Study Skills for the Sciences

Study/Survival Skills for the Sciences

Keep yourself fit, well-fed, rested, and in a positive state of mind.
- Exercise regularly, maintain a balanced diet, and keep a consistent sleep pattern.
- Expect some frustration and some elation, some disappointment and some success, and keep them in perspective.
- Surround yourself with positive people who will support and encourage you.
Establish short-term and long-range goals.
- Make weekly/monthly/quarterly/yearly assessments of progress toward goals.
- Reward yourself when you reach significant plateaus in your progress toward goals.
- Work with faculty advisors or transfer coordinators to select courses most appropriate for your intended goal or major.
- Make appointments or correspond with people already doing the job you are interested in to be sure your training meets the actual demands of the job.
Organize time available for study and stick to the schedule and routine you establish.
- Create a weekly calendar showing schedules for class, study, work, church, meetings, and sleep.
- Try to study the same subject in the same place at the same time each day.
- Use the old rule of 2 hours of study for each class lecture hour (plan 1 hour of study for each lab hour).
- Keep a separate monthly or quarterly calendar with dates of exams, assignments, and holidays clearly marked.
- Maintain an appropriate workload. If you need to keep a job, take a lighter class load and plan to take a little longer to reach your goals.
Learn to locate and use appropriate reference sources to expand upon textbook and lecture information.
- Know your way around the campus and city library and the Internet.
Know the metric system and be comfortable with its use.
Purchase a scientific calculator and know how to use all of its functions.
Be prepared for class.
- Review previous lecture and reading assignments.
- Using the course outline, anticipate the class topic for the day and read ahead in the text.
- Take your text to class.
- Arrive early, unpack all necessary materials (to avoid class disruption later).
Use class time effectively.
- When possible sit toward the front and in the center of the class. You can connect with the professor more effectively if you feel he/she is talking directly to you.
- Be attentive, take careful notes (use a shorthand technique if possible, think while listening and writing, try to get the concept being discussed if not all the factual details.
- Take notes during videos, films, or other AV presentations - if the room is darkened, bring a small flashlight.
- Use loose-leaf binders for note taking. Additional material from the text or other references can be more easily inserted in sequence.
Observe proper classroom etiquette.
- Be an active, but courteous participant - ask appropriate questions, but don't hog the discussion.
- Use the breaks for snacks or restroom stops. Eating or drinking or leaving class for the restroom disrupts the professor and other students.
- Do not pack up books and materials until the professor has clearly signaled the end of class.
- While waiting in the hallway outside a class, talk quietly - the walls are thin and excessive noise disturbs the class within.
When you read your text:
- Read the Preface, it tells you the organization of the book and the author's intent.
- Note appendices which may contain useful reference information.
- Plan to read each chapter 3 (yes THREE) times. The first time, scan the list of objectives or outline at the beginning of the chapter, the headings, the first sentences of paragraphs, the figures and tables, and the summary at chapter's end - all of these acquaint you with the body of information the author is attempting to convey. The second time, read in detail, underlining or highlighting and making notes in margins - look up words that you are not familiar with in the glossary or a dictionary - and be sure to master the meaning of bold print terms. The third time, scan the material you have highlighted and the notes you have made, then try the end of chapter review exercises, looking up answers for the questions you miss.
- If a published study guide is available, use it to apply and practice the information you have read.
- As you read, stop frequently to explain what you have read in your own terms.
- Take a brief break after each hour of reading. When you return from the break, try to summarize the previously read material.
- When possible, buy new texts - used texts may be missing pages. Don't trust the underlining or highlighting of the previous owner (use a different color) - unless you know the grade they earned in the class.
When you study:
- Study EVERY DAY - not just before an exam. Forget everything you may have heard or said about doing your best work under pressure at the last minute.
- Reorganize and review class notes weekly.
- Make summary sheets where you combine lecture and text information together.
- Work with other dedicated students in a study group - be sure each student brings questions to the study sessions to quiz the others over the material covered. Don't be afraid to drop the group or find another if it is not working for you. Your grade will be reflected on the transcript - not the group's grade.
- Avoid interruptions and stay focused.
- Take a brief break every hour. Eat or drink or use the bathroom only during the breaks to avoid disrupting your concentration. Worry about your problems only during the breaks.
- Stop frequently to summarize what you have been studying and to diagram or explain in your own terms.
- Allow at least three days of preparation for each exam. On the first day, you may want to work with a group to be sure you have all the information you need. On the second day, work alone and exhaustively examine the information in detail, summarizing to yourself frequently - this should be the longest day of study. On the third day, review all information, especially the trouble spots, and get plenty of sleep - you think better when you are rested. Arise a little earlier on the day of the exam to review again.
When you take an exam:
- Take a few minutes to scan the entire test and estimate how long it will take to complete each section and budget your time accordingly. At the end of that time, move to another section and come back at the end if time allows.
- There are usually three groups of questions - those you know, those you can get with a little thought, and those you will have to take an educated guess at. Do them in that order, remembering that you don't have to start with #1.
- Try an answer to everything - the only sure way to miss a question is to leave it blank.
- When you read a question, stop briefly to translate it into your own terms. When you finish a question - read the answer back into the question to be sure it makes sense.
- With multiple choice questions, rather than look for an answer, eliminate those that don't fit until you are left with the only possible choice.
- With essay questions, take time to jot down everything you feel is applicable. Number the items in the list in the order you want to include them and cross them off to be sure nothing is left out.
- If you are distracted by the activities of other students, ask the professor if you can sit in a different location during the test or if you can wear earplugs.
When you take a lab class:
- Read the exercise of the day before you come to class. Plan, in flowchart fashion, the steps that need to be taken to complete the exercise.
- Interact with lab partners freely and frequently. Explain what you discover or learn to lab partners and have them do the same for you.
- Take notes; make sketches; use all the time available.
- Plan out-of-class time for review or practice.
- Ask the professor to preview graphs, charts, calculations before you turn them in.
Get to know your professors and advisors - you may need to ask them for a letter of recommendation later on.
- Know their office location and office hours.
- Try to find opportunities to engage them with meaningful questions or conversations.
- When asking questions, try to show that you have given thought to the problem - don't expect to be given free information that you haven't worked for.
- Make every human effort to attend class - call or leave a note if you are unable to attend for any reason.
- Say hello when you encounter a professor in the hallway - be sure you know their academic title and include it in your greeting.
- Remember that all of your performance and all of your behavior will be part of their assessment of you when they assign a grade or write a letter. You are ALWAYS being observed and assessed.
Remember:
- There is too much information for you to remember it all - the goal of a college education is to learn how to find and organize information and to solve problems in a logical fashion.
- The scientific method is always applicable - identify a problem, form a hypothesis, collect appropriate information, develop an experiment to test the hypothesis, collect and analyze data, accept or reject the hypothesis - if rejected, form a new hypothesis and repeat the procedure.
- The top grades go to those who work the hardest and think the most clearly (98% perspiration, 2% inspiration). Mere attendance does not guarantee a top grade.
- To be successful, you must make college the equivalent of a full-time job.
- It is possible to have FUN while you LEARN.

Return to Biological Sciences Main Page

Content copyright Š1997 Centralia College.
Questions and comments to webmaster@centralia.ctc.edu.
Centralia College, Centralia, WA, 98531-4099. (360) 736-9391.

This page maintained by Greg Garman.

Study/Survival Skills for the Sciences

Content copyright Š1997 Centralia College. Questions and comments to webmaster@centralia.ctc.edu. Centralia College, Centralia, WA, 98531-4099. (360) 736-9391.

Created: September 18, 1997. Updated: September 20, 2000

Content copyright Š1997 Centralia College.
Questions and comments to webmaster@centralia.ctc.edu.
Centralia College, Centralia, WA, 98531-4099. (360) 736-9391.

Created: September 18, 1997.
Updated: September 20, 2000