De La Salle College Study Skills Pdf

C lick on image below for your study skills test

The test that follows should give you a good idea of your study performance. The aim of this test is to get you to

examine your 'work practice.

You can prepare yourself to succeed in your studies.

Try to develop and appreciate the following habits:

o Take responsibility for yourself Recognize that in order to succeed you need to make decisions about your

priorities,

your time, and your resources

o Center yourself around your values and principles Don't let friends and acquaintances dictate what you consider important

o Put first things first Follow up on the priorities you have set for yourself, and don't let others, or

other interests, distract you from your goals

o Discover your key productivity periods and places Morning, afternoon, or evening?

Find spaces where you can be the most focused and productive.

Prioritize these for your most difficult study challenges

o Consider yourself in a win-win situation When you contribute your best to a class, you, your fellow students,

and even your teacher will benefit.

Your grade can then be one additional check on your performance

o First understand others, then attempt to be understood When you have an issue with an instructor (a questionable grade, an

assignment deadline, etc.) put yourself in the instructor's place.

Now ask yourself how you can best make your argument given his/her

situation

o Look for better solutions to problems For example, if you don't understand the course material, don't just re-read it.

Try something else! Consult with the professor, a tutor, an academic advisor, a

classmate, a study group, or your school's study skills center

o Look to continually challenge yourself

Study Skills Media

Using a mind map to organize study notes

How to Make a Mind Map - The Basics

How to Concentrate on Homework & Studying

A Must See Motivational Video!

Study Skills- Time Management Part 1 - Prioritizing

HOW TO INCREASE MEMORY / HOW TO

IMPROVE MEMORY

Concentration

These tips may help: They involve

1. What you can control in your studies

2. Best practices

What you can control in your studies:

"Here I study"

Get a dedicated space, chair, table, lighting and environment

Avoid your cellphone or telephone

Put up a sign to avoid being disturbed or interrupted

If you like music in the background, OK, but don't let it be a distraction. (Research on

productivity with music versus without music is inconclusive)

Stick to a routine, efficient study schedule

Accommodate your day/nighttime energy levels

See our Guide on Setting goals and making a scheduling

Focus

Before you begin studying, take a few minutes to summarize a few objectives, gather

what you will need, and think of a general strategy of accomplishment

Incentives

Create an incentive if necessary for successfully completing a task,

such as calling a friend, a food treat, a walk, etc.

For special projects such as term papers, design projects, long book reviews, set up a

special incentive

Change topics Changing the subject you study every one to two hours for variety

Vary your study activities

Alternate reading with more active learning exercises

If you have a lot of reading, try the SQ3R method

Ask yourself how you could increase your activity level while studying? Perhaps a

group will be best? Creating study questions?

Ask your teacher for alternative strategies for learning. The more active your learning,

the better.

Take regular, scheduled breaks that fit you Do something different from what you've been doing (e.g., walk around if you've

been sitting), and in a different area

Rewards

Give yourself a reward when you've completed a task

Memory

Guides for memorizing series

Using Memory Effectively

The following techniques with their exercises use associations with

letters, images, maps, etc to help you remember.

As you proceed through this list of techniques, try to think of strategies that would be useful to you!

Some people use letters, some images, even songs.

Each depends on how comfortable you are with, or how useful they are to, your way of thinking!

1. Acronyms

An acronym is an invented combination of letters.

Each letter is a cue to, or suggests, an item you need to remember.

PEMDAS, sequence in solving or evaluating math equations

Parenthesis | Exponents | Multiplication | Division | Addition | Subtraction

ROY G. BIV, the colors of the visible spectrum

Red, Orange, Yellow, Green, Blue, Indigo,Violet

IPMAT, the stages of cell division

Interphase, Prophase, Metaphase, Anaphase, Telephase

Practice your acronym

2. An acrostic is an invented sentence or poem with a first letter cue:

The first letter of each word is a cue to an idea you need to remember.

Please Excuse My Dear Aunt Sally (PEMDAS, above)

Sequence in solving or evaluating math equations

Parenthesis | Exponents | Multiplication | Division | Addition | Subtraction

Acrostic exercise GARBAGE | Acrostic exercise EGBDF

3. Rhyme-Keys: (for ordered or unordered lists)

First, memorize key words that can be associated with numbers.

example: bun = one; shoe = two, tree = three, door = four, hive = five, etc.

Create an image of the items you need to remember with key words.

Four basic food groups-- diary products; meat, fish, and poultry; grains; and fruit and vegetables

Think of cheese on a bun (one), livestock with shoes on (two),

a sack of grain suspended in a tree (three), a door to a room stocked with fruits and vegetables (four)

Practice your rhymes

4. The Method of Loci: (for approximately twenty items)

Select any location that you have spent a lot of time in and know well.

Good for kinesthetic learners!

Imagine yourself walking through the location, selecting clearly defined places--the door, sofa,

refrigerator, shelf, etc. Imagine yourself putting objects that you need to remember into each of these

places by walking through this location in a direct path.

Again, you need a standard direct path and clearly defined locations for objects to facilitate the retrieval

of these objects.

George Washington, Thomas Jefferson, and Richard Nixon, you could imagine walking up to the door

of your location and seeing a dollar bill stuck in the door; when you open the door Jefferson is reclining

on the sofa and Nixon is eating out of the refrigerator.

Practice your loci

5. The Keyword Method: (for foreign language vocabulary)

First, after considering the foreign word you need to remember, select a key word in English that

sounds like the foreign word.

Next, imagine an image which involves the key word with the English meaning of the foreign word.

For example, consider the Spanish word "cabina" which means "phone booth." For the English

keyword, you might think of "cab in a ... ." You could then invent an image of a cab trying to fit in a

phone booth. When you see the word "cabina" on the test, you should be able to recall the image of the

cab and you should be able to retrieve the definition "phone booth."

Practice your keywords

6. The Image-Name Technique: (for remembering names)

Simply invent any relationship between the name and the physical characteristics of the person. For

example, if you had to remember Shirley Temple's name, you might ingrain the name in memory by

noticing that she has "curly" (rhymes with Shirley) hair around her temples.

Practice image-naming

7. Chaining: (for ordered or unordered lists)

Create a story where each word or idea you have to remember cues the next idea you need to recall. If

you had to remember the words Napoleon, ear, door, and Germany, you could invent a story of

Napoleon with his ear to a door listening to people speak in German.

Mind Mapping

Tony Buzan's video from "Youtube"

Time Management

Time and project management;

problem solving

Managing time and tasks:

Time management

Developing time management skills is a journey that may begin with this Guide, but needs

practice and other guidance along the way.

Creating to-do lists

Listing and prioritizing three to five tasks that enables you to identify and visualize a core

group of tasks for easy reference

Avoiding procrastination

Is your procrastination related to a project? or is it a habit?

Developing self-discipline

Self-discipline can be considered a type of selective training, creating new habits of thought,

action, and speech toward improving yourself and reaching goals.

My daily schedule:

Exercise (Flash): review how you spend your time in a typical day to help you prioritize your

goals and objectives.

My daily schedule:

Exercise (Java): review how you spend your time in a typical day to help you prioritize your

goals and objectives.

My weekly schedule:

Exercise (Java): review how you spend your time in a typical week to help you prioritize your

goals and objectives.

Organizing my tasks:

Consider (and prioritize!) three goals or objectives that you would like to accomplish, and

consider them as tasks

The what, why and how of to-do lists

What:

o Listing!

A simple presentation of three to five tasks that enables you to identify and

visualize a core group of tasks in one place for easy reference

o It grows and shortens

as you work through items

o Posted

on a bulletin board, refrigerator or space

readily reminds you of what you prioritize to do and when you need to do it

(deadlines)

o Organize!

It is an organizational tool that can be used for scheduling with

electronic calendaring, strategic post-it notes, email, instant messenger, SMS

and other communication services, etc.

o It can be a Not-to-do list where the time is not right, but you don't want to

forget the item

o May help you develop timelines, sub-tasks, etc. to get the job done!

(but separate from the to do list!)

o Why:

o Reduce stress

You can reduce stress by itemizing and prioritizing tasks and giving them a

place in your life.

o Remind yourself

A list displayed in a prominent place can remind you of what you consider

important to do.

o Strategize completion

When reminded, you also are thinking about the task,

as well as what resources, strategies and options for completing the task!

o It can be fun!

Playing with the list can encourage thinking outside of the box for solutions.

Add images and pictures to create a more enjoyable even accurate

presentation.

How:

Use the simple exercise above to identify tasks

Go to Prioritizing tasks to build an operational sequence

Enter items into electronic calendaring, strategic post-it notes, email, instant

messenger, SMS and other communication services

Share

With friends, family and colleagues for assistance and insights

to communicate what you are working on and where you are

Cross off items and celebrate their completion

Apply the to do list to your daily life

Active Learning

What is active learning?

Active learning is experiential, mindful, and engaging. Through it you can explore a set of learning experiences that can be more effective and

interesting, and you can take more responsibility for your education. This is especially critical

in an online environment where you may not even meet your teacher or fellow students.

Begin by defining content (what to study) and establishing your objectives (what to learn).

Next read! Do your research. Then build a foundation of activities that can help you learn,

and communicate what you have learned. Some may not be interesting to you; some a nice fit

with your preferred learning style(s).

You can engage in these first activities as an individual:

Active listening:

Active listening intentionally focuses on who you are listening to, whether in a lecture, in a

conversation, or a group, in order to understand what is said. As the listener, you should then

be able to “replay” or repeat back in your own words what they have said to their satisfaction.

This does not mean you agree with, but rather understand, what they are saying

Active versus passive revision

Active revision is much more effective than passive revision. Passive revision is associated

with such activities as reading notes, and copying material. Active revision is concerned with

using and organising material.

Unfortunately, the basic revision technique, on which most other ideas are built, of:

reading and understanding the material; ‘reducing’ it to a smaller amount of material in note

form; reviewing this again; reducing it again perhaps to a list of bullet points

…can become a passive, time consuming exercise if you aren’t careful.

While this kind of activity may legitimately form the foundation of your revision, you need to

make sure you do not spend huge amounts of time copying material in a passive way.

Active and passive learning can be compared with the concepts of recognition and recall. It is

much easier to recognise someone’s name when you are told it, than it is to recall their name

without any clues. Similarly it is much easier to read through a page of notes and think, “Yes,

I know this”, than it is to cover up the page and to give a talk on the topic.

Words associated with an active approach to revision

organise

select

interpret

link

explore

use

calculate

explain

recall

categorise

teach

You Might try

Looking for underlying themes or principles.

Thinking about inter-relationships.

Relating what you are learning to ‘real-life’ situations.

Thinking how the solution to one problem may help you solve others.

Organising material into a hierarchical structure.

Creating a diagram or chart to represent a topic.

Looking for similarities or differences.

Looking for points for and against an argument.

Trying to really understand how formulae work.

Critically evaluating what you are learning.

Discussing topics with a friend.”

Timetabling

There are several different stages in revision, and it is likely that you will want to cover some

elements of your syllabus several times in slightly different ways. When you are preparing

your revision timetable you need to build in repeat sessions where possible. Here are three

timetable designs you might find useful.

Planner A: Possible design of a planner to cover the whole revision period

Planner B: Possible design of a planner to cover the forthcoming week

Planner C: Possible design of a planner to cover the next day

On Planner A you can:

1. mark when the exams are;

2. block out time that you already know will be unavailable e.g.: sporting event, concert

etc.

3. work back from each exam and schedule in repeat and last minute revision sessions

for each topic, close to the relevant exam.

4. within the exam period itself you will probably be able to schedule in revision

sessions for the later exams, once earlier exams are out of the way: this should free up

time earlier on.

Use Planners B and C to take more specific control on a weekly and daily basis. Again be

sure to be realistic about how much quality revision you can do at a time before you need a

break.

You could start by revising a couple of topics that you feel quite confident about. This

could remind you of the level you need to aim for with the rest of the topics. It could also let

you feel you’ve made a solid start.

Monitor how things are going

It is vital to monitor regularly how your revision is going, and to modify your plans

accordingly. If you find that it is taking longer than you anticipated, there are several options:

add in more revision sessions;

change your revision style to become more efficient;

if you really have to, then be more selective and reduce the amount you plan to do.

By monitoring your experiences in the early days of revision, it should be possible to modify

your revision timetable for the remaining time so that it works most effectively for you.

Testing yourself

As you revise you could create a list of questions relating to what you’ve just

revised. When you come back to that topic you could start by seeing how you

do with those questions. This will highlight where you need to pay particular

attention.

It’s always a good idea to see how much you can remember about a topic

before you look at your notes again. You could try allowing yourself time to

think through as much as you can before returning to your notes. Thinking hard

through a topic like this means that, when you finally check out your notes, you

can quickly identify which elements you had forgotten about, and be ready to

slot them firmly into your memory.

In the exam:

Begin by checking very carefully the instructions of the exam paper. Highlight or

underline the key instructions.

Note down (and check) any timings plan you have prepared, so you have it to refer to,

and to stop you spending too much or too little time on one question.

Where there is a choice of tasks or essays, check out the potential of all of the options

before making your decision.

For an essay-based paper, it can be helpful to begin with the title for which you have

the most to write. This can boost your confidence, and get you into the swing of

planning and writing exam essays.

Do not be rushed into starting to write your first essay. Remember to take adequate

time to prepare a strong essay plan first.

Even if you have already written a similar essay before, try to bring fresh energy on

this occasion.

Don’t waste energy judging a question. You may think it’s irrelevant, or boring, or

badly phrased, but put those feelings to one side. Re-read the question to check if

there was anything you missed.

Respect the question. Take time to 'listen' to the question before thinking of the

answer, rather than assuming that you know what the question will be. It may be

slightly different from what you expect.

Read all parts of a question before beginning to answer. In that way you can see how

the examiner has divided the knowledge between the different parts of the question,

so you can be sure to focus on the specific response needed for each part.

If there is a question you cannot answer, leave it and continue with the rest of the

paper. Come back later to make your best effort with the question(s) you left out.

Helpful Study Skills Links

Helpful Study Skills Links1

Time Management

University of St. Thomas Academic Calendar

Virginia Tech - Time Scheduling

Study Guides and Strategies - Time Management

Study Guides and Strategies - Developing a Schedule

Academic Tips.org - Time Management

York University - Time Management for University Students

University of Minnesota- Duluth - Time Use Chart

University of Minnesota- Duluth Time Management Principles

Test Taking

Study Guides and Strategies - Test Taking Strategies

Academic Tips.org - Study Tips for Tests

Study Guides and Strategies - Test Preparation

University of St. Johns/St. Ben's Test Taking Strategies

Sweet Briar College How to be a Master Test Taker

Note Taking

Virginia Tech- Cornell Note-taking System

Virginia Tech- Editing Lecture Notes

Virginia Tech- Note Taking skills

University of Illinois- Learning Assistance Center - Note Taking Skills

Study Guides and Strategies- Taking Lecture Notes

AcademicTips.org - Note Taking Techniques

College of St. Benedict's/St. John's University - lecture note taking

California Polytechnic State University- Student Academic Services 5 Note Taking Methods

University of Minnesota- Duluth Taking Notes from Lectures

Learning Style Assessments and Information

Variation of Myers-Briggs Type Indicator www.muskingum.edu/~cal/database/general/inventory.html

Index of learning styles (assessment) and other information on learning styles www4.ncsu.edu/unity/lockers/users/f/felder/public/ILSpage.html

Study Distraction Analysis www.ucc.vt.edu/stdysk/studydis.html

Study Skill Checklist www.ucc.vt.edu/stdysk/checklis.html

Learning styles and study strategies

www4.ncsu.edu/unity/lockers/users/f/felder/public/ILSdir/styles.htm

Various assessment tools www.d.umn.edu/student/loon/acad/strat

Information on Learning Disabilities

A general introduction to learning disabilities www.ldonline.org

Information on dyslexia and related learning disabilities. Includes strategies for the visual

spatial learner.

www.dyslexia.com/library.htm

Time Management/Environment Control

Goal-setting for academic success www.siue.edu/SPIN/activity.html

Techniques to manage procrastination. counseling.uoregon.edu/dnn/SelfhelpLibraryResources/ProcrastinationTimeManagem

ent/tabid/204/Default.aspx

Hints for planning study time. www.coun.uvic.ca/learning/motivation/planning-study-time.html

Mindtools for getting the most out of your time - index of articles www.mindtools.com/page5.html

How to master stress www.mindtools.com/pages/main/newMN_TCS.htm

cmhc.utexas.edu/stress.html

Control of the environment www.ucc.vt.edu/stdysk/control.html

Reading

Myths about reading www.dartmouth.edu/~acskills/docs/6_reading_myths.doc

Learning from textbooks www.lib.uoguelph.ca/assistance/learning_services/fastfacts/learning_from_texts.cfm

Applying metacognition to reading www.ncrel.org/sdrs/areas/issues/students/learning/lr1metn.htm

SQ3R www.ucc.vt.edu/stdysk/sq3r.html

Strategic reading www.ncrel.org/sdrs/areas/issues/students/learning/lr1metin.htm

How to read a difficult book www.stthomas.edu/academicsupport/HowtoReadDifficultMaterial.pdf

Suggestions for improving reading speed www.ucc.vt.edu/studyskills/SSARSpeedResults.htm

How to read essays www.ucc.vt.edu/stdysk/essays.html

Evaluating website content www.studygs.net/evaluate.htm

Listening and Note-taking

Note-taking strategies sas.calpoly.edu/asc/ssl/notetakingtips.html

www.coun.uvic.ca/learning/note-taking/

Improving note-taking with mind maps: www.mindtools.com/mindmaps.html

Organizing and integrating information - examples and practice intro: www.coun.uvic.ca/learning/note-taking/organizing-information.html

concept mapping: www.coun.uvic.ca/learning/critical-thinking/concept-mapping.html

practice in mapping: www.coun.uvic.ca/learning/note-taking/class1.html

sequential diagram: www.coun.uvic.ca/learning/note-taking/class3.html

hierarchical outline www.coun.uvic.ca/learning/note-taking/class4.html

tables: www.coun.uvic.ca/learning/note-taking/class5.html

Writing Essays and Research Papers

All aspects of writing process leo.stcloudstate.edu/catalogue.html

Steps of the research process www.library.cornell.edu/okuref/research/skill1.htm

Writing essays and reports and grading criteria www.coun.uvic.ca/learning/essays/

Basic writing tips from Virginia Tech:

writing papers:www.ucc.vt.edu/stdysk/writpap.html

writing research papers: www.ucc.vt.edu/stdysk/termpapr.html

Strategies for editing and proofreading (with on-line references) leo.stcloudstate.edu/acadwrite/genproofed.html

leo.stcloudstate.edu/acadwrite/editing.html

grammar.ccc.commnet.edu/grammar/composition/editing.htm

Memory and Memory Aids

Basic principles of review www.dartmouth.edu/~acskills/docs/review_principles.doc

Memory and Remembering www.coun.uvic.ca/learning/memory/

Mnemonics memory aids www.mindtools.com/memory.html

Test Taking

General strategies for taking tests www.coun.uvic.ca/learning/exams/

Techniques for problem solving and math and science tests http://mathcs.slu.edu/undergrad-math/success-in-

mathematics/?searchterm=Techniques%20for%20problem%20solving%20and%20m

ath%20and%20science%20tests#section-5

How to respond to essay questions and strategies for multiple choice exams www.coun.uvic.ca/learning/exams/essay-questions.html

www.coun.uvic.ca/learning/exams/multiple-choice.html

Additional Resources

STRESS MANAGEMENT FOR STUDENTS

Using time management techniques: Student life is all about learning how to achieve a balance between

studies and other activities. If you want to do well at school, you have to devote time to your studies. Although

there are no easy ways to go about this, it helps to plan in advance and schedule time for study. You will soon

find a method that works for you.

Organization techniques: There will be a number of things you will need to file, such as notes, assignments,

submission dates and examination times. Keep a calendar or a notebook or whatever method works for you – but

keep organized. Know what you have to do and when, so you don't get behind at schoolwork.

Create a study environment: Ideally, you should choose a place that is quiet and free from distractions. Try not

to study on your bed because you will tend to fall asleep even if you don't intend to. A desk with good lighting

works well for most people. If you have trouble getting in the mood, try dividing the task into small chunks and

rewarding yourself after each is complete.

Memorization techniques: These can help you remember parts of your work that would otherwise be forgotten

as soon as you did something else. Revising and reading over the previous class notes and assignments for five

minutes before you start your work every day can also help you remember.

Be an Optimist: Do not let the little failures get you down. There will always be a time when you aren't able to do

too well on a particular test, or find yourself unable to be as good at one thing as you are at another. Recognise

these as a necessary part of life and try not to make a big deal out of them. If you are cheerful, you will naturally

feel better and less stressed.

Sleep Well: This is important, as many students today think they can get away with sleeping less. While this may

be alright for one night, as a regular schedule it disturbs your health and sleep cycle. You will find it harder to

concentrate and end up feeling more frustrated and stressed out about schoolwork.

What makes some college students successful

What makes some college students successful while others - well, less so? Sometimes it's a

question of intelligence or insight. And sometimes it's sheer good luck. But a lot of the time

it's a question of good habits: things you do on a regular basis that set you aside from the

hordes of other, more scattered, students. In the hopes of separating the sheep from the

goats, we present the following fourteen habits of top-notch college students. You'll find that

these folk:

1. Have a schedule. Not only do they know when the tests and papers fall in the semester,

but they have a good sense of what work needs to be done each week as the semester

progresses. Nice and balanced: everything in gear and no worries come exam time.

2. Divide up the tasks. Readings get broken up into manageable chunks (not two hundred

pages in one sitting). Quizzes and tests are studied for over the course of a week (not at 3

a.m. the night before).

3. Are organized. It's impossible to do any real work when you don't have the tools for the

job: a working computer with the right software, a fast Internet connection, a good printer,

and, for some courses, a thorough knowledge of how to navigate the course web page and

the university and library portals.

4. Hang out with smart friends. Successful students know that spending lots of time with

friends who don't even know what courses they're taking-or why they're in college at all-can

create an atmosphere so toxic that any attempts to do well immediately wither and die. Pick

your cohorts as carefully as you pick your courses.

5. Don't kid themselves. For instance, when you think you're studying, but you're really

tweeting about how you barely survived your bonfire-jumping last night. Or when you're

alternating between reading the e-article and checking out your friend's Facebook page every

eight seconds or so. You're the easiest person you know to deceive. Don't.

6. Manage their feelings. It's difficult to excel in a course if you're feeling inadequate,

bummed out, or doomed to fail. Students who know how to focus on their own positive

achievements-rather than on what they got on the quiz that counts for about 2 percent of the

course grade-have a leg up on the rest.

7. Challenge themselves. Good students are intellectually energetic. When they read, they

think actively about what they're reading. When they go to class, they don't just veg out or

text. On tests, they pounce on the questions and answer them directly and fully (this

distinguishes their work from their colleagues trying to BS their way through the question).

And on papers they look for deeper levels of meaning and more nuanced points-always a hit

with the professor.

8. Are consistent-and persistent.."

9. Are open to feedback. While it's easy and more fun to toss away your graded papers

and exams, or conveniently forget to pick them up, the best students carefully study the

comments and go over any mistakes they've made. And when the next piece of work rolls

around, they take another look at the previous set of comments to see if there are any

mistakes that they can correct on the new piece of work. All without feeling wounded or

defensive.

10. Ask when they don't understand. Look, you've got a mouth. So when you don't get

something in the reading, in the lecture, or in the homework, ask someone who might know.

11. Aren't too shy. Sure, everyone feels intimidated about having to seek out the professor

to talk about their own work. But keep in mind that most professors enjoy talking with

students and, if asked, will offer loads of help on papers, preparing for tests, and even finding

topics for future work-say, a junior project, senior thesis, or internship or collaboration.

12. Look out for Number One. While some students are willing to blow off a week of school

to satisfy the needs of others-for example, a demanding boss during busy season or an Uncle

Fred who schedules his third wedding two days before finals-good students know that college

is their job and make doing well their highest priority. Especially during the college busy

season-the last month of the semester, when those big-ticket items like the term paper and

the final exam roll around, and two-thirds of the grade is won or lost.

13. Keep themselves in tip-top shape. It's difficult to do well if you're sick as a dog,

haven't slept in a week, or are loaded up on some substance. Successful students manage

their physical and emotional needs as carefully as they do their academic needs.

14. Have a goal-and a plan. The best students know why they're in college and what they

need to do to achieve their goals. You can't do well if you don't know what you're doing-and

why.

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