Study Tips for Midterms & Finals

Midterm and final exam weeks suck. Here are some time management and stress management tips to help you excel.

whoa..., exams are coming! With midterms and final exams, students have two goals. First, you want to go the exams, or at least get decent grades and do as well as possible. Second, there's your sanity; you want to get through exams with a minimum of stress and test anxiety. Fortunately, with the right study skills techniques, you can both manage your stress and do well on the tests. Here are some study skills tips for final exams to help you do well and stay sane.

• Time management. Plan, plan, plan. Before finals begin, get out your calendar and schedule as much of your finals week as possible. Then stick with the schedule. (Here are some more time management tips for students.

• Schedule in study breaks. Don't plan to study non-stop for the next five days. You'll go insane, and you'll be too fried to do well on the exams. When you write your schedule, include short study breaks to help you recharge. You'll feel so much better and will be able to concentrate so much more. Here are some suggestions for great study breaks.

• Take advantage of study sheets and study sessions. Just be careful not to use these as crutches. They're not supposed to replace studying. Here's more about study guides and review sessions.

• Schedule in sleep. Some people can function well on three hours of sleep a night. Most cannot. You'll do much better during exams if your mental state is good, and sleep is essential for this.

• Exercise. There's no better source for stress relief. Just don't overdo it to the point that you're procrastinating heavily. Go for short, stress-relieving activities, like racquetball or a treadmill run. And don't underestimate the value of a brisk walk.

• Prioritize. You have limited time to study and will have to choose what to spend the most time with. You could spend hours and hours on that math exam because if you do really well, you might be able to pull off a C. Or you can spend hours and hours on a history exam because if you do well, you've got a good shot at an A. It's up to you.
• Form effective study groups. Just don't waste your time with lousy ones. Here are some tips for effective study groups.

• Free your schedule. As much as possible, eliminate other responsibilities. Work fewer hours. Put off social events. Definitely put off shopping.

• Ask your professor for help. If you're confused about your notes or the readings, go to the resident expert. This works much better if you don't put off studying until the last minute. It's a good idea to read through all of your notes before you start to study, so that you can inquire early about things that confuse you.

• Keep things in perspective. What's the worst thing that can happen if you don't do well on this test? Excessive stress will make you crazy and hurt your performance on tests, so as much as you can, relax. And if you're having serious problems with anxiety during final exams, seek help at your school's counseling center. This is a common problem that schools are well equipped to help you with.

Listening to Music While Studying Is Not Good for Your Brain

Many people likes to study while listening to music, watching television or listening to the radio. But actually studying while listening to music is not good for your brain.

Recent research shows that the habit of students who like to listen to music when studying brings negative effect on the brain.

Studying while listening to music, is not appropriate, because the background music can affect the brain’s ability to perform tasks related to memory, which in turn also affects concentration.

A research that has been published in the Applied Cognitive Psychology journal, conducted by asking participants to remember the eight data in sequence. This research was conducted at five different conditions, namely a quiet neighborhood, played music that was liked,  music that is not liked, the data which is not stable (random order) and the data which is stable.

The result, participants’ ability to remember is bad when they are in a condition of listening to  music, weather it is music they like or dislike. While the best memories happened while they are in a quiet environment with a fixed or stable data.

“The participants’ low memory when listening to music and experiencing random data is due to variations in the acoustic environment. It is destroying the ability to remember the sequence data and repetition,” said Nick Perham, researcher and lecturer at the School of Psychology, University of Wales Institute in Cardiff, according to Health24.

Perham explained that to remember data, the ability to maintain control of information in short-term, which is through memory repetition, is also needed.

But this will not occur when the learning environment or a place to remember  experience acoustic variations, or sound changes like with background music.

“When you study to memorize, then find a quiet environment,” Perham recommends.

However, other studies show that listening to certain sounds such as lecture materials during sleep can actually improve memory. In fact, to take advantage of these findings, a pillow that comes with speakers is no produced so people can sleep while listening to music or lecture materials.

STUDENT TIPS : Concentration and Memorization

Concentration is an important attribute when studying. If you concentrate, you can focus on what you need to do and eliminate outside distractions. In order to concentrate better, it helps to have a set place to study. Keep a study routine; know what time of day is best for what kind of studying. When you study, go ahead and focus your mind on the subject at hand. Look over notes and decide what you need to accomplish.

It may help to know that you will reward yourself if you concentrate. Think about a special treat at the end of a study session. Don't study one topic for hours. Vary the routine and the subject matter. Be studying a bit and allowing the information to digest, you may understand it better. You need to schedule breaks for study time. Give yourself a chance to move around. Many people worry about studying, so it may be a good idea for you to schedule worry time for half an hour a day. Think about your problems then. It is amazing how scheduling time for worry decreases worry during the day.

Memorization is another technique to use to help with studying. Several memorization strategies are suggested for studying. One strategy is using acronyms. An acronym is a combination of letters that represent words that need to be remembered. An acrostic is a sentence or rhyme that has a first letter cue for you to remember. Many people use lists to memorize. You can also invent stories about each component of the list by using a strategy called chaining.

Another memory technique is to put what you have to remember in a certain location and walk to it. Keywords are another good memorization tool. Another tool is to put an image with a keyword in an effort to remember it.

STUDENT MOTIVATION

Motivation

Motivating yourself is an important attribute in student success. You will take control of your learning when you begin motivational techniques.

You need to go ahead and study some every day. Don't get so behind that you have to read the entire book before a test. A little studying every day will make a huge difference. Whenever your teacher gives you an assignment, go ahead and work out an outline or a plan that evening. It is best not to put the paper away until the assignment is due. Get familiar with the assignment and find out what you have to have to complete it.

Realize what makes you want to study. You may want to learn the subject, or you may want to earn a degree. You need to know what is driving you forward. The best motivator is yourself. If you understand why you want something, then you will become more focused on attaining it.

It helps to put all your assignments into smaller segments and set goals as to when to finish. Every time you study, have a small goal - read five pages, write three paragraphs - to get done during that session. By separating the overall assignment into smaller bits, you will feel that you have accomplished something and want to do more.

The most important motivational force is going ahead and doing something with the task at hand. Don't procrastinate. Accomplishing a small goal will make you feel better. When you finish one task, go ahead and put down your goals so you will be focused for the next task.

Sometimes it helps to have a mentor, a faculty member or a friend with whom to discuss your work. A third person can point out what you have accomplished and encourage you to do more.

" Success... is not measured by the value of wealth that you have accumulated throughout your lifetime! When you achieved your dream - no matter how simple that dream may be, for as long as you are happy and contented with what you have achieved, it is only then, that will be able to appreciate what success is all about!"

Let us not seek perfection,
Because we are not perfect.
Let us not judge,
Because we are not gods.
Let us not dictate
Because we are not tyrants.
We are Human...
We Learn...
We Fall...
We Fail...
We Get Up...
We Reach Out...
We Help...
We Live...
We Conquer...
We Let Go... but...
We Never GIVE UP.

How to Improve Your Study Skills

Learning Strategies

Two common learning strategies include the concept of thinking out loud and problem based learning. Both are effective strategies suited for different types of learners.

Thinking out loud is one way of mastering new knowledge. Private speech, also known as thinking out loud, was important to you as an infant and a young child. It gave you an opportunity to sound out your knowledge and your questions.

Thinking out loud is particularly useful in memorization, reading poetry and dramatic pieces, editing papers and working through mathematics problems. Using speech and hearing to reinforce your learning will be helpful in remembering the information.

Problem based learning is generated by your professor. You are given a problem, and you have to find the answer. Your teacher serves as a mentor and encourager.

Steps to solving the problem giving in this type of learning include exploring the issues by learning new ideas and concepts. It may help you to list what you know so you will figure out what you do not know. Write out and refine the problem in your own words. Come up with some possible solutions. Choose one as the best and work with it. Write down actions to be taken within a specified timeline and find out what you need to know. If you find out enough to support the solution that you chose, you can go ahead and write up the problem. If not, go back and choose another solution. Once your have your problem solved, present it to the teacher and the class.

It is important for you to find your correct learning style. Websites are available that provide surveys to find out your style. Your college counseling center will also have tests available. Once you understand the best way for you to learn, then you can begin to organize your notes and homework to best suit your style.