I hope you are reading this at the beginning of the semester so these tips can be of most use. It would probably be a good idea to review them from time-to-time so that you can adjust your study habits as the demands of your course change. I hope you find these suggestions useful.
The broadest and best piece of advice I can give you, the one that will make the greatest difference in your grade, is to discipline yourself so that you spend some time outside class on your chemistry course every single day. At the university level, a great deal more responsibility is put on the student, and the pace is much faster than in high school. Do not allow yourself to be caught off-guard! If you are not prepared to participate and immerse yourself in the material on a given day, you will not do as well as you can in the course. It's as simple as that.
Assuming you plan to follow that bit of advice, remember that everyone studies and learns differently. Even so, here are a few study hints that are fairly general so they should be broadly applicable. Some of them are based upon my observations of students over the years, and many come from reading I've done on teaching and learning.
- Read ahead of me. I will provide assignments in advance so this is possible. Few people can fully understand an abstract subject like chemistry the first time they read it, so have realistic expectations. Reading ahead gives you a chance to have an initial exposure to the material, to have some questions answered and to formulate some questions to ask in class. Then, when we cover material in class, you are being exposed to it a second time, and it should make more sense. Maybe some of your questions will be answered (if not, ask!). Then, soon after class, go over your notes and re-read the assignment to try to cement your understanding.
- Don't obsess with note taking. Sure, it's important, but most chemistry texts are very complete, and since I give rather explicit assignments, you can always refer to the appropriate section to check or complete your notes. Rather than acting as a stenographer, take some time to listen in class, to me and the other students, and try to digest (in part) what you are hearing and seeing. Then write down some notes, which will be in your words rather than mine (a big plus!). Later, when you are re-reading the relevant text sections, you can annotate and enhance your notes.
- Be an active learner. Answer questions, offer comments, interact with your neighbors, put answers on the board. I'll do my best to make sure these things happen. We will constantly be solving problems as individuals, in small impromptu groups, as a whole class. You will be expected to participate. If you have not read ahead then you will not be able to participate and you will be short-circuiting your own learning.
- Most chemistry courses rely on problem solving as part of the course in a big way. It is important to work the problems effectively. There are lots of ways to work them ineffectively. I have talked to many students who look over a problem, perhaps make a start on it, and then turn to the answer book or text for a similar problem, a needed formula or some kind of guidance. This is a wonderful way to start working on problems, but some students work all their problems this way. Then, when they take a test, they know something about how to do the problem but cannot complete it. If you have 5 problems of a certain type, by the time you work the last couple you should not have to look anything up in order to complete the problem. If you find yourself still having to look information up, you haven't mastered that type of problem. You need to do so, and then work more problems to verify your ability. Your goal should be to be an independent, self-contained problem solver by exam time. You must "own" the material and be in command of it. If you have a problem with using an answer book too much, have your roommate lock it up! So, do the problems, then do them again! Spread out your studying so your brain isn't overwhelmed and you have a chance to digest the material. Each class builds on earlier classes - what did I say before about reading ahead and working some every day? If you get behind it can get pretty darn ugly and be nearly impossible to catch up!
- As you read, work problems, work in lab or participate in a lecture, write down or mark questions you have. Get those questions answered somehow. Read further, re-read, ask me, ask another student, ask someone at the Q Center, but don't let it go unanswered! I have the uncanny ability to put questions on exams that manage to address things you were wondering about but never followed up on.
"Read, mark, learn and inwardly digest" The Book of Common Prayer
- Find out something about your learning strengths and weaknesses. I have done some interesting reading lately about the variety of learning styles students and professors possess. A learning style is basically your preference about how to process and think about information. While you may have some strong preferences about how you learn, it's important for students to be able to deal with information in a variety of ways and get comfortable working outside their preferred modes (and professors need to be comfortable teaching outside their preferred mode!). Richard Felder is a chemical engineer who has, with colleagues, developed a survey designed to help you understand your preferred learning styles. Take the survey and then read the description of each learning style. There's no right answer here - the idea is to learn about yourself and use that information to become a better student. So, look at the results of the survey and see if you agree - do you see yourself that way? Try to become more conscious of your strengths and weaknesses. Then, try to use your strengths whenever possible and improve on your weaknesses.
- One thing to keep in mind is that chemistry is about details. Little things matter a lot in chemistry, so pay attention. Be careful in what you write or draw. Small changes in spelling or reaction conditions can be critical. Arrows have to point to the right places. Chemical structures are basically a symbolic language with lots of implied meaning. You will be required to know these implied meanings and use them correctly. You will be required to have more than a vague or superficial understanding of the material. Following along in class successfully is great but not sufficient. You need to have command of the material.
- Don't even think about cramming! One, if you are cramming then you have apparently not been very much of an active learner during each class, because by definition you are putting off the real work. This means you haven't begun to get what you can out of each class period. Second, in chemistry courses, especially organic chemistry, there is simply too much material to put off the serious learning until a few days before the exam. If you do, it will show, and you'll do serious damage to your grade.
- Find some study partners with whom you can work effectively. Such a group should be composed of students with a range of abilities for several reasons. First, if someone significantly more prepared than you on a given topic just answers your questions, or you just listen to others discuss a problem, you are learning in a passive way. This will not prepare you properly for exams. Second, people both above you and below you academically will ask questions from their particular perspective, and any of these questions may lead to discussion which signficantly enhances your understanding. In other words, we don't always learn from obviously smarter or more experienced people. Many of my approaches to teaching chemistry actually come from far less experienced students who have asked a really good question and made me see a topic differently. Third, some of the best learning comes when you have to explain something to someone else. Trying to organize your thoughts to convey your understanding succinctly forces you to make sure you understand the topic fully. If you start on an explanation and you don't really understand it yourself, that's usually obvious pretty quickly, which is your clue to work on the material more. Study groups often arise informally, perhaps first as a few friends sitting near you in class. However, your regular friends may not be the best partners for you or at all times or for all subjects. Keep in mind that someone who is skilled in one topic may not be as strong in another - more than likely the composition of study groups will change some over the semester.
- The Mescalero Apache say there is a seven-stage process to learning: observe, see patterns and continuities, wonder, investigate, learn, be corrected, and finally, learn how much more there is to learn. This is a great description of how science operates and a good way to approach personal study (from Farrer, Living Life's Circle: Mescalero Apache Cosmovision, Univ. of New Mexico Press, 1991).
- The Foundation
for Critical Thinking has produced some impressive research
and resources. Believe it or not, being a good chemistry
student is largely about being a good critical thinker.
I strongly recommend their little booklet titled A Miniature
Guide For Students On How to Study & Learn a discipline
using critical thinking concepts & tools by Richard
Paul and Linda Elder. Here are a few gems from the booklet:
- If you don't ask questions, you will probably not discover what you do and do not know.
- Look for interconnections. The content in every class is always a SYSTEM of interconnected ideas, never a random list of things to memorize (Note: many students think the way to conquer chemistry is to be a good memorizer. The ability to retain lots of material is helpful, but it alone will never get you to the top of the class, because you need to be able to think actively too).
- Learn to test your thinking using intellectual standards. Am I being clear? Accurate? Precise? Relevant? Logical? Am I looking for what is most significant?
- Critical thinking is the kind of thinking - about any subject, content, or domain - that improves itself through disciplined analysis and assessment. To become a skilled learner is to become a self-directed, self-disciplined, self-monitored and self-corrective thinker, who has given assent to rigorous standards of thought and mindful command of their use.
- Intellectual perseverance is the
disposition to work your way through intellectual complexities
despite the frustrations inherent in the task. Questions
that foster intellectual perserverance include:
- Am I willing to work my way through complexities in an issue or do I tend to give up when I experience difficulty?
- Do I have strategies for dealing with complex problems?
- Do I expect learning to be easy or do I recognize the importance of engaging in challenging intellectual work?
- Here is what the DePauw website says about Academic Expectations. Maybe you will find this inspiring:
- Dealing with Test Anxiety This
can be a big issue for some folks. Sometimes, the problem is
big enough that professional counseling is helpful. Below are
some web sites that I have briefly reviewed. These sites seem
to go beyond the "think positive thoughts" advice,
and seem to offer more substantial suggestions.
- Managing Test Anxiety from the Student Development Centre
- Study Habits and Test Anxiety from the University of Buffalo
- Test Anxiety from the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign
- Test Anxiety from the University of Florida
DePauw has considerably different academic expectations than those of high school, and it is important that students adjust to these new expectations early in their college careers.
1. College is not the end of the educational process but a foundation for a lifetime of continued learning and growth. Therefore, two of the central goals of college are to help students develop a sense of responsibility for their own learning and the ability to learn on their own.
2. Accordingly, college students spend much less time in class than they did in high school but are correspondingly expected to do much more work outside of class than they did in high school.
3. Students should expect to spend at least two hours studying outside of class for every hour in class. This means that they will spend between 40 and 50 hours a week (or more) on their academics, the equivalent of a full-time job.
4. Students are responsible for learning a great deal of the material on their own outside of the classroom.
5. Students should expect that course material will be covered at a much more rapid pace than they have experienced before. This expectation is partially based on the assumption that students are preparing carefully for class so that more material can be covered in class.
6. Students are expected to come to class prepared and ready to participate actively in the class session. They are expected to have read the texts and used other required materials carefully and comprehensively before the class session.
OK, Good Luck! Let me know how I can be of help.
Last updated Sunday, August 23, 2009 . Contents & layout copyright 2009 Prof. Bryan Hanson