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Basic Study Skills

Adopting Good Study Habits

1^st Year – Term 1��

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Study Skills Key points

Why should you revise?

Where should you revise?

When should you revise?

How should you revise?

How often should you revise?

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Why should you revise?�

Your brain forgets details of the work you did months ago,

But…

You need these details to answer the questions in the exam,

So…

You need to ‘top-up’, by using the correct revision technique.

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Where should you revise?

IN A QUIET ROOM, PERHAPS A BEDROOM

WARM AND WELL-LIT

SITTING ON A CHAIR (NOT A BED/COUCH) WITH A TABLE TO WORK AT

IDEALLY, WITH A TABLE-LAMP, TO HELP YOU �TO FOCUS ON THE PAGE

WITH A CLOCK FOR TIMING

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Other benefits to having a dedicated study space means students have all their materials and aren’t wasting time looking for things. BEING AS PRODUCTIVE AS POSSIBLE WITH THEIR TIME.

It shouldn’t be cluttered. Anything other than what you’re trying to study is a distraction. They should only have what they need in front of them.

If they’re trying to do history but dislike it and their maths book is on the table, they’ll be tempted to switch subject.

It needs to be well lit, straining your eyes increases fatigue. This is especially important where students are using technology throughout the day in school.

There are varying views on the impact of music on concentration level, certainly research would state that lyrical music seems to cloud brain function

A dedicated space means you can make the space your own, somewhere you want to be with pictures of what motivates you, or inspirational quotes on post-its on the wall.

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When should I revise?

Human beings forget 90% of what we have learned within hours of learning it. This is simply the way our brain is wired.

There’s only one way to beat the ‘forgetting curve’: repetition.

Don’t just repeat but choose to re-introduce the information in different formats: a quiz, flash cards, mind maps, video, etc.

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So the best times to ‘top-up’ material�by revising are:

the same day as the class
1 day
1 week
…and then 1 month

In your study plan – include repetition of the same topic frequently

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How should I study?

There are loads of ways to study!
Different ways work best for different people and different subjects
Find what works best for you
Each of the ways has two steps which must be done in this order

1. Summarise Learning

2. Self Testing

Mind mapping
Concept Mapping
Single Page Topic Summaries
Cornell Note taking
Flashcards

Some ways to summarise learning include

Some ways to test yourself are

Leitner Flashcard method
Online Quizzes
Exam Paper questions

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How often should I revise?

We forget 90% of what we have learned within hours of learning it!

There’s only one way to beat the ‘forgetting curve’: repetition.

Don’t just repeat - choose to re-introduce the information in different formats: a quiz, flash cards, mind maps, video, etc.

1^st Years should not be working more than 2 hours a night on school work.

At weekends you can plan extra bit of study – but make time for chill out, relaxation and fun.

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So, the best ways to ‘top-up’,�by revising are:

the same day as the class
1 day
1 week
…and then 1 month

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During the Study Session

Break up a 2-hour session, into:

4 shorter sessions of 25 minutes approximately

with a short, planned break between them of about 5-10 minutes

Set a goal for each short block of study and work towards it

Your attention and efficiency increases as you near the end of each session!

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How will a study plan help?

You will have less procrastination
A plan will help you be realistic and not run out of time for important subjects later

First steps

Very simple, you’re more likely to stick to it that if you didn’t have it at all.

The study timetable has to be realistic. You need to factor in breaks, dinner, TV, training etc.

Fill in you subjects so you know what days are homework heavy

Visual for what’s been covered and what hasn’t

Helps you to develop organizational skills and time management

– If you set a time to do something at, you're more likely to get it done

FLEXIBILITY is key. Lack of flexibility is one of the main reasons students do not follow a schedule.

Remember that it usually takes 30 days to establish a habit.

Homework is the first thing that gets filled in .. The quicker we revisit the information, the more we remember. The information is clearer in our mind, takes less time to complete. REMEMBER, smarter not harder.

1-8 strategy 1 is your strongest.. Set the right tone, gives you a boost

How long should a study slot be?

Most student are capable of focusing on a task for 25 minutes helps reduce likelihood of procrastination

Do difficult work when your mind is most fresh. For some students, it is in the morning; for others it is in the late afternoon.

Setting a regular schedule is one of the best ways to help students get things done consistently and efficiently. If they’re randomly going through homework, some subjects get neglected and other get too much attention.

When unexpected events arise that take up time you had planned to study, decide immediately where you can find the time to make up the missed study time

and adjust your schedule for that week.

LIMIT YOUR STUDY TIME TO NO MORE THAN 2 HOURS ON ANY ONE COURSE AT ONE TIME.

After 1 to 2 hours of study you begin to tire and your ability to concentrate decreases.

Taking a break and then switching to another course will give you a change to keep you focused and thus more efficient.

Space out your study periods and take appropriate breaks (e.g., 10 15 minutes after 1-- 1 1/2 hours of study). Make good use of weekend evenings.

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How will a study plan help?

You will have less procrastination
A plan will help you be realistic and not run out of time for important subjects later

First steps – What to study when

Open the link below this one for the subject planning doc
Fill in your subjects list from Best to worst.

Very simple, you’re more likely to stick to it that if you didn’t have it at all.

The study timetable has to be realistic. You need to factor in breaks, dinner, TV, training etc.

Fill in you subjects so you know what days are homework heavy

Visual for what’s been covered and what hasn’t

Helps you to develop organizational skills and time management

– If you set a time to do something at, you're more likely to get it done

FLEXIBILITY is key. Lack of flexibility is one of the main reasons students do not follow a schedule.

Remember that it usually takes 30 days to establish a habit.

Homework is the first thing that gets filled in .. The quicker we revisit the information, the more we remember. The information is clearer in our mind, takes less time to complete. REMEMBER, smarter not harder.

1-8 strategy 1 is your strongest.. Set the right tone, gives you a boost

How long should a study slot be?

Most student are capable of focusing on a task for 25 minutes helps reduce likelihood of procrastination

Do difficult work when your mind is most fresh. For some students, it is in the morning; for others it is in the late afternoon.

Setting a regular schedule is one of the best ways to help students get things done consistently and efficiently. If they’re randomly going through homework, some subjects get neglected and other get too much attention.

When unexpected events arise that take up time you had planned to study, decide immediately where you can find the time to make up the missed study time

and adjust your schedule for that week.

LIMIT YOUR STUDY TIME TO NO MORE THAN 2 HOURS ON ANY ONE COURSE AT ONE TIME.

After 1 to 2 hours of study you begin to tire and your ability to concentrate decreases.

Taking a break and then switching to another course will give you a change to keep you focused and thus more efficient.

Space out your study periods and take appropriate breaks (e.g., 10 15 minutes after 1-- 1 1/2 hours of study). Make good use of weekend evenings.

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Creating a Plan –

Start with filling in all the things you must do e.g. soccer practice, GAA training, piano lessons.
Write down specific tasks instead of just 'History' e.g. write 'Mindmap of WW2 Causes'
Stay focused by self testing using teachers notes and exam questions.

Create your template/weekly timetable – this represents just one week – copy and complete afterwards for further weeks until exams

Task

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Example Plan

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If study plans are complete: Memory

Confidence meets memory loss
Don’t let familiarity fool you
If you have not engaged in any ongoing retrieval activities the information is not securely stored in long term memory.
The only way around this is to engage in elaborative learning techniques well in advance of the day of the test.

Ok, so I said there’s a right way and a wrong way to study. Let’s look at the right way.

We looked at cramming in the previous slide and how it only stores the information into the short term memory. We need to get them to move it into the long term.

Think of the forgetting curve.

You know the material the night before but when you sit down to complete the test you go blank?

When we’re simply reading over notes we’re not actively learning or testing our knoeldege

Of course you’re going to think you know the content… you’ve read it 20 times. You even know what words are coming next.

But when you take the book away can you regurgitate it?

Probably not. Nor should you. Even if you can regurgitate the information, there’s a difference between knowing and understanding!

In order for students to remember the information they need to understand it. That way, they can fill in the blanks when the information escapes them.

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Requirement: Perfect Recall – Definitions, quotes, vocabulary. You must learn by heart. ��Tactic: Look! Cover! Say! Write! Check!��

Look at the word: how many parts, syllables, patterns etc.

Cover it and say it again trying to picture the word

Say it out loud, breaking it into syllables.

Write it down sounding it out as you do

Check to see if it’s correct and write it out if you get it wrong!

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Practice Task

Try to memorise this dialogue from the great movie Home Alone using the new technique – you have 5 mins

Johnny: Keep the change, ya filthy animal!�Pizza Man: Cheapskate.�Johnny: Hey, I'm going to give you to the count of 10, to get your ugly, yella, no-good keister off my property, before I pump your guts full of lead! 1, 2, 10!

Once you have checked – watch the clip and try to say it along with it