How to Be a Successful Student

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How to Be a Successful Student

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Chapter planner

❑ Scan the Learning Objectives in each section: p. 4 ❑ p. 5 ❑ p. 9 ❑

❑ Read the text and study all figures and visuals. Answer any questions

Analyze key features

❑ What a Scientist Sees, p. 7

❑ I Wonder…, p. 8 ❑ p. 13 ❑

❑ Stop: Answer the Concept Checks before you go on: p. 5 ❑ p. 8 ❑ p. 12 ❑

End of chapter

❑ Review the Summary and key terms

❑ Answer What is happening in this picture?

❑ Answer the Self-Test Questions

✓✓

Chapter Outline

You and Your Textbook 4

What Kind of Learner Are You? 5• Tips for Visual Learners• Tips for Auditory Learners• Tips for Kinesthetic Learners

Successful 21st Century Students Study Smarter, Not Harder 9

• Making the Grade by Making Friends


hen we discuss life, we are discussing organic chemistry. Scientists used to think that all organic chemicals were made by organisms. Although that’s not true, organic chemicals

are usually made by organisms, and they always contain carbon. In terms of bonding, carbon is astonishingly flex-ible. With four valence electrons, it can bond covalently

with four other atoms, leading to an almost infinite set of carbon structures, from simple methane, CH4, to highly complex rings and chains. In organic compounds, car-bon often bonds with two carbons and two hydrogens. The resulting

hydrocarbon compounds can be chain or ring structures. Attached to the carbon/hydrogen core are functional groups that determine the compound’s reactivity (see Figure 3.9).

Organic compounds are grouped into four main catego-ries: carbohydrates, lipids, proteins, and nucleic acids.

3.3 There Are Four Main Categories of Organic ChemicalsLEARNING OBJECTIVES

1. Identify the main categories of organic compounds.

2. Define the roles of carbohydrates, lipids, proteins, and nucleic acids in the human body.

3. Discuss protein formation and the relationship between protein structure and function.

4. Explain the function of ATP in energy storage and usage.

Glucose molecules

CelluloseGlycogen

C

H

HO

C

H

OH

OH

OH

C

H

C OH

C

H

CH OH

H

All atomswritten out

HO OH

OH

OH

H

CH2OH

O

Standardshorthand

=

a. The glucose mol-ecule, C6H12O6, can be diagrammed in two ways.

b. Glycogen chain, made of glucose monomers, is the human body’s pri-mary polysaccharide. Cellulose is a polysaccharide found in plant tissue.

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functional group A subunit on an organic molecule that helps determine how it reacts with other chemicals.

Carbohydrates Are the Best Energy Source for the Human BodyCarbohydrates are organic molecules that are quite abundant in organisms. A carbohydrate is composed of carbon, hydro-gen, and oxygen in a ratio of 1:2:1. Many carbohydrates are saccharides (sugars). Glucose, as shown in ,

3.3 There Are Four Main Categories of Organic Chemicals 69

Name and Structural Formula

HydroxylO H S H

Sulfhydryl

Carbonyl

C H

O

C

O

or

C OH

OCarboxyl

O P O–

O

O–

Phosphate Amino

NH

H

These func-tional groups are found on a variety of organic mol-ecules. Each group is usu-ally found attached to a long string of carbon molecules.

Section Head

FiguresKey term

Term/Definition

LearningObjectives

4 How to Be a Successful Student

your pace and reread important ideas, concepts, and key terms. Highlighting, writing notes in a separate notebook, and marking up the margin in your textbook are all excel-lent ways to make your reading more active. When you come across an extremely important fact or concept, grab a brighter-colored pen than the one you are using to denote how special that item is. For ideas or key terms that need to be revisited, flag them with a unique color or with sticky notes available at any office supply store.

As you approach a new section, reread the heading and turn it into a question. For example, when reading the section titled “Rods and Cones Operate Using Different Chemical Mechanisms,” rephrase it as “How Are Chemicals Used by Rods and Cones?” By doing this, you turn your passive reading of material into an active quest to answer an important question.

You and Your Textbooklearning ObjeCtives1. recognize the textbook as a tool.2. identify and define the components of a

textbook.

extbooks are some of the best tools available to college students. Contained within their pages is everything you need to know about your course’s topic. If used correctly, a text-

book can be the key to academic success.Although it may be tempting to do so, you should not

read your textbook from beginning to end like the latest best-selling novel. When you read for entertainment, you’re generally reading in a passive manner. It is far more produc-tive to be an active reader, which will help you retain the most information from your study time.

When beginning a new chapter, think about go-ing from broad to specific. The broadest section of any chapter is the summary, found at the beginning or at the end. By reading the summary first, you will get a general overview of the chapter. In just a few paragraphs, you can jumpstart your brain and be fully prepared for the content ahead. Next, go through each page and read just the bold, italicized, or underlined key ideas, headings, and terms (Figure 0.1). These first steps should be taken before a scheduled lecture and when independently working on your assigned reading. Use your Chapter Planner, found on the first page of each chapter, as a roadmap. Here, you can quickly find and check off the most important elements of the chapter.

Next, take the practice quiz found at the end of the chap-ter. It is always acceptable to fail while you’re learning and practicing. By answering review questions in the beginning, you can calibrate your attention to what is important and get a sense of how comfortable you are with the material. Of course, even if you happen to get a perfect score, you should not skip reading the chapter.

Once you’re all warmed up, it’s time to jump into the details. Being an active reader means that you are active-ly taking part in the reading. Start by trying to vary your reading rate. In places that require a little less attention, try reading beyond your comfort level. One way to ac-complish this is by using your finger to trace under the words slightly ahead of where you’re reading. Slow down

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A typical sample page • Figure 0.1


sing your study time more efficiently can result in higher grades and a better understanding of the subject. But it is important to note that it does take time. A successful student commits

the necessary time, energy, and effort to properly prepare for each and every class.

The first step toward making the most out of your dedicated class and study time is to understand what kind of learner you are. Everyone has a different way of learn-ing. No one learning style is better than another; they’re all just different ways our brains commit new information to memory.

Generally, most learners can relate to either one or a com-bination of the three most common learning styles: visual, auditory, and Kinesthetic. Figure 0.2 will help you pinpoint your own unique strengths and weaknesses. Review all the tips below to help create your own personalized study plan.

What Kind of Learner Are You? 5

U

After completing each subsection, write a short sum-mary or list of the key points in your notebook. Then, even if it’s very quietly to yourself, recite your summary out loud without looking at it. Incorporating reading, writ-ing, and speaking will help you immediately commit that new information to memory. This is also a good way to gauge how well you’ve learned the material. If you can’t recall and recite the information you just read, then there is probably a pretty low chance you will be able to recall it on a future exam. Once you can clearly recall and recite the important highlights of the content, come up with a few exam questions of your own. In a separate section of your notes, write down practice exam questions with their correct answers. Revisit these questions and see if you can still answer them correctly during your exam preparation review. The questions you come up with may just appear on your actual exam!

Lastly, don’t forget about the index and glossary found at the very end of your textbook. Here you can find the information you need to elaborate on concepts covered in class, define key terms, and complete course assignments.

1. Why does an author use boldface for certain words in a paragraph?

2. how can the chapter, planner and practice quiz be used to facilitate learning?

What Kind of Learner Are You?learning ObjeCtives1. understand your personal learning style.2. examine your current study habits.

3. identify areas of your study habits that could use improvement.

tips for visual learnersFor this type of student, seeing is believing. As a visual learner, you enjoy watching the world and can be easily distracted by activity going on around you. It’s easiest for you to learn when information is presented visually or through written words. You ben-efit greatly from reading textbooks, graphics, and notes. Studying alone in a quiet room can help you concentrate on visualizing information in your mind’s eye.

Visual learners can try these easy tips to help increase their learning efficiency:

• Sitinfrontoftheclassroomandawayfromwindowstohelp minimize distraction during lectures.

visual learner Someone who learns best by organizing images and pictures using colors or maps.



Take a short quiz to discover your personal learning style • Figure 0.2

a. You visualize the number in your mind by imagin- ing what it would look like written on a piece of paper or which numbers you would dial on your phone’s keypad.

b. When you get back to the locker room, you can recall the sound of your new friend’s voice as she spoke the digits to you. You distinctly remember her pauses between numbers and the inflection of her tone.

c. While your new friend is telling you her number, you type out the numbers on an imaginary keypad in the air to help remember them later.

2. You are about to purchase a new digital camera to take with you for your summer abroad program. How do you decide among the many different choices available?

a. You scan the displays and find your perfect match from across the room. You love the color, body style, and, of course, coolness factor. Your decision is set when you see the color-coordinated matching case.

b. The first thing you do when you get to the electronics store is find the camera department salesperson. You love chatting with him about your trip and your needs for the camera, and you listen intently to his recommendations. You are focused more on the specifications he is telling you than on the physical camera.

c. You have cleared your Saturday morning and set off for the store. You want to get in early so you can tinker and play with all the different camera floor models. You have an idea of what type of camera you want, but it has to be something that feels perfect in your hands.

3. A new vegetarian café has just opened up across from campus, and you are there on opening day. How do you decide what to order?

1. You’ve just made a new friend while jogging around the campus track. Neither of you has a phone or paper with you, but you want to exchange numbers. How do you commit that phone number to memory?

a. While waiting for the server to come to the table, you look around at what others in the restaurant are eating, and your eyes immediately go to the snapshots of the dishes scattered throughout the menu.

b. You wait until the server tells you about the specials of the day. You then listen intently as she describes some of her favorites. You spend very little time actually looking over the menu since what she has just described sounds delicious.

c. You don’t even need to see the menu. You decided that you wanted the self-service, build-your-own- gourmet-salad bar as soon as you walked in.

4. As a college soccer player, you are accustomed to having aches and pains. However, you decide to go and see the campus sports doctor about the knee pain that just won’t go away. She tells you that you have chon- dromalacia. How would you most prefer to learn about your condition?

a. Have the doctor give you some handouts on what it is and how to treat it. You then go home to watch some colorful video animations explaining the anatomy of the knee and the details of the condition.

b. Spend time in the doctor’s office, listening to her explain the condition and asking many questions. You prefer to listen and converse with a real live doctor.

c. Have the doctor explain the condition using a color diagram and a life-size plastic model of the knee. You are able to remove the patella from the model and with your finger you can trace where the ligaments and tendons connect on the poster.

5. You want to cook a special dinner for a special someone and want to make something new and exciting. How do you go about learning to make this new dish?

a. You go online and peruse videos of different chefs making things that look good to you. Once you have chosen your dish, you play the video first to get the hang of things and then again while you are actually preparing the meal and reference the recipe print out often.

b. You download a world famous chef’s podcast to your MP3 player and listen to it on the way to school.

c. Having a general idea of what you want to make, you collect your ingredients and jump right in. Through a little trial and error, you create your own masterpiece meal.

In the above questions, if you answered predominantly a then you’re more visual. If you answered mainly b, then you’re moreauditory, and if you answered mostly c, then you’re more of a Kinesthetic learner. However, don’t forget that humans are verycomplex and can be a combination of all three.


tips for auditory learnersThe best way for this type of student to commit new information to memory is through sound. If you are an au-ditory learner, you can easily fol-low instructions that are spoken to you and can sing along to all your favorite songs, word for word. You favor lecture classes, especially when they have a group discussion component. When you are introduced to new people at a party, it’s easy for you to recall their names at a future meeting.

If you are an auditory learner, try these tips to increase your learning efficiency:

• Makesure tostudy inaquietarea—nomusic,noTV,and very little ambient noise. As a auditory learner, you are stimulated by sound, so if you minimize the noisy distractions around you, it will be easier to focus on your studies.

What Kind of Learner Are You? 7

The human brain is extremely complex and has four major parts: the brain stem, the diencephalons, the

cerebellum , and the cerebrum. Learning takes place in the

WHAt A ScientiSt SeeS

largest part of the brain, the cerebrum, and has intrigued scientists for centuries. Now, with the aid of modern tools of observation, we can begin to study how people commit new information to their immediate, short-term and long-term memories .

Positron Emission Tomography, or PET for short, is a technique used to study which areas of the brain become active during different types of learning. Before a scienti-st can begin to study a subject’s brain, they must first in-travenously inject them with a radioactive, but harmless, chemical tracer. This tracer is metabolized by the body’s cells and gives off positively charged particles called po-sitrons. The positrons then react with an electron in the brain, giving off gamma rays. A special imaging device is then used to detect, record and create a graphical re-presentation of the subject’s brain activity from this data (see photo at left).

Although we have a long way to go to fully understand the complexity of learning, modern technology allows us to more precisely continue our exploration of the human mind.

The Brain and Learning

• Go beyond the highlighter. Utilize multiple colors inevery possible way by using a set of markers with the maximum number of shades available. If you can find colored markers that also have a pleasant scent associ-ated with them, this will increase the sensory perception even more during your studies.

• Draw!Even ifyou thinkyouarenotartistic,drawingcan help commit information to memory in a visual way.

• Usegraphs,images,andconceptmapstohelpillustratethe subject matter.

• Go toWileyPLUSonlineandsearch foreducationalvideos on your subject. Associating a storyline or view-ing an animation can help illuminate complex concepts.

• Have multiple high-quality study locations availableand route them often. Don’t spend all your study time in the library or your room. By changing the back-ground scenery, you can keep yourself just a little more visually stimulated without being distracted.

auditory learner Someone who learns through listening and speaking.

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WDCN/Univ. College London/Photo Researchers, Inc.



• Group and partner study work effectively for you aslong as it’s a lively exchange where all members listen, respond, and initiate speech.

• Go into a quiet room alone and recite out loud yournotes, key terms, and concepts.

• Useavoicerecorder inclass torecord lectures.Makesure it has a timestamp feature and denote the location of difficult or confusing concepts to revisit later.

tips for Kinesthetic learnersThis type of student finds it easiest to learn by doing. If you are a kinesthetic learner, you love to figure out problems

by working with your hands and your brain. New information is easier to commit to memory if you have some sort of physical move-ment going on at the same time. You enjoy in-class activities, field

trips, and labs the most. Try out these tips to help improve your learning beyond structured hands-on activities:

• Try to find ways to incorporate physical movementwhile learning. Taking notes with a pen or pencil will

be much more efficient for you than taking notes with a computer. When you are listening to a lecture, try small, quiet movements such as tapping your foot, squeezing a stress ball, or chewing gum.

• Walking back and forth while reading or reviewingnotes and flashcards can help you stay focused.

• Thinkaboutwaysyoucanmakethesubjectmoretan-gible. For example, instead of just reading about histori-cal events and ancient cultures, go to a local museum of natural history to bring the text to life. You will be able to better commit to memory anything you can physically touch, feel, and play around with.

kinesthetic learner Someone who learns through physical activity. 1. What benefits could you gain from knowing

what type of learner you are?2. What is your least effective study habit? What

works best for you?3. specifically, how can the components of this

book help you improve your study habits?

Where do you get your facts? Today, there are a wide range of options for obtaining almost any kind of information you may be looking for. Of course, you want the most credible litera-ture resources out there for your research paper, but where do you get them?

If you want the best information, you must dive directly into peer-reviewed journal articles (PRJAs). Most college stu-dents have full access to these valuable resources through their school’s library. Many universities even allow registered

students to gain access to their elec-tronic journal databases online from home. With such easy access for stu-dents, PRJAs should be the number-one choice for all your academic re-search papers.

A peer-reviewed journal is a col-lection of scholarly articles written about a very specific topic within a subject area. PRJAs are written by

i Wonder...

experts and reviewed by an independent panel of their peers before being published. In order for this type of article to be pu-blished, a majority of the reviewing panel of experts must be-lieve the research is accurate, unique, and of high quality. Since the person or team who actually carried out the study writes a PRJA, this type of resource is called primary literature. These are the purest form of research results and conclusions available to the public because they have not been diluted or reinterpreted by an outside author.

You will know that you are reading a PRJA by looking for a few key characteristics. Always ask yourself these que-stions: Is the format and language very formal? Are there multiple citations within the paper and in the bibliography? Is there little to no advertising? Are the graphics limited to mostly black-and-white statistical illustrations? Are scholars and researchers from reputable institutions the primary authors? Is the publishing company or organization trustworthy? If you answered yes to most, if not all, of these questions then you have a peer-reviewed journal in your hands!

Where Can I Get the Best Information for My Research Paper?

peer-reviewed journal articles (PRJAs) Articles that are printed in journals only after being reviewed by other practicing scientists in the field.

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Successful 21st century Students Study Smarter, not Harder 9

Successful 21st Century Students Study Smarter, not Harderlearning ObjeCtives

1. incorporate technology into your study habits.2. explore time management strategies.3. list which study tips and tricks you can commit

to trying right now.

N

4. Create a study plan that fits your personal learning style.

ow, more than ever before, students are un-der immense pressure to do it all and do it well. Today’s students are more than just stu-dents. They are parents, athletes, caregivers,

full-time professionals, and part-time workers. With all the

demands of life outside the classroom, it can be extremely challenging to devote the time required to do well in school. By creating a unique plan tailored to your personal learning style, you can get the most out of your valuable study time. Figure 0.3 describes some innovative ways to use your

IN CLASSIN THE LAB

• On the first day of class, set reminders on your phone’s calendar for all upcoming exams and assignments.• With your instructor’s permission, use your phone’s voice-recording app to record lectures and play them back during study time.

• Use your phone’s built-in camera to snap pictures of the models, experiments and lab setups.• Save your pictures in the highest resolution possible so you can zoom in on all the tiny details once you download them to your computer.

WHEN YOU’RE OUT & ABOUT

• Use the time you spend waiting for coffee to review class PowerPoint presentations and notes you’ve downloaded to your smart phone.• Connect to WileyPLUS to listen to podcasts on the treadmill or review illustrations and videos while riding the bus.

Always ask permission before recording or photographing any material in class or lab.

Smart moves with your smart phone • Figure 0.3


10

Water contamination Acid rain

Environmentalissues and human

health Fossil fuels

Clean water

Clean air

Limitednatural

resources

Dry land

Soil

Monocultures

Unsustainablefarming practices

Climatechange

Loss of food crops

Increased rangeof tropicaldiseases

Loss of species

Pollution

Toxic chemicals

Pesticides

Smog

smart phone. See which of these tips work for you and always ask your instructor for permission to record or photograph in class or in lab. Figure 0.4 introduces you

to an active learning tool called concept mapping. Finally, find the roadmap to success in the process diagram, in Figure 0.5.

Boreal forest/Alpine Temperate forest Tropical forest Tundra Grasslands Chaparral Desert Savanna

Location Northern Hemisphere between latitudes 50°and 60°N

Eastern North America, northeastern Asia,Western and Central Europe

Near the Equatorbetween latitudes23.5°N and 23.5°S

55° to 70° N Middle latitudes, in the interiors of continents

Temperature Very low �30° to 30°C Varies little between20° and 25°C

Ice covered; 5°–6°C

�40° to 21°C

Annual precipitation

400 to 1000 mm

750 to1500 mm

May exceed2000 mm

150 to 250 mm(usually snow)

250 to1500 mm

Soil type Deficient in nutrients, thin and acidic

Fertile and enriched with decaying litter

Deficient in nutrients and acidic

Permafrost Thin and dry, rich

Dominant flora Evergreen conifers,such as jack pine, balsam fir, and black spruce

Broad-leaved species, such as oak, hickory, beech, hemlock, maple, elm, and willow

Trees reach 25 to 35 m while plants include orchids, bromeliads, vines, ferns, mosses, and palms

Shrubs, sedges,mosses, lichens, and grasses, flowers

Buffalo grass, sunflower, crazy weed,asters, blazing stars,coneflowers, goldenrods, clover,and wild indigos

Dominant fauna Woodpeckers, hawks, woodland caribou, bears, weasels, lynxes,foxes, wolves, deer, hares, chipmunks, and shrews

Squirrels, rabbits, skunks, birds, deer, mountain lions, bobcats, timber wolves, and foxes

Birds, bats, smallmammals, and insects

Caribou, musk ox, polar bear, shrews, hares, rodents, wolves, foxes, bears, and deer

Coyotes, eagles, bobcats, the gray wolf, wild turkey, flycatcher, Canada geese, crickets, dungbeetle, bison, and prairie chicken

West coast of theUnited States, thewest coast of South America, Cape Townarea of South Africa,western tip of Australia, and coastal areas of Mediterranean

Hot and dry deserts are near the Tropic of Cancer or the Tropic of Capricorn, cold deserts in polar regions

Wide band on either side of the Equatoron the edges of tropical forests

10°–40°C 20 to 49°C;2 to 26°C

Averages 21°C

350 to 600 mmannually

150 to 270 mm 100 mm in dry season, 600 mm in wet season

Rocky, sandy, gravelly, or heavy soils

Sand, exposedbed rock, thindeficient soil

Varies; rocky and sandy to thin to rich

Poison oak, scruboak, yucca whipplei, and other shrubs, trees, and cacti

Turpentine bush,prickly pears, brittle bush, sagebrush

Short twisted trees, grasses, plants specialized for nutrient storage

Coyotes, jack rabbits,mule deer, alligatorlizards, horned toads, praying mantis, honeybees, and ladybugs

Small nocturnal carnivores, burrowers, mourning wheatears, horned vipers, antelope, ground squirrels, jackrabbits, and kangaroo rats

Lions, zebras, elephants, giraffes, herds of ungulates, capybara and marshdeer, birds of prey

Biomes of the world Table 21.1

Photos left to right: Konrad Wothe/NG Image Collection, James Forte/NG Image Collection, Mattias Klum/NG Image Collection, Paul Nicklen/NG Image Collection, Medford Taylor/NG Image Collection, Charles Smith/© Corbis, Ron and Patty Thomas/Taxi/Getty Images, Inc. Photo Researchers/Getty Images, Inc.

Concept mapping • Figure 0.4Concept mapping is an active learning tool that allows you to organize related information into an efficient visual aid. Choose a main topic and organize pertinent information into related subtopics, ideas, and details. Concept maps can look like the simple example here or can be organized into a table with even more informa-tion, like this excerpt from Table 21.1. Concept maps help you make connec-tions within the material and commit that informa-tion to memory through their creation and review.


Successful 21st century Students Study Smarter, not Harder 11

• Make a to-do list, update it often, and keep it handy at all times by using the notes application tool on your phone.• Plan ahead and use a calendar to avoid forgetting assignments and exams. Schedule specific study times and commit to keeping those appointments.• Before you begin to study, set out a specific, achievable goal for that study session. Choose an appropriate number of pages to read or a set number of problems to do and do not end your study session until your goal is reached. This will help keep your studies focused as well as give you a sense of accomplishment at the end.

• Review the material everyday, even if it’s for just a few minutes.• Get your visual and olfactory senses more involved by writing your notes in a wide array of colors and pleasant scents.• Download unlabeled, colorless diagrams of important anatomical structures and physiological processes from WileyPLUS. Then color in the lines with pencils or markers and practice labeling the structures.• Eliminate distractions. Friends, music, TV, phones, email, and social networking sites decrease your ability to efficiently focus, thus increasing the amount of study time needed to accomplish your goals.• Utilize sunlight to help you learn. Studies have shown that humans learn and retain information best in natural day lighting.• Make your own colorful flashcards and take them with you wherever you go for quick, impromptu study.• Make up your own short mnemonic word or phrase to help you easily recall long lists of information.• Take a break! It is more productive to take breaks than it is to continue to push through fatigue. Schedule short breaks every 20 minutes and do something physically active. Taking 5 minutes to walk outside, close your eyes, stretch, or do some pushups can help you quickly regain focus and energy.

Get organized

Utilize study time wisely

Just before an exam

• Use the questions at the end of each chapter to check your knowledge and begin to train your test- taking muscles.• Create your own exams based on your notes. Often you will come up with the same questions as your instructor, and, of course, you will already know the answer on exam day.• Eat well. The quality of fuel you put in your body is directly correlated to the level of performance you get out. Your brain and your body need the best fuel possible in order to perform at their peak.• While you are studying and before the exam, give your body quality, fresh proteins, carbohydrates, and healthy fats. Try to keep the artificial stimulants, like caffeine, to a minimum to help increase your concentration and decrease nervousness.

Learn from your mistakes

Review questions you answered incorrectly on the exam and, most importantly, ask for help! Visityour instructor during office hours and utilize the student resources on campus.

Pathway to success process diagram • Figure 0.5



Making the grade by Making FriendsGroup study can be a wonderful way to divide and con-quer coursework and prepare for exams. It can also make the class much more enjoyable when you have a strong net-work of peers to consort with. However, group work can also be detrimental to your success if you don’t have the right people doing the appropriate things for the benefit of everyone in the group.

Find your group. Ideally, a study group should be three to four students and no more than five. Remember, a study group is a learning tool, not a social function. At the start of the term, choose your group members based on their dedication to succeeding in the class. When you have found students who are committed to creating a produc-tive study group, decide on a few key parameters, such as:

• Whenandhowlongthemeetingswilllast.Studygroupsshould meet at least once a week to stay current with the coursework.

• Eachmembermustmakeasolidcommitmenttoattendeach session and show up prepared. It is also a good idea at the beginning to set consequences for members who show up unprepared or who only take and do not give, in the study group.

• Selectagroupleader.Thispersonwillberesponsibleforkeeping the group on task during sessions and coordi-nating meeting logistics.

•Everyoneshouldexchangecontactinformationandcre-ate an agreeable meeting time and place. The location should be free from distractions and should allow all members to feel safe and comfortable.

Prepare for a successful group study session. Everyone’s time is valuable, and coordinating multiple schedules can be challenging. Make the most out of the time you have together as a group by being prepared and using these tips:

• Asagroup,decidewhatassignmentsormaterialreviewtofocus on in the upcoming meeting. This could simply be the previous week’s lecture concepts or preparing for an upcoming exam.

• Divide the preparation work equally among all members.

1. how can you improve your studies through, technology?

2. What are some ways that you can improve your time management skills.

3. Why is it important to limit distractions during studying, even if your think you study better with them?

4. What elements specific to your learning style should you include in your personal study plan?

• Focus ondeciphering key concepts andmastering thematerial. Have each member write down the top five concepts from each lecture and compare.

• Thebestwaytolearnasubjectistoteachittoothers.For example, each group member could take a section from the previous week’s chapter and prepare a mini-lecture to be presented at the next meeting.

Engage in active group study. Once you’ve found a great group of fellow students and everyone has been assigned their parts, it’s time to meet in person. Follow these tips to make your time together a success:

• Atthestartofeachsession,setandwritedownspecificgoals and check them off as they’re achieved.

• Make a commitment to create a cell-phone-free zoneduring group study time.

• Talk! Work out problems by conversing with groupmembers. Brainstorm and don’t be afraid to be wrong.

• Save10minutesattheendtoreviewwhatwascoveredin that session. Have each group member create at least one exam-style question based on the session and take turns answering each other’s questions.

• Don’tbeafraidtoaskmemberswhoaredistractingordo not contribute to leave the group. By setting guide-lines in the beginning, this can usually be avoided. Re-member, although you may make lasting friendships with your study group, learning must always come first during your dedicated sessions.


Summary 13

i Wonder...

Sure, you have glanced over your notes once or twice. You’ve been to class, most of the time, but tomorrow is the big exam, and you’re not ready! Of course, your only option is to turn to the infamous all nighter for salvation.

Trying to cram in an enormous amount of studying the night before an exam is detrimental not only to your health but also to your grade. All nighters generally combine sleep deprivation with increased stimulant consumption and low-quality food choices, which can all lead to disaster. When you get dramatically less sleep than your body requires, there are direct physiological consequences, such as com-prised immunity, increased tension, and decreased ability to recall information and maintain concentration.

Have you ever noticed that you and your classmates always seem to come down with a nasty cold right after finals? A study by Irwin et al., (1996) showed that by getting less than 6 hours of sleep per night, you can decrease your immune system’s T-cell count by up to 50%. When you’re sleep deprived, you also become more accident prone, irritable, and unable to deal with life’s little stresses.

All nighter students often believe that they’re sacrificing their health for the good of their grades. Unfortunately, that is usually untrue. A study by De Koninck et al., (1989) conclu-ded that students who participate in all-night study sessions actually perform significantly worse than their

Do All Night Study Sessions Help or Hurt?well-rested classmates. Rapid eye movement (REM) sleep has an important part in allowing the brain to retain and re-call new information. By depriving yourself of quality sleep, you are missing out on the extremely beneficial REM sleep required to excel at any exam.

Once the big exam is over, an all nighter student crashes into bed to catch up on all that lost sleep. However, our needs for sleep cannot be borrowed and paid back like a credit card. You may need several days of excellent sleep just to recover from a single all nighter. Symptoms of this recovery can be lethargy, loss of motivation, and mood swings.

The bottom line is that students with the highest grades tend to get consistently good sleep throughout the term, space out their study times, and plan ahead to ensure that they don’t fall victim to the dreaded all nighter.

Literature CitedDe Koninck J. Lorrain D. Christ G. Proulx G. Coulombe

D. (1989). Intensive language learning and increases in rapid eye movement sleep: evidence of a performance factor. Int J Psychophysiology 8:43–47.

Irwin M. McClintick J. Costlow C. Fortner M. White J. Gil-lin J.C. (1996) Partial night sleep deprivation reduces natural killer and cellular immune responses in humans. FASEB J Apr; 10(5):643–653.

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Summary

2 What Kind of Learner Are You? 5

• Thehumanbraincommitsnewinformationthroughthesenses: hearing, tasting, touching, seeing, and smelling.

• Visuallearnerslearnbyseeing,auditorylearnerslearnby hearing, and kinetic learners learn by doing.

• Eachpersonhasauniquecombinationoflearningstyles,and no one style is better than another. Finding what works best for you can help increase your studying ef-ficiency.

• Creatingastudyplantailoredtoyouruniquelearningstyle can help make your study time more efficient and productive.

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1 You and Your Textbook 4

• Yourtextbookisatoolandshouldbeusedassuch.Correctly utilizing the distinct features will help to im-prove your ability to learn the subject.

• Whenbeginninganewchapter,gofrombroadto specific.

• Beanactivelearnertogetthemostoutofyourstudytime.



Key Terms• auditory learner 7

• kinestic learner 8

• peer-reviewed journal article (PRJA) 8

• visual learner 5

What is happening in this picture? This photo shows a patient being put into an fMRI tube for examination.

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1. How do you think an fMRI machine is able to take a “picture” of the brain without exposing the subject to invasive procedures?

2. After examining the picture carefully, do you think there are any groups of people who might not be able to undergo an fMRI? Look closely at warning signs around the room.

T h i n k C r i t i c a l l y

3 Successful 21st Century Students Study Smarter, Not Harder 9

• Utilizingtechnologyproperlycanhelpyouachieveaca-demic success.

• Maximizeyourlearningefficiencybynotwastingtime.Use time spent in line, on the bus, or at the gym to supplement your study sessions.

• Tryoutallthelearningtipsandtricks.Incorporateonlythe ones that work best for you.

• Beginpreparingforassignmentsandexamsearlytodecrease stress and increase performance.


Self-test 15

Self-Test 1. What section of the chapter should you read first?

a. the beginning paragraph

b. the title and subheadings

c. the summary

d. the key terms

2. After you finish a chapter section, you should ______.

a. dive straight into the next section

b. stop and write a summary of that section in your own words

c. see if you can recall and briefly recite what the chap-ter was about

d. do both B and C

3. Textbook authors use bold, underline, and italics on words and phrases in a chapter ______.

a. to liven up the look of the text

b. to draw your attention to important concepts

c. to use up more ink

d to distract you from your passive reading

4. Most people are what type of learner?

a. visual

b. auditory

c. kinestic

d. a mixture of two or even all three of the above

5. Most successful students study _______.

a. the night before the exam

b. seven days before the exam

c. consistently, at a steady and dedicated pace through-out the term

d. only during class

6. Which type of learner would study best in a loud food court at the center of a mall?

a. visual

b. auditory

c. kinestic

d. None of the above. There are too many sensory dis-tractions here for anyone to learn efficiently.

7. A kinetic learner excels when he can hear the instruc-tions from someone else on how to do something new.

a. true

b. false

8. An auditory learner finds it easier to learn a new subject if the instructor teaches in a lecture format and has as-sociated podcasts available online.

a. true

b. false

9. A visual learner learns best when new material is pre-sented as a short film or animation first.

a. true

b. false

10. Who writes peer-reviewed journal articles?

a. scientists

b. researchers

c. professors

d. all of the above

11. Group study is most productive when all members com-mit to attending and arrive fully prepared.

a. true

b. false

12. When is it healthy to participate in an all-night study session?

a. when you have no other choice

b. when you have been too busy to study the weeks before the exam

c. when you can use stimulants, like coffee and energy drinks, to help keep you awake

d. None of the above. It is never good for your health to participate in all-night study sessions.

Review your Chapter Planner on the chapter opener and check off your completed work.

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How to Be a Successful Student

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Transcript of How to Be a Successful Student