What to expect (contd.)

• Format = depends on the nature of process

• Mostly visual & auditory modes (majority of students)

• Interaction on your part will involve actively listening and asking/responding to questions.

How do you usually study?

Getting Motivated:• Nurture and develop enthusiasm and motivating self-talk

• Set clear and achievable goals

• Use strategies that support your learning efforts

• Be Proactive and not Re-active. They make things happen!

• Get positive!

• Decide that you and your future are worth making the investment NOW!

• Realize that every hour wasted today will significantly decrease your career success and earning potential later.

4 Stages of Test Preparation

• Stage 1 – Day to Day Preparation

• Stage 2 – Concentrated Preparation

• Stage 3 – The Test (What to do during the test!)

• Stage 4 – Follow-Up (What to do after the test!)

Stage 1 – Day to Day Preparation

• What you can do in the beginning!

• Attend Class• Listen Actively• Ask Questions• Read Actively• Take Notes• Get Involved

• The best way to prepare for exams is to treat them like an Olympic Event!

Stage 1 – Day to Day Preparation (contd.)

• Steps of a Point Study Plan

• Schedule your time• Review notes and make summary sheets• Anticipate test questions• Use a study group or tutoring• Evaluate your process

Stage 2 – Concentrated Preparation

• Schedule time to study – 2 hours outside of class for every

hour in class

• Review 3-5 minutes after class• Study during daylight hours• Make study schedule• Review previous days notes• Use strategies that fit your learning style• Study for comprehension (reflection)• Study in 50-minute increments• Review old tests and quizzes

• Maintain a balanced lifestyle:• Nutrition, rest, exercise, water• Regulate intake of caffeine and sugar

• Use your study group• Study with an ARC tutor

2 - Concentrated Preparation Contd.

“ALL-NIGHTERS” DON’T WORK! Learning requires a good night's sleep.

• Learning is a matter of forming memories.

• Harvard study showed that a person trying to learn something does not improve his or her knowledge until after they have had more than six hours of sleep (preferably eight).

• The brain needs time to file new information and skills away in the proper slots so that it can be retrieved later.

© Txtwriter Inc. Dr. George Johnson, ON SCIENCE, http://www.txtwriter.com/Onscience/Articles/sleep.html

Dr. Stickgold, Harvard University (research study)

PART 1

http://www.cbsnews.com/sections/i_video/main500251.shtml?id=3942130n&channel=/sections/60minutes/videoplayer3415.shtml

PART 2

http://www.cbsnews.com/sections/i_video/main500251.shtml?id=3942132n&channel=/sections/60minutes/videoplayer3415.shtml

CBS News video report on The Science of Sleep:

Sleep deprivation mimics aging?A report in the medical journal The Lancet, said that cutting back from the standard eight down to four hours of sleep each night produced striking changes in glucose tolerance and endocrine function that mimicked many of the hallmarks of aging. Dr Eve Van Cauter, professor of medicine at the University of Chicago and director of the study, said, "We suspect that chronic sleep loss may not only hasten the onset but could also increase the severity of age-related ailments such as diabetes, hypertension, obesity and memory loss."

Dr. Van Cauter is an internationally known investigator in circadian rhythms on endocrine system in normal and pathological conditions.

ScienceDaily (Jul. 11, 2006) — Researchers have uncovered new evidence that sleep improves the brain's ability to remember information. Their findings demonstrate that memories of recently learned word pairs are improved if sleep intervenes between learning and testing and that this benefit is most pronounced when memory is challenged by competing information. The findings are reported in the July 12th issue of Current Biology by Jeffrey Ellenbogen, of Harvard Medical School, and his colleagues.

ScienceDaily (Oct. 11, 2003)Researchers find that ability of students to retain knowledge about words is improved by sleep, even when the students seemed to forget some of what they learned during the day before the next night's sleep. This paper, "Consolidation During Sleep of Perceptual Learning of Spoken Language," is being published in the Thursday, Oct. 9 issue of the journal Nature. The paper was prepared by researcher Kimberly Fenn, Howard Nusbaum, Professor of Psychology, and Daniel Margoliash, Professor in Organismal Biology and Anatomy."Sleep has at least two separate effects on learning," the authors write. "Sleep consolidates memories, protecting them against subsequent interference or decay. Sleep also appears to 'recover' or restore memories.“

Stage 3 –What to do during the test

• Know the time and place• Bring extra pens and pencils• Listen carefully• Read the directions• Scan the entire exam• Plan your time• Relax, breathe, and dive in

What to do during the test contd.

• Scan test quickly

• Check to see if professor has listed point values for different sections

• Answer high point questions first

• If values not given, do easiest questions first

Stage 3 – True/False Questions

• Always read test questions carefully.

• Longer items that give more information are more likely to be true.

• If any part of the question is false, the whole question is false.

• Qualifying words like always, never, none, everyone, usually indicate incorrect answers.

True/False Questions Contd.

• Qualifying words like some, usually, probably, many, are more likely to be correct.

• True/False Tests frequently have more correct answers than false. If you must guess, mark it true.

Stage 3 – Matching Questions

• Be sure to read all items in both columns carefully before marking answer.

• Check to see answer may be used more than once.

• Look for the best match.

• If only one answer possible for each question, cross them off as you go. You may use the process of elimination for answers you don’t know.

Stage 3 – Multiple Choice Questions

• Read all answer choices before marking answer.

• Check to see if questions call for more than one answer.

• First answer is usually the best.

• Answer question in your head before looking at answer choices.

Stage 3 – Multiple Choice Questions (Contd.)

Guessing Guidelines:• If two answers are similar, choose one of these.

• If two answers have similar sounding words, choose one of these (intermediate, intermittent).

• If the answer calls for a sentence completion, eliminate answers that would not make grammatically correct sentences.

• If two quantities are almost the same, choose one.

Multiple Choice Questions (Contd.)

• If answers cover a wide range, choose one in the middle.

• Instructors are less likely to place the correct response last.

• If there is no penalty for guessing, and above techniques do not help, shut your eyes and go for it.

• Organize and outline your answer

• Put strongest ideas first

• Use elements of good writing (process, grammar, spelling)

• Be neat

• Provide adequate support for conclusions

• Proofread

• Check your answers

Stage 3 – Essay Questions

Stage 4 – Follow-up (What to do after the test!)

• Examine questions missed and find answers

• Recall the study techniques that worked best

• Evaluate the process

• Take advantage of campus resources (Library, tutoring, etc.)

• Celebrate and reward yourself for hard work!

Causes of Test Anxiety

• Anxiety is a learned response to a negative/threatening situation

• Unrealistic expectations by others or self

• Being evaluated in a life situation/outcome is important to you

• Concerns about how others will view you if you do poorly

• Concerns arising from threats to your own self-image

• Concerns about your future security

A special intense kind of nervousness arising from the total test situation.

Causes of Test Anxiety Contd.:

• Concerns about not being prepared for test

• Have become conditioned to respond to threatening stimuli

• The more difficult the test/the more intense the anxiety

Results of Anxiety

• Anxiety produces negative results (mentally or emotionally & physically)

• Attempt to perform task well• You react• (auditions, play try-outs, sports, competition, pledge

week, interview, tests)

• Emotions clutter thought processes• Worry scatters attention process• Situation becomes intimidating

Results of Anxiety Contd.

• Mobility/Immobility

• Insecure feelings come/Muscle tension

• Try to rid ourselves of unpleasant feelings

• Motivated to find relief or safety

• A few educators say a little of tension is good

• A negative nervous reaction/more harm than good

• Excessive anxiety, like alcohol, is a depressant

Overcoming Test Fears

• Need to pinpoint sources of anxiety• Avoidance of analysis of problem• First response is to protect feelings

• Step 1: Take honest look to detect problems• Step 2: Take steps to unlearn

– Preparation– Review– Self-Testing– Expect to Succeed– Exercise & Breathing Exercises for Relaxation