The main purpose of honing notes is to refine them and make them your own. There are many ways to hone your in class notes. Sometimes honing your notes makes them longer, sometimes it makes them shorter. They should NOT be a neater recopied version of the in-class notes. The key is to learn how you want to sharpen your notes in a variety of classes because not all classes are the same. Building intuition around in class and honed…
Teaching is a very challenging profession, but we need to realize that some classes do not work for some students. The cause of these gaps can be stylistic, lack of access to resources, unclear lectures, or a combination of many interconnected issues. The solution is to figure out how to learn the material in the class independently. This is often hard for students because of the expectation in middle and high school is that learning will be directed by an…
Many students are reluctant to quiz themselves because it feels daunting. In this video, I help students see how practicing getting things out of the brains can help them study faster by reducing the number of things in their basket. This can help students go through the Learning Cycle easier and faster. Like 0
Check out the learning levels introduction video before watching this video. Understanding learning levels can help us prepare for exams. Because we do not teach study skills most students assume that most tests about remembering facts. While students do need to know basic facts their tests are often asking them to master the material at a higher level. Watch the video to see how understanding learning levels can help increase your tests scores. Like 0
Do you know when you are ready to take a test? When I ask my students this question most of them look at me like I am crazy. This is a complex question because it requires us to think about our own thinking. This type of thinking is called “metacognition” and it is an important skill. Individuals who can assess their own thinking have a strategic advantage in school and life. Watch the video to see how being able to…
Self-Testing is a very powerful study strategy. Students need fast and quick ways to quiz themselves. Students can often use materials they already have from class to make quizzable study guides. Watch this video to see three of my favorite quick quizzable study tool ideas. Link to the Red and Green Pen Set Like 0
Do you ever study for a test and you do not score well? We often focus on how to get information into our brains, rarely talk about how getting information out of our brains. Getting information out of our brains is important because what tests measure is how well we can get information out of our brains. This gap is puzzling because we have over 200 years or research that demonstrates the positive impact of self-testing. This study method can…
When students get an assessment back it is very common for parents and teachers to help them analyze their work. This process can help students critically examine their work, effort, and approach. I explain how we can modify this process and help students become more self-reflective and open to critical feedback. When students can pinpoint what went well they can start to build mental models and study habits around their success. Many students have never been asked to reflect on what…
I wanted to share a fantastic story of a student that I coached through preparing for her high school finals. This was her first experience studying for finals, and she wanted to do well. However, she was very resistant to the idea of adding new study strategies, because she was convinced that she could do well with her usual methods. We came up with a plan to test her theory. We decided to randomly divide her classes into two categories, my…
How do you prepare for an open note exam? Every finals season I have students who are convinced that they do not need to study for their open note/book exams. They are often under the impression that because they have access to resources during the test that they do not need to prepare. They are unaware of the lurking danger of open note tests; that they will run out of time to complete their exam. Students generally run out of…