Acquiring Effective Study Habits in Five Easy Step

CollegeTutorStudyGuidePage1www.amelox.com/study.pdfCollegeTutorStudyGuideAcquiringEffectiveStudyHabitsinFiveEasyStepsbyRolfW.SeebachAmeloxIncorporatedTableofContentsInterestedinstablemoney-makingjobs?ClicktitleIntroductionLesson1:SurveyLesson2:MotivationLesson3:ReadingLesson4:RecallMedicalTerminologyPsychiatricNursingLesson5:ReviewExamDay:FinallySlowLearnersOntheLighterSideMortgageLoanOfficerRealEstateAgent/RealtorUpdatedApril2009CollegeTutorStudyGuidePage2www.amelox.com/study.pdfAcquiringEffectiveStudyHabitsinFiveEasySteps“IstudiedalldayandnightandnowIdon’trememberathing!,or“Wherearemycarkeysnow?Ijustputthemdownanhourago.Soundsfamiliar?Whensomething‘slippedyourmind’,youarenotalone.Lostyourmemory?Notatall.Memoryismadetoforget,nottoremember.Infact,weknowlesswhatmakesusforgetthanwhatcausesustoremember.Stressandfatigueplayarole,sodoesalackofinterest.“But,Iaminterestedinthissubject,that’swhyIsignedupforit.”Probablyso.Butchancesarethatyouareslightlydisappointedwiththisintroductorycoursewhichthrowsmanydefinitionsandbasicconceptsatyouandonlylittleofthe“meat”thatyouwerehopingfor.Infact,youareslightlybored.Whichisthesameasa“lackofinterestandcausesyounottoremember.Frustrating!Facedwithaconstantbarrageoffacts,figures,images,impressionsandthelike,ourmemoryisconstantlyrejecting,sorting,orderingandgeneralizinginwayswedon’tknowmuchabout.Whatisleftoverafterthisprocessisfinally“saved”.Whatwedoknowisthatmemoryis,firstandforemost,afacultyforforgetting.And,whilewemaycomplainaboutit,it’sactuallyagoodthing.Onehastoforgetinordertoremember.Howdowerememberthings?Therearetwoways:First,whenweencountersomethingthatisnew,unexpectedorexciting.Second,whenitstirstheemotions.Itcouldbea“wowepisode,oritcouldbean“oopsblunder.Over50andOvertheHill?NotaccordingtoFredGageattheSalkInstituteinLaJolla,CA.Heprovedthatfreshneuronsarebeingproducedinthehumanhippocampus,whichistheregionofthebrainresponsibleforlearningandmemory.However,theydonotstickaroundformorethantwoweeksunlesstheyarebeingusedwithengagingandchallengingproblems.Theoldproverbholdstrue:“Useitorloseit”.Learningamanualtasklikehowtorideabicycleortoswimisnotchallengingenough.Topreventnewneuronsfromdyingoffdiveintoyourschoolsubjectwithrepeatedexercisesorgetintocomputergamesasdescribedattheendofthisarticle.MemoryBoosters:Exersicebringsmorebloodtothebrain,andeatingBlueberriesMemoryBlockers:AlcoholandNicotine.CollegeTutorStudyGuidePage3www.amelox.com/study.pdfEitherwayyouhaveagoodchancetorememberforalongtimeifyouhadanyinterestorstakeinthematter.Hearingthatthisfamousbaseballplayerhadathousandhomerunsinayearisexcitingnewsforbaseballfans.Butperhapsnotforothersandtheywillforget.Thesearethetwoextremecases.Whataboutthenormalmiddleground,the“blahscases?Whenyouhaveseen30baseballplaysinwhichnothingspectacularhappens,no12homerunsin-a-row,andthestadiums,thediamondsandthespectatorstandslookessentiallythesame,andthegamesfollowidenticalscripts,itissmallwonderthatwecannotrememberwhathappenedinthe5thinningofx-teamvs.y-team.Theyweretoomuchalike.Thebrainismadetoforgettheseuneventfulepisodes.But,ifyoumustremember,whatdoyoudo?Itisnoteasy.Inessence,onehastofakeinterestandbecomeartificiallyveryexitedaboutsomething(veryfewpeoplecanactuallydothis)anddwellonitatlength,or,wecanforcetheinformationpastourbrain’ssorting-andstoringfacultiesasexplainedinthe5sectionsthatfollow.Sinceyouarereadingthisessayyouareoneofthestudentswhowanttolearnmoreeffectivelytogainabetterretentionofthematerialinformationand,thereby,toearnbettergrades.Thiswillhelpinfiveeasylessons.Readingatextbookisnotthesameasreadingthenewspaperoranovelandstill,moststudentsdoitjustthatway.Nowondertheygettoolittleoutoftheirtimeandeffortsspent.Nowonderthelearningprocessmayquicklybecomeboringevenwithastudent’sbestfirstintentions.Lookatthemaintitleabove.Titleshavesignificanceandthefirstthingagoodstudentmustdoiscarefullylookatthebooktitle,chapterheadingsandallthesubheadingsinachapter.Thisiscalledmakingasurvey,anoverviewofwhattoexpect.Doyouknowawriter,instructor,teacher,professor,orPhDcandidatewhowouldliketowriteatextbook?Wewouldliketohaveatalkaboutmakingadifference.Manysubjectsstillavailable.ClickonJobsCollegeTutorStudyGuidePage4www.amelox.com/study.pdfLESSON#1Surveythematerialandtheinformationcontainedtherein.Timerequired:Atleast30minutesforadecentjob.Textbookauthorsgotogreatpainstoselectappropriatetitlesfortheirbooksandchapters.Alsotomaketheinformationflowinthemostlogicalandnaturalway.Still,moststudentsgiveitnothoughtwhatsoever.Don’tskimponthissurvey!!Readalltheheadingsandsubheadingsinthebook.Trytoabsorb.!ReadthePreface.Itoftencontainshintsonwhythebookwaswritten,whattheauthorthinksisimportantforyoutoknowandhowtheinformationisorganizedtogetyoufrompointAtopointB.!ReadtheTableofContents.Readingthisimpartswhatisrequiredtopassthefinaltestforthiscourse.LookattheTableinsomedetail.Everylineinhereisimportant.Aretherewords,phrases,conceptsyoudonotknowthemeaningof?Makeanoteofthem.Theyaretheonesyouneedtoconcentrateyoursubsequentstudyeffortson.Andyouthoughtthecontenttablewasth