LSK Class Page
Welcome to the College Study Skills LSK 185/186 class page. This course is highly individualized and covers topics such as time management, note taking, test preparation, and improving concentration.
On this site you will find the resources you will need for this course. Please explore the various information provided on the Study Skills Topics page as they are designed to provide you with resources that will help you become a better student.
Class Resources
Alternative format available upon request: arc@mercer.edu
Course Assignments
Video Series Worksheet
This video series presents information about metacognition and how to study effectively.
Assignment:
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Print the Video Series Worksheet.
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Watch the How to Get the Most Out of Studying video series.
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Complete the Video Series Worksheet.
Alternative format available upon request: arc@mercer.edu
Source: Samford University. (n.d.) How to get the most out of studying. Retrieved from http://www.samford.edu/departments/academic-success-center/how-to-study/
Creating Study Schedules
Assignment:
Print the Creating Schedules handout on developing master, monthly, weekly, and daily schedules. This handout provides step-by-step instructions on how to best create each schedule. Print the Blank Schedule Template for creating your master and weekly schedules. Click here to print a blank monthly calendar.
Alternative format available upon request: arc@mercer.edu
Source: Pauk, W. & Owens, R. (2008). How to Study in College. Boston, MA: Houghton Mifflin Company.
Metacognitive Awareness Inventory
Assignment:
- Print and complete the Metacognitive Awareness Inventory.
- Complete the Metacognitive Awareness Inventory Scoring Guide (included with the inventory) to interpret your inventory results.
Alternative format available upon request: arc@mercer.edu
Source: Schraw, G. & Dennison, R.S. (1994). Assessing metacognitive awareness. Contemporary Educational Psychology, 19, 460-475.
Note Taking & Active Listening Exercise
Assignment:
- Actively listen and take notes during the class lecture.
- Think about the key points of the lecture as you listen, and take notes which summarize these points.
- Once the lecture is over, write down what you believe to be the three most important ideas from the lecture.
- Meet briefly with the professor to ask what the three most important ideas actually were.
- Write down his or her response and compare it to what you believed to be most important from the lecture.
- Repeat at least two more times, and note any improvements in your ability to pull the most important ideas from the lectures.
Source: Lovett, M. (2008). Teaching metacognition improves learning [PowerPoint slides]. Retrieved from http://net.educause.edu/upload/presentations/ELI081/FS03/Metacognition-ELI.pdf. Copyright Marsha Lovett, 2008. This work is the intellectual property of the author. Permission is granted for this material to be shared for non-commercial, educational purposes, provided that this copyright statement appears on the reproduced materials and notice is given that the copying is by permission of the author. To disseminate otherwise or to republish requires written permission from the author.
Homework Self-Regulation Exercise
Assignment:
- Before beginning your homework, plan to learn by answering the following questions using lecture notes or by previewing the assignment material:
- What am I supposed to learn in this assignment?
- What prior knowledge will help me with this assignment?
- What resources do I need to complete this assignment?
- How much time do I have to complete this assignment?
- If I have done something like this before, how can I do a better job this time?
- Have I minimized distractions to the best of my ability?
- Begin your homework assignment.
- As you work, monitor your learning by answering the following questions:
- What words or concepts are new to me?
- How does this new information tie in to past assignments?
- What part of the reading do I not understand?
- (Look in the textbook for answers to these questions.) Are there visuals to help me understand?
- Did the author(s) discuss this in a previous section of the text?
- Is there information in the pages ahead that will help me understand?
- What information is important to remember?
- For Math or Science Homework:
- How can I translate this/these abstract formula(s) to verbal explanations?
- Why is this the method used to solve this problem?
- What is the first step?
- Have any steps been combined?
- What differences or similarities are there between the examples and homework problems?
- After completing your assignment, evaluate your learning by answering the following questions:
- Did I successfully accomplish the goals of this assignment?
- How long did it take me to complete this assignment?
- What did I learn?
- Did I get the results I expected?
- What could I have done differently?
- Is there anything I don’t understand?
- Are there any gaps in my knowledge?
- Do I need to go back through the assignment to fill in any gaps in my understanding?
- How does this assignment relate to previous assignments or prior knowledge?
- What worked well for me that I should use next time?
Sources:
Tiryakioglu, M. (n.d.) How to study math, science, and engineering. Retrieved from https://www.unf.edu/uploadedFiles/aa/ace/study_skills/How%20to%20Study%20Math%20Science%20and%20Engineering.pdf
Tanner, K. D. (2012). Promoting Student Metacognition. CBE Life Sciences Education, 11(2), 113–120. doi:10.1187/cbe.12-03-0033
Exam Reflection Exercises
Assignment #1:
- Prior to taking your exam, answer the following questions:
- What do I expect to be on this exam?
- What testing format do I think the professor will use (short answer, essay, multiple choice, etc.)?
- How much time did I spend preparing for this exam?
- How confident am I in the material I studied?
- What grade do I anticipate making on this exam?
- Immediately after taking the exam, answer the following questions:
- What did I expect to be on the exam that wasn’t?
- What was on the exam that I didn’t expect?
- What testing format did the professor use?
- What grade do I think I made on this exam?
- What, if anything, should I have done differently when preparing for this exam?
- When the exam is returned,* answer the following questions:
- Did I make the grade I expected to make on this exam?
- Why did I miss the problems I missed**?
- What can I do differently to prepare for the next exam?
- What should I do the same in preparing for the next exam?
- How does this grade factor into my overall grade for this course?
*Note - if the exam is not returned, ask the professor if you can come to his or her office to look over and discuss your exam.
**Note - if you do not understand why you missed an item on the exam, ask the professor to explain why you missed it.
Assignment #2:
You can also review your returned tests by using this worksheet.
Applying Effective Studying Principles Exercise
This exercise was extracted from Dr. Chew's suggestions in Video 3: Cognitive Principles for Optimizing Learning.
Assignment:
When studying, apply one or all of the principles of effective studying:
- Elaboration - Consider and write down how this concept relates to other concepts that you’ve learned.
- Distinctiveness - Consider and write down the key differences among related concepts.
- Personal - Find a way to attach this concept to a personal experience and write down the connection.
- Appropriate retrieval and application - Close your books and write down as much of the information as you can. Be able to apply the information in the way that the teacher wants you to: short answer, essay, multiple choice, etc.
Source: Samford University. (n.d.) How to get the most out of studying. Retrieved from http://www.samford.edu/departments/academic-success-center/how-to-study/
Deep Processing Exercise
This exercise was extracted from Dr. Chew's suggestions in Video 4: Putting Principles for Learning into Practice.
Assignment:
When studying,
- Generate questions about the material. Try to make questions as meaningful as possible by:
- Comparing/contrasting
- Analyzing
- Making connections
- Thinking about implications
- Generating examples
- Create a concept map made up of nodes and links that illustrate connections between the information being learned.
- Practice retrieving and using the information in ways that your professor expects you to be able to do:
- Practice recalling information without referring to the text or your notes. Practice recalling to yourself or explaining to someone else.
- Practice using the information in the way that the teacher is going to test you: multiple choice, short answer, essay, etc.
- Answer the review questions in the text and/or on the companion website and follow up by comparing your answers to your notes or the text to identify any weaknesses.
- Study in a group, but only if the group agrees to:
- Set goals and an agenda for the meeting
- Set criteria for participation (everyone should have read the material and generated questions prior to assembling)
- Keep the ultimate goal of learning in mind (avoid distractions)
- Ensure everyone asks and answer questions
When reading,
- Read all the text then be selective about what you highlight based on importance and how the material relates to other information.
- Highlight connections, key distinctions, and applications.
- Review what you highlight and read through the text multiple times.
Source: Samford University. (n.d.) How to get the most out of studying. Retrieved from http://www.samford.edu/departments/academic-success-center/how-to-study/
Supplemental Instruction
The Supplemental Instruction (SI) program helps students find new ways to solve old problems. SI is offered on campuses around the world and targets historically difficult courses on each campus. Historically difficult courses are those that traditionally have high rates of D's, F's and W's as final grades.
Supplemental Instruction leaders are qualified underclassmen who have already completed the course. They attend the class with students and then hold additional study sessions outside regular class meetings. The voluntary study sessions are conducted on a drop-in basis.
National statistics indicate that students who attend SI sessions regularly can expect to earn final grades up to a letter grade higher than their classmates who do not attend SI.
What students are saying about their SI sessions:
- "SI is a wonderful program. I definitely benefited a lot from it."
- "SI helped a lot, and the SI leader was extremely helpful."
- "The practice tests helped show what I needed to work on."
- "Very helpful, keep up the good work."
Assignment:
- Click here to view the Supplemental Instruction session schedules.
- Select an SI session to attend for help in one of your courses.
- Attend SI session.
ARC Peer Tutoring
The Academic Resource Center (ARC) provides drop-in tutoring to students on the Macon Campus. Tutoring is provided free of charge, and no appointments are necessary. In addition to providing tutors for writing and mathematics asssistance, the ARC provides tutoring in the sciences, foreign languages, and a variety of other academic disciplines. During the fall and spring semester, tutoring labs are open Sunday - Thursday from 6:00 p.m. - 9:00 p.m.
Assignment:
- Click here to access the ARC tutoring schedule.
- Select a day and time to attend tutoring for help in one of your courses.
- Attend tutoring session.
Avoiding Plagiarism
Note: Honor Council Bylaws - Mercer's Policy on Plagiarism
When you find published work that you want to include in your writing, you have three options:
- Quotation: This is an exact, word-for-word extract of the author’s words, placed within quotation marks. Identify the author, date of publication, and page number(s) in a signal phrase or at the end of the quote.
- Paraphrase: This is your rephrasing of the author’s idea, in your own words. Do not look at the text while you are writing your paraphrase; work from memory and check the text afterwards. Do not use quotation marks. Identify the author, date of publication, and page number(s) in a signal phrase or at the end of the paraphrase.
- Summary: This is your digest of many paragraphs or even pages of the author’s ideas, in your own words. Do not look at the text while you are writing your summary; work from memory and check the text afterwards. Do not use quotation marks. Identify the author, date of publication, and page number(s) in a signal phrase or at the end of the summary.
Assignment:
A. Watch the following video from Grammar Bytes!: Plagiarism: Avoid Academic Theft for Research Success
B. Answer the following questions on a separate sheet of paper:
1. Is it plagiarism if you turn in your own paper to two different classes? Why or why not?
2. Is it plagiarism if you find a source with a passage that resembles your own idea and put it in your
paper, using a thesaurus to change every fifth or sixth word? Why or why not?
3. Is it always wrong to cut and paste from a webpage into your paper? Why or why not?
4. What is the definition of plagiarism?
5. What are three common excuses for plagiarizing that professors won’t accept?
6. What are three ways professors can tell that a student has plagiarized?
7. What are the possible consequences of plagiarizing?
8. List three strategies to avoid plagiarism.
C. You can also test your ability to recognize plagiarism with this Certification Self-Test from Indiana University.
SMART Goal Setting Guide and Worksheet
Assignment:
Click to access the SMART Goal Setting Guide and Worksheet (provided by the University of California, San Diego TRIO Outreach Program). The guide and corresponding worksheet are invaluable tools that can help you focus on your goals and establish a plan to make your goals a reality. Using the guide to help inform your responses, print and complete the worksheet.
Alternative format available upon request: arc@mercer.edu
Developing a Mid Term or Final Exam Study Schedule
Assignment:
- Click to view and print a Mid-Term Study Schedule or Final Exam Study Schedule.
- At the top of the printed schedule, list your courses and the dates and times of each course's exam.
- Complete a study schedule for each course by listing the dates and times you plan to study as well as the specific material that will be covered during each study session.
- Once completed, the study schedule is your guide to ensure that you have adequate studying time to cover all of the exam material without cramming.
Alternative format available upon request: arc@mercer.edu
