College students will be returning home soon, signaling the approach of high school final exam time. Around this point in the semester, if you are like I was, you feel your brain is already full and there is little motivation to learn any more before summer break. So here are three strategies which will improve your final exam scores and simultaneously provide valid excuses to avoid studying until the last minute.
1. Since final exams are frequently cumulative, you will need to collect data from the entire semester or even the whole year. Do that now. Rummage through your closet, your backpack, under the bed. Find all old homework assignments, class notes, study guides, tests & quizzes (if you're allowed to take them home).
Create a separate "bin" for each subject. I use sweater boxes because they're wide enough to hold an 8.5 X 11 sheet of paper without folding and tall enough to collect a lot of stuff. When you run across old work, drop it into the appropriate bin.
2. I'm a visual, creative sort of person, especially when I'm avoiding doing any real work, so I like to "decorate" my bins. I recommend card stock since it holds up well. A different color for each bin can be stimulating, but I generally steer toward plain white so I can color the sign with magic markers which takes longer but looks like I'm preparing to study. I write the subject in fancy script and add things that remind me of the subject matter. Math, for example, lends itself to formulas written in elaborate calligraphy or to geometric diagrams illustrating concepts like "if sides, then angles." History suggests a time line or caricatures of historic figures. Science might involve terminology, molecular diagrams, or physics diagrams. English could include the novels discussed with reference to setting, characters, or actions. The options are limitless as long as they relate to the subjects covered during the semester. Check out textbooks for suggestions.
3. Ask the teacher for the Final Exam Study Guide. The one from last year is probably what will be used again this year, so it's in the classroom file somewhere. Start asking for it now so the teacher has a warning to locate it and have it printed. Since this will take at least a week or so, you won't have to actually work on it for a while but you've demonstrated to the one person who evaluates your grade that you are a conscientious, dedicated, hard-working, well-organized student (and that can't hurt your grade).
Keep reading ONLY if you really ARE that hard-working student who wants to start preparing for finals now. The activities described above are, in reality, the basis for study. By collecting old work, you have the chance to review what has been learned during the semester. The next step might be to create a list of the concepts that will probably appear on the final exam. To get ahead of the next blog, organize the collected material into topic, unit or chapter. You might even create a cover sheet that lists the concepts that were addressed in each unit or add the information to your decorative subject sign (which is your personal study guide in disguise).
By spending time designing your "sign" you are moving related concepts to the creative side of your brain where they will be more readily available for solving new problems. Keep adding things and periodically review what's on the card -- a strategy for getting details into long term memory.
Asking the teacher for the study guide really DOES create the impression that you are committed to earning a remarkable grade! You might become a self-fulfilling prophesy!!
Don't tell anyone that you're already studying for finals, though. Let everyone (except your folks) think you're just killing time until a cramming session the day before the exam.
Showing posts with label MEMORY. Show all posts
Showing posts with label MEMORY. Show all posts
Tuesday, May 4, 2010
Tuesday, April 6, 2010
ACT - APRIL 10, 2010
Only 3 days left to study for Saturday's ACT. Plan well. Work smart. Relax.
Tuesday: Select the section in which you predict you will have the most trouble. Review your past study materials and remind yourself of the strategies that you have discovered for doing your best work. Go over questions or problems that you missed before and ensure that you could select correct answers now. Use a note card to jot down any vocabulary, formulas, or steps that you want to brush up on at the last minute. Even if you never use it, you will benefit from making the list in terms of both memory and self-confidence.
Wednesday: Review the section in which you predict you will receive your highest score. Again look over your past study materials. Use this section to remind yourself how successful you can be when you put your mind to it. Look over your note card from yesterday with the confidence that you can achieve an outstanding score even on your weakest section.
Thursday: Only two more sections to review. Remind yourself of the strategies that resulted in your greatest success. Congratulate yourself on studying smart and prepare to reap the reward of a terrific ACT score.
Tuesday: Select the section in which you predict you will have the most trouble. Review your past study materials and remind yourself of the strategies that you have discovered for doing your best work. Go over questions or problems that you missed before and ensure that you could select correct answers now. Use a note card to jot down any vocabulary, formulas, or steps that you want to brush up on at the last minute. Even if you never use it, you will benefit from making the list in terms of both memory and self-confidence.
Wednesday: Review the section in which you predict you will receive your highest score. Again look over your past study materials. Use this section to remind yourself how successful you can be when you put your mind to it. Look over your note card from yesterday with the confidence that you can achieve an outstanding score even on your weakest section.
Thursday: Only two more sections to review. Remind yourself of the strategies that resulted in your greatest success. Congratulate yourself on studying smart and prepare to reap the reward of a terrific ACT score.
Friday, April 2, 2010
FOOD FOR THOUGHT (EATING YOUR WAY TO AND THROUGH THE ACT)
What you eat can effect your ability to think, as well as your physical and emotional response to the stress of taking a long test. During the regular school year and especially when preparing for the ACT, your daily diet is as important as your nutritional “cramming” the day before an important exam.
Nutritional studies identify four substances necessary for optimal functioning of the brain*.
VITAMIN B (folic acid, B12 and B6) helps keep the brain active and facilitates concentration.
(lean meat, leafy vegetables, cranberries, bananas, nuts and seeds)
OMEGA 3 FATTY ACIDS promote neurotransmissions (messages within the brain) to help you stay focused and improve memory, possibly even reducing learning disabilities**.
(herring, anchovies, sardines, salmon and tuna)
COMPLEX CARBOHYDRATES can counteract test anxiety and sustain energy for longer periods of time than sugary treats. Complex carbos raise serotonin levels and help clarify thought.
(corn, squash, beets and whole grain cereals)
PROTEINS are broken down in the digestive system to form amino acids that feed the brain and help memory acquisition and retrieval.
(eggs, milk products, dried beans, whole grains, green leafy vegetables, nuts, fish and poultry)
A SPECIAL NOTE ON FLUIDS...
Dehydration is one side effect of stress which can have a negative impact during a test and while studying also. Drinking water is a good remedy.
Nutritionists at MIT Medical Center for Health Promotion & Wellness*** suggest a diet for test-taking time.
For the day before a big exam, focus on a well-balanced combination of equal parts protein, complex carbohydrates, and vegetables, that includes foods high in vitamin B and fatty acids.
On test day morning focus on protein and minimize sugars. Breakfast might include eggs, low-fat cottage cheese, a smoothie using fruits such as pears, apples and berries that are mixed with whey protein and kelp powder.
The ACT snack after Math and before Reading could include a banana, dried cranberries or raisins, nuts like peanuts, cashews, pecans, walnuts or almonds, seeds like flax, pumpkin, and sunflower, even a little dark chocolate if you need a reward.
On regular school days, when lunch is followed by additional classes, think of lean meat, tofu, tuna or salmon, dark green leafy vegetable, cheese, raw carrots, and whole grain bread.
*womenshealth.about.com/od/fitnessandhealth/a/goodbraingreat.htm
**Shannon Wakeland, “Brain Food for Exams.” www.ehow.com
***medweb.mit.edu/wellness/topics/.../Brain_Food_for_exams_spr08
Nutritional studies identify four substances necessary for optimal functioning of the brain*.
VITAMIN B (folic acid, B12 and B6) helps keep the brain active and facilitates concentration.
(lean meat, leafy vegetables, cranberries, bananas, nuts and seeds)
OMEGA 3 FATTY ACIDS promote neurotransmissions (messages within the brain) to help you stay focused and improve memory, possibly even reducing learning disabilities**.
(herring, anchovies, sardines, salmon and tuna)
COMPLEX CARBOHYDRATES can counteract test anxiety and sustain energy for longer periods of time than sugary treats. Complex carbos raise serotonin levels and help clarify thought.
(corn, squash, beets and whole grain cereals)
PROTEINS are broken down in the digestive system to form amino acids that feed the brain and help memory acquisition and retrieval.
(eggs, milk products, dried beans, whole grains, green leafy vegetables, nuts, fish and poultry)
A SPECIAL NOTE ON FLUIDS...
Dehydration is one side effect of stress which can have a negative impact during a test and while studying also. Drinking water is a good remedy.
Nutritionists at MIT Medical Center for Health Promotion & Wellness*** suggest a diet for test-taking time.
For the day before a big exam, focus on a well-balanced combination of equal parts protein, complex carbohydrates, and vegetables, that includes foods high in vitamin B and fatty acids.
On test day morning focus on protein and minimize sugars. Breakfast might include eggs, low-fat cottage cheese, a smoothie using fruits such as pears, apples and berries that are mixed with whey protein and kelp powder.
The ACT snack after Math and before Reading could include a banana, dried cranberries or raisins, nuts like peanuts, cashews, pecans, walnuts or almonds, seeds like flax, pumpkin, and sunflower, even a little dark chocolate if you need a reward.
On regular school days, when lunch is followed by additional classes, think of lean meat, tofu, tuna or salmon, dark green leafy vegetable, cheese, raw carrots, and whole grain bread.
*womenshealth.about.com/od/fitnessandhealth/a/goodbraingreat.htm
**Shannon Wakeland, “Brain Food for Exams.” www.ehow.com
***medweb.mit.edu/wellness/topics/.../Brain_Food_for_exams_spr08
Monday, March 22, 2010
REMEMBERING MATH FORMULAS
Here's a little trick for remembering those pesky math formulas. Write them out on a notecard and tape it to the UPPER LEFT CORNER of the mirror you use every day to brush your teeth, style your hair, and admire your countenance. You'll find yourself glancing at it, but don't make it an effort. When looking for a particular formula in your brain, move your eyes UP AND LEFT. Is the notecard there?
If this subtle method does not work for you, if you don't "picture" the card when it isn't physically in front of you, try the next step. Add a little picture to the formula to give yourself another visual clue.
Still having trouble? Try "hearing" the music of a formula. You're probably familiar with the rhythm of (A squared plus B squared equals C squared). Pick a different formula each day and say it in your mind several times while you're doing those mirror tasks.
Whenever I'm working a problem, I first write down the applicable formula. That makes even tough problems nothing more than a matter of substitution and calculation.
WHAT FORMULAS SHOULD YOU KNOW FOR THE ACT?
Pythagorean Theorem
Average
Rate of Change
RT = D
Slope
Midpoint
ALL Areas
ALL Volumes
Circumference
SOH-CAH-TOA
And if you think of others, add your suggestions to this blog through "comments."
If this subtle method does not work for you, if you don't "picture" the card when it isn't physically in front of you, try the next step. Add a little picture to the formula to give yourself another visual clue.
Still having trouble? Try "hearing" the music of a formula. You're probably familiar with the rhythm of (A squared plus B squared equals C squared). Pick a different formula each day and say it in your mind several times while you're doing those mirror tasks.
Whenever I'm working a problem, I first write down the applicable formula. That makes even tough problems nothing more than a matter of substitution and calculation.
WHAT FORMULAS SHOULD YOU KNOW FOR THE ACT?
Pythagorean Theorem
Average
Rate of Change
RT = D
Slope
Midpoint
ALL Areas
ALL Volumes
Circumference
SOH-CAH-TOA
And if you think of others, add your suggestions to this blog through "comments."
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