5 Effective Study Tips

Welcome back to the Teaching High School Science podcast! As we gear up for test season, it's time to equip our children with effective study strategies. In this episode, I'll be sharing five study tips to increase retention and reduce stress around learning. So grab your headphones and a cup of coffee, and let's dive in!

1. Taking Breaks with the Pomodoro Technique: Break down study sessions into manageable chunks of time, typically 25 minutes of studying followed by a 5-minute break. Adjust intervals based on task complexity for optimal productivity.
2. Active Recall: Engage actively with notes by retrieving information from memory. Try techniques like covering definitions before guessing them or employing blurting, where students recall information aloud. This fosters deeper understanding and aids in identifying knowledge gaps.
3. Practice Problems: Encourage tackling plenty of practice problems related to the subjects being studied. Utilize online quizzes for additional problems and adaptive learning. Modify problem parameters to focus on understanding processes.
4. Setting a Study Schedule: Establish a structured study schedule tailored to daily routines and commitments. Use study blocks for regular review of previously covered material, incorporating the Pomodoro Technique for focused study sessions.
5. Spaced Repetition: Review material at gradually increasing intervals over time to enhance retention. Incorporate spaced repetition into study schedules for effective management of both new and older material.

By incorporating these five study tips into your routine, you can develop effective study habits that will serve you well throughout your academic journey. Remember, it's not just about putting in the hours, but studying smart. Share your study tips and experiences with us on our podcast page at TheScienceMentor.com. Subscribe now to the Teaching High School Science podcast for more motivation and science ideas. Together, let's make high school science a journey of exploration and achievement. Until next time, remember curiosity leads to endless possibilities.

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Transcript

Speaker 1: 0:00

Hey there and welcome back. With test season upon us, it's time to equip our children with effective study strategies, and if you're tired of watching your team fumble with studying or wish you could provide them with better tools for effective studying and retaining material, well then you're in the right place. In today's episode, I'm sharing five study tips that will increase retention and reduce stress around learning, from taking strategic breaks to mastering active recall. I've got you covered. So grab your headphones, a cup of coffee and get ready to empower your teen with the skills they need to thrive academically. Let's dive in. Welcome to Teaching High School Science. I'm your host, doc, a former biochemist, turned high school science teacher and private tutor. Whether you're homeschooling your teen through high school science, I'm your host, doc, a former biochemist, turned high school science teacher and private tutor. Whether you're homeschooling your team through high school science or teaching online, join me as I share tips and strategies I've learned over the years for at-home and online labs and activities breaking down complex concepts and structuring learning in a way that makes sense. Now let's dive into today's topics lecturing learning in a way that makes sense. Now let's dive into today's topics.

Speaker 1: 1:06

The five study techniques that we're going to talk about today is taking breaks using active recall, practicing a lot of problems and how to find those additional problems, setting a study schedule and using spaced repetition. The first study tip is taking breaks using the Pomodoro technique. In this technique, you are encouraged to break down your study sessions into manageable chunks of time. Typically, you're encouraged to study for 25 minutes, followed by a five-minute break, but there are research-based variations to the time intervals depending on what you're doing, such as working math problems or writing essay papers, and that's because, well, each of these tasks require different loads of brain power. So, in these cases, it's recommended to use a 50 minute intensive study session followed by a 10 minute break. Now, to keep my time sessions and my breaks in order, I prefer to use a timer, and I will set it for 50 minutes, then for another 10 minutes. However, the goal is to have distraction-free work sessions. This may mean putting your phone on do not disturb or using the app to quiet those notifications, or listen to music and, depending on your preference, it can mean listening to soft music or having it completely quiet, with noise canceling headphones. Whatever it takes for you to zone into your studies, that's what you want to do during your study sessions. Now for the breaks. You want to get up and stretch. You want to walk around the room, move to a different room, or maybe go and get something to drink or something to snack. Just remember to make your study intervals focused and to move around.

Speaker 1: 2:54

Study tip number two is active recall, which is being actively engaged with your notes, versus just simply rereading notes or a textbook. You are actively engaged in retrieving information from the memory. For example, instead of just reading definition of terms for your notes, try covering up the definitions and guessing them before reading them. If you're making flashcards, that's a great way to make sure you don't cheat and look at the definition before trying to determine them. And what this does is it gives your brain time to come up with the answer before uncovering the answer or flipping that card over.

Speaker 1: 3:33

A method of active recall that I like to use a lot with my students during our classes or tutoring is blurting. This is where they take a topic and I ask them to either write down everything they know about that topic or just tell me everything you know about this topic and then we compare it to their notes. This helps them to understand what they remember what gaps they have in their knowledge and what they need to work on. And as I'm using this with my students, I get to see the same thing and develop a plan to help them in their studying. And if you're having your student use this with you, be prepared to use probing questions such as explain a little bit more about that, what does that mean? Can you break that down for me? And that will prompt them to think a little bit deeper, dig a little bit deeper and by engaging with the material in this way, they reinforce their understanding and retention of key concepts.

Speaker 1: 4:33

Now tip number three practice problems. I live in a world of chemistry and physics. There are a lot of math problems and sometimes it can be difficult to find specific problems, especially when you just want more practice. We want to encourage our teens to tackle plenty of practice problems or questions related to the subjects they're studying, whether it's math equations, science experiments or essay prompts. The subjects they're studying, whether it's math equations, science experiments or essay prompts the more they practice, the more confident they'll become in their abilities. There are several online quizzes that provide additional practice problems, and some of these problems actually provide explanations, or they may be adaptive in nature, which means that the next question will be based off of what they answered for the first question preceding it, so that the questions actually adapt to their ability level to build them up to where they need to be.

Speaker 1: 5:29

Now for math problems, especially when it comes to chemistry and physics, I often change the measurements in the problems and have them solve it again. They begin to focus on the process and why we're doing the process versus the values and the correct answer. And another plus with additional practice problems. Even if it's just changing the values in existing numbers, it's an excellent way for them to identify any areas they need additional attention. It may be one step or one process, or even just simply using their calculator, that they realize. I got the technique. I understand why, but this is where I keep getting stuck.

Speaker 1: 6:07

Study tip number four is setting a study schedule. Consistency is key when it comes to studying. Help our teen establish a study schedule that works for them, taking into account their daily routines and commitments. So, whether it's dedicating a certain time each day to study or setting aside specific days for each subject, having a structure plan in place will help them to alleviate stress and anxiety, especially waiting till that last minute and it will ensure that they stay on track with studying particular topics at particular times. An example may be having two 90-minute study blocks per week where you alternate the subject areas, and during the study blocks, remember to use the Pomodoro technique, where you are chunking the time and taking breaks. These blocks should be dedicated to reviewing material, not covering new material, but reviewing material that was covered over a specific period of time.

Speaker 1: 7:06

Now this leads us directly into tip number five, which is using space repetition, and that is because the study schedule can complement this next technique. Space repetition involves reviewing material at gradually increasing intervals over time, which improves retention. So it's suggested that they review new material frequently at first, then gradually increase that time between reviewing that material and interjecting new material. Then, as that material becomes older, they retain it more, and then you're increasing the time between which they look at that material again. Now how would this look during a study block? Well, they will always review older material, but the time dedicated to that older material will decrease each study block as they show that they are retaining that material. The remaining time is filled with new material and as time goes by, you'll notice that the new material is the bulk of the study time, while the older material gradually decreases as retention increases. So, in a nutshell, it is suggested that they review new material frequently at first, then gradually increase the intervals or time between the reviewing of this newer material as it becomes older and they become more familiar with it. So by incorporating these five study tips into your routine, which is taking breaks with the Pomodoro technique, active recall, practice problems, setting a study schedule and using spaced repetition, you can develop effective study tips or help your team to develop effective study tips that will serve them throughout their academic journey.

Speaker 1: 8:56

And remember, it's not just about putting in the hours, but studying smart. Do you have any study tips or techniques that work well with your team? If so, I'd love to hear from you. Let me know if you have any questions, ideas or other experiences that you'd like to share. Head on over to my podcast page, which you can access by visiting my website at thesciencementorcom. Then select podcast from the menu and subscribe now to the Teaching High School Science podcast for your regular dose of motivation and just-in-time science ideas, and together let's make high school science a journey of motivation and just-in-time science ideas, and together let's make high school science, a journey of exploration and achievement. Until next time, remember curiosity leads to endless possibilities.