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Having good study habits is effective in all levels of education. It’s the most sufficient when students learn what study habits work for them sooner rather than later. The best study habits are the mechanisms that help the student memorize the material long enough to recall it during a test. If your study habits aren’t helping you memorize the material efficiently, then you could be studying all day with no positive results. If you find yourself studying day and night and still doing poorly on exams, you need to change your study habits. If the study habits are not effectively helping you memorize the information, you’re wasting your time. It doesn’t matter how long you study, it matters how smart you study. So finding the right study habits can save you time and improve you test score average.

I wish I found the right study habits at a young age. I found a website that provides advice to parents on helping their child learn how to study correctly. This website states that the parent should make sure there are no distractions when studying. An interesting point that the website made was to relate what is being learned to something that the child is familiar with. In the mini lecture on memory and studying, Professor MacFarlane stated that personal connections to the information being learned can help us memorize the material better. The website also mentioned mnemonics, which was another studying tip that was mentioned in the mini lecture. I personally use mnemonics all the time to help me recall information for exams.

It is suggested that you learn the right study habits before you get to college. I’ve heard countless of times where people never studied in high school, then got to college and really struggled at test taking. This could have been prevented if they learned good study habits in high school. The study tips website I found for high schoolers had a little more complex tips than the site for younger children. The first study tip was to be engaged, take notes and listen. I think this is a very good tip, you should be paying attention in class. In lecture, I remember it being said that attention is the key cause of memorization. It also talked about having no distractions when studying. This made me recall when it was said that multitasking is not good because you’re splitting your attention to multiple things.

There are college students that still struggle with finding the right study skills, including myself. I found a website that gives study tips for college students. I thought this website was very helpful for my personal study habits. It talks about alternating study spaces so that you’re not used to just one place to retain information. You’re not going to be able to complete your test in your designated study place so it would make more sense to alternate study places. This will get your brain used to retaining information in different places. The website also said to take practice test. The mini lecture on memory and studying talked about test assimilations and how they can help you recall better when it comes to the actual test. Students should practice recalling information as they would when taking a test.

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Tests are at the top of the list of stressful things a student deals with. In most classes, they count for a majority of the grade and can be a nightmare to prepare for. Everyone has different methods of preparing, some better than others, for these tests. For those without a set method, there are sources online that suggest the best methods of studying for all types of students and even their parents. Some of these study tips stack up with how memory works while some do not.

In my opinion, exams in high school did not carry the same pressure and weight that the exams in college do. That being said, students still need to prepare for them. While looking for study tips for high school students, I came across an article from LiveAbout appropriately titled “10 High School Study Tips for Students”. As the title says, the article gives the reader 10 tips to help a high school student study. I read them and compared the tips to what we learned about memory. The first suggestion was to study alone. The author, Holly Ashworth, advises the reader to study alone because unless a group is very serious about studying, they will struggle to stay on-topic. Ashworth makes a good point with this tip. Group study sessions can be beneficial but they do tend to get off topic more than someone would while studying alone. I wouldn’t say avoid this all together though. If you can find a good study group, studying can be a lot more efficient. Group-mates can create tests for each other to take. Because of interference, new or old memories that block the ability to retrieve information, students need to study in an environment as close to the test as possible. It is hard to get closer to the test environment than a practice test made and graded by someone else. Tips 2 and 3 tie into each other. Tip 2 says to find the perfect study area and tip 3 says to get all of your materials out. It is important to eliminate all distractions while studying and that all starts with the setup. Tips 4 and 8 both deal with flashcards. Tip 4 tells the reader to make flash cards and tip 8 tells the reader to test themselves with the flash cards. The use of flashcards can be effective but must be used correctly. A lot of students make the mistake of studying flash cards in one particular order. When you do that, you are basically memorizing a list, not the meaning of what you need to learn. When using flashcards to study, make sure they are shuffled before you start using them and before every other time you go through them. Tip 5 says to eat healthy while studying. There was not much evidence as to why this was important in the article but it does make sense. From personal experience, junk food can make me sluggish and studying while sluggish just does not work. Tip 6 says to narrow your studying down to the important parts. Ashworth suggests the use of a study guide provided by the teacher. This goes back to the idea of a practice exam. You should study as much information as you can if there is not enough time, use the study guide as a practice exam. If there is not a study guide, go back to the textbook and turn section headings into questions. Tip 7 says to take a break from studying. This is applying the idea of distributed practice. The brain actually retains more when you study for a little bit and then take a break. Tip 9 says to get enough sleep. Sleeping helps the brain retain what you studied. The less sleep you get means the less you retain. Finally, tip 10 says to study all semester long. The brain will retain more information when studying is spread out. Cramming the night before does not work (MacFarlane).

In college, the tests get harder and consist of even more information. Studying becomes crucial if you want to do well. The Huffington Post put out an article on their website with 9 studying tips for college students. The first tip suggests that students should use multiple study spaces. This tip makes sense because switching environments actually does have an effect on the retrieval of information. If you study in one room the entire time and then take the test in a different room, there could be problems with retrieval because your brain is used to being in the original room. Switching up where you study eliminates that issue. The second tip says to use study and homework groups. Again, as long and the groups are on-topic, they can be successful. Tips 3 and 5 advise a few of the same things as the LiveAbout article. Tip 3 says to make flashcards and 5 says to sleep. Tip 4 goes back to the idea of studying in a situation as similar as possible to the test. They advise readers to make tests for themselves to take. Taking practice tests will prepare the mind for taking an actual test better than any other method. Tip 6 says not to categorize yourself. For example, a student will say they are a visual learner and then only use study habits that work for visual learners. If you box yourself in like that, you could be missing out on other strategies that could really work for you. Tip 7 says go to class. This is a pretty obvious one. Although there are textbooks for most classes, professors could present and explain the information in a way that is easier to process. You will miss out on this opportunity if you do not go to class. Tip 8 says to switch between subjects. Mixing up the order of the things you study is a good habit to get into. Tests questions are not in a specific order so mixing up the order of what you study gets the brain ready to switch from section to section like it has to on a test. Tip 9 says to manage your time. It is important to spread out your studying and not cram (MacFarlane).

As we get older, some of us will become parents and the study habits of our kids might be an issue. An article from usnews.com written by Kelsey Sheehy says that teens are sacrificing sleep in order to study and gives three tips to help them avoid that. The first tip says to set a schedule and make studying a part of every day instead of cramming. Spreading out the studying will be better for memory than cramming and it will allow the student to get a better night’s sleep before the test. The second tip is to get rid of distractions. This will allow the student to just focus on the material. The final tip is to take breaks. Again, breaking up studying is better for memory than covering all of the information in one session (MacFarlane).

https://www.huffingtonpost.com/2010/09/08/study-tips-for-college-_n_709096.html?slideshow=true#gallery/10344/7

https://www.liveabout.com/high-school-study-tips-for-students-how-to-pass-the-test-3196554

https://www.usnews.com/education/high-schools/articles/2012/08/24/3-tips-for-parents-to-teach-healthy-study-habits-to-teens

MacFarlane, Ian. “PSY 105: Introduction to Psychology.” Elizabethtown College.           Psychology Department, Elizabethtown College, 2017.

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Several sites have their own studying tips to share with anyone looking to retain more learned information. The first site I found offers advice to college students on effective study habits. The first tip boldly states “good notes = good grades,” which I am immediately skeptical of, since note-taking isn’t effective for every student, nor does it always secure material in your memory, according to what we’ve learned in Chapter 8. By simply writing information down, you’re repeating information rather than effectively processing it and interacting with it. A few better options, according to the mini-lecture on memory and studying, would be to at least organize the info, and better yet draw connections between key terms or how the information relates to you. By visualizing a personal application of the information, we associate greater meaning with it, thus remembering it better. One good tip from this article is to not cram, which definitely is backed up by what is known about memory. Instead, the article suggests studying material a little bit each day. This tip completely aligns with the proven successful method of distributed or spaced practice, in which there is a longer period of time for learned information to solidify itself into memory.

As for tips for parents to help their kids study, most of the tips involve a lot of interference into the students’ learning. An article from LDOnline.org, a site with information about learning disabilities, suggests setting a schedule for your child so that they do not wait until the last minute before an assessment and become overwhelmed. This aligns with the distributed practice method, but also is suggested to be combined with a reward system in which time studying is met with praise and positivity, along with “love and affection.” The best way I can describe this method is that it is assisted meaning-focused studying; instead of searching for the meaning of the information yourself, you are given rewards at the end of studying so that you associate positive feelings with it and pursue it further. This method may work for getting kids to study in the first place, but will not be effective long-term, since a reward will not always be available. In addition, you may feel over time that you deserve a greater reward, and demand something on the other side of studying for the session to be constructive at all. A better method would be to help your kids establish long-term goals to focus on rather than instant gratification.

An article from TeenLife.com actually offers some great ideas for high school students trying to study better. One tip that especially sticks out is to “hang new information on an old ‘hook,'” as in, relate new info to what you already know. This is an effective course of action as it falls within the method of elaboration, which according to the mini-lecture includes using devices such as mnemonics to help expand on new information. The article even suggests using songs in the same way as an acronym or mnemonic. It also suggests studying in a group, which is another method supported by psychology. If you study in a group after developing your own background with the information, you are able to view information from different perspectives and likely find a better way of remembering it later.

Sources:

https://www.campusexplorer.com/college-advice-tips/2DF9E34D/7-Best-Study-Tips-for-College-Students/

http://www.ldonline.org/article/5904

https://www.teenlife.com/blogs/7-study-tips-high-school-students

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http://student-tutor.com/blog/top-10-high-school-study-tips/

The article “Top 10 High School Study Tips” by Todd VanDuzer and Renae Hintz discusses ten ways for high school students to improve their study habits. These tips include “Be engaged, take notes, and listen,” “Keep up to date with your homework,” “Have an organizational system in place,” “Have a routine,” “Have daily and weekly objectives in place,” “Do not procrastinate,” “Have an ideal study station,” “Unplug, log off, mute, and power down,” “Manage high school stress,” and “Take advantage of technology available.” This article includes charts, graphs, and images to create a visual enhancement for each study tip. The article also includes subheadings and lists. The study tips in this article are extremely helpful for a struggling high school student. The visuals aspects are attention-catching. The format of the article causes it to be easy to comprehend. The subheadings and lists describe multiple methods of executing the aforementioned study tips. The article seemingly has no weaknesses. The lists and visuals are simple, and following the article’s advice can allow a student to learn to better commit important material to working memory.

http://www.rasmussen.edu/student-life/blogs/college-life/how-to-study/

The article “How to Study: Studying Tips for College Students” discusses ideal situations in which college students study most effectively. This article also describes tools students can use to improve their study habits. The article includes statistics which demonstrate the effectiveness of  the study improvement tips discussed, such as certain amounts of sleep and use of technology. Though there are many visual enhancements which explain the study tips, the article is somewhat disorganized. The majority of the information is stated within the visuals as opposed to lists or subcategories. The format of the article is difficult to understand. This may confuse a struggling college student and result in unaffected study habits. The visuals are also convoluted and may be difficult to commit to working memory.

http://kidshealth.org/en/parents/homework.html

The article “Top 10 Homework Tips”, reviewed by Eric J. Gaber, discusses ten ways for parents to assist their children with studying and homework. “Know the teachers- and what they’re looking for,” “Set up a homework friendly area,” “Schedule a regular study time,” “Help them make a plan,” “Keep distractions to a minimum,” “Make sure kids do their own work,” “Be a motivator and monitor,” “Set a good example,” “Praise their work and efforts,” and “If there are continuing problems with homework, get help” are the tips explained in the article. The information in this article is simple and comprehensible. There are no visual enhancements within this article. Images or charts describing the effectiveness of the aforementioned tips would cause the article to be more attention-catching. Details could be added to the descriptions of the study tips to further explain each one. Despite these shortcomings, the article successfully explains methods of study which allow parents to aide their children in memorizing important material.

Bibliography

Gaber, Eric J. “Top 10 Homework Tips.” Nemours. Web. Accessed Oct. 8 2017.

Media, Column Five. “How to Study: Studying Tips for College Students.” Rasmussen College. Web. Accessed Oct. 8 2017.

VanDuzer, Todd. Renae Hintz. “Top 10 High School Study Tips.” Student-tutor.com. Web. Accessed Oct. 8 2017.