By Tom Kowalski
NFL Continuing Education Consultant
I found an interesting article on Psychology Today’s Twitter feed from Art Hickman, a professor at the University of Texas. Citing the studies of other psychologists, Hickman indicated these to be among the most important strategies when it comes to studying:
“Students should test themselves instead of just reading over the material” (Bjork and Cornell)
“Students should study over a period of days rather than waiting to the last minute to study” (Bjork and Cornell)
The authors of this study have found that only two-thirds of college students routinely quiz themselves and only a small number of students study more than once for an exam. I have three teenagers at home and know how vital these two strategies are to academic success. I have little luck in getting any of them to follow any of these strategies even though I know that, not only will they lead to better grades, but they will actually will save them the time to pursue the important things (at least in their lives) of sports practices, texting, television, and X-Box.
Flashcards traditionally have been noted as a strategy to test oneself; however, according to the author they are not a great predictor of grade point average success. When it comes to testing oneself and really understanding material, it is strongly recommended that students work with their teacher to find appropriate online testing and tutoring engines that will give them a deeper understanding of the subject matter. There are far too many resources now available for students not to be taken advantage of to earn good grades. You have not really learned about something until you can explain it to someone else.
Students tend to study for upcoming tests and assignments, but success comes from the daily review of notes and advance preparation for classes. While students lead the busiest of lives, most are students first and might be surprised at how well they would do by not constantly being attracted to the urgency of upcoming tests and assignments.
Finally, don’t study late at night. Students with the best GPAs seem to find time to study in the early evenings according to Dr. Markman’s article. It is hard to convince a high school or college student to schedule their time; however, being able to manage one’s time is an important element to success. Since students tend to be busy, organization is the way to go. Sure, block out time for recreation, but remember that following these strategies will require practice time, but you will be rewarded with spending less time preparing for what really counts – your tests.
Habits are hard to change. The challenge here is to try these habits for 30 days to see if they make a difference. Now, I’ll have to convince my own teenagers
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