Students are under enormous pressure, and they experience a great deal of stress. Keeping up with studies and making good grades is difficult in itself, but there are also the added pressures of work and relationships. When everything starts to seem overwhelming, the use of stress management techniques can make life easier. (more…)

Ever heard of eating brain food to improve your study skills? Studies have shown that there is a link between IQ or mental development and certain nutrients; a study conducted on British schoolgirls revealed that the schoolgirls who were not getting enough iron performed worse in school than those who were able to meet the daily recommended iron allowance. (more…)

In order to understand and retain information, you need to be able to concentrate on what you are studying. This is dependent on you studying in an area that is suited to your learning needs and style, which makes creating a productive study space is an essential element of studying well.

Tips and Tricks

Here are some tips and tricks to help you create a productive study space:

Identify your needs. Some people need absolute quiet when they are studying, while others prefer to have music playing in the background. You know what you need to help you concentrate and stay focused, so set up your study area accordingly.

Set up a study place that is equipped for studying. Pens, pencils, paper, calculator, pencil sharpener and other supplies should be within easy access of your study area. If you need to get up and move elsewhere every time you need something, you will not be able to stay focused on studying.

Be consistent. Use the same study area every day, and try to study at the same time each day. This establishes a connection between the time and space and studying, and going to your study space at the same time every day will become habit. Use your study area only for studying and you will associate that place with studying. That will help you stay focused on your studies while you are there.Make sure your study area is a place where you can relax, yet stay focused. Your bedroom may seem like a great place to study, but you may doze off continuously while studying there

Set up study rules. If you study better at certain times or when you are able to take short breaks, then make that part of your study rules. Make sure others realize that’s part of your study routine.

Use study totems. Athletes have lucky socks or lucky shorts. You can have a study hat or study scarf. You can use a figurine, a toy, or any other type of object as your study totem. When it is time to study, put on your study item or set out your study totem. A study item or study totem helps you study in two ways:

Once others understand what your study item or totem means, seeing it will tell them you are studying so they will not interrupt you.

When you start having trouble concentrating, you can look at your study item or totem instead of staring into space. It helps refocus your mind on the task at hand.

Your study area should be comfortable. The temperature should not be too hot or too cold. Make sure your chair is comfortable and you have room to wiggle your toes. Being confined or uncomfortable will become a distraction during a study session.

Establishing good study habits begins with setting up a productive study space. Your space should meet your needs, and personalizing it is always a good option. When you have a space used only for studying, it is easier for you to concentrate on the materials and ignore or avoid distractions.

Study groups are a great way to supplement your individual study. Being involved in a study group provides you with the opportunity to get feedback on how well you know the material, as well as reinforcing what you have learned. In addition, a good study group gives you practice at working as part of a team, a skill that you will need in the world outside of school. (more…)

History is a fascinating subject that can challenge students to question everything that has happened before their existence. It opens up doors to times long ago and lets students know that while there are differences across eras in human history there are also many similarities. Many students roll their eyes when it comes to history class but with the proper perspective this can be their favorite subject. The key is to clear the first hurdle of being engaged in the subject and then it’s time to learn how to study history. Here are five tips for helping students grasp this all-encompassing subject:

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Books on Tape

Listening to a tape in which someone reads a book is a great way to take in the information from a book when you’re short on time. You can find books on tape at the library as well as some bookstores and record stores. The advantage of listening to these books is that they are typically a high quality sound with a professional actor reading the script. And you can listen to the content of an assigned reading while you eat lunch, clean your room or even while you’re driving.

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It’s impossible to take great class notes if you don’t go to class. Make sure you make that first class because that’s when the teacher will let you in on the course outline, and their expectations in terms of homework, class assignments and testing. You’ll get a good indication on how the course will be marked.

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College Reading and Study Skill

Every year it seems more and more students fail the reading and study skill parts of college tests. Why is that? It’s simple; many students today have not been properly educated in college reading and study skills. Students are not reading as much as before, thus making it very hard when they get to college. There are some solutions though to this problem and ways to improve on this:

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While thorough notes are a vital part of making good grades, many students do not know how to take notes.  Note taking is not a skill you are born with, but one that you learn. Unfortunately, most instructors assume that previous instructors have taught students how to take good notes.  There are many ways to organize your notes, and the split-page method is one of the most popular.  For more information about learning effective study skills, try our free ebook on how to study.

The split-page method is exactly what it sounds like.  You split the page by drawing a vertical line all the way down the paper.  The line should be located 2.5 to 3 inches from the left-hand side of the paper. 

So, what do you do with the two sides?

Similar to the Cornell method, the split-page method uses the right side of the divided page for recording lecture notes.

Another Method you may want to try, is Mind Mapping.

Do not try to write down every word of the lecture when taking notes.  Doing so requires you to write at full speed, which means you will stop listening to what is being said.  Instead, focus on writing down the main ideas and key points.  Watch for cues from the instructor for important points, and be sure to note anything the professor writes on the board. 

The left-hand side of the page can have one of two uses.  Some students prefer to use the left column for writing down keywords from the notes or questions they may have about the material.  This allows them to cover the notes and use only the keywords as prompts when reciting the information.  If you use the left-hand column for cues and keywords, be sure to write them down as soon as possible after the lecture, while the information is still fresh in your mind.

The more traditional use for the left side is creating an outline of the textbook by writing down keywords and main points, also known as the Outline method of taking notes.  The trick to this method is to keep the information from the textbook and the notes together, and to separate chapters.  With this format, a student is able to study the textbook and the lecture notes side-by-side, without wasting time or losing their train of thought by flipping back and forth between notes and textbook. 

A variation of the split-page method is to divide the page into three columns.  The middle column is used for taking notes in class.  The left-hand column is used for outlining the text.  The right-hand column is used for writing down keywords, cues, and questions the student may have about the material.  This format provides the textbook and notes in one location, and has the added bonus of a cue column.  This allows students to cover the first two columns and use the cues in the third column as memory prompts when reciting the information.

Note taking is not a natural skill, although some people are naturally better at it than others are.  There is a wide variety of methods for taking good notes, and not all methods work for everyone.  The split-page method is easy to learn and easy to use, making it an excellent method for anyone trying take better notes.

College and High School Students will want to try out our free Ebook on How to Study.

Teachers will want to try our Taking Notes Lesson Plan.

Study Sessions

Many students find it hard to start working or work for too long when they do. If you find yourself avoiding starting work or seemingly finding ways out of studying then try to start studying for short periods of 10-15 minutes on a regular basis. This if done properly can help ease you into interrupting your normal daily routine enough to actually get some work done. When you find that you can sit and concentrate (which are skills that need to warmed up by this process as well) for longer periods then change to a full study routine.

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