I'm not here to change any of that. Instead, I want to help them manage all these pitfalls and still get everything done. The following suggestions are adapted from "How to be a High School Superstar" by Cal Newport. If you don't have time to do it right, when are you going to have time to do it over? I. Get Organized I've tried a lot of systems with my students over the years and this is the one that works everytime for everybody. Have a 3-ring binder for every class. In each binder, use three dividers to form the following sections;
II. Take Notes with a Purpose As a teacher, I try tell my students when I want them to take notes and what I want them to write down. Other teachers don't. If I don't, their notes look exactly like what I write on the board, which tell only half the story. What I say connects what is written on the board and that is probably the most important part. Teachers spend a lot of time trying their best to organized, synthesize, and dispense ideas and topics. It's the students challenge to decipher this presentation and create their own plot. They need to personalize it with their experiences and previous knowledge. Good notes weave together an organizing questions, lists evidence presented, and summarizes answer to the question. Cal Newport called this the QEC Method: Question, Evidence, Conclusion. At the end of class, if you don't know the question, get enough evidence, or able to write a conclusion, ask the teacher. By the way, take notes by hand. Don't type your notes, its scientific evidence that handwriting notes is better. Several researchers contend that writing by hand stimulates special neural circuits leading to stronger reading ability, new idea generation, and retention of information. III. You Haven't Really Learned it Until you can Teach it.
The most inefficient way to "study for a test" is to re-read your notes or book---its too passive. Actually learn the same material in half the time by actively recite the information. Stand infant of a mirror, set up a mock class of animals or figures, stand and deliver the content to your audience. One of the best ways that I've seen is that a student created a video of herself teaching the material and posted it on Youtube. She said that preparing the content was the first round of learning. The second round of learning occurred to her as she was editing the clips and piecing them together in a clear and coherent manner. Awesome!
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Author"Your only as good as your record collection." -DJ Spooky Archives
September 2020
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