As the semester comes to an end and students prepare for final projects and exams, here are three tips for studying.

Transcript:

0:05: Welcome to 3 to Know with the Columbia Chronicle, your go to source for the top 3 things every Columbia College student, faculty, and staff member needs to know. 

 0:13: I’m your host, Levi Libson. 

 0:16: Whether we like it or not, Thanksgiving break is over and exam season is once again upon us. 

 0:20: If you’re a seasoned test taker or even someone who still struggles a bit to find the right footing in the weeks leading up to exams, well, I’ve got both good news and bad news for you. 

 0:28: The good news is that there are hundreds of great study methods available to you. 

 0:32: The bad news though is that our minds all perform differently, so the same strategy for one person might slow another person down. 

 0:38: Today, I’m gonna go over 3 tips for studying that are generally recommended by professionals. 

 0:43: Tip one. 

 0:44: Paraphrasing, summarizing, and organizing. 

 0:46: One huge trick to success in test-taking is consolidating everything you know into a centralized resource. 

 0:52: For example, gather all information that was taught through sheets, digital files, etc. 

 0:56: then make a real physical cheat sheet and see how much info you can put into one or two pages. 

 1:00: Paraphrase in a way that makes more sense to you. 

 1:02: If something is overly complicated in explanation, dumb it down a bit. 

 1:06: Just as long as you get the main idea, you should be in the clear. 

 1:08: Due to deeper cognitive processing, writing this all out by hand will cause it to. 

 1:11: Stick a lot harder in your brain. 

 1:13: While typing is efficient, it’s far inferior in regards to retention. 

 1:16: In the past, I’ve personally even gone through and rewritten all my class notes before a test and found great success. 

 1:21: In terms of organizing your information on a sheet of paper, follow the Cornell guide to taking notes. 

 1:26: Title and date on the top, questions or keywords on the left hand of the sheet, notes in the center, and a summary at the bottom. 

 1:32: Make yourself a cheat sheet even if you don’t end up studying with it. 

 1:35: The act of making it in of itself will do wonders. 

 1:38: Tip two, don’t cram. 

 1:40: While occasionally cramming might be your best bet, long sessions can lead to burnout and information overload. 

 1:45: In fact, you might still struggle to even retain whatever you were studying by the end, since you’re still mostly working in the short-term. 

 1:52: In the late 1980s, an Italian university student named Francesco Cirillo developed a method for studying called the pomodoro method, which translates to tomato. 

 2:01: At the time, Francesco used a tomato-shaped kitchen timer to space out his studying by increments of 20. 

 2:06: 5 minutes with 5 minute breaks in between and a longer 15 to 30 minute break after 4 pomodoros. 

 2:11: This method of spaced out studying helps your brain strengthen memory pathways for long-term retention. 

 2:17: Not only that, but the strain of a long study session is taken away as you allow yourself to step back and breathe. 

 2:22: My final tip is a lot more simple. 

 2:25: Study with other people. 

 2:26: Studying with other people can give you incredible insight into what you do and don’t know. 

 2:31: Similar to making a cheat sheet of All consolidated information. 

 2:34: Talking through something will also stick with you much stronger than just using a computer. 

 2:37: If you want to have some fun, make some warm drinks and invite a few friends over to study. 

 2:42: You can quiz each other and work through things you might not understand. 

 2:45: A collective of us all tackling a task is quite a lot more efficient. 

 2:48: Plus, it’s fun. 

 2:49: Take the time to set up a good comfortable environment and work, work, work away. 

 2:53: Ultimately, all these techniques are based entirely on the person, so find what works best for you. 

 3:00: Subscribe to our newsletters on our website, Columbia CChronicle.com. 

 3:04: Be sure to also check out conversations for weekly campus highlights. 

 3:07: I’m Levi Liben. 

 3:08: Thanks for listening. 

Copy edited by Brandon Anaya