Great Guidance Study Tips
1. In Class:
a. Don’t zone out! Participate, take good notes, ask questions, and write down the teacher’s questions.
b. Get phone numbers: Make sure you have a person to contact in each of your classes in case of an absence or for a last-minute question.
2. Organization/Planning:
a. Use the agenda book (or get your own planner) to keep track of assignments.
b. Budget your time and plan around times you know you can’t (or won’t) do schoolwork.
c. Know what is expected of you (or ask the teacher to clarify expectations) for tests and projects.
3. Environment:
a. Remove distractions: No phone, computer, IM, PDA, etc. Maybe some instrumental music.
b. Cool room – not too comfortable
c. Work in 20-30 minute blocks w/ short but effective breaks.
4. Learning Style:
a. Glasser: “Students remember 10% of what they read, 20% of what they hear, 30% of what they see, 50% of what they see AND hear, 70% of what they discuss with others, 80% of what they personally experience, and 95% of what they teach to others.”
b. Find ways that maximize your learning style and use as many senses as possible to increase the likelihood of recall. (oral, auditory, kinesthetic, visual, emotional, environmental)
5. Reading:
a. SCAN: Organize the chapter topics in your mind and predict what you will read.
b. READ: Use chapter questions to guide your reading and stay focused.
c. REVIEW: Briefly outline what you just read to reinforce the content.
6. Tricks & Techniques:
a. Note cards – particularly useful for studying vocabulary, names and dates. Even better if you read them aloud and record yourself.
b. Associations – Create a mental link between study material and something familiar to you. Silly associations may have nothing to do with content but can jog your memory in a pinch. EX: Mitochondria = Mighty Mitochondria = powerhouse of the cell
c. Mental Maps – Create a flowchart from your notes and reading to organize the material and give you a visual concept organizer.
d. Acronyms/Mnemonics – An acronym is a word formed from the initials of other words – can be used to memorize a list of items. (HOMES: the great lakes – Huron, Ontario, Michigan, Erie, and Superior) Try making up a sentence that uses a portion of the words that you are trying to memorize. (Every good boy deserves fudge – notes on the lines: E, G, B, D, F)
e. Songs/Rhymes/Patterns – Uses other parts of your brain (musical, patterns, auditory, oral) to record and recall the info.
f. Pictionary – adding pictures to your note-cards, mental maps, or outlines can improve the mental associations you are able to make.
g. Chunking/Grouping – Breaking material down into subgroups with a common theme organizes the information and improves recall (this is why it is easier to memorize a phone number in groups of 3 or 4 numbers)
h. Journey System – Link a list of items to a sequence of steps or objects that are familiar to you. To remember the parts of the cell – link each part to a room in your house, then walk around the house as you study. Or link the list to the steps you take from home to school.
7. Test-Taking:
a. Look over the whole test before beginning. Identify point values for different items so you know where to invest the most time.
b. Don’t stall on difficult questions – come back to those after you answer all the ones you know.
c. Use the process of elimination to improve your chances.
d. DON’T LEAVE ANYTHING BLANK – partial credit is better than no credit.