With finals bearing down on University of Northern Iowa students, the Northern Iowan paid a visit to UNI’s Academic Learning Center to get their tips for how to study effectively. Here’s what they told us:
1. Don’t put off studying. “Students tell us they want to study at the last minute because they want the information to be fresh,” Karen Agee, reading and learning coordinator at the Academic Learning Center explained. “That’s not how learning works.” Instead of hours of cramming the night before, Agee suggested shorter, recurring study sessions.
“What we have to do is learn gradually. Frequent, repeated learning of the same thing make it easier,” she said.
2. Don’t reread everything. It’s not feasible or helpful to reread an entire semester’s worth of material. When looking at textbook or class notes, look at headings, titles, questions and summaries at the end of the chapter. Ask questions about what was in that chapter based on the headings and what concepts students would ask about on the final if they were the instructor.
3. Make a schedule. UNI senior Allison Krois, a peer instructor at the Academic Learning Center, recommends making a detailed schedule that includes time for sleeping, eating, studying and breaks. Krois said that without schedules “we just don’t think about when we have time to get things done” and often find ourselves scrambling to do more than we can handle at the last minute.
4. Play the numbers game. Figure out what a expected grade in a class may be depending on what a final exam grade might be. If a student can’t get an “A” in a class even if they get a 100 percent on the final, but they’ll keep their “B” if they get a 70 percent on the final, they might want to dedicate more of their time to a class where they can raise their grade.
5. Know the instructors. Get into the mind of a instructor and focus on those concepts. Look at past tests and think about how the structure of past tests and base studying around that.
“Studying is practicing to take the test,” Agee said.
6. Know the options. If a student is receiving a “D” or better in a class, it is possible to ask the instructor for an incomplete. If the instructor agrees to do this, “you have a certain number of months to finish up and do whatever the instructor said is needed” Agee explained.
7. Don’t go at it alone. If students are having problems understanding the material, they should contact their professors and/or classmates with specific questions. Students can also call ask a tutor at 273-6023 or 273-2361 to set up a free appointment at the Math Center (students can also just drop-in for math tutoring) or at the Writing Center. Both are located in Room 008 in the ITTC.
8. Be kind. Agee said despair thinking can be one of the most harmful forces working against students during finals.
“(Students think) there’s too much to learn, so I won’t do anything, which is a stark contrast to the normal Iowa culture,” she said.
Diana Garles, a junior peer instructor at the Academic Learning Center, added, “Remember to relax and reward yourself every time you finish a final.”
9. Plan ahead for next semester. It’s not too early to start thinking about improving study habits for next semester. The Academic Learning Center offers free, no-credit classes on speed reading and effective study strategies that can help make studying for next semester’s finals easier.
