The Final Post- Goodbye!

Hey guys! This is the last time you'll be able to hear about my learning strategies! I know its sad and all but I know you want to hear about my FAVORITE LEARNING STRATEGY, right?

Okay, I use this strategy daily for every single one of my classes. The 20-minute test prep, it is the best strategy for preparing for exams and just keeping up with class. After every single class you take 20 minutes out of your day to make up a few questions using your notes and answer them. You save all of these prep sheets to create an amazing study guide. Now that is exam week, I have turned my 20 minute test prep into one full practice exam. I did this for each of my classes. I have taken my SOC 101 practice test three times, the first two times I got a few questions wrong so I restudied that material and the third time I took the practice exam I scored a 100 percent. I plan to do this with the rest of my classes before the dreadful final exam week! I advise you all to use the 20 minute test prep and my adaptations next semester to help you on your exams !!!

LAME

I have taken different learners type tests and have came up as a kinesthetic and a visual learner, which is why the 20 minute test prep helps me. Because I am actually writing and answering the questions it helps me remember them, my kinesthetic side. There is very minimal action needed for these strategies, you just need to spend 20 minutes extra per class making and answering questions. The only materials you need for the 20 minute test prep is a paper, pencil, and you notes or text book. My evaluation of this strategy is that it is the best for me, I use it as much as I need and it helps me a great deal. I would recommend it to anyone who needs help with preparing for an exam, especially final exams.

HERE IS AN EXAMPLE OF ONE OF MY 20 MINUTE TEST PREP PAPERS!!!!

Graphic Organizers

NA NA NA NA, HEY HEY HEY… GOODBYE! This is sadly the last post that I will be putting up on the Group Name Bloggers. We had a great run guys but it is finally coming to an end. However I will not be leaving you empty handed because I have one more learning strategy. This strategy was the one that I found to me the most helpful for me and the strategy is Graphic Organizers. And I used them in my AST 101 class and in my ANT class.

Its finals time for me at CUSE so I have been using this strategy to help me understand concepts from earlier this semester that I had the most trouble with. For me, Graphic Organizers… well… “organize” the information for me in a way where I can see several topics at once and I can see how they are related. Plus they appeal to my learning style very well because I am a visual learner. They are also quite easy to make because Microsoft Word has an application called SmartArt Graphics. All you have to do is click on the tab labeled SmartArt and pick a graphic organizer that works best with whatever topic you are focusing on. When I draw out Graphic Organizers on paper they tend to be really sloppy with information jumbled around, but with SmartArt, everything is neatly typed and easy to read. I highly recommend using Smart Art.

Graphic organizers are great for studying and clarifying difficult concepts! LAME I am a visual learner and because of that I learn very well from studying Graphic Organizers. My actions involved getting information form my books and my class notes and converting it into the Organizers. My materials were my books, my notes, and SmartArt. The Organizers will help me study for my exams, which is how I am being evaluated in my class.

AST


ANT

5 Minute Escape

Whats up students, I am back with another quick tip that will help you with your studying. This strategy is for helping you with your stress management and it is called the Five Minute Escape. think of it as one of the crazy ten minutes workouts that promise a ridiculous amount of weight-lose, only this is strategy guarantees relaxation. All you have to do is, when you are feeling stressed, take five minutes to do some focused breathing, stretching, and meditation. And this past week I chose to use this strategy for my AST 101 class.

I chose this strategy for this class because I had a Test on Thursday and I knew that I would need something to ease my anxiety on the days before. I found that the best time to use this strategy was before and after study sessions and especially right before you take the test. You may look strange at your desk with your eyes closed but let me tell you, you will feel less nervous and more relaxed. I felt like it helped me be more focused and less likely to make simple mistakes.

L.A.M.E. I am mostly a visual learner but I am also a kinesthetic learner so doing the relaxing actions really helped. My actions just involved doing the 5 minute relaxation. No materials were needed. It helped me study for a TEST which is how my teacher evaluates us.

Five minute escape

Decision

As finals are drawing closer and more work is piling up, stress can get to me. Particularly in my EDU 200 class, which has a big project due the week after thanksgiving break, and my REL 101 class, which has a paper due after the break as well, the weight of school can be pretty cumbersome. This is why I decided to use the five-minute escape strategy to help me move efficiently through these next couple weeks.

Prep and Application

The process is fairly simple: 1. Close your eyes 2. Take five slow, deep breaths. 3. Rotate your shoulders in a circular motion, first backwards five times, then forward five times. 4. Massage your temples in a circular motion with your fingers for 30 seconds. Massage your jaw concentrating on the hinges force yourself to unclench your jaw. 5. Slowly drop your chin onto your chest five times. Move your right ear to your right shoulders five times. Then switch the side, trying to touch your left ear to your left shoulder five times. Finally, move your chin to the left and touch your left shoulder. Switch to the right. Go back and forth five times 6. Cross your arms in front of you reach around to your thumbs and index fingers, knead your trapezius muscle (the one that runs along the top of your back) for about 30 seconds. 7. Take five slow, deep breaths. 8. Open your eyes.

I enjoy funny videos from youtube and other sites, so after relaxing from this exercise, I watch a video from this website:  http://laughgrandma.com/2011/11/18

This kind of makes this a combination between the five minute vacation strategy as well.

LAME

I am the type of learner that needs to stay on top of my work or else I get to swamped. The actions taken to complete this strategy are minimal, just need to follow the process. The materials are next to none. I evaluate this strategy highly.

Time Wasters/ All Pets R Smart

Decision

 This week I used the time wasters strategy for all my classes and the All Pets R Smart strategy for my EDU 200 class. I chose the time wasters because it was required, and the All Pets R Smart strategy because me EDU class is very lecture intensive and the notes taken from that class were directly on the midterm.

Prep and Application

For the Time Wasters strategy I simply thought about what I do in the day that is unnecessary or causes procrastination. The biggest time wasters I found in my day were: Cleaning my room, texting, and napping. All three of these I used to avoid starting or finishing my homework. To remedy these behaviors I decided the best course of action was to start going elsewhere besides my room to do my work so I tempted by less distraction, also for cleaning my room I decided to set up a cleaning time and to stop napping I need to start drinking more coffee.

All Pets R Smart works by first attending the lecture and trying to create a lens or focus for the reading, then you skim the readings and to try and predict what the author is going to discuss. Then you actually read the work and finish by summarizing the important information within the reading. I thought that this would be a good strategy for EDU 200 class; however, by using this strategy I made a discovery. The readings are less about gathering new information and more about giving examples of what we are learning about in next weeks class, so a strategy that requires one to attend lecture first is kind of pointless.

LAME

Neither of these strategies really applied to my learning type. The actions needed to use the time wasters strategy is pretty simple, you just need to think about your behaviors proactively, but for the All Pets R Smart strategy you simply need to follow the steps. Materials: pad and pen. Evaluation: The All Pets R Smart strategy didn’t really work for me and the Time Wasters strategy is a good exercise.

Time Wasters + Form a Partnership

What's up everyone? This week's strategies were all about procrastination. I decided to use the strategies TIME WASTERS and FORM A PARTNERSHIP. I used them for my MAT 121 class because I have a test coming up next week and I did not want o end up waiting till the last minute to start studying. I find that when I do wait till the last minute to study, I end up becoming really stressed out and I might not retain the information as well. And I found these two strategies to be really helpful.

What I did for Time Wasters was I created a chart with two sections. In one section I listed all of the things that I do or use when I am wasting time that should be spent doing school work. In that section I listed things like TV, Texting, Facebook, and Sleeping. The other section in the cart is where you list how you can avoid those time wasters. In my chart I wrote things like keeping the tv on a station that I am not interested like C-SPAN, log of Facebook, and limiting myself to 8 hours of sleep. I spent my time studying when I would have normally wouldn't have been. Although I didn't completely stop doing those time wasters, I did limit myself.

For the strategy Form a Partnership I had to contact someone that I respect (MY DAD) and tell them what I am studying and when I am going to study. I kept calling my dad and he would check up on me to see if I was keeping up with my plan. Because i didn't want to let him down, I made sure I stuck to it.

LAME
I am a visual learner and most of my time wasters involve things like WATCHING tv or movies so it was difficult to avoid those time wasters. My actions involved making a chart and calling my dad. My materials were just my textbooks and my class notes. My teacher will evaluate me by grading the test.

Academic Fears

Decision


This week I decided to map out my Academic Fears for my Rel 101 class as well as my Stats class. Mostly because these are the classes I am not doing as well as I would like to in. I chose the academic fears strategy because I hoped that it would maybe pacify some of my anxieties.

Prep and Application


To begin I made a chart using the same template that is used in the book, including the four sections: Academic Fears, Worst Outcome, Best Outcome, and Action Needed. The best and worst outcomes were simple, and virtually the same for both. The best being, "not failing", and the worst being, "failing". The academic fears were pretty simple. For my Religion class I put: 1. Not understanding the material 2. Not understanding the question for the essay 3. Failing a pop quiz in the discussion section, and for my Stats class I put: 1. Not understanding the material. 2. Failing a midterm 3. Failing a pop quiz in the discussion section. The actions needed were a bit more complicated. For my religion class I put: 1. Read before and after class 2. Go over the question with my TA/Professor 3. Twenty Minute test prep, and for my stats class I put: 1. Imporve notes/ maybe get a tutor 2+3. Twenty minute test prep.

Lame
This strategy actually did not really appeal to my learning style as much. It defiantly still has some more room for creativity to suit my own needs. The actions taken to do this strategy are fairly simple, but you need to be honest with yourself. There are even less materials needed, just a pad and pen. My evaluation of this strategy is fairly high, its nice to know whats behind your own anxieties.

Motivation in the Classroom ~ My adaptations to Exploring Rewards and Academic Fears

MOTIVATION

Everyone needs to be motivated to do their work, some people use different techniques of motivation. For me, I motivate myself using rewards. For example, if I want to go to the mall or out I will not let myself do the activity until I finish a certain homework assignment and I will write it on my white board. Another means of motivation I have used all semester is a picture of a sea-doo jet boat. I put the picture on my bulletin board above my desk because my parents told me that if I do well in my classes all year they will get me a new jet-boat for my birthday. That is my main means of motivation, but my parents also motivate me with my grades at the end of a semester. If I do well they will reward me and if I do bad they will not reward me, I remind myself of this every time I look in my wallet or at my bank account statement. I know there can be more money in both if I do well so I continue to work hard. Another means of motivation is the fact that my mother tells me at least once a day that if I do not do well she will no longer pay for myschooling and take me out of Syracuse. This makes me work harder and hard every day. As my documentation I took a photograph of the jet-boat on my bulletin board.

LAME

By being a visual learner this helps me because I get to see the picture of the jet-boay everyday. It also helps me hearing my mother tell me everyday that I will not be allowed to go back to Syracuse if I do not do well, she has drilled it into my head and I visually see myself home next year and it makes me try harder. It does not take much action to do my adaptations to these strategies because its just thinking and putting up the picture of my reward in mind. Also it does not take much material besides for a piece of paper or a printed out picture. If I was to grade my versions of these strategies I would give them a 100 percent.

Motivation

Welcome back to our wonderful studying blog. The strategy topic this week is very important because it is involved every time you do any work for any class. And that topic is MOTIVATION!! It is what drives us to up any effort into our work and it is what forces us to get out of bed for a 8:00 class when you just stayed up until 1:00. Everyone has different reasons for why they are motivated. For me, I am motivated by the fact that my parents are sacrificing a lot for me to go to SU and knowing that the harder I work now, the more successful I will be later in life. The strategies that I used this week were Exploring Rewards and Academic Fears and I used them both in my ANT 111 class. I chose these strategies for this class because I have a test coming up and I have the hardest time getting motivated because I am not interested in this subject.

In the strategy Exploring Rewards you set up rewards for yourself so that you have something to look forward to while you are working. What I did this week is when ever I work to do, I would set up a reward that interested me. For example, if I did a substantial amount of work I would reward myself with a trip to the Dinning Hall or a few games of my XBOX game. In the strategy Academic Fears, you use the fear of consequences in order to motivate you to you to push through your work. when ever I started to get distracted I would think about what would happen if I didn't do well on my test and then I would think about disappointing my parents.

LAME
I am a visual learner so this strategy did not really affect my style of learning because these strategies were more mental. My actions involved rewarding myself for doing work and using my fears of failure to motivate myself. My materials involved only my text book and class notes. And my teacher is evaluating me by grading my test.

LINK

Decision

Last week I was responsible for a good amount of vocabulary for my REL 101 class and my EDU 200 class. In my religion class we had just started a new unit on Islam and were presented with a good deal of new material. A large portion of this material was vocab. As for my EDU class we had a midterm on Wednesday. Both my EDU and REL classes have a good amount of vocabulary words, and both of them have vocabulary quizzes. Vocab is something that I usually do well in; however, there are always those four or five words out of the fifty or so for each class that I always have trouble with, usually because they sound similar or mean similar things. To remedy this problem I used the LINK strategy.

Prep and Application

There wasn’t that much prep needed for the link strategy. For my religion class I simply took my notes from that day looked for the words that seemed the most difficult and used the strategy. For example, I took the word Kitab, which means scripture, and saw that kitab sort of sounds like kibab; then I drew a picture of a skewer impaling a bunch of scripture pages.

My EDU class was a different story. Since I had a midterm that I had already been preparing for, I had a stack of flash cards already. After studying profusely from the flash cards, I realized that there were a stack of at least 5 or 6 words that I was not grasping as much as the other ones. For these words I used the link strategy. I drafted new cards for each word, and before writing the definition on the card I created an image for the term. This helped a lot because instead of drawing a blank or getting flustered with words I didn’t know I could simply picture the image I had created and work out the definition from there.

Evaluation

I am a visual learner so images like this help me a lot. It actually helps me learn the material rather than just memorizing a definition. The actions taken to use the LINK strategy are fairly minimal and can fit in any twenty-minute test prep or after class organization. The materials are even more minimal. All I used for this was my class notes and my flash cards. I evaluate this strategy very highly and recommend it for anyone who is a visual learner or has trouble learning key terms.

CHUNK CHUNK CHUNK

Hello fellow scholastic athletes and welcome back to the greatest study strategy there is. This week I will be talking about a strategy that is the most important and useful for me! And this strategy is called CHUNKING THE TASK. It is one of the simplest strategies that I use but I think it is ridiculously effective. All you have to do is break up your assignment, whether it is a reading assignment, studying for a test, or writing a paper, and schedual when you are going to complete each section (CHUNK) that you have created. CHUNKING THE TASK is a strategy that works exceptionally well for me.

This week I used this strategy in my Writing 105 class and in my Anthropology 111 class. I chose to use this strategy in my Writing class because I have my Unit 2 paper due soon and I knew that I didn't want to wait to the last minute and I also wanted to spread out the work so I wouldn't get stressed out. I used this strategy in my Anthropology class because I had some reading assignments to catch up on and breaking up the reading made it so that I would not lose interest. So far I have kept up with my schedule and I think the main reason why is because of my adaptations that I made so that this strategy is more efficient and I will explain them in terms of LAME.

I chose to write my schedule on my computer desktop using the application STICKIES because I knew that that would be a place that I would see it constantly. And because I am a Visual Learner, the bright colors stood out to me and help me to not forget about my daily assignments. I set up my schedule in advance by seeing what topics should divide up or by page number of my essay. My ANT teacher evaluates my knowledge of the readings on the Unit Test and my WRT teacher evaluates my essay by how I follow the essay instructions.

20 Minute Test Prep & Ranking Priorities !!

This week we had a choice of any strategy that we have learned over the course of the semester, so I chose my two favorites, 20 Minute Test Prep & Ranking Priorities ! I use both of these strategies all the time, the 20 minute test prep is essential to do after every single class, it makes studying for exams so much easier. Ranking priorities is also essential for me because I have terrible task management and I adapted it to help me even more which I will further explain.

I use the 20 minute test prep in all of my classes. I make it a priority to complete the 20 minute test prep before I go to sleep the day of my class because sometimes I do not have time to do it immediately after I get out of class. It is essential to do it DAILY. For my documentation I took a picture of my 20 minute test prep after my IST195 class a few days ago. We have an exam in 8 days so this is going to be very helpful very soon. I keep all of my 20 minute test preps in organizer that has sections for each of my classes. I do not know what I would do without this strategy! It helps me be so much more prepared for my exams !

Every weekend I make a ranking priorities paper and place it on my bulletin board above my desk. I adapted this strategy because just having rankings did not help me much, I needed to schedule a set day and time to get each assignment done. I believe that this adaption will help everyone out and make the ranking priorities strategy more likely to be used by other students.

LAME

I have taken different learners type tests and have came up as a kinesthetic and a visual learner, which is why the 20 minute test prep helps me. Because I am actually writing and answering the questions it helps me remember them, my kinesthetic side. There is very minimal action needed for these strategies, you just need to rank your priorities and spend 20 minutes extra per class making and answering questions. The only materials you need for the 20 minute test prep is a paper, pencil, and you notes or text book. For the ranking priorities strategy you only need your planner which should already have your assignments listed in it. My evaluation of these strategies is that they are the best for me, I use them as much as I need and they help me a great deal. I would recommend them to anyone who needs help with time management or preparing for an exam.

Charlie Reade Smart

Decision

Recently in my religion 101 class we moved onto a new unit, Islam. For this unit we were assigned to read the novel Palace Walk by Naguib Mahfouz. It is a 500 page novel taking place in Egpyt during its British occupation; it follows the lives of a typical Egyptian family of the period and the Islamic culture of the time. This was all swell until my TA told me that I would have to read up to page 195 for the next week, so the lecture on readings in CLS could not have come at a better time. I chose to use the Charlie Reade Smart strategy because this type of reading is much more comprehensive, and I felt more comfortable with this big of a reading assignment to split it up into chunks.

Prep and Application

To start off I had to split the readings into sections for myself that worked with my attention span and schedule, but before I could even create my schedule I had to find out what all of my readings for all of my classes were for at least the next week. Once I had taken note of my various readings it was time to create my schedule. I made a list of all the days in the week and split my reading list into chunks for each day. Now when I use my planner I just write ‘do readings’, so I can just look at my schedule and see what I need to do rather than write out each reading individually.

The next part was actually reading. In my religion 101 class we have been discussing Islam, particularly Islam in Egypt, so I decided to create a reading guide to keep track of and help me find examples of the main themes we talk about in class and the themes of the book.

I’m still in the exposition of this book so I still have to learn an excess of characters and key locations. To keep track of the main and minor characters I decided to create a family tree. The Family Tree has all the main characters and their important traits, as well as a few minor characters attached to the side. Since there is so much reading I thought this would help me so I never had to keep looking back to remind myself who a character was and not waste time.

Evaluation

I think that this reading strategy was extremely effective for me. I thought that the organization would be the most helpful part; however, the most effective strategy I used was the graphic organizer since I am a more visual learner. The action it took was very minimum to set up the Charlie Reade Smart strategy for my large reading assignment, maybe twenty minutes at the most. In the end I only used three basic materials: My reading schedule, my reading guide, and my character sheet. My evaluation of this overall is very positive. I think I will continue to use this method, yet I might add jeopardy questions from the lecture to answer while I read. 

TART Reading Strategy !

Hey everyone! I am back for another week and with another amazing strategy to help you out on your readings! Every single week for my IST 195 class we have to read a chapter in Discovering Computers. Our lectures are not based only on the book, nor are our exams, however we have to take an online quiz every single week solely based on the chapter we read for that week. This has been starting to gethard for me as the chapters have gotten more complex, which is why this lesson could not have come at a better time. In the beginning of each chapter there is a glossary of definitions and at the end there is a practice test. These both helped me use these strategies to the best of my ability. The strategy I used for this class was TART. Each letter in TART stands for a different word, Terms Attend Read Test. Before class, I read the key terms for the chapter and made abbreviations for them accordingly. The next day, I attended lecture and listened for the key technical terms. After class, I read the entire chapter to make more sense of it. After I finished reading I created test questions that I thought my professor would use on the test, using my notes and the chapter. Lastly, I answered these questions and now I have them to help me prepare for my exam. I also used this same technique for my WRT105 course and took the same steps. This strategy helped me with both of these classes, I did not need to make any adaptations because TART was perfect for both of these courses.

LAME explanation

I am a visual learner so this strategy helped me a lot. It made me write down the key terms and abbreviate them so they were right there in front of me during the lectures. It also helped me because I always create test questions to study from and doing this helped me read and create test questions at the same time. All I needed for both of these courses was my laptop and the required books. This strategy worked out amazing for me in WRT105 and IST195 and I would recommend it to anyone in either of those classes or any other class that has readings. If you have any questions post a comment! Talk to you all next week!

sweetTART

Whats up readers, I'm back this week with another post about a learning strategy that I tried out this past week. This week was all about reading! And the Strategy that I tried out this week is called TART. TART is a strategy that helps you comprehend the reading and also helps you prepare for the test you may have on the reading. You are probably asking yourself, "what does TART stand for?" Well that is a great Question. TART stands for:

T: TERMS A: ATTEND R: READ T: TEST

For the TERMS section, you go through your reading and you look through your reading and you read the bold terms and their definitions. For the ATTEND section, you go to your class and take notes and listen for those words you read earlier. After that, you READ the chapter for the information that you just covered. And lastly you TEST yourself by creating test questions from the reading.

I used this strategy for my AST 101 class and for my ANT 111 class. I chose this strategy for these classes because the two classes are mostly lecture focused and that is what TART is the most helpful for. You use the lecture as a preview for what you are going to read later and that helps you create better test questions to study from.

LAME
I am a visual learner so this strategy was great for me because it is the most effective for Visual and Kinesthetic learners. The order that this strategy goes in is great for me because I first looked in the textbooks to see the key words that I need to know. Then I went to class and I got to see what topics that are important to the professor. After that you read the chapter and you get all of the information and while you are reading you focus more on the topics that were discuses in class because you know that those are the topics that are most likely going to be the most important on the test. And finally you use all of that information to test yourself. My AST 101 class and my ANT 111 class test me on my knowledge of the text as well as what he goes over in class so this strategy works perfect in these classes.

Documentation:

1 Plus 3 Note Taking Strategy !!!!!

I used this strategy in two of my classes, my two classes that are based on lectures. First, I did it with my SOC 101 class. I took a piece of paper and separated it into two different sections on the top 2/3 of the paper, one to organize my key terms/ideas and the other section was for their definitions/explanation. Next, I made a section at the bottom of each page to make my own questions that I believed the professor will ask, which helps me out on my 20-minute test prep because I use those questions. I did this for a few pages of notes in my SOC class and my IST class because they are both based on lectures. You can see one page of notes for each of these classes below. Doing this strategy kept me more focused during class because it gave me something more to do than sit there and take notesand that is the type of learner I am. You did not need many materials to do this strategy, just the lectures. After using this strategy it proved to be very effective. I would recommend this strategy for anyone who needs help focusing, taking notes, or studying.

1 + 3 = Note Taking

Hey everyone, the Group Name Bloggers are back for another week of learning strategies, this past week I used the strategy 1 plus 3 notes. And this week I used it in my AST 101 class and in my MAT 121 class.

The 1+3 Note Taking Method is a process that helps you organize and retain the information from class. What you do is:

DURING CLASS: take notes which ever way you like
AFTER CLASS: on a separate sheet of paper, divide it into 3 sections and label them: Key Concepts, Graphic Organizer, and Test Questions. Then you fill in each of the sections according to that title.

This strategy worked out pretty well for me in my math class but it was awesome for my astronomy class. the graphic organizer helped me understand the information a lot better I am a visual learner.

Here is the 1+3 method in terms of lame:
L- (learner)- I am a visual learner so seeing my notes in a more organized way is much better foe me.
A- (action)- I took my normal outline notes in class then I converted the information to my 1+3 notes.

M- (materials)- I used the notes from my AST 101 lecture and my MAT class.

E- (evaluation)- this strategy is works for me because it forces me to revisit the information from my notes when before, I might not have looked at them until I studied for the exam.

AST


MAT

3 in 1 Notes

Decision

The most important part of almost any class is the lecture. About 90% of all classes primary source of information is the lecture; however, it is not always easy to retain all of the material covered from lectures. This is why people take notes. Note taking is something that everyone does, yet only a handful do effectively. Note taking has an art to it just like anything else. This week I choose to use the 3 in 1 note taking style. I am in the majority of people who take notes but do not really quite take effective notes, so a new approach sounded like a good idea. I used this strategy in my Rel 101 and EDU 200 classes.

Prep and application

The strategy itself mandates that the user split their paper into three separate sections. First splitting the paper horizontally into two thirds/one third sections and then the same thing vertically. The column on the left is used to document key ideas or facts of a certain class. The column on the right is used to organize key terms and their definitions. Lastly, the section on the bottom is used to create possible questions that the teacher might ask in the future similarly to the jeopardy questions strategy. To maximize the effectiveness of this strategy I made three in one note skeletons for next five pages to give myself a comfortable amount to work with without having to worry about possibly running out. This note taking style forces one to pay attention more in class, because it focuses the information being recited into two possible categories: key facts and key terms.

LAME

This strategy was actually very effective. Instead of making a futile effort to record all of the information being passed on by the professor, I could focus on key bits of information rather than trying to decipher the entire lecture. Being a kinesthetic learner, note taking is a very important part of my learning process; however, if I do not create some sort of critical lens to funnel the main source material appropriately. There is very little action required to complete this style of note taking, just a few brief minutes before and after class. If this strategy is combined with the twenty-minute test prep, i.e. making the questions afterwards and creating flash cards with the key terms, it can make any evaluation fairly stress free.