Effective Study Skills Marcus Simmons Coordinator – Office of Supportive and Disability Services Itawamba Community College

Basic Rationale Many students entering post-secondary education seem to lack the study skills needed to be successful. The research I conducted through this project demonstrated a need for postsecondary study skills courses. Most telling was a survey I conducted at Itawamba Community College. A survey was given to teachers and students to see what their feelings were concerning students study skill abilities and the need for an effective study skills course.

Contents Note taking Time Management & Organizational Skills Effective Study Skills Taking Exams or Tests

Note Taking The Cornell Method The Outline Method The Mapping Method The Charting Method The Sentence Method

The Cornell Method Jackson Mississippi The US Senate The capital of Mississippi. Serves for 6 years before having to run again. Each state has 2 senators

The Cornell Method Advantages –Organized and easy to review –Good format for major concepts and ideas –Simples and efficient –Saves time Disadvantages –None When to Use –In any lecture type situation

The Outline Method Extrasensory Perception –Definition: means of perceiving without use of organs Three kinds –Telepathy: sending messages –Clairvoyance: forecasting –Psychokinesis: perceiving events external to a situation Current Status –No current research to support or refute –Few psychologists say impossible

The Outline Method Advantages –Well organized if done correctly –Reduces editing –Easy to review Disadvantages –Requires more in class thought –May not show good sequence relationships –Cannot use if the lecture is too fast When to Use –Great to use when the lecture is presented in outline format –Best when there is enough time during the lecture to really organize your thoughts well –Best when you have mastered the note taking skills and are a better note taker than most people

The Mapping Method Extrasensory Perception Telepathy – Sending messages Psychokinesis – Perceiving events Clairvoyance – Forecasting 3 types

The Mapping Method Advantages –Can visually track lectures easily –Little thinking required and relationship can be tracked easily –Easy to edit later –Reviewing easy conducted –Easy to transfer to other means of studying like flashcards Disadvantages –Hard to hear changes in content from major points to facts When to Use –When the lecture is well organized –Can be useful with guest lecturers when you are not familiar with what the lecture will be about

The Charting Method PeriodImportant PeopleEvents FDRWW II

The Charting Method Advantages –Helps to track conversational style lectures better –Reduces the amount of writing –Easy to review facts and relationships Disadvantages –Learning the system and being able to distinguish good categories or headings –Must be able to understand the lecture well When to Use –When tests focus on facts and relationships –Content is heavy and presented very fast –When you need to reduce editing time –When you want to get a large overview of all of the material

The Sentence Method Example Lecture: A revolution is any occurrence that Affects other aspects of life, and so forth. Therefore Revolutions cause change. (see pages in your Textbook about this). Sample of Notes: Revolution – occurrence that affects Aspects of life…eg… econ, soc, etc… text pp *Develop your own set of abbreviations and symbols.

The Sentence Method Advantages –Slightly more organized than paragraphs –Gets most all of the information Disadvantages –Hard to determine the major and minor points –Difficult to edit without re-writing –Difficult to review unless edited or re-written When to Use –Lecture has to be organized well –When you can hear the points but are unsure of their relationship during the lecture –The instructor present points, but points are not grouped together well

The Effective Study Skills class open to all students has been accepted and I will be teaching one of the classes this fall semester. Also – An article from the paper I wrote in favor of Effective Study Skills class was published and can be viewed at: Articles for Educators _study_skills.asp

References Developing your studying method. (n.d.) Certification Crazy. Retrieved January 6, 2006 from, advice%20method.htmhttp:// advice%20method.htm Doyle, B. (2004). Effective study techniques. Retrieved January 6, 2006 from Arkansas State University web site: Ellis, D. (2006). Becoming a master student. (11th ed.). New York: Houghton Mifflin Company. Landsberger, J. (2005). The SQ3R reading method. Study Guides and Strategies. Retrieved February 10, 2006 from, Lorphevre, T. (2005). Core Skills Survival Guide. Retrieved February 10, 2006 from London South Bank University Core Skills Survival Guide web site: Note taking system. (n.d). Retrieved February 10, 2006 from California Polytechnic State University web site: Richards, R. (2002). Memory strategies for students. LDOnLine. Retrieved October 4, 2005 from, Seidman, A. (2005). Program justification. Learning Support Centers in Higher Education. Retrieved February 2, 2006 from, Test taking and anxiety. (2001). Retrieved January 6, 2006 from Pennsylvania State University Learning Center web site: