Preparing for Midterms

Now that the semester is underway, it’s time to prepare for midterms. This week we will cover different techniques for taking notes in class and different ways to study. I recommend that you try each process and then think about which one worked best for you. We will first look at studying before class, the class lecture, and then studying after class.

You should always read the chapter before you go to class. This allows you to understand more of the lecture and will also notify you of any topics that you might need to ask questions on. Most textbooks are written in a way that will guide  you in preparation. For instance, it might have a section at the beginning on how to use the book. Most chapters will start with a list of the topics covered, new vocabulary, and what objectives you should understand by the end of the chapter. Some will also include chapter outlines, or end the chapter with review questions. Use these to your advantage.

When I would first approach a chapter, I would first look at all the section headings. This is a great way to get a quick overview of how the information is organized. I would then look at the learning objectives to see what was important in this chapter. Then I would make flashcards of all the key terms that I wasn’t familiar with.

I would then read the introduction and conclusions, if there was one, to again, get a quick view of what would be covered. Then, I would read through the chapter. I would generally just read once and have organized notes on a separate piece of paper. I know people who read the chapter three times. The first is just a quick skim, the second highlights or questions, and the third read is a comprehensive read.

When it came to taking notes on the chapter, I would summarize each section, in a couple of sentences or so. I would also try to connect the information to a subject I already knew. These are excellent examples of proactive reading that will help you retain the information rather than just reading on its own. When you’re done reading the chapter, complete the chapter review questions and also ask yourself if you understand the learning objectives for that chapter. Write down any questions that you have and you can ask your study group or instructor, during class, or at office hours.

Now that you’ve read the chapter, it should be easier to follow along with the lecture. Be sure to take good notes as you listen, but don’t write everything down verbatim. Trying to copy down every signal word is stressful and then you miss one word and while you’re trying to figure it out, you’ve fallen behind. Instead, summarize key points. You can also prepare your notes a bit before class. Check if your instructor posted the presentation in the LMS. If so, you can download or print it out with note sections for each slide. If not, don’t worry. There are plenty of other techniques like outlining, mind mapping, and Cornell Notes. Also, you can pool notes together with your study group to make sure that everything is covered.

Let’s look at these techniques one at a time. The first one is outline. This helps keep your notes organized and is sometimes more easy to focus on compared to a long block of text. This technique can also force you to be more succinct in your paraphrasing or summary. An easy example of outline would look like the following:

1. Chapter 1: Introduction to Psychology
   1. Working in Psychology
      1. Learning Objective 1: Define Psychology
         1. Psychology is the study of behavior and mental processes
      2. Learning Objective 2: Fields of Psychology
         1. Behavioral neuroscience – examines the biological basis of behavior

Personally, I find outlining easier with reading than with lecture, but I know a lot of people who have found success using outlines during lecture.

The next technique is mind mapping. This tends to take up a lot of space and may be easier with a computer, but it is possible to do it by hand. Using the outline example, the mind map would look something like this:

Mind mapping is customizable and you can base it on whatever connections you see. You also don’t need to complete it in the same block style that I used in the example. You can draw it however you find easiest to visualize the information. One of my students told me that when they draw mind maps, they picture each thing as a cloud and therefore spread them all over the page. Another student saw the main heading as a hub and all the other items as spokes, and together would create a wheel.

My go to note-taking system was Cornell Notes. For this system, you’ll break your page into three sections. The left column will be topic cues or questions and the right column will be a bit wider and will be the bulk of your notes and key thoughts. The third section will be about the bottom quarter of the pager. This space will be for summarizing your notes for the section.

You’ve now read the chapter and had a lecture on it. Now it’s time to fill in any missing information or answer those last few questions. Once you do, you can then start studying and find ways to make sense of and remember all of the information so that you are ready for the exam. We’ll cover 3 study techniques that I’ve had success with. First, active recall; second, mixing topics; and third, the Feynman Technique.

Active recall is when you retrieve information instead of just reading it. For instance, after reading a section, close your book and recall what you just read. Are you able to remember all the important points? This is a good way to find out which sections you should spend more time on.

The second technique is mixing topics. If you study topics in the same order, you start getting the right answer because you are aware of the pattern after you’ve gone through it so many times. So, once you’ve gotten them all right, shuffle the topics and see if you can still get them all right. If you can, it’s a good sign that you know the information well enough to recall it on the exam, no matter the order.

The third study technique is the Feynman Technique. In this technique you learn by teaching. Grab a friend and teach them what you’ve learned and get feedback. Ask if there were details you got wrong or if you didn’t cover something in enough depth. Teaching not only helps us understand, but it also points out areas that we don’t confidently know. This is a great activity to complete with your study group. Divide the chapter into equal parts, assign one per person, and teach the group on your assigned section.

None of these techniques are one and done. Choose which one, or a combination of them, that you want to utilize and repeat it over and over again in a strategic manner. This is called spaced repetition. Hermann Ebbinghaus, a psychologist, studied memory and forgetfulness. He found that after just one day, people could forget up to 70% of new information. It is a really steep drop with just the first learning. However, you can lengthen the curve by reviewing the information multiple times. So, be sure to study repeatedly, such as the day after lecture, then 2 days later, and again 3 days after that. It will become easier each time and then you’ll just need a quick review for exams.

The last thing we’ll cover here regarding study sessions is the importance of study breaks. Taking breaks helps calm you down during frustrating situations and prevents burnout. One technique I use is the Pomodoro Technique. For this, you usually will work for 25 minutes and then break for 5 minutes. If it’s something that needs more time, you can work for 50 minutes and then take a 10-minute break, just keep that ratio the same. Also, remember that you can work for 25 minutes, break for 5 minutes, and then work for 25 minutes again. The Pomodoro technique is for this type of repeating, rather than working for 90 minutes straight and taking a 20-minute break.