs from the trunk of a tree. You do not need to worry about the structure produced, as this will evolve of its own accord.

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Note that the idea of 'levels' in Figure 1 is only used to help show how the Concept Map was created. All we are showing is that major headings radiate from the center, with lower level headings and facts branching off from the higher level headings.

Improving your Concept Maps Your Concept Maps are your own property: once you understand how to make notes in the Concept Map format, you can develop your own conventions to take them further. The following suggestions may help to increase the effectiveness of your Concept Maps:

Use single words or simple phrases for information: Most words in normal writing are padding, as they ensure that facts are conveyed in the correct context, and in a format that is pleasant to read. In your own Concept Maps, single strong words and meaningful phrases can convey the same meaning more potently. Excess words just clutter the Concept Map.

Print words: Joined up or indistinct writing can be more difficult to read.

Use color to separate different ideas: This will help you to separate ideas where necessary. It also helps you to visualize of the Concept Map for recall. Color also helps to show the organization of the subject.

Use symbols and images: Where a symbol or picture means something to you, use it. Pictures can help you to remember information more effectively than words.

Using cross-linkages: Information in one part of the Concept Map may relate to another part. Here you can draw in lines to show the cross-linkages. This helps you to see how one part of the subject affects another.

Key points:

Concept Maps provide an extremely effective method of taking notes. They show not only facts, but also the overall structure of a subject and the relative importance of individual parts of it. Concept Maps help you to associate ideas and make connections that might not otherwise make.

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