Concentrating

Concentrating when studying	Learning to learn Critical reading Effective study habits Concentrating ◄ Memorizing A.S.P.I.R.E. - a study system Index - a study system Studying with multiple sources Test preparation & taking	Concentration is the eternal secret of every mortal achievement Stefan Zweig, 1881 - 1942 Austrian
Concentration: the ability to direct your thinking The art or practice of concentration, no matter if studying biology or playing pool, is to focus on the task at hand and eliminate distraction We all have the ability to concentrate -- sometimes. Think of the times when you were "lost" in something you enjoy: a sport, playing music, a good game, a movie. Total concentration. But at other times, Your mind wanders from one thing to another Your worries distract you Outside distractions take you away before you know it The material is boring, difficult, and/or not interesting to you. See the Flash distraction (needs high speed connection) These tips may help: They involve What you can control in your studies Best practices What you can control in your studies: "Here I study" Get a dedicated space, chair, table, lighting and environment Avoid your cellphone or telephone Put up a sign to avoid being disturbed or interrupted If you like music in the background, OK, but don't let it be a distraction. (Research on productivity with music versus without music is inconclusive) Stick to a routine, efficient study schedule Accommodate your day/nighttime energy levels See our Guide on Setting goals and making a scheduling Focus Before you begin studying, take a few minutes to summarize a few objectives, gather what you will need, and think of a general strategy of accomplishment Incentives Create an incentive if necessary for successfully completing a task, such as calling a friend, a food treat, a walk, etc. For special projects such as term papers, design projects, long book reviews, set up a special incentive Change topics Changing the subject you study every one to two hours for variety Vary your study activities Alternate reading with more active learning exercises If you have a lot of reading, try the SQ3R method Ask yourself how you could increase your activity level while studying? Perhaps a group will be best? Creating study questions? Ask your teacher for alternative strategies for learning. The more active your learning, the better. Take regular, scheduled breaks that fit you Do something different from what you've been doing (e.g., walk around if you've been sitting), and in a different area Rewards Give yourself a reward when you've completed a task Best Practices: You should notice improvement in a few days But like any practice, there will be ups, levels, and downs: It will benefit other activities you do! Be here now | Worry time | Tally Card |Energy level | Visualize Be Here Now This deceptively simple strategy is probably the most effective. When you notice your thoughts wandering astray, say to yourself "Be here now" and gently bring your attention back to where you want it. For example: You're studying and your attention strays to all the other homework you have, to a date, to the fact that you're hungry. Say to yourself "Be here now" Focus back on subject with questions, summarizing, outlining, mapping, etc. and maintain your attention there as long as possible. When it wanders again, repeat "Be here now" and gently bring your attention back, and continue this practise, repeatedly. It will work! Do not try to keep particular thoughts out of your mind. For example, as you sit there, close your eyes and think about anything you want to for the next three minutes except cookies. Try not to think about cookies...When you try not to think about something, it keeps coming back. ("I'm not going to think about cookies. I'm not going to think about cookies.") You might do this hundreds of times a week. Gradually, you'll find that the period of time between your straying thoughts gets a little longer every few days. So be patient and keep at it. You'll see some improvement! Do not constantly judge your progress. Take it easy on yourself. Good practice is enough to say that you did it, and that you are on the road. The mind is always different and the practice unfolds over time with many ups and downs. Worry or Think Time Research has proven that people who use a worry time find themselves worrying 35 percent less of the time within four weeks. Set aside a specific time each day to think about the things that keep entering your mind and interfering with your concentration. When you become aware of a distracting thought, remind yourself that you have a special time to think about them, Let the thought go, perhaps with "Be here now," Keep your appointment to worry or think about those distracting issues For example, set 4:30 to 5 p.m. as your worry/think time. When your mind is side-tracked into worrying during the day, remind yourself that you have a special time for worrying. Then, let the thought go for the present, and return your focus to your immediate activity. Tallying your mental wanderings. Have a 3 x 5 inch card handy. Draw two lines dividing the card into three sections. Label them "morning," "afternoon," and "evening." Each time your mind wanders, make a tally in the appropriate section. Keep a card for each day. As your skills build, you'll see the number of tallies decrease Maximize your energy level When is your energy level at its highest? When are your low energy times? Study your most difficult courses at your high energy times. Sharpest early in the evening? Study your most difficult course then. Later in the evening? Work on your easier courses or the ones you enjoy the most. Most students put off the tough studies until later in the evening when they become tired, and it is more difficult to concentrate. Reverse that. Study hard subjects at peak energy times; easier ones later. This alone can help to improve your concentration Visualize As an exercise before you begin studying, think of those times when concentration is not a problem for you--no matter what situation. Now try to feel or image yourself in that situation. Recapture that experience immediately before your studies by placing yourself in that moment.. Repeat before each study session. Portions adapted with permission from Help Yourself. http://www.k-state.edu/counseling/concentr.html University Counseling Services, Kansas State University. "Be here now" corresponds to Bhuddist insight strategy See also J. R. Hayes, The Complete Problem Solver. Franklin Institute Press, 1981

Improve your memory (Science students)

For Science students

Science students often need to memorise complex and detailed information. This pamphlet provides some strategies to help you remember scientific material more effectively. You can experiment with different techniques yourself and develop methods that suit your own learning style and the subject matter.

Generally speaking, the more important it is for you to remember something, the more actively you need to engage with it and the more frequently you need to revisit it.

To memorise something you need to attend to it, to store it and be able to retrieve it.

Here is a method to help you remember things:

Why? Establish the benefit of recalling this knowledge (after all, we can't memorise everything)

How? Determine how your brain best stores and retrieves information

What? Categorise and relate to the information ( make it memorable)

When? Actively review and revise the material frequently

1. Establish why you need to remember something

   Memorising detailed material is a different process to learning theory or concepts; hence the methods you use to store these types of information are different. The first step in memorising something is to be motivated to remember it. Ask yourself why you need to commit it to memory. Is it fundamental knowledge in your subject area? For example, the structure of molecules is fundamental in organic chemistry and knowledge of electric circuits is fundamental in physics. Sometimes you need to remember an author's name and experiments so that you can refer to them in an exam or a tutorial. You will remember things better if they are important to you.

2. Focus your attention on the information

   Your brain 'files' information in a more accessible way if you pay attention to the information carefully in the first place. When you first attempt to memorise new material, it is important to:

   • choose a time when you feel alert
   • work in a place with minimal distractions
   • focus your full attention on it
   • use your preferred learning style

   You can get an idea of your preferred learning style by taking this test.

   The table below gives you some examples of how different learners might prefer to remember things:

   Visual (~55% of the population)	Auditory (~30% of the population.)	Kinaesthetic (~5% of the population.)
   write lists	read lists aloud	travel lists (in your head, move through a familiar space (e.g. your bedroom) associating familiar objects with the items on your list)
   Use pictures, visualise information as 3D images	Associate with sounds rather than words
   Use concept maps and timelines	explain diagrams to yourself	Write the information on place cards and move them around as you memorise them (lay them out in a design that helps you connect them, omit some and see if you can recall the 'gaps' from memory etc.)
   draw diagrams/flow charts	Use auditory cues (e.g. tell yourself 'listen , I have to remember this...')

   Information will be retrieved via the same process that you used to store it. Hence if you're not sure which method of storing information is best for you, think about how you would like to retrieve the information - do you want text to trigger the memory (i.e reading an exam question?) or sounds (do you read the questions 'aloud' in your head?) or via connections to other things? Match your techniques to your preferred outcomes.

3. Consolidating the information to be remembered

   A mass of new information can seem overwhelming - how can you consolidate the numerous pieces into something more manageable? You need to bring the material together (group it) and relate it to things that you already remember easily, or things that mean something to you. You need to make it memorable!

   Grouping the information

   Research into memory suggests that most of us can only hold seven, plus or minus two, items of new information in our short-term memory at once. You can 'chunk' information, by remembering a group of items as one unit and so increase the amount of information you can remember. You do this, for instance, when you recall the differences between mammals and reptiles, or their similarities - as opposed to a tree! Obviously, the grouping of information can help us to recall and categorize far more complex material than this, so utilise this technique whenever you are faced with a mass of new information. For example, you could divide the chemical properties of compounds into their functional groups.

   Connect new material with your existing knowledge

   Draw a concept map of your existing knowledge of a topic and show how the new material fits into the map

   Link new material with things, places or people that you can already recall easily. The best 'memory triggers' are the ones that are specific to you .

   Use new material in a meaningful context

   Relate new concepts to 'the real world' For instance, if you encounter the word, 'hypothyroidism' you may remember it better if you consider - what would it mean to your life if you had it? What symptoms? What effects? You can also consider language roots as contrasts - hyper thyroidism - what effects would that cause? (Hypoc hondriac may then become applicable...). Words in a text can become more meaningful if you consider their 'real world' implications, making them easier to remember.

   Use a new formula to solve a variety of different problems.

   Explain a biochemical cycle to a friend. Teaching others requires your brain to order and reproduce information logically and this process helps you to consolidate your own understanding of the material.

   Mnemonics

   Use memory tools, called 'mnemonics'. Although they are generally meaningless (ROYGBIV for the spectrum of visible light), mnemonics may be so vivid that you remember them for your lifetime. The most memorable mnemonics are the ones you create for yourself (the sillier the better). Remember, the idea is to make it memorable , and where the information itself is not particularly easy to remember, a silly mnemonic can certainly help.

   Mnemonic	Example
   Link the first letters of the materials to be remembered to the first letters of words in a crazy sentence.	To remember the nine essential amino acids for humans: isoleucine, leucine, lysine, threonine, valine, tryptophan, histidine, methionine, phenylalanine, some students remember the sentence: "I love lysine though Val thinks his meth's preferable." (Verhagen 2004)
   Use acronyms to help remember the order of words.	LASER is an acronym for Light Amplification by Stimulated Emission of Radiation. You can invent your own acronyms for word sequences you need to remember. ELMO (for Sesame St fans) reminds us that Electron Loss Means Oxidation.
   Create a rhyme that includes the concepts to be remembered	Sedges have edges Rushes are round Grasses are hollow, right down to the ground. (Verhagen 2004)
   Set the words to be remembered to a memorable song	Students have used the nursery rhyme, Twinkle Twinkle Little Star, to memorise quadratic equations and the Christmas carol, the Twelve days of Christmas to remember the twelve pairs of cranial nerves.
   Create memorable visual images	Melanie had difficulty in remembering the composition of chemical compounds but she had no difficulty in remembering the names of her friends. To remember the make-up of compounds she associated each commonly found cation, such as sodium (Na + ), lead (Pb ++ ) and aluminium (Al +++ ), with the name of one of her male friends. Then she associated each anion, such as chloride (Cl - ) or oxide (O -- ) with one of her female friends. After that, the formation of compounds became a fun exercise of grouping her friends together in different combinations with different interesting outcomes (properties)!
   Locate things to be remembered at different points along a journey.	For example, to remember a sequence of chemical reactions, imagine each reaction in the correct order occurring at a different spot along your route from home to university. To recall the sequence of reactions, imagine walking to university and finding the correct reaction at each spot. You can revise this every day!
   Visualise the things to be remembered as a picture or a story.	For example, you could picture the shapes of organic compounds as innovative house designs with each oxygen atom O, as a bathroom and the bonds as passageways connecting bedrooms, methyl groups (CH 3 ) to lounge rooms (N).

4. Actively review and revise the material frequently

   One of the ways in which memorising detailed material is different to learning theory is the need to re-visit it over and over again in a short space of time during the initial learning phase. The amount of repetition and the time between reviews will depend on your brain and the complexity of the material to be remembered, so evaluate these for yourself.

   Review frequently: A guide is to review after 24hrs, again after another 24hrs, then after 48hrs and again after a week.

   Test yourself: Test yourself on the new information frequently and correct your mistakes.

   This will help to fix the information in your long-term memory and facilitate recall when you need it, alleviating the pressure on your short-term memory.

References

Sargeant, D. & Clinkenstein, A. (1998). Remembering Well: How memory works and what to do when it doesn't. St Leonards, NSW. Allen and Unwin

Verhagen , J. 2004 Science jokes: Section 11-Mnemonics. http://www.xs4all.nl/~jcdverha/scijokes/ Retrieved : 10 /4/05

Time and Task Management

Getting it all together

Before you start

Most students begin university with other commitments and so it is important to look at the year ahead and note the things you know will come up and which you must do. If you are employed there will be issues around work hours, travel and other obligations. At university there will be a new set of deadlines relating to enrolment, due dates for assignments, HECS, timetable and examination times and dates.

Think about your year and what is flexible a nd what is not. Make sure you collect your Student diary - it contains all the official university dates you will need to know.

Take some time to think about how you manage time in your everyday life, as this is an important clue to the sort of time management issues you will face in your first year. Are you the sort of person who likes routine? Are you always on time? Do you like organising your time? OR are you the kind of person who leaves things to the last minute? - someone who enjoys the challenge of a deadline?

Whichever sort of person you are there will be challenges to face in terms of adding university study to your life.

Q: If travelling to Bali, when do you pack?

Beware! Your answer will reveal your true self

1. one week before and leave the suitcase in the hall
2. a couple of days ahead
3. the night before
4. as the taxi is pulling up

Successfully managing your time and your study is not about changing your answer to the when do you pack question. Instead, you need to understand the implications of your answer in terms of a realistic appraisal of your use of time. For example, those who pack at the last minute have been packing the suitcase for days (in their head) in terms of ensuring that the needed clothes and other items are ready. It is not until one explores behaviour that different ways of managing tasks and time emerge.

This leaflet outlines some key issues in relation to getting the best out of the time you have to study.

Organising your timetable

1. List all university commitments lectures, tutorials and practicals.
2. Add other fixed commitments (paid work, house duties, sport other areas of responsibility).
3. Look for blocks of time that can be used for study group meetings, researching in the library, reading and writing up.

Using a timetable

If you discuss your study timetable with friends and family - and place the timetable on the fridge - it can greatly reduce the pressure you might find yourself working under; the arguments with girlfriends/boyfriends/children when you refuse to go out too many times in a row.

Managing tasks not time

A helpful way to reframe the idea of time management is to cease thinking about the time to do something and focus attention on what you want to do. If you manage the task the time can manage itself. The stress we feel around time is not time itself but the undone task. Getting on with it is the best way to manage time.

A task management approach

When trying to manage time the easiest way to fail is t o plan a series of tasks in the most general way eg:

2pm physics
2.30pm Biology

There is not enough planning here to ensure that you have the relevant material with you or that you have a clear idea of what you want to achieve. Compare this:

Monday
break down essay question
write a rough plan of issues
borrow books on reading list
read 2 articles

There are 24 hours in every day and so your task here is to complete these specific tasks. When you do it is flexible but you have noted that these tasks should be finished on Monday. If Tuesday arrives and these tasks are not completed then they must be added to Tuesday's list.

Don't worry. Be organised

Often, the worst part about having a lot to do is not the work itself but the worry associated with it. Find your own way of keeping track of what you have to do. Use your diary, a planner, write on a whiteboard, or keep lists on the fridge. Don't wait for the right time to start work. Anything that you do is assisting you finish. Sometimes grabbing half an hour can be the turning point to finishing.

Early bird or night owl?

You know whether you can work best in the morning or late at night. Managing study will require you to find a rhythm about your work with the possibility of making extra time. Establishing a pattern will be very important. Be as creative as you can. Getting up really early in the morning before coming to uni or going to work can provide an opportunity to catch up but not something you would do everyday because then you have no extra to give when you need to.

Procrastination is just a state of mind

For just about everything we do there is a preferred way of doing it. It can be really helpful to ask other students how they manage their time not so that you can copy them but so that you begin to recognise that managing time is personal.

If you have to battle procrastination it may be that you have not worked out a way of managing a task. Procrastination can be your mind's way of saying I don't know how to start. Frequently procrastinators can be very busy doing things instead of the thing they should be doing. It is not laziness it us just a lack of knowing where to begin.

Many students assume that study is about knowledge and subject content when in fact the best way to be a successful student is to know what to do with the information presented to you.

Study skills assist time management

Having processes in place is the best way to get a job done. It is obvious to us in non academic tasks that there is a method. Think of a hobby such as windsurfing, caving, collecting stamps, sewing or gardening. To do any of these things requires some tools or kit and an idea of achieving something. Academic tasks are no different and perhaps the best way for a procrastinator to get on with the job is to work out some clear steps to take.

Essay writing

Managing time around the task of writing an essay means planning each of the steps in the process so that you always know what you need to be doing. What is your writing plan? For example:

• Read the question.
• Rewrite and break down into issues that need addressing.
• Find and prepare reading materials, (borrow or photocopy).
• Take notes, use a notebook and keep good records of what you are reading in terms of author, date, title publisher and place. This way you won't need to go rushing back to the library. Using a notebook instead of bits of paper can save time when you are looking for that fantastic quote you remember reading.
• Write; rest (not you! The essay draft) and edit. You can have one draft resting while you begin another.

Reading

Students frequently complain that they have spent massive amounts of time reading but they can't remember anything the next day. One must ask why reading needs to be memorised. Note taking is the middle step that provides a bridge between the first reading and the decision to memorise for an exam.

Personal issues

Managing study tasks has to be achieved in relation to the rest of your life. Fitting everything in means making choices and as far as possible knowing what lies ahead. Sometimes managing time successfully means saying no to friends, family and overtime at work.

The essential element to managing time is to always know what you have to do, to have a plan for doing it, and to have worked out a method.

Develop the list habit. Use your diary, or emulate Ros Kelly and put a whiteboard in your room, but keep daily 'to do' lists.

Negotiate with the people in your life around your needs and what they want.

Create different time spaces for study and for life. If you have chosen to go out socially instead of studying don't waste it moping about not studying. Get back to the books the next day.