Resources

Dr. Stephen Chew is a psychology professor at Samford University, he has created some useful videos to explain how students learn and succeed. Watch his videos to better understand how to get the most out of your studying:

Video one - Beliefs That Make You Fail… Or Succeed:

Video two - What Students Should Know About How People Learn: 

Video three - Cognitive Principles for Optimizing Learning: 

Video four - Putting Principles for Learning into Practice: 

Video five - I Blew the Exam, Now What?:

 

Active learning requires us to utilize higher-order or deep-level thinking skills. Understanding what we mean by deep thinking can help us figure out what we need to know for our assignments and exams.
 
The Learnwell Projects website has several resources that can help you develop metacognition skills and reflect on what it means to think deeply. (Metacognition is thinking about how we think and learn).
 
The following two videos can help you reflect on different levels of thinking, from remembering, understanding, applying, analyzing, evaluating and creating:

Video one: Differentiating Students Thinking Skills Part One:

Video two - Differentiating Thinking Skills Part Two:

 
The following article, provides a helpful step-by-step guide of how we can advance through different levels of thinking.

To learn more about the difference between understanding and remembering, and to learn helpful tips to move information from short-term memory to long-term memory, check out the following chapter from Mary Sheir’s (2020) book Student Success.
 
This open-access book provides many helpful tips and resources on adult learning, communication skills, study skills, test-taking, time management, technology skills, research, online learning, presentation skills.
 
Shier, M. (2020). Student Success. Victoria, B.C.: BCcampus. Retrieved from https://opentextbc.ca/studentsuccess/

Check out Frank’s YouTube channel for many other helpful videos to increase your productivity, manage your time, and study actively.

There are many helpful study tools and apps available that can assist you in your studies. The following are some suggestions:
 
Quizlet:

Quizlet is a mobile and web-based study application that allows students to study information. Users can create their own flashcards to strengthen memorization and share content with friends or classmates. Quizlet also offers several language options where users can learn or improve in another language.
 
Anki:
 
Anki is a free and open-source flashcard app that allows you to create your own flashcards. It uses an algorithm built around active recall and spaced repetition, so you can make your studies more efficient and effective.
 
Otter Voice:

The Otter app lets you record, transcribe, search and share your voice conversations and live-captures audio. Otter records and transcribes meetings, lectures, and interviews in real-time, so students can stay focused on the conversation and be assured that all the information is captured and easily searchable.
 
Users can invite collaborators to edit and highlight meeting notes and can export their recordings as PDF, TXT, SRT, MP3; recordings are also saved on the app for playback editing purposes.
 
Otter is only offered for English transcriptions.
 
Be sure that you have permission from your instructor or any relevant parties to record lecture content; failure to receive permission could be a violation of copyright.

UCLA Mindful App:

Good study habits involve integrating mindfulness breaks so that you can recharge.
 
This free app allows you to practice mindfulness meditation anywhere There are basic meditations for getting started, and more in-depth, weekly guided meditations on specific themes.

Nothing Much Happens:

Sleep is essential to effective studying and this podcast is a great resource if you have trouble falling asleep!
Kathryn Nicolai shares short bedtime stories for adults, where nothing much happens. The stories are written and orated through Nicolai’s calm delivery, they can give your mind something to focus on before falling to sleep.

Headspace: Meditation & Sleep: 

Through the HeadSpace app, students can learn how to relax with guided meditations and mindfulness techniques that bring calmness, wellness and balance to busy schedules.