This webpage organizes links to a variety of on-line
resources about developing adequate exam preparation
skills and testwiseness skills.
The following Web sites provide tips to help you study more effectively,
manage your time, organize yourself, take better notes, become testwise,
and handle the stresses of undergraduate life. For those with extra money
on hand, there is a brief list of commercial sites
where you can buy stuff to help with studying and testwiseness.
Each site has been accessed and evaluated as to its content
and usefulness. My comments are meant to provide additional information
about a site so that individual students can assess whether the site might
be of use for a particular need.
The study skills help page is the creation of Dr. Carolyn Hopper, who is
the study skills coordinator for the department of Developmental Studies
at Middle Tennessee State University. At this spot on her page you will
find information on Strategies for Success, and also a comprehensive list
of other sites to access for study skills information.
Becoming an Effective Learner series, is packed with hundreds of practical,
nuts-and-bolts techniques. And you can begin using them immediately.
This site provides useful information about some of the tried and true
methods for achieving success in maximizing your study skills, organizing
your time, writing exams and understanding what is expected of you as a
student.
Tips on concentration, notetaking, test anxiety, reading, and more. This
is an excellent site with a broad sampling of study skills. Deals with
stress, reading strategies and myths, notetaking, and time management approaches.
Offers a listing of "good places to study at Dartmouth College", which
could be a neat initiative to develop at the University of Calgary. There
is information on the "American" classroom, and also memory and concentration
facts and suggestions for improvement. Has the SQ3R approach to reading.
Tips on where to study, the library, rapid reading, report writing, case
study work, presentations, and more.
This United Kingdom site lists some good references to books on study
strategies, as well as taking a hard line on the student's responsibility
to manage themselves. Business school, so emphasis is on developing good
managers. Similar approach to "How": fitness, avoiding harmful substances,
rewards, short bursts rather than brute force studying. Unique is their
emphasis on competence & business skills. This site promotes personal
responsibility for learning and development. Who, What, When, Where, Why.
Has the SQ3R approach to reading, better organized and provides examples...
Good bit on learning and lectures (boring, can listen only as long as my
butt endures...). Good section on how to use the Library on campus (i.e.,
CD-ROMS, librarians, periodicals..). Similar set of strategies could be
developed for U of C? Provides guidance on making presentations (similar
to preparing for a debate) and conducting interviews, preparing a seminar,
and group work roles and creativity. Provides a link to the online "Adult
Literacy Thesaurus" where one can search for synonyms to terms.
Student Learning Center (which is an on campus service unit aimed at helping
students cope, similar to the counselling center at the U of C?) at University
of California, Berkeley: A series of tips and exercises to help develop
better study strategies and habits. When To Study (when, where, and how,
and taking on the rest of the world, Questions to ask when you get stuck),
Seven Day Procrastination Plan (Mon to Sun plan), Techniques To Manage
Procrastination, Learning by Listening, A System For Effective Listening
And Notetaking, Effective-Notetaking (GIF which outlines the before lecture,
during lecture, and after lecture strategy - long text), Taking Tests -
General Tips (wordy, but offers some good tips), Taking Essay Tests (before
test, reading the questions, while you write, after you write), Taking
Problem-Solving Tests (preparation: solving and analyzing lots of problems,
taking the test, reviewing and analyzing the test), Taking Objective Tests
(preparation, taking test: multiple choice, true/false, matching, emphasizes
reviewing the returned exam to continue learning).
Downloaded the ZIP file of the site. Not sure how helpful it is. Optimizing
human potential kinds of stuff, don't know how closely related to experimental/empirical
research.
6th Sense: Have you ever wondered what motivates some people to achieve
so much, whilst others find it difficult to get out bed in the morning?
Have you ever wished that you had more willpower, more success, a better
memory? Have you ever wondered about goal setting, subliminal learning,
stress management, self- improvement, effective study (seven steps, GIF
of seven steps), human potentialÉ? If you have then you then you
have come to the right place. Appears to be a psychology site designed
to guide people to developing optimal performance, only viewed the study
link really.
An extensive alphabetically organized index of links to various informative
counselling documents, including a comprehensive list of Study Skills and
Test Anxiety links, as well as Time Management links.
This brief site consists of a handout from a professor's course on PsychWeb
on how to read/study for comprehension, and a discussion of how long hours
of studying might not pay off unless you structure that studying correctly
This 48-page study skills booklet provides a complete summary of the tools,
tips and techniques necessary for becoming an efficient and successful
student. Five pages from the book are included at this site. These pages
are copyrighted. However, they may be downloaded and used by individual
students or downloaded, copied and tested by teachers as shareware. Author
contact information is available at the site.
I highly recommend this site from Kent State University. A refreshing,
conversational, and humorous approach to college success. The first link
is to a "Freshman Address" which sets the stage for subsequent advice on
how to flunk out, 40 ways to P.O. the prof, writing a basic research paper,
studying for tests, taking notes, reading textbooks, FAQs by freshmen,
course scheduling priorities, and a WhizMail online advice form. Very useful
advice, if students act on it.
Longview Community College
Can download a "Study Tips Guide" which opens Microsoft Word (rtf file),
but what if you don't have MSWord??
Every month this site presents a new series of information pages designed
to help students - particularly those who are learning on their own - to
develop effective study skills.
This Australian site offers good advice to high school age students taking
a standardized exam similar to the Provincial Exams in Alberta, Canada.
Study skills strategies include information processing, note-taking, coping
with study pressures, and links to other websites.
Highly recommended site. A comprehensive body of information ranging from
time management and note taking to writing papers, reading techniques,
and stress managment. Includes SQ3R reading/study system and self-care
techniques for stress management.
This interactive site includes activities in which students can practice
map reading skills and gleaning information from tables to answer multiple-choice
questions, using a table of contents, and following directions.
Offers useful information to the undergraduate student on Learning and
Remembering, Time Management, Listening and Note-Taking, Reading, Concentration
and Distraction, Preparing for Exams, Cramming, and Writing Exams
The majority of college success is due to motivation and time management.
Anyone who tells you that they can get through college without studying,
or that they make great grades without studying is pulling your leg. Success
in college takes effort. This site offers ideas and tools that will help
undergraduates manage time more wisely, address motivation, and use effective
study strategies.
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An all-in-one site that offers advice about preparing for tests, taking
essay and objective tests, and what to do after the test.
Dr. Sobaskie's Strategies and Suggestions for Test-Taking is a concise
and helpful list of helpful test taking tips.
A concise list of test taking strategies in outline form.
Some concise notes on testwiseness and anxiety management from the Learning
Center, School of Liberal Arts, Purdue.
This is a comprehensive site that offers pointers and links to information
on the SAT, PSAT, and other entrance exams.