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Five College-Level Study Tips to Share with Your Students Now

This is the time of year when students often face the challenge of preparing for major exams; exams that ask them to synthesize various concepts, recall a wide range of information, and demonstrate competency with a variety of skills. We have coached students throughout the year to develop learning strategies to assist them to absorb, retain, and retrieve important content. Now, they will be asked to pull everything together in preparation for important end-of-year assessments. Of course, the task students face is not new. Students have faced this annual challenge for generations. However, it can be motivating to students to expand their repertoire of study techniques by incorporating some tips often shared with college-level learners by their professors as these advanced learners prepare for high-stakes career preparation and licensing assessments. The good news is that the tips work equally well for younger students. Here are five time-tested and research-based tips you can share. First, encourage students to choose or create a focus-supportive environment. The ability to focus is among the most important elements contributing to successful study. The exact conditions optimal to support mental focus may vary from person to person. Some people focus best when they experience complete silence. Others may find music in the background to assist with focus. Some people may benefit from a view of the outdoors. Others may focus best without visual stimulation beyond what they are studying. Some people do their best when isolated from people. Others may benefit from some movement around them such as they might experience in a coffee shop. However, there is wide agreement that cellphones and social media turned off and out of sight contributes to the ability to focus. The key is for the student to find the optimum focus-supportive environment for their needs. Second, advise students to take frequent breaks – at least every thirty minutes – to think about what they are studying and how best to organize it for storage in their minds. Interestingly, researchers have found that learning breaks to synthesize and organize content and skills can play as important a role in learning as practicing preset processes and completing problem sets. Third, encourage students to move from one position or location to another occasionally, especially as they move from one element or aspect of study to another. The shift may be as little as repositioning at a desk or table, or as significant as moving to a different room or new location. As we study, our brains absorb more information than we may be aware. While we are focusing, our brains note objects around us, noises we hear, and movements that cross our vision. This information can help to “anchor” memories and assist recall of content connected to the experience. As a result, our attempts to recall what we have studied can be enhanced by memories of where we were when we encountered information, developed a new insight, or reached a conclusion. Shifting locations can ground memories in the environment where they occurred. Fourth, share with students the benefits of pausing occasionally to explain or summarize what they just read or reviewed. Research indicates that explaining to yourself can be enough to make a difference. Explaining to a “study buddy” can be even more beneficial. The process of explaining organizes information and prepares the brain for storage. This technique can also surface elements and aspects of what is being studied that are not clear and need more attention and clarification. Fifth, encourage students to draw pictures or create maps to depict connections and relationships among items and elements they are studying. Images are often easier to recall than lists of words or highlighted text. The process of drawing and positioning information also provides opportunities to interact more deeply with content and helps to place information in a more complete context. Later, when attempting recall key concepts and information in isolation, graphics can offer a memory shortcut to information that has been placed in a retrievable format. Of course, each of these tips require a level of effort and discipline. However, they can make studying more interesting as they add variety and novelty to the process. They also can be motivating because they work.

Appreciate Your Teachers: A Letter to My Much Younger Self

In Your Corner, Thinking Frames

April 15, 2022

Appreciate Your Teachers: A Letter to My Much Younger Self

Dear My Much Younger Self, So many people are playing roles in your life right now that will shape who you become and what you will accomplish. Yet, their value and impact are not yet clear to you. In fact, the guidance and influence they are offering are not always comfortable and welcome. Still, you need to listen, follow, and treasure what they offer to and ask of you. Among the people who are guiding and shaping who you will become are your teachers. Of course, it can be tempting to dismiss and push back on what they say and expect. You think that you know what is best for you. Unfortunately, you do not have enough life experience and perspective to make every decision on your own. You need to pay attention, heed their advice, and follow their guidance. I have come to appreciate many of the expectations teachers are holding for you. They have shaped my attitudes and expectations for myself. Insights they are sharing with you have stayed with me decades later. Let me share with you some of what I have learned as I reflect on the experiences you are having now. The teacher who is pressing you to lift your aspirations and increase your investment in learning sees in you potential that you do not yet realize you have. Listen to what the teacher says and follow the advice you are given. You will not regret it. The teacher who gives you challenges and pushes the boundaries of your learning knows that the most valuable learning you will develop comes with struggle and frustration. When you make mistakes as you are learning, know that they are a natural part of the process. Use them to adjust your approach and guide your learning. The teacher who holds high expectations and refuses to lower them when you fail to make your best effort and do your best work is teaching you a valuable lesson about life and learning. When the work is hard, you need to focus on your effort and strategies, not how to “work the system” or find an easier path. The teacher who resists providing you with immediate answers is not necessarily being difficult. Learning where and how to find answers for yourself is a lesson you will use for the rest of your life. Knowing how to solve problems on your own will serve you well when you face dilemmas and difficulties and no teacher is present to provide a formula or show a clear path forward. The teacher who presses you to focus on what you are learning, not just the grades you will receive, is guiding you to focus on what is most important. It may seem that grades are what you are working for, but grades are nothing more than symbols. Grades at their best do little more than capture the progress you have made and learning you have gained. I could go on, but you are probably wondering why I am sharing these things. I want you to do something I neglected to do. I fear that my teachers did not feel my appreciation for what they did for me when I was experiencing what you are experiencing. Of course, you cannot fully know or appreciate the impact they are having on you and your life. Trust me. What your teachers are doing for you matters. You will come to value the impact they are having. In the coming week, please make it a point to thank your teachers for what they are doing for you. Tell them that you appreciate that they push you and hold you to high expectations. Thank them for believing in you and your potential. Let them know that you understand that learning is not always easy. I know. Doing what I am asking is not typical behavior for you. It will feel awkward. I am asking you to do it for me. Of course, you will also be doing it for yourself. Enjoy what lies ahead. Your life will be amazing. All my best, Your Future Self