Physical Geography (GE 306)

Decide what to study

The key to using your time well is to identify what you need to study. If you try to reread your textbook from cover-to-cover, you'll never finish!

When studying specifically for a test, focus only on material that might be on the test.

• If you have a study guide, use it to guide your studying.
• If you don’t have a study guide, ask your instructor if they have any tips on how or what you should study, such as focusing on lecture notes or on readings from the textbook. 
  • *Hot Tip* Be sure to be polite about how you ask this. Instructors don’t like hearing, “Is this important?” Everything they are share and assign is important, or else they would not waste your time or their time with it. Just because it is not on the test doesn’t make it unimportant.
  • Instead, ask something like, “How would you recommend I study for the test?” or “What will the test cover?”

More tips for studying without a study guide:

• Review notes from class
  • Look at your notes and consider the subject of each lecture and how it was organized. Then look for the most important information.
  • The time spent not just looking over your notes but also noticing how they are organized or what is most important is a great review.
• Look through the assigned readings. Don't reread them cover-to-cover, but look through the headings and illustrations. Which parts are familiar to you? Which do you need to spend a little time reviewing?

Decide how much to study and at what pace

•  Make a study plan.
  • You’ve already decided what content you need to study.
  • Now you should decide how much time you can spend studying for the test.
• Depending on which study strategies you use (see below), you also might want to decide much time you can devote to each topic. 
  • You don’t want to spend all your time learning the first item on the study guide and never get a chance to make it to the rest. It’s better to make sure you get a chance to review most of what is important, even if that means you don’t know any one topic perfectly. Make sure you give yourself enough time to review each concept on your study guide.
  • However, if you know that a particular topic is very important, then it would be worth devoting enough time to that topic to be sure you understand it.
  • The idea is that however you decide to use your time, be intentional about how much time you are spending on different topics for your test.

     

When to study

• Make sure to space your studying out! Taking a break is one of the best learning tools. Seriously. There are two reasons for this:
  1. Sleep plays an important role in memory. 
  2. Learning is most effective when information is reviewed during different study sessions, preferably on different days.
• So, study smart; don’t cram. Do your best to get good sleep between study sessions. If possible, spread your study sessions out. Studying a couple times a week, over several weeks is a great pace.
  • Don’t have time for that? At least try to break your studying up, even if it is just with a short walk.
• Another tip on when to study: when you aren’t hungry. The brain needs a lot of fuel, so be sure to get enough to eat when you are studying.
  • Resources for food assistance can be found here (Login to Canvas required).

Memorizing facts - flashcards

• If you need to memorize facts, such as the artist and title of an artwork, or definitions, flashcards are a great tool.
• There are lots of online programs for making digital flashcards. Some examples include:
  • GoConqr
  • Flashtabs
• Making flashcards by hand is great too. The act of writing the information down helps you remember it better.

   

Understanding how ideas are connected to each other – draw a diagram

• If you need to understand how ideas are connected to each other, such as scientific processes or cycles, drawing out a diagram that illustrates the process will help you remember how the different elements relate to each other.
• If the textbook or other class materials includes a diagram, start by copying the original diagram.
• Then, keep drawing the diagram until you can draw it without looking at the original diagram.
• Variation: draw the diagram, but don’t include labels. Then, use it to quiz yourself. Can you remember how to label it correctly?

   

Understanding beyond a definition – explain it to a newbie

• If you expect the test to have short-answer questions, or if there is too much information to fit on a card, flashcards may not be enough.
• In this case, try explaining the information to someone who doesn’t know much about the topic. This is a great way to make sure you understand it.
  • Try explaining it to a family member (or write a pretend blog post to the general public, or say it in the mirror, pretending you are on TV).
  • Don’t be afraid to be silly with it! It’s okay to use a little humor. I (Rebecca) used to do this in the mirror with a British accent to help make it more memorable.
  • The places where you have trouble explaining are subjects you need to review some more. After you’ve reviewed them, try again.
• The important thing is that you actually say it out loud or write it out. Just saying it in your head is not enough. The practice of saying it out loud or writing it out helps you remember it better, and it makes it clearer which parts you are still iffy on.

   

Remembering it all - Pretend you can use a cheat sheet

• Even if you can’t use a cheat sheet on the test, pretend that you can use a single piece of paper as a cheat sheet on the test. What are the most important things to know? What do you have the hardest time remembering? Write these down on the cheat sheet. Remember, you can’t use more than one page!
• The act of figuring out what should make it onto the cheat sheet is a great study exercise. 
• Did you make a beautiful, colorful cheat sheet? Now, when you need to remember the information on the test, you can try to picture the part of the cheat sheet that included it. Having a visual can help you remember.
• Something about seeing all the important information on one page can help you see how the different ideas connect.
• Ready for the next level? Try fitting it all on half a piece of paper or an index card.
   

• Find a study buddy. See if someone in class wants to study regularly with you. This can help you stay accountable and make studying more fun. You can even ask a family member or friend outside of school to help you study. Having someone else do flashcards with you or ask you questions based on the study guide can help you remember better than studying on your own, especially if it helps you to hear something when learning.
• Ask a peer for advice. Earlier, I suggested asking your teacher for advice on how to study for the test. Ask someone who has already taken the class if they have any advice for how to study for the test, or what they found helpful.