Study Skills

The Basics - Homework vs. Studying

Even if there’s no homework, successful students still study 30-90 minutes a day, 5 times/week. What do successful students actually do when they study?

Here are some basics. When you study:

DON’T Stay up late studying. It totally doesn’t work.

INSTEAD Go to bed at a regular time every night. Teenagers need at least 9 hours of sleep /night. Every part of your life will be easier for you if you get enough sleep.

DON'T Keep your phone in your line of vision. It will totally mess up your ability to focus.

INSTEAD Hide your phone from your line of sight. If you are using your phone as a timer or pink noise app, place your phone behind you.

Don't Procrastinate. It totally doesn’t work and you’ll stress yourself out.

INSTEAD practice the 2-minute rule. Give yourself two minutes to get started on your work. Give yourself permission to stop working after two minutes.

DON'T Cram. It totally doesn’t work.

INSTEAD study using spaced practice and interleave. Study in shorter, 30-minute sessions every day, and mix it up! This is the best way for your brain to learn and remember the information.

DON'T Passively read and highlight information. It totally doesn’t work.

INSTEAD
- Make flashcards. Quiz yourself.
- Pretend you’re teaching the material. If you can’t easily explain the information, then you don’t understand it well enough.
- Make specific goals to accomplish for every study session. (Examples: Complete 5 math problems. Write two paragraphs of this essay. Make 20 flashcards from this study guide. Quiz yourself with the flashcards you made yesterday).

Up Your Reading Game

Reading skills are the most important academic skill for students to learn. They are even more important than math skills!

Learning to read deeply and critically is the most important skill students need to thrive in college and beyond.

Jeffrey Kaplan (video below) teaches students how to read deeply and critically. His advice is golden, but requires students to read on paper. Ask your teachers to print text on paper instead of limiting reading on a screen.

Foundation: Costa's Levels of Thinking and Questioning

The first level of thinking and questioning is Gathering Information. Level 1 questions include “Define,” Recite,” “Identify,” – the kinds of questions seeking answers that you can easily find in the text. This level is about identifying facts.

The second level of thinking and questioning is Processing Information. You’ll be asked to “Compare and contrast,” “Infer,” & “Organize.” You need to think a little more when answering these kinds of questions. This level is about processing facts.

The third level of thinking and questioning is Applying Information. When thinking at this level, you are asked to “Make intelligent predictions" (based on the facts that you just gathered and analyzed). “Evaluate,” “judge,” and “imagine” are third level questions where learning gets super interesting and fun. Dual Credit and Middle College classes spend more of their time in this level of thinking.

All three levels of thinking and questioning are essential. We obviously need accurate facts (level 1), on which to analyze our data (level 2), so we can imagine, predict, plan, evaluate, and make intelligent judgements (level 3).

Which study skills work best for each level?

Flashcards work great for Level 1 thinking/assignments.
Flashcards PLUS the Feynman Technique work best for Level 2 thinking/assignments.
Flashcards PLUS the Feynman Technique PLUS curiosity, wondering, and engaging with ideas work best for Level 3.

Flashcards - for Level 1 Thinking and Questioning

Flashcards are a form of retrieval practice and are the most effective and time-efficient strategies to study for Level 1 questions, assignments, and tests.

Memorizing information is NOT the end goal of learning. But it IS critically important! Memorizing information is crucial to learning information more quickly and easily as you continue on your academic journey.

There are GOOD ways to make a flashcard and BAD ways. There are GOOD ways to study with flashcards and BAD ways.

The most effective way to make and use flashcards:

The best way to study with flashcards using the "spacing technique:"

Feynman Technique- for Level 2 Thinking and Questioning

Step 1: Take a piece of paper and write everything you know about the concept.

Step 2: Pretend to teach the information as though you were teaching it to a 12-year old. Explain the concept using simple language.

Step 3: Identify problem areas. What were you NOT able to teach in simple language?

Step 4: Go back to your teachers and other sources to review the concept and repeat the process until you completely understand it.

Asking Higher Level Questions - for Level 3 Questioning and Thinking

Suggestion: Take a look at the attached questions and practice asking your teachers Level 3 questions.

What are the benefits of asking Level 3 questions in class? Students who ask high level questions:

Develop strong critical thinking skills.
Develop the power to make boring material more interesting.
Level up the classroom conversation.
Demonstrate academic leadership (which results in strong letters of recommendation from your teachers).
Understand a lot more and be better prepared for success in high school, apprenticeships, college, and your future career.

Asking high-level questions will show your teachers that you are “intellectually curious,” “consistently asking thoughtful and intelligent questions,” “demonstrating leadership in the classroom,” and “diligent and motivated.”

These are the types of statements that you want your teachers and counselors to write about you in your letters of recommendation for internships, colleges and scholarships!

Examples of Costa's Questions

I failed a class/assignment! (Or didn't do as well as I wanted to). What now?

Failing a class is not the end of the world. Take a deep breath & let’s get to work.

1.Understand Why You Failed the Class
The first thing to do after failing a class is to figure out why it happened. What could you have done differently? Ask yourself:

Did I attend the class every day?
Did I do the assigned homework and turn it in on time?
How much did I study for the class or exam outside of class? Was it enough?
Did I ask for help? If not, what prevented me from asking for help?
Am I getting enough sleep, exercise and eating food that nourishes my body?
Is there anything happening in my life that’s distracting me?

2. Learn from Your Mistakes
Knowledge is power. The honest answers to the questions above will get you one step closer to understanding your situation and preventing it from happening again.

3. Consult with Your Teacher to Avoid Failing a Class Again
If you failed a class, consider approaching your teacher to discuss what you could have done differently, and if there’s anything you can do now to save the grade. If there isn’t a way to save the grade, ask them what they recommend you do next time to get a better result.

Don’t be afraid to ask for help. It might be uncomfortable at first, but it’ll be worth it. Remember that teachers are human beings, and are in your corner, hoping you’ll succeed.

4. Get Moral Support and Give Yourself a Break
Failing a class can be hard emotionally. It can bring up a lot of concerns about ourselves (Who am I? Am I good enough?) and our future. Don’t be left alone with these feelings. Talk about them with someone you trust so that you can effectively move through them.

Remember that failure is a part of life, and it happens to everybody. It’s how you handle it and how you move forward that matters.