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Wednesday, August 21, 1974
University Daily Kansan
Study Techniques Can Improve Learning...
From Page Gae
the most traumatic event of the semester because the student never knows the style of the exam, no matter how much he has studied.
ACCORDING TO Robinson, most students don't look past the score of a test, although previous tests are a student's most valuable test in determining the trend of future exams.
The actual structure of the test—whether true-false, completion or essay—isn't important, he said. What is important is whether definitions, problems, judgment questions or lists are emphasized. Further analysis of the test will help determine the questions came primarily from the textbook, laboratory work or class lectures.
After these learning cues are recognized, Robinson said, students can then discover new ways to use their higher learning efficiency. However, students face some problems in preparing for future exams; they must know what to study and avoid forgetting what they have learned.
ROBINSON SAID the quality of comprehension would also be dramatically improved by reviewing lists of questions about the reading material. This is a widespread technique used in most text-books.
Robinson recommended that the student first make a quick preview of the material to be studied, which would improve reading speed and comprehension.
Outlining and note-taking can also be used, he said, but these techniques sometimes slow the comprehension of material. Generally, outlining and note-taking increase in effectiveness the more they are used.
Nevertheless, the finest techniques are useless if we can't remember what we have studied. Forgetting, according to Robinson, isn't the mere fading away of once-known impressions but rather a reaction to material history in the past. He said better organization study ... thods would reduce the amount of material for forgotten.
FORGETTING IS a very individual process that occurs at different rates for different people: some have an almost uncanny ability for re memorization while others must spend hours learning material which it is fixed in their minds, Robinson said.
Students are able to fight forgetting in several ways, he said. Most students intend to remember what they study, at least until after the exam, but the amount of studied material retained by students directly from their studies or interest in learning that subject.
For example, a pre-med student who knows he must make a good grade in organic chemistry to be accepted by a medical school would be more likely an elective than a graduate elective on a credit-no credit basis. This fact is well known to teachers, Robinson said,
and most try to make even the most deadly subjects as interesting as possible.
Instead of trying to remember everything, which often results in a jumble of unrelated facts, Robinson said, the teacher would select the major points or key phrases.
Robinson also recommended that long lists or arbitrary associations be organized
ANOTHER SUCCESSFUL technique is the recitation of the recently learned material, either alone or in a group, he said, and it is one effective method of fixating images or ideas.
Common also emphasized that the most successful learning occurred in distributed learning periods, not in the legendary "cramping" sessions of final week.
The breaking up of study periods allows clearer comprehension and quick learning as well as a renewal of the learning process by continual review, he said. The primary
defect of cramming that there is
rapid subsequence foetting.
Robinson has combined and condensed these techniques into the widely accepted "SQSR" method, which been tested and approved for its ability to improve study steps. Robinson has also needed study steps, stands for "Survey Question, Read, Recite and Review."
The students read the material to answer the question and later recites the answer to aid retention. The process is repeated for each step, the last step is a review of the entire material.
TO STUDY material that emphasizes comprehension and understanding, Robinson said, students should first make a general survey of the material. Then they should pose a question about each heading in the text. This belts stimulate interest in studying.
Special Facilities . . .
From Page One
being made to install an outdoor barbecue and picnic tables. A new lounge complete with new furniture and a fireplace is also planned.
A craftroom has been included in the ball, and resident assistants are making plans for programs that include silkscreening, candlemaking and pottery making.
"The program is an efficiency program, not a remedial program," Sanders said. "If a student is a 'C' student, studies 25 hours a week and is satisfied with being a 'C' student, I teach him to be a 'C' student by raising grades unless a student wants to raise his grades. I believe that people should set their own goals."
Lewis residents are paying a $15 improvement fee for these changes in the hall.
Sanders said the program consisted of four parts. The first is the "Self-Information Worksheet" that has over 40 different resource materials including short pamphlets such as "Study Hints for Language Students," "Self-Information Worksheet" and "Suggested Form for a Short Theme."
A program that will be available to all students living in residence halls is a "Reading and Study Skills Program" which includes a course by Jan Sanders, assistant dean of women.
Sanders said this was the third year the program had been offered and she expected all the halls would take advantage of it. Last year programs were offered in Ellsworth, Oliver and GSP-Corb and were met by an enthusiastic response, she said.
A shelf of over 15 reference, resource and
programming books including titles such as
to Take Notes and "Writing Themes on
Digital Media."
The second part of the program is the "Effective Reading Program." It consists of a cassette recorder and seven tapes to help students increase their reading speed.
The third part is the "Consultation Program." Resident assistants in the halls have been trained to talk to residents about their needs and she would be available for consultation.
Everything You Need for Your Room or Place Is at
For the fourth part of the program, Sanders will give two or three lectures including "How to Study for Finals and Finals a Final Even if You Haven't Studied."
DECORATING?
HAAS IMPORTS
Last year there was a program charge of $15 for residents and $25 for nonresidents, Sanders said, but it may be a little more this year. The study program is as good as any of the more expensive, commercial speed-reading programs, she said.
Wall hangings
Candles
Sanders said response to the program had been enthusiastic and she hoped to continue it as one of the many innovative facilities that could help students living in residence balls.
Paper lampshades
Waste baskets Wind chimes
"A lot of people are good at finding places where they can't study and use that as an excuse that they can't get anything done," she said.
Anxiety experienced by many students before taking tests can be avoided, she said, by not studying the night before the test, allowing adequate sleep the night before, setting reasonable goals and being realistic about the meaning and uses of tests.
Mugs
Materials reviewed just before bed are remembered best, she said. Best study results are achieved by spacing study periods, halting study when attigued, and deciding exactly when to sudy, what to study and for what length of time.
VOEKS SUGGESTED that pictures of favorite people be away from the desk, that necessary study tools be available, that studying alone is better, and that studying alone is usually best.
Sanders said most of the study problems she has encountered with students resulted from their inability to maintain a proper system.
Rugs
SANDERS SAID she didn't recommend strict stretches of budgeting every minute to get the system running. This system centers on a final goal to be achieved. The student works backwards from the final deadline to determine how long each of the steps will take to finish.
Pillows
She said college students should first establish goals for themselves and formulate objectives without blindly adopting them. Many of them, such as those of their parents or friends.
She also discounted the rumors of certain "weed-out" courses that were designed to flunk out students. There was a trend of increased interest in studying by KU students, in addition to mention of "quiet floors"; at such residence hills as Oliver and Lewis. Sanders said.
The environment in which one studies can directly affect his learning capabilities, she said. Students should have one particular kind of light that is appropriate for distractions and with sufficient lighting.
Virginia Vokes, professor of psychology at San Diego State College, discusses some of the emotional problems facing students in her book, "On Becoming an Educated Person."
Create the Room You've Always Wanted
There are many areas in which to study on campus, she said, including Watson library, vacant classrooms and residence hall libraries and cafeterias.
from Our Varied Selection
Haas Imports
routines should be built into each student's daily life. He said most study habits depended on how much importance a person attached to his studies.
1029 Mass.
Tom Russell, a Kansas City, Mo., graduate student who teaches freshman English, said students need the same habits as students would need if they were on a regular job.
"No one is checking up on you every day as in high school, so if you don't regulate your schedule somewhat, you may find yourself in trouble," she said.
Susan Fink, Kansas City, Mo., graduate, said the most important advice she would give to incoming freshmen was the need for her tutoring. She said the studying for the end of the semester.
Most students who have been in college for a few years have developed a study routine that works for them.
Everyone knows he must study to be successful in school. Similar problems in studying exist for everyone, but the one solace each student has is that the success or failure of his efforts in school will be in his own hands.
PAU L WOZNIAK, Ogema, Minn.
graduate student, recommended that study
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