Study Techniques and Instructor Introduction

1. ADVICE TO
STUDENTS FOR
BETTER
LEARNING,
STUDYING, AND
REMEMBERING
From “Improving Learning by
Understanding the Psychology of
Human Memory”, (Saikali, 2013),
presented at the 2013 Annual Autumn
Conference of California Mathematics
Council Community Colleges (CMC3)

2. DO NOT OVERLOAD
YOURSELF
 Students have many responsibilities.
• Work, School, Family obligations.
• These collective demands cause their grades to suffer so that
they accumulate a poor academic record.
• They may then drop out of school, take on long-term
responsibilities, and regret forever that they did not go further with
their education.
• Determine how much YOU can handle and be careful about
exceeding it.
*
Doing Well in Class Introduction Philosophy

3. DO NOT OVERLOAD
YOURSELF
 Some commitments are inflexible.
 Perhaps the stress of other responsibilities can be moderated
with help from family members.
 Still others may be possible to reduce or remove from your life.
• Are you working many hours due to necessity or luxury?
• Could you scale back expenses, work fewer hours weekly, and still
survive financially?
• Alternatively, taking fewer units of classes per term may mean a
longer total time to graduate, but may allow you more time to study,
get sufficient rest, and hence, achieve a better academic record.
*
Doing Well in Class Introduction Philosophy

4. RESIST OVER-CONFIDENCE
 Usually, the first part of any course is its easiest.
 Even so, there may be bits of knowledge that you need to master.
 Moreover, when the new material comes, you need to be ready for
its challenges.
 An over-confident attitude may serve only to get you behind.
 It can be scary and frustrating to find that you are unable to keep up
with the new material in a course.
 Cramming to then retain too much material in a short time rarely
works out for students.
*
Doing Well in Class Introduction Philosophy

5. COME TO EACH SESSION OF A
CLASS ON TIME AND PREPARED
 In order to make best use of your time in class, you should
• complete homework exercises from previous sections;
• bring the homework with you to class;
• review the last lecture;
• read the portion of the textbook to be covered in the coming
lecture.
• This will expose you to terminology, concepts, graphs, and
methods that you may hear again in lecture.
 All of these are important efforts toward learning, studying,
and long-term remembering.
Doing Well in Class Introduction Philosophy

6. ELABORATIVE REHEARSAL IS CRUCIAL
TO LONG-TERM MEMORY RETENTION
 You can supplement in-class attentiveness by reviewing and audibly
pondering the deeper meanings of what you heard in lecture.
 Arrange a small study group in which people take turns explaining portions of
the material to the group and resolving any confusion.
 Flashcards can also serve effectively as rehearsal.
 Re-writing your lecture notes while explaining (aloud or to a friend) each part
works well for some students.
 The more you reinforce and reach a level of comfort in talking about the
lecture content, the easier it will be to remember and use what you have learned
when tested.
Doing Well in Class Introduction Philosophy

7. INSERT MEMORY LADDER
Doing Well in Class Introduction Philosophy

8. START EACH HOMEWORK ASSIGNMENT
AS SOON AS POSSIBLE AFTER ITS
LECTURE
 Unless you quickly and often use what you hear in the
classroom and read in the textbook, you begin forgetting new
material rather quickly.
 Avoid waiting until the weekend to do multiple lectures
worth of homework.
• The amount of work can feel insurmountable and leave you
getting much less out of the exercises than otherwise possible.
Doing Well in Class Introduction Philosophy

9. Doing Well in Class Introduction Philosophy

10. START EACH HOMEWORK ASSIGNMENT
AS SOON AS POSSIBLE AFTER ITS
LECTURE
 As psychologist Ebbinghaus found a century ago, we begin
forgetting brand new material almost immediately
• if it is not used in meaningful ways,
• and if we do not relate it to our existing knowledge.
 Look up the Ebbinghaus Forgetting Curve online, print it
up, and carry it with you to help encourage you to start
homework ASAP!!!
Doing Well in Class Introduction Philosophy

11. DO HOMEWORK IN A
DISTRACTION-FREE SETTING
 Put away devices that draw focus from your work.
• Do you listen to music when you work out, or when you do
household chores? Why?
• Likely to help the time go by while you are doing something you find
boring.
• Is this really conducive to studying, learning, and remembering?
• If you are checking your telephone, social media sites, email, texts,
every few minutes, think of how little substantive attention is being
paid to what you are supposed to be learning.
• How can you reasonably expect to remember later?
• Make a printed weekly schedule of when to do homework for each
course.
• Carry it with you daily and commit to it.
Doing Well in Class Introduction Philosophy

12. DO HOMEWORK IN A
DISTRACTION-FREE SETTING
 Put away devices that draw focus from your work.
• Do you listen to music when you work out, or when you do
household chores? Why?
• Likely to help the time go by while you are doing something you find
boring.
• Is this really conducive to studying, learning, and remembering?
• If you are checking your telephone, social media sites, email, texts,
every few minutes, think of how little substantive attention is being
paid to what you are supposed to be learning.
• How can you reasonably expect to remember later?
• Make a printed weekly schedule of when to do homework for each
course.
• Carry it with you daily and commit to it.
Doing Well in Class Introduction Philosophy

13. DO HOMEWORK
RESPONSIBLY
 Start homework by reviewing the new ideas and methods (from
the lecture notes and textbook) relevant to the current homework.
• How does this new content relate to what you learned in earlier
lectures, sections of the textbook, and homework?
• Homework should strengthen the learning of new content.
• This benefit comes only if you are consistently responsible with it.
• Example problems show how to make use of a section’s material.
• It may be tempting to “do” each homework problem by looking for an
example problem to emulate without really seeking to understand the
relevant theory.
Doing Well in Class Introduction Philosophy

14. DO HOMEWORK
RESPONSIBLY
 Example problems show how to make use of a section’s
material.
• It may be tempting to “do” each homework problem by looking for
an example problem to emulate without really seeking to
understand the relevant theory.
• Any short-term gain from this practice will be of minimal value during a
test when no aids are available.
 For each homework problem, write the instructions and problem
statement, and show work neatly.
 When helpful, construct a table or sketch.
Doing Well in Class Introduction Philosophy

15. DO HOMEWORK
RESPONSIBLY
 If the problem is a True/False or Yes/No type, justify your
answer.
• That is, for example, state WHY it is true or WHY it is false.
• You can also state what would make it true if it is false.
 These practices will make studying for tests much easier, as
you should be able to remember your past work better.
Doing Well in Class Introduction Philosophy

16. STOP AND ASK YOURSELF, “WHAT HAVE
I LEARNED?” FROM HOMEWORK
 When you complete a subset of related homework problems, take a few
minutes to consider what you have gained
• What do you know now that you did not know before?
• Could you teach it to others?
• Are you able to use what you have acquired to do other problems in this
or future sets?
 Be honest with yourself
• If you have not learned much from doing the homework, that must be
addressed.
• Telling yourself that everything will work itself out is not the remedy.
• While there are academic things that take time to mentally digest, it
should not be that way generally with your work.
Doing Well in Class Introduction Philosophy

17. STOP AND ASK YOURSELF, “WHAT HAVE
I LEARNED?” FROM HOMEWORK
 Learning is sometimes very difficult and frustrating.
• The discomfort you feel, the frustration, that is the brain actually
physically rewiring itself to be better at the task at hand.
• This is one of the major reasons why learning math is such a
difficult process – the brain has to physically undergo change.
• This, combined with the fact that we are programmed to hate the
feeling of being ‘wrong’ are two major reasons why many students
‘hate’ mathematics…
• It’s not easy, it takes practice, and it takes getting things wrong many
times to learn how to get them right!
 Tell yourself that it’s OK to be wrong, it’s OK to make mistakes,
and it’s OK to feel frustrated – this is how we LEARN!!!
Doing Well in Class Introduction Philosophy

18. INSTRUCTOR OFFICE HOURS
 A misunderstanding of current material will interfere with you
correctly learning and remembering new material.
• It’s not ‘Practice makes perfect’ but rather…
• ‘Perfect Practice makes perfect.’
 Do you make use of your instructors office hours?
• You can and should also ask questions in class when they come up!
 When doing so, be prepared to specify what you do understand
and show that you have made reasonable effort on your own at
figuring out what is unclear.
• However, if you are truly stuck, go in and see them also!
Doing Well in Class Introduction Philosophy

19. FAMILIARITY ≠ COMPREHENSION
 While there is value in rereading your lecture notes and the
textbook, do not get deluded into thinking that visual familiarity
equals understanding/retention.
• Just because something is easier to read does not mean that you are
able to reason on it to solve problems as may very well be required
during a test.
• “It was so easy when I watched YOU do it at the board, but when I got
home…”
• Also, this kind of narrow familiarity tends to not work well when a
person is presented with the same material from a different
perspective.
Doing Well in Class Introduction Philosophy

20. SPEND SUFFICIENT TIME STUDYING
EARLY, AND SPACE OUT STUDY
SESSIONS
 It takes time to get knowledge into your long term memory
in a way that makes it easily retrievable in the future.
• Avoid waiting until a day or two before a test to start preparing.
• Cramming is generally not as effective as people assume.
• Consistently studying daily is more conducive to retention.
• Math is a language…
Doing Well in Class Introduction Philosophy

21. SHORT BREAKS DURING
STUDYING
 Getting distracted every few minutes is an extreme.
 Working many hours without breaks is an extreme.
 Find a good place in between.
 Check yourself along the way to see if you are remembering
what you have studied and can demonstrate mastery of it without
peeking at notes, books, or answers.
 If comprehension is minimal, your manner of studying is
impractical.
Doing Well in Class Introduction Philosophy

22. SHORT BREAKS DURING
STUDYING
 Try to get up and have 5-10 minutes of physical activity for
every hour of study.
 Whenever possible, do not go longer than an 1 to 1 ½ hours
of studying without a physical activity break.
 Good nutrition and rest are also important.
• Naps, when possible, are GREAT!
Doing Well in Class Introduction Philosophy

23. FINAL ADVICE FOR TESTS
 Start studying well in advance of a test.
 Cramming and all-nighters are risky.
 Get enough sleep the night before a test.
 Eat properly so that you are alert and nourished.
 Gather all necessary tools (pencils, eraser, fresh batteries for your calculator, etc.)
well in advance of the test date.
 If possible, arrive to the testing site early so that you are less stressed.
 Keep a positive attitude even if the subject matter is not one you are fond of.
 These will promote your capacity to learn, remember, and do well academically.
Doing Well in Class Introduction Philosophy

24.  Be prepared
 Don’t take on too much
 Hit the ground running
 Come to each class, on
time, and prepared
 Use classroom time wisely
 Practice well, and a lot
RECAP OF IMPORTANT
POINTS
 Get started on homework
as soon as physically possible
after class
 Do homework in a
distraction free setting
 Do homework responsibly
Doing Well in Class Introduction Philosophy

25.  Learning is as important as
getting the right answer
 Ask yourself “What have I
learned from homework?”
 Utilize office hours
 Focus on trouble spots
when prepping for a test.
RECAP OF IMPORTANT
POINTS
 Familiarity ≠
Comprehension
 Study early, for sufficient
amounts of time, and often
 Physical breaks when
studying
Doing Well in Class Introduction Philosophy

26.  Jason Edington
◦ Apparently I used to
work in radio?
 Grew up in LA
area…
◦ Went to Jr. High
with…
Doing Well in Class Introduction Philosophy

27.  Jason Edington
◦ Apparently I used to
work in radio?
 Grew up in LA
area…
◦ Went to Jr. High
with…
Doing Well in Class Introduction Philosophy

28.  Jason Edington
◦ Apparently I used to
work in radio?
 Grew up in LA
area…
◦ Went to Jr. High
with…
Doing Well in Class Introduction Philosophy

29. ◦ What are my hobbies?
Doing Well in Class Introduction Philosophy

30.  There are two major features to my teaching that I am going to utilize in class.
◦ First: I work to motivate students to embrace their education.
 I encourage students:
 to come to every class
 be prepared for class
 do the Homework
 read ahead
 Attend study groups
 You may need to take the initiative and create one!
 Come for help as SOON as you start getting behind (or heck, even before!)
Doing Well in Class Introduction Philosophy

31.  There are two major features to my teaching that I am going to
utilize in class.
◦ Second: Consistently remind students to be OK with struggling.
 This is a safe environment to take a chance and be wrong.
 Only by trying, and struggling, can we really succeed and grow to our full potential.
 Because we are ALL in the same class together, we need to support each other through this!
Doing Well in Class Introduction Philosophy

32.  Being explicit about the conceptual structure, and interconnectedness, of mathematics.
◦ This is something that we will strive for, every day, in every aspect of our discussion, reading, and studying.
 Specifically in this class, I will point out how the concepts that you’ve been learning in Algebra and Trig will be used
in Calculus.
 Allowing students to struggle to understand concepts.
◦ This does NOT mean that I will throw you out into the wild on your own.
◦ Rather, it means that I will show you the basic ideas necessary to understand the harder problems, and you
will do the work in putting them together.
 (In other words, I’ll show you some examples, but for effective learning to take place, you WILL struggle with
problems. )
 HINT: The struggle is when the learning happens!
Doing Well in Class Introduction Philosophy

33.  There are two major features to my teaching that I am going to utilize in class.
◦ Again…
 Be motivated to do what it takes to learn the material.
 Be OK with struggling.
◦ Your success is the most important thing to me, and is why I teach.
◦ However, like a Sherpa, I can only show you the way…
 you have to do the climbing…
Doing Well in Class Introduction Philosophy

34.  Now, let’s hear about you!
◦ Please tell us the following:
 Name
 Major
 Something interesting about yourself
Doing Well in Class Introduction Philosophy

35.  Last Name, First Name
 Email Address
 Last class you took, and when? (Semester/Year)
 Major
 School you plan to transfer to
 Date you will graduate with your final degree
(Certificate, AA/S, BA/S, MA/S, or PhD)
Doing Well in Class Introduction Philosophy