Transcript Good Study Habits

Good Study Habits
Part 1: Choosing a good place to study
By David Lewis
Not all studying spaces are equal.
• In fact, trying to study in some places is simply a
waste of time.
• You can determine how good your regular
studying space is by answering a few basic
questions…
• In your regular studying space, are there any of
the following?
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Games, toys and/or Videogames
Television
Lyrical music
Other people (who aren’t studying)
The Internet
• If you answered “Yes” to any of these, then you
should find a new place to study.
Games
• Games, toys and videogames are great for
relaxation, but terrible for studying.
• Games usually require your full attention, so any
attempts to focus on other things are greatly
reduced.
Television
• A common misconception amongst students is
that it you can study effectively while watching
television. However, viewing television requires
a lot of focus.
• Therefore, turning off the television will greatly
improve studying efficiency.
Lyrical Music
• It is very common for students to listen to music
while studying, but they are often listening to the
wrong kind of music.
• Lyrical music (containing
vocalizations) can often
be distracting, while nonlyrical music can improve
your focus by keeping you
stimulated.
Other People
• One of the most common distracters when
studying is other people’s voices.
• Even if you are not actively listening to other
people, simply hearing their voices can easily
prevent any memorization.
The Internet
• A big problem for students who study using their
computer is the urge to visit other websites.
• Sometimes it is best to restrict internet access to
yourself, or simply print out the required study
material.
Other Distracters
• There are many other distracters that can be as
much of a problem if not more so.
• In general, anything in your environment that
takes your focus away from the studying
material should be removed.
• Some examples are:
▫ Pets
▫ Visual Art (i.e. Posters)
▫ Strange/loud sounds
Studying and Your Brain
• The reason why the previous findings are
probably true is:
▫ Your brain has different parts.
▫ Each part can only handle a small amount of
information once.
• For example, your brain has only one language
center, which is why it is hard to listen to two
conversations at the same time (or listen to
someone while reading).
• Focus on one thing at a time!
Divided Attention
• When attention is divided amongst many things,
your ability to store information about these
things into your memory is greatly reduced (Craik,
F., Naveh-Benjamin, M., Govoni, R., Anderson, N. 1996).
• Here is an example…
Try to remember the following
sentences…
• The researchers examined the effects of divided
attention at encoding and retrieval.
• They studied free recall, cued recall, and
recognition memory in 4 experiments.
• Lists of words or word pairs were presented
auditorily and recalled orally.
• What did you just read? Write down as much as
you can remember.
Now try to remember these
sentences…
• Similarities between languages can have a
number of different origins.
• In the simplest case, universal properties may be
due to universal aspects of human experience.
• For example, all humans experience water, and
all human languages have a word for water.
• What did you just read? Write down as much as
you can remember.
In Conclusion
• Whenever you are choosing a studying space, try
to find one as free from distractions as possible.
• Common distractions are:
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Television
Games
Lyrical Music
Other people
The Internet
• If you can’t find a good place, then make one!