Ms. Jasper's Math Classes

The following ideas (and many others in the rest of the "Learning How to Learn" tab of this website) are drawn from material I learned while taking an online course this summer called "Learning How to Learn: Powerful mental tools to help you master tough subjects” by Dr. Barbara Oakley and  Dr. Terrence Sejnowski. This "MOOC" (Massive Open Online Course) was sponsored by the University of California, San Diego. Over 177,000 students from around the world participated in this course! To learn more about this course and more about MOOCs in general, please see the links that follow. 

 

 

 

Tip #1: Exercise!

"The best gift you can give your brain is physical exercise!" A very exciting new discovery is that exercise actually helps develop NEW neural connections in your brain and keeps them alive. In addition, exercise benefits all of your vital organisms, not just your brain.

 

Tip #2: (Spaced) Practice Makes Perfect!  

It is important to practice and review what you learn over a long period of time, spacing your studying as much as possible. It is much better to study for 20 minutes a night than to study for 2 hours at one sitting.

 

Tip #3: Don't Overdo It... Schedule in time for leisure and set a quitting time... 

Research shows that those who are committed to setting aside leisure time actually are MORE productive in their work time and get more accomplished than those who obsessively pursue a hectic work schedule…. However your life is going, try to squeeze in some leisure time every day! ... And set a goal time to finish your work, so you have some "play" time to look forward to.

 

Tip #4: Use the "Pomodoro Technique" to work on your "to-do" list. 

Don't rely on willpower to overcome procrastination; use the power of habit instead. The energy to have willpower is exhausting… instead, use the "Pomodoro technique" to help you get started. With this technique, set a timer for 25 minutes during which you will work intensely on the matter at hand, allowing no distractions. That means you turn off your cell phone and don't allow yourself to get sidetracked with email, the internet, or anything else.  Don’t approach your work with a task in mind (for example, saying “I will finish this paper in the next 25 minutes) just commit to staying focused for the time period. After the 25 minutes, reward yourself with some relaxed or fun time, such as 10 minutes of playing a video game. This technique can help you with homework when you are having a hard time getting started.

 

Chrome offers an extension (app) called "Strict Workflow" that blocks Facebook, Twitter, email, etc. for the 25-minute time period. This offers extra assurance that you won't be distracted. Try the Pomodoro Technique... you won't be disappointed!

 

Tip #5: Don't become a victim of "Illusions of Competence"

(in other words, thinking you are learning something when you really aren't)

Using some techniques of studying can sometimes fool our brain that we are putting new information in, when we actually are not. For example, passively rereading a text can sometimes mislead you to believe that you understand the information when you are actually just glancing at the page. Unlike rereading, using recall to remember the basic ideas of the text is proven to be much more efficient. With recall, you close your book or hide your paper and ask yourself to remember what you read. This helps you to test yourself to see if you really can recall, and not just passively re-read the information.

Another illusion of learning is highlighting which can sometimes overwhelm you. Just by moving your hand to highlight the text you are fooling your brain that the idea is understood when it's not. Highlighting can sometimes be useful, but only when one or less sentences that represent the basic ideas in a paragraph are highlighted.

 

Tip #6: Other ways to Avoid Procrastination

Create a to-do list
Write down all of the things that you need to do the next day. Review the list before you go to bed so your mind can subconsciously "think" about your list as you are sleeeping.

 

"Eat your Frogs First"
Finish your more difficult tasks first. Getting the tasks that you find hard "out of the way" is proven to be efficient.

Get rid of the distractions
Turn off your phone and your computer. This allows you to concentrate on the task that you need to finish without dividing your attention with anything else.

Give yourself a break
You can often get overwhelmed by the material. That is why taking a break is very important.