Becoming a Better Student

Two Heads Are Better Than One Get a Study Buddy! A friend can give you a different perspective. You learn better when you verbalize what you are doing. Avoid large study groups.

Why are Quizzes so Hard? Daily assignments generally cover just one lesson, and you can use your notes and/or get help from friends. Quizzes cover multiple lessons and must be completed without notes or other assistance.

Be Prepared! You cannot expect to be successful if you go into a quiz without preparing. Reviewing the material early reinforces the learning which means better test results as well.

Make a Practice Quiz Go to the calendar and determine which assignments the quiz will cover. From each assignment, choose 1 – 3 problems, each of which represents a different skill. Focus on concepts that are NEW to you this year. Write them on a sheet of paper, including instructions.

Make a Practice Quiz (2) Once you have 5 problems that represent ALL of the material, sit down and work them on a separate sheet of paper under usual quiz conditions -- no notes, no calculator, 15 minute time limit. Look up the answers and assess what you know and what you don ’ t know.

Follow Up! Now that you know where you need extra study, find and work additional problems similar to those that you missed. Work extra problems until you are confident that you have mastered all skills represented in your practice quiz.

Don’t Stop Yet! Remember your Study Buddy from the first slide? THEY made a practice quiz too! Swap practice quizzes with them and see if you can identify another area where you need extra practice.

Does This Sound Like a Lot of Extra Work? News Flash – if you want to get better at something, you are going to have to invest some additional effort. Once you get the hang of this, you will get much faster at it.

Better Yet... Once you start approaching your assignments with the mindset of identifying the types of problems, you will do so automatically. When you start to mentally categorize the material, you will do better on your practice quizzes and will have to spend less time remediating.

The Bottom Line Improving your skills takes time. Be patient and methodical. Your friends are probably in a situation similar to yours. Help each other. Success builds confidence. You can do this!