Study Skills CC

Ep1 TAKING NOTES

 Handwritten notes for more retention

 Typing notes allows more volume
 Language= syntax + meaning
 Typing= syntax focused
 Handwritten = meaning focused
 Summarizes, high signal to noise ratio
 THE OUTLINE METHOD: bullet list, generic note taking that is taught
 CORNELL METHOD: cue column, notes column, summary column
 MIND MAPPING: apps like coggle

Ep 2 READING ASSIGNMENTS

 CAL NEWPORT book: HOW TO BECOME A STRAIGHT A STUDENT

 Assigned readings: favored source+ supplemental reading
 Visual range made of 3 things : fovea, parafovea and periphery
 Only fovea has enough cones to read
 Fovea pretty small- quick jerky movements- SACCADES
 Pause- FIXATION- takes in 1 to 2 words, sends them for processing to the PREFRONAL
CORTEX
 Other factors that lower speed limit: COMPREHENSION SPEED
 Working memory: 4-7 chunks of information at once
 REGRESSION- eye moving backward to re-read text
 RSVP-rapid serial visual processing and eliminating subvocalization are FUTILE
 Only solution- PRACTICE, minimize daydreaming by setting a time goal for chapters, pseudo
skimming method
 HOW TO REMEMBER WHAT U READ: RECALL IT or RECOGNIZE IT
 Highlighting MISTAKES recognition as active recall
 CAL NEWPORT: MORSE CODE METHOD: big interesting idea DOT beside it; example
supporting that idea DASH beside it
 Active reading: SQ3R- SURVEY QUESTION READ RECITE REVIEW

Ep 3 MEMORY

 Sensory memory- lost almost immediately

 Short term/working memory: how to store easily: dividing BITS into CHUNKS
 SPACED REPETITION is primary to allow new neural connections to solidify
 Brain latches more to information that is more TANGIBLE, VISUAL and UNCOMMON
 MNEMONICS >
 Can be done by ‘sayings ’or building stories
 Memories decay quickly unless accessed AGAIN and AGAIN
 BENEDICT CAREY- book HOW WE LEARN- FORGET TO LEARN THEORY:
 Memory has 2 strengths: STORAGE STRENGTH and RETRIEVAL STRENGTH
  Storage s: think of it as a library where you place a book on the shelf, it doesn’t go anywhere
 Retrieval s: the lazy librarian who doesn’t do a v good job of keeping the books catalogue
 SO UNLESS YOU GO AND ORGANIZE THE CATALOGUE- recall the memory- IT WILL
EVENTUALLY FADE w TIME
 THE MORE THE MEMORY’S RETRIEVAL STRENGTH HAS FADED- THE MORE DIFFICULTY
RECALLING IT- THE GREATER THE STRENGTH IN LEARNING WILL BE
 SPACING EFFECT- no pain no gain of the mental realm
 THE PRINCIPLE OF DESIRABLE DIFFICULTY: to maximize the efficiency of your study, you
want to find the point right before you’re about forget something
 LEITNER SYSTEM: 5 boxes system look more into it
 More spaced repetition apps: Anki, quizlet, tiny cards
 Not every subject can be studied through flash cards- still needs A STRICT SPACED REPITION
ALGORITHM
 ALWAYS FOCUS ON ACTIVE RECALL- don’t just passively read over your slides, take quizzes
or write summaries

Ep 4: PLANNING and ORGANIZATION

 Student have 2 modes: PLANNING MODE and ROBOT MODE

 One must know how to PROGRAMME your robot mode and create AN ENVIRONMENT fro it
to work efficiently
 ORGANIZATIONAL SYSTEM:
1. TASK MANAGER
2. CALENDER
3. NOTE-TAKING SYSTEM
4. PHYSICAL STORAGE
 Task manager: TODOIST; TRELLO; MICROSOFT TO DO; ANYDO
 Calendar: keep it separate from task manager
 Notes: either physical- keep giant folders for flashcards or something; EVERNOTE for digital
notes
 QUICK CAPTURE: 1. To commit to entering things into the correct place the moment they
come up
2. temporary holding place- DAILY Note- notes app of your phone or a piece of paper

 PLANNING: WEEKLY and DAILY

 WEEKLY- to look out for things that are coming in the upcoming week, do on Sunday
 Long term planning for exams in the next month
 If been assigned new project, break project into little chunks and assign due dates to those
chunks
 DAILY- few mins each day, the night before
 BATCH YOUR TASKS- easy low energy tasks, combine them or if you have travel
 ONE DAY A WEEK FOR REVIEWING- while reviewing see what you planned to do and how
much you got done, if a gap between the two, see if you were distracted or simply put on
too much things to do- can prevent ENTROPY- how everything in the universe tends to
move towards disorder and chaos
Ep 5- FOCUS and CONCENTRATION

 ATTENTION: focusing your cognitive resources on ONE PARTICULAR STIMULUS or SOURCE

OF INFORMATION while ignoring all others in the environment
 2 kinds of attention: TOP DOWN/VOLUNTARY ATTENTION: based on task demands like
needing to read a page in the textbook
 BOTTOM UP/STIMULUS DRIVEN ATTENTION: automatically focused attention; doug the dog
from movie up “squirrels”
 DIRECTED ATTENTION FATIGUE: one becomes more and more distracted as time goes, tires
like any muscle in the body
 Strength of your inhibitory mechanisms (that cancels out any competing stimuli) depends
upon:
1. Your environment
2. Your tendency to seek novelty when bored
3. Your interest in the task
4. Your brain’s current state
5. How long you’ve been focusing your attention
 HOW TO STRENGTHEN YOUR ATTENTION MUSCLE AND GET THE AMMUNITION IT NEEDS:
1. STOP MULTITASKING: your brain suffers COGNITIVE SWITCHING PENALTY because it’s
only giving an impression of multi-tasking; switching from one task to another creates
ATTENTION RESIDUE- while switching a residue of one’s attention is stuck thinking
about the original task
2. TAILOR YOUR ENVIRONMENT FOR BETTER FOCUS: ONLY STUDING spot; putting away
anything non-essential to the task; break down your task into smaller chunks to avoid
fazing out and filtering essentials; anticipate potential distractions
3. LEARNING TO RESIST CRAVINGS OF NOVELTY: our brain naturally doesn’t like HARD
WORK or BOREDOM; THE STRENGTH OF THESE CRAVINGS IS SET BY HOW OFTEN YOU
GIVE INTO THEM; OUR ACTIONS > HABITS > EXPECTATIONS that become hard wired
patterns of behaviour
BY ACKNOWLEDING THAT CRAVING FOR NOVELTY AND DELIBERATELY IGNORING IT
AND GETTING BACK TO WORK, YOU START TO BUILD A TOLERANCE FOR BOREDOM
AND WEAN YOURSELF OFF THAT NEED FOR CONSTANT STIMULATION
4. apps that can help: COLD TURKEY, STAYFOCUSD, FOREST
5. BREAK: 25-30 mins cycle then break- standup, stretch, get some water;
!!!!! during these short breaks it is important NOT to switch to another task or do
something distracting as it will create that ATTENTION RESIDUE
LONG PLANNED BREAKS: can do something fun or distracting
6. BIOLOGICAL NEEDS OF THE BBAIN: at least 7 hours of sleep, nutrients and exercise
once a day