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Creating Study Purpose of study guides. Study guides provide a way to visually organize lecture notes and text book material so that you can increase your comprehension and memory of large amounts of information. Preparing study guides allows you to see and make meaningful connections with the material, thus acquiring the higher levels of learning expected by many of your professors. Study guides and learning levels. Preparing for tests often involves more than memorizing facts, figures, formulas, and definitions. Many professors expect you to demonstrate critical thinking, which involves more than rote memorization. In many classes, with multiple choice and essay exams, you are required to compare/contrast, analyze, evaluate, or synthesize information you have learned. To be able to learn at these higher levels, you must develop strategies to organize lecture notes and text book material so that you can increase your comprehension and ability to think critically. Examples of learning levels. Review the following examples of test questions from a sociology class. The first question only requires that you recall a definition, which you can do well through rote memorization techniques such as flash cards. The remaining questions require you to make connections or conclusions that may not have been directly presented by your professor or in your text book. Question 1. A group of relatives by marriage constitute a. a conjugal family b. an extended family c. a nuclear family d. none of the above Question 2. Sammy's parents had a party for him on his fifth birthday. They invited both sets of grandparents and Sammy's father's brother and his children. This is called a gathering of: a. a consanguine family b. a conjugal family c. an egalitarian family d. a patriarchal family Question 3. Discuss the term conjugal families, by making reference to the different types of societies to which they could belong. Academic Resource Center, Taggart Student Center Room 305, (435)797-1128 Question 4. Describe the economic consequence of a neolocal society. To correctly answer test questions like those in the example, you must create the types of study guides that will help you: 1. visualize and understand relationships among concepts and ideas. 2. condense course material into smaller amounts of information that are easier to remember. 3. create examples and apply information to "real world" situations. Six basic study guides. Within this Idea Sheet are examples of six basic types of study guides. These study guides can be adapted based on your personal learning style and the information you are needing to organize. Experiment with these, as well as using other study guide formats that you have found to be effective. Remember, the purpose for study guides is to organize information so that you can understand it, remember it, and demonstrate your knowledge at the level your professor expects. Concept map Many students benefit from information that is presented visually. The concept map provides a study tool that allows you to organize information that may not be sequential. Unlike an outline, which is linear, the concept map presents information spatially. However, you still organize information from the general to the specific. You can then add details, examples, and information regarding “real life” application of the information. Concept maps are useful for classes in any subject area. Read the following edited excerpt from Personal Adjustment: The psychology of everyday life by Derlega and Janda and then refer to the concept map developed from the information: We will examine three of the major psychological approaches to personality: the dynamic, humanistic, and social learning approaches. The dynamic approach is also called the psychoanalytic view, based on the work of Sigmund Freud. One aspect of Freudian theory is that a person is continually in a state of conflict. Humans are caught between opposing forces, which results in their being in conflict between those forces. the source of the opposing forces lies in the psychic apparatus, which can be divided into three parts: the id, the ego, and the superego. The id consists of the instinctual drives a person possesses at birth, such as hunger, thirst, sex, aggression. The ego provides the capacity for delayed gratification. The superego is thought of as the "conscience". Comparison Chart A comparison chart provides a study tool that allows you to organize information visually into categories. This format helps you to see relationships among categories or characteristics. It is a very effective format to use when you need to be able to see the differences or similarities among facts, theories, theorists, processes, etc. You can create comparison charts that are blank, requiring you to fill in all of the information; completed with all of the information; or partially complete, depending on your learning needs and how you are expected to demonstrate your knowledge on tests. AUTHORITY TYPES (for a sociology class) Type Primary Characteristics Origin of the authority Examples INFORMATION PROCESSING (for a cognitive psychology class) Type of memory Information stored Capacity Duration of info. Format sensory temporary; senses high <1 sec. (vision) few seconds (hearing) literal short-term brief; info. currently being used limited <20 seconds auditory & verbal long-term relatively permanent unlimited(?) long or perm. (?) semantic Name of organic compound Functional group Structure 1. Alkane 2. O C H O C R H 3. C C Process Diagram The process diagram provides a study tool that allows you to visually represent methods, processes, steps, or stages that describe how events occur. For example, in a geology class, you learn about how rock layers are formed. In a nutrition class, you learn about the digestive process. In a political science class, you learn how a bill is introduced and passed into law. In a human development class, you learn the stages of child development. Process diagrams take complex information and visually represent it to make it easier for you to learn and remember the important concepts and facts. Informal Outline The outline provides a study tool that allows you to organize information in a linear format. It shows how ideas are related to the topic and lists information in relative importance, using Roman or Arabic numerals or indentations. The outline tends to be the format used most often by students for their note taking and study guides. Three Major Psychological Approaches to Personality 1. Dynamic (also called psychoanalytic) A. Characteristics Person continually in conflict; opposing forces Source of forces = psychic apparatus B. Psychic apparatus Id: instinctual drives possessed at birth such as hunger, thirst, sex, and aggression most important drives (per Freud) Ego: reconciles demands of id with "real" world moderates and guides basic instincts in line with society's norms provides capacity for delayed gratification Superego: conscience ("internalized parent") shaped by social forces such as school, church, close acquaintances 2. Humanistic 3. Social learning Branching Diagram The branching diagram (also called a web or idea map) is less formal and structured than some of the other study guides. Many students are unfamiliar with this technique and find it less comfortable as a study aid. However, it is quite useful when brainstorming ideas for a research paper, as well as being another technique you can use to organize your lecture or text notes. A branching diagram begins with a central circle, in which you write your main topic. Draw lines radiating out from the circle (like wheel spokes) on which you place the main ideas or major points. Draw additional lines from these lines, which contain supporting ideas or points. Time Line The time line provides a study tool that allows you to organize information that is presented chronologically. This format allows you to review information as a sequence of events that must be understood and remembered in sequence. Time lines would be effective to use in classes in which you are presented: < historical developments: history, anthropology, political science, music, art < biological developments: biology, anatomy, physiology < human or other developments: psychology, biology, natural resources Day 1---------------conception; zygote forms; cleavage begins Day 2 Day 3---------------embryo reaches uterus; now called a morula Day 4 Day 5----------------morula becomes a blastocyst Day 6----------------embryo implants in uterus and forms a trophoblast Day 7---------------embryo size of a period (dot)
