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POMODORO TECHNIQUE - My Favorite Tool to Improve Studying and Productivity

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How a student changed her study habits by setting goals and managing time | Yana Savitsky | TEDxLFHS

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Stella Cottrell, the author of a number of bestselling study guides, writes for Student.com on key exam tips and strategies to follow when you're in the exam room.

The day of the exam arrives. Hopefully, you have revised and prepared well. But are there exam tips and strategies that you can use even in the exam room to improve your grades? The good news is 'yes!'

1. Manage your mindset

It is natural to feel anxious about exams but with good strategies, you can actually enjoy them! If you do feel anxious, then direct that nervous energy into positive channels. Remember that some stress has a beneficial effect. It can help you to stay alert, focused on the exam and energised.

Don't give your mind the time to drift into anxious thoughts. If it does, then gently guide it back to a concrete task, such as planning your time, jotting down useful facts and figures to use in later questions, proof-reading your work, thinking about ways to gain extra marks and remembering these exam tips!

2. Get to know your exam paper

Don't race to start writing before you have checked through the paper. Read the instructions and all questions slowly and at least twice. Highlight how many questions you must answer from every section.

3. Make every minute count

Once you are clear about the questions you will answer, plan your time. Write down quickly the time that you will begin each section or question. Plan to finish at least ten minutes before the end of the exam, so you have time to check over your paper.

Then, stick to your time plan. You are more likely to do well if you attempt all your planned questions than writing brilliant answers to some but not attempting others.

If you have a choice of questions, consider whether some of these will take you longer to answer. If any questions carry more marks, then spend more time on those. A lot of people find it helpful to begin with the questions that they find easiest, and come back later to those they find more challenging.

4. Think like an examiner

Examiners have to mark many papers at speed - they don't have time to sit and consider what you might have meant by your answers. You can help them to see where you deserve marks by providing answers that are clear and easy to read. It's a simple exam tip, but can make a real difference.

5. Write in shorter sentences

Another simple, but useful exam tip is to keep most sentences short and focused. That will help with clarity and in making every point stand out for the examiner. It also makes it faster and easier for you to check your work and correct it.

6. Answer the question

Check carefully what the question is about. Select the right information to answer it and don't include unnecessary information. Don't just write down everything you know on the general topic, as that suggests you don't really understand the question. It also wastes valuable time.

7. Structure and select

For longer answers, organise your material clearly in sections. For essays, always write an introduction and conclusion. That helps the examiner to read your work easily and to follow your reasoning.

8. Show off your critical thinking abilities

For longer answers, provide strong reasons and evidence for the points that you make - just as you would for a good coursework essay or report. You can find out more about critical thinking in my book on this topic, Critical Thinking.

9. 'I can't believe I did that!' Avoid the obvious mistakes

Every year, students lose marks unnecessarily for silly errors. For example, they forget to check whether there are questions on both sides of the exam paper. They misread questions. They answer too few - or too many - questions. They number their answers incorrectly, which means they have the wrong answer against the test question. This exam tip is important because when this sort of thing happens, so many marks can be lost.

10. Final checks

Check carefully through all of your answers, looking for any accidental errors. Read through slowly to check for missing words and to see that your answers make sense. If you spot mistakes, change them, even if that makes hand-written papers look a bit untidy. Plan your time well so you are able to make these essential final checks.

11. What if I am running out of time?

If this does happen, don't panic! Aim to write at least a short overview of what you would have covered if you had time. Make a list of some of the arguments and details that you would have included.

12. Food for thought

Stay hydrated - drink water. If you are allowed snacks, foods such as nuts will give you a gradual release of energy across the exam. Sweets or chocolate may give you an initial 'rush' but leave you feeling tired later in the exam.

Achieving peak performance

Outside of these exam tips and strategies, you could perform even better if you prepared well from several weeks, or even months, leading up to an exam. To develop a strong exam preparation programme, you can use The Exam Skills Handbook.

Finally - very good luck with your exams!
Stella Cottrell is Pro-Vice-Chancellor for Learning, Teaching and Student Engagement at the University of East London, UK. She has an international reputation for teaching and learning with her best selling publications for staff and students being used by universities and colleges around the world.
If you're looking for student accommodation, check out the hundreds of options available on Student.com. We list student accommodation in the UK, as well as dozens of other countries around the world, including student housing in USA and Australia.

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Expert Tips and Techniques for Exams | Student.com

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Stella Cottrell, the author of a number of bestselling study guides, writes for Student.com on key exam tips and strategies to follow when you're in the exam room. The day of the exam arrives. Hopefully, you have revised and prepared well.

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What adults can learn from kids | Adora Svitak

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All it takes is 10 mindful minutes | Andy Puddicombe | TED

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Welcome to Eluceo. We believe that society needs a new way to support people in school, out of school and in the workplace. Learning is no longer confined to schools but must be something we nurture over our lifetime, and businesses need a flexible and creative workforce in order to compete successfully in a global economy.

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University of Texas at Austin 2014 Commencement Address - Admiral William H. McRaven

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Facebook Founder Mark Zuckerberg Commencement Address | Harvard Commencement 2017

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Bono Delivers Penn's Commencement Address

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Al Pacino "Inches" Speech, Any Given Sunday (1999)

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EKU Class of 2013 Commencement Address by First Lady Michelle Obama

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Motivated & Inspired: Top Must-Know Speeches

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Welcome to Eluceo. We believe that society needs a new way to support people in school, out of school and in the workplace. Learning is no longer confined to schools but must be something we nurture over our lifetime, and businesses need a flexible and creative workforce in order to compete successfully in a global economy.

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Wofford College president Bernie Dunlap tells the story of Sandor Teszler, a Hungarian Holocaust survivor who taught him about passionate living and lifelong learning.

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The first 20 hours -- how to learn anything | Josh Kaufman | TEDxCSU

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Diana Laufenberg: How to learn? From mistakes | TED Talk

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Diana Laufenberg shares three surprising things she has learned about teaching -- including a key insight about learning from mistakes.

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How to stay calm when you know you’ll be stressed

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You’re not at your best when you’re stressed. In fact, your brain has evolved over millennia to release cortisol in stressful situations, inhibiting rational, logical thinking but potentially helping you survive, say, being attacked by a lion. Neuroscientist Daniel Levitin thinks there’s a way to avoid making critical mistakes in stressful situations, when your thinking becomes clouded -- the pre-mortem. “We all are going to fail now and then,” he says. “The idea is to think ahead to what those failures might be.”

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Judson Brewer: A simple way to break a bad habit | TED Talk

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Can we break bad habits by being more curious about them? Psychiatrist Judson Brewer studies the relationship between mindfulness and addiction -- from smoking to overeating to all those other things we do even though we know they’re bad for us. Learn more about the mechanism of habit development and discover a simple but profound tactic that might help you beat your next urge to smoke, snack or check a text while driving.

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Inside the mind of a master procrastinator

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Tim Urban knows that procrastination doesn’t make sense, but he’s never been able to shake his habit of waiting until the last minute to get things done. In this hilarious and insightful talk, Urban takes us on a journey through YouTube binges, Wikipedia rabbit holes and bouts of staring out the window -- and encourages us to think harder about what we’re really procrastinating on, before we run out of time.

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In a culture where being social and outgoing are prized above all else, it can be difficult, even shameful, to be an introvert. But, as Susan Cain argues in this passionate talk, introverts bring extraordinary talents and abilities to the world, and should be encouraged and celebrated.

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Our lives, our cultures, are composed of many overlapping stories. Novelist Chimamanda Adichie tells the story of how she found her authentic cultural voice -- and warns that if we hear only a single story about another person or country, we risk a critical misunderstanding.

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Grit: The power of passion and perseverance

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Leaving a high-flying job in consulting, Angela Lee Duckworth took a job teaching math to seventh graders in a New York public school. She quickly realized that IQ wasn’t the only thing separating the successful students from those who struggled. Here, she explains her theory of “grit” as a predictor of success.

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1. Colour code your timetable

Give each subject its own colour! Do several copies: one for the locker, the homework journal, your study area. Put in the name of your teacher and classroom the first time you put in a subject. It could look like this.

2. Become organised.

Use your homework journal for homework and to pack your bag for the next day. Write in the names of the subjects in for each day. It will save time when taking down homework in class. For your files/notes/books. Try having a weekly clear out and organisation of locker and work area. Use colour folders and covers/colour tabs for your copies. Use the same colour for the subjects as in your timetable.

For example, English could be red, Maths yellow, Geography pink etc. And of course, most importantly have your MOBILE switched OFF when doing homework.

3. Use SMART Goals!

SMART goals for your homework give you an exact idea of what to learn within a given time. It will help to keep you focussed. This is far more productive than reading over a chapter three times. Here is an example from History on the Reformation. At the end of 20 minutes I will know the following key facts and be able to test myself:

4. Moving from Short term to Long term

Rote learning (learning off-by-heart what you do not understand) is not recommended for students with dyslexia. It is better to learn with understanding or to see patterns. Use several senses rather than look over/read over notes to make the material your own. It is hard work but it helps. Use activities such talking, listening, debating, drawing, visualising, flashcards, lists of questions etc.

5. Know your learning style

Visual learners - prefer diagrams, colour, mindmaps, organisers

Verbal/auditory learners - like using highlighting, recording on MP3, talking and repeating information.

Movement, movement, saying, writing.

The website www.vark-learn.com has an on-line questionnaire that takes about ten minutes to complete and tells you your preferred learning style.

6. Note taking

If you cannot take good notes, can you get photocopies or use revision books. This will allow you listen in class and understand what is being taught. There are websites that can be helpful. See end of this article. Put page numbers, date, subject and topic at the top of each page. When summarising the summary should be less than a quarter of text. Use lots of space, numbering, bullet points, headings, sub-headings & colour. Graphic Organisers and Mindmaps help organise your thinking, help when learning/memorising material and then help in structuring written answers. There are some examples of graphic organisers below.

7. Memory techniques

Visualisation. Make up images in your mind to help you remember. Here is an example. The colours in the wires in the electric plug are blue, green/yellow, and brown. See the image of a Teddybear (brown for the live wire,) on green grass (green for the earth wire) and a blue sky (blue for the neutral).

Grouping. Don't try to memorise long lists of unrelated facts. Group them in blocks.

Mnemonics. Make up sentences or words that help you remember facts. Here are some examples.

8. Reading

Try to make time to read something everyday. It will develop reading stamina and speed. It is like training for a race. You cannot run a 5 K race immediately. You train for it over time. Active reading means asking yourself questions about the text before you start, then try to find the answers to those questions as you read. It will help keep your mind focussed. Then when you finish, check if you can now answer the questions.

See if a plastic colour overlay helps or use a ruler to keep your eyes focussed on the page. Maybe enlarged print (on computer or Kindle) may help. Digital copies of textbooks are available so you can read and hear the text at the same time. Factsheet 16 under downloads at www.dyslexiacourses.ie has details on how to access them. There is a scanning pen available now which reads aloud text as well as capturing text to file. See www.scanningpenshop.com.

Reading aloud or subvocalizing (saying the words quietly to yourself) can help you read more accurately particularly in exams.

9. Spelling and Vocabulary

Dictionary/notebook when reading will help develop vocabulary: Put a tab where each letter begins in the dictionary. Have an alphabet bookmark and choose a dictionary with large print. Collins Dictionaries have dictionaries where the alphabet is printed on each page.

Keep a vocabulary notebook for each subject

Develop mnemonics for spelling words you confuse

Become a word detective. Lots of longer words come from Latin and Greek. If you understand the meaning of some of these words, you will be able to understand new words you might come across. For example, if aqua = water, phobia = fear, hydro = water, bi = two, lateral = side, --cide = killing, you might be able to guess the meaning of the following:

10. Writing

Make up three characters in great detail such as how they look, clothes, hobbies, family, school, jobs, friends, opinions etc. Collect pictures from magazines etc. to illustrate your characters. It makes it easier to compose a short story if you have people already in your head. Use your five senses when writing a description of a scene.

When answering questions think of 3 points to support your answer, then 2 references /quotes to back up each point.Use the question to start your answer. So if you are asked What the key causes of climate change? begin your answer The key causes of climate change are.. Write and don't stop for spelling, check it afterwards otherwise it will interrupt your thinking.

Have checklists of points to prompt you to write more. For example when writing about a person in history, think about clothes, food, farming, houses, rulers, religion, schools, beliefs, death. Templates which show how to structure an answer help with planning. Examples are available with Inspiration Software. Here is an example.

Article provided by Wyn McCormack of Dyslexia Courses.ie

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Ten Study Tips for Junior Certificate Students with Dyslexia

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Give each subject its own colour! Do several copies: one for the locker, the homework journal, your study area. Put in the name of your teacher and classroom the first time you put in a subject. It could look like this. Use your homework journal for homework and to pack your bag for the next day.

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A Parents Guide - Learning to Learn

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How to Study - A guide for First and Second Year Students

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An Introduction to Studying for 1st and 2nd Years : H ow Best to Start Studying.

For most of you this is only your first or second year in secondary school, so the idea of studying is something that's still new and strange to you. No one ever really sits you down and tells you exactly how to do it, so a lot of the time, once your first set of big exams come around, you can be quite lost as to where to go next or what to do. I've put together a few tips on how to get the process going and to set you up for studying well in the long-term, so you'll be well able for the bigger exams in 3rd and 6th year.

Start small

Because you don't have any huge exams coming up just yet, you don't need to give yourself a big workload or stress yourself out. Try studying small bits of information at a time to introduce yourself to the process.

For example, in the evening after you finish your homework, pick a subject to try and study. Say you pick Irish, try and spend 20-30 minutes studying an irregular verb like "abair" in the past, present and future tense. Obviously only study something you've covered in class, there's no point in tackling something new by yourself.

Make a plan/timetable

A study plan or timetable can make it much easier to study, especially before the exams. You can print out a template timetable here.

Then fill in each empty box with the times you plan to study (try 20-30 minutes, e.g. 16:00-16:25) and the subjects you'll be study within those times on those days. This makes it easier to commit to studying a certain subject and you'll save time too because you won't be fretting about what to study next, it'll be all laid out in front of you.

It's important to stick to the plan too so that you don't miss out on studying a certain subject.

Highlight/Underline

This is a great way of helping you remember information. Buy yourself a nice bright highlighter and when you're studying a certain topic, highlight the words or phrases you think are important. This will make the words jump out at you when you revise them next and you'll remember them more easily. For example, if you're studying Science, you would highlight a sentence such as "The normal temperature of an adult human body is 37⁰C", so that this sentence and this piece of information will stick in your mind, because it's an important thing to remember.

Practice past exam questions

Be ready for the questions that you will face. Having access to all the past questions by topic from the last ten years lets you pick out obvious trends and be ready for the kinds of questions that will be asked. A BASIC account only gives you the last two years questions in each topic.

Your teachers make your tests using the questions on Studyclix PLUS+ access gives you all marking schemes to all questions. This lets you practice questions and then quickly see where you're going wrong and how to improve your answering style. PREMIUM☆ has even more mock paper questions for you to practise from!
GET PREMIUM☆
Flashcards can be really a helpful way of studying because they break down big chunks of information in to small, condensed pieces. You should be able to buy some flashcards (coloured ones help your brain remember better so I would get some coloured ones) in any good newsagents or stationary shop.

Then, when you're studying a subject, make out a flashcard on a certain topic and write only bullet points or vital pieces of info on it. I'll take Science for example again, take a card and write say, "Food" at the top. Then on this card just write little points on Food. No long sentences, just small important points. Like the macronutrients (Fat, Protein, Carbs, etc.), a quick word on how to test for these nutrients, e.g. "Fat = Brown Paper Test".

Do your homework

Doing your homework is one of the best methods of study, so don't neglect it. Even if you fail to do any other form of studying (hopefully this won't be the case), if you've done all your homework throughout the year, you should still be able to do reasonably well. The homework you're given is to prepare you for the exams really so if you get a question to do at home, it's really like practising for the exam because a similar question could come up in the exam paper!

Stay organised

Some people just can't study by looking at books all evening, and that's pretty normal. It just means you're not a very visual learner, meaning you don't learn well by reading or seeing things. This means you need to try different tactics of studying.
Quizzes
Studying for hours on end with no break is useless. You need to take regular breaks. The human brain can only concentrate for 25 minutes at a time so any longer than this and the information you're trying to learn just won't go in properly. Take a walk, watch a little TV or have a cup of tea and then come back to it. You'll feel more refreshed and ready to learn more effectively.
Best of luck with the Study! Eimear and the Studyclix Team
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Leaving cert & Junior cert Exam Revision | Studyclix makes exams easier

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For most of you this is only your first or second year in secondary school, so the idea of studying is something that's still new and strange to you.

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Dyslexia - Study Tips for Dyslexic Students

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Dyslexia affects approximately 8% of the population meaning that there's likely to be at least two students per class who have this different way of learning and processing information. In this Studyclix guide, Dyslexia expert and founder of dyslexiasupport.ie, Sascha Roos explains that the key to studying effectively for a Dyslexic student is to get an understanding of your learning style.

Dyslexia is known as a 'disability' but in actual fact, it is a learning difference, which affects approximately 8% of the population. Dyslexia affects more than just reading and spelling, its main challenge particularly at second level is poor short-term memory, also called working memory.

Students with dyslexia want to take in the topics they need to learn in a particular way that suits them, and they need just a little more time to process their thoughts and formulate their answers. Students with dyslexia are usually of average or above-average intelligence, with specific strengths in certain areas, such as Maths, Construction, Business, and yes even English. Therefore, dyslexia should be seen as a different learning ability to be tapped into rather than a 'disability' that stops you from succeeding.

How do you know if you have dyslexia?

Here are some of the main signs that you may have dyslexia:

A bad short-term memory - poor memory is the biggest frustration and a sure sign of dyslexia.

Do you keep forgetting books even though you use tactics to try to remember? Is your homework journal a lifeline full of sticker reminders?

Do you find it difficult to remember quotes, definitions, or even what the exam question was yesterday?

Has it always been impossible to learn anything by rote or parrot-fashion, like your tables at primary school?

Do you need to read a passage several times to understand it?

Does your mind just go blank once you are sitting a test, even though you studied and prepared for hours?

Complete exhaustion - a major sign is the sheer exhaustion a dyslexic student feels at the end of a school day.

On Fridays do you collapse after a week of school, and in the mid-term break do you just want to sleep?

Students with dyslexia have to work 4 times harder than other students to keep on top of the reading, note-taking, organising and learning, so no wonder they are exhausted.

Good days and bad days - Are there some days when there is just no point in even trying to learn, as your mind is so frazzled by it all? You feel completely overloaded and your difficulties with spelling, reading and remembering get worse with the stress and time pressure you are under.

'I just can't pull the word out of my head.' Ben, Leaving Cert student

So you have dyslexia - what next?

Don't despair. Through brain-scanning techniques, neuroscience has shown how the dyslexic brain is more active in the right hemisphere. This is good news for dyslexic students and explains their abilities that stand out compared to struggles in other areas.

You can tap into these inherent, creative abilities to bolster those weaker areas, primarily that bad short term memory.

'The best thing is having different abilities from other people.' Cian, Leaving Cert student

The key is to find out how you learn. Find your individual learning style. We all learn in slightly different ways. So, think about how you learn - what works best for you? This is the key to find your individual learning style.

Think about - what are you good at remembering? There will be something. Maybe song lyrics, films, dance moves. Ask yourself the following questions:

Are you an auditory (listening) learner?

Are you a visual learner?

Are you a kinaesthetic/tactile learner - do you learn by doing, touching, making?

Check out vark-learn.com for a quick self-test and some ideas on how you could take in information and produce it for your studies.

The best way to study is to be multi-sensory in your revision - this means using some of your senses together - listening, seeing, touching, and even smelling. This way, all the pathways to the brain are being used. Emphasise your learning strengths as well as being multi-sensory to help you process and memorise topics.

Here are some multi-sensory ideas for you to check out. Have a go, try them out, be creative, see what works for you.

Using the auditory learning channel
Are you a listening learner? Do you like to listen and take notes? Do you prefer to have background music to help you concentrate? Do you want to say written words out loud?
Some study techniques for auditory learners:

Read your notes out loud

Recite from memory what you need to learn, for example, quotes for English, Science definitions

Recording notes on to your phone so you can have a quick listen anytime

Create a rhyme, use a nursery rhyme tune to remember facts in Science and Geography.

Mnemonics have their uses when you need to remember a sequence - take the initial letter and make a sentence, for example learning the colours of the rainbow as a young child - Richard of York Gave Battle in Vain.

Is there someone at home who would listen to you explaining photosynthesis without quizzing you? When you explain a difficult topic to another person your own understanding becomes clearer, as you are putting it in your own words.

You can work with music in the background if it helps you block out other distractions, and silence makes you stare into space. Just try to choose gentle, instrumental music, not death metal. Practice doing exam questions without background music as obviously there will be no music allowed when doing exams in your school.

'Music blocks out everybody else in the house.' Josh, Leaving Cert student

Using the visual learning channel
Are you a visual learner? Are you good at seeing things in your 'mind's eye'? Do you enjoy using colour in your notes? Are you good at remembering directions and things in 3D?
Some learning techniques linked to your visual sense.

Keep seeing what you need to learn in your 'mind's eye', picture it.

If you are good at recalling the look of a page make use of colour, highlighting, creating pictures and diagrams and bullet points in your revision notes

Some students find mind maps confusing, just have a go. It takes time but it can be a good way to do a quick review later on, and it helps you to make connections between facts. It can particularly work for Geography and History.

Check out Youtube for further clarification of your topics in Science, Geography, and History.

Have your own whiteboard to test yourself in Maths, Languages, Science.

Watch film adaptations of your studied texts in English

In your study space have posters and 'post-it' notes of topics, keywords, definitions and whatever you find hard to remember

'Mind-maps help me to make connections.' Daniel, Junior Cert student

Using the kinaesthetic/tactile learning channel
Are you a doing, making, touching learner? Do you find it difficult to sit still for very long? Do you like making things, taking things apart, and fixing them? Do you enjoy subjects where you are active and touching objects?
Techniques linked to your kinaesthetic/tactile sense.

Write your notes from memory. Do NOT write out your notes 10 times - that is a lot of time and effort without much success.

Put your key notes and definitions on different coloured flash cards and flick through them regularly

It's good to fidget! Do fidget with pens, elastic bands, blue tac or whatever works for you. It all helps you to concentrate. Also chewing gum or having peppermints helps concentration.

Walking around or going for a walk will help you focus and formulate your knowledge. Walk up and down, reciting your poetry quotes.

Location mnemonics - take a sequence of facts you need to learn and relate each one to a specific point on a regular journey you do, like to school. Then picture that journey and review those facts at each point, for example the shop on the corner, the traffic lights, that big tree and so on.

Be creative - use different materials to help you learn and remember - like paper making origami, a sand tray, play-dough, clay or wire.

Have 'post-its' of key words from your Shakespeare quotes around your room. Walk around reciting these quotes triggered from those key words.

Doodling - research has shown that doodling helps concentration and formulating your thoughts

Move beyond your comfort zone when it comes to studying and just have a go at some of these multi-sensory techniques. The aim is to make life a little easier and less tiring for the dyslexic student.

Finally, keep reviewing topics, keep practicing exam questions and keep it varied.

And one last thing - watch 'Kara Tointon: Don't Call Me Stupid', an hour long BBC4 documentary on the actor Kara Tointon exploring her own dyslexia, multi-sensory learning and much easier ways to learn her lines.

Play to your strengths, and best of luck.

Update May 2020:

Sascha and Una Buckley from Blosson4life hosted a Webinar during the COVID-19 lockdown where they gave advice to students with dyslexia on how to handle learning from home, you can view the recording of the webinar below:
Sascha Roos
You can find out more about Sascha Roos at Dyslexia Support Ireland

email sascha.roos@dyslexiasupport.ie or check out Dyslexia Support Ireland's www.dyslexiasupport.ie or Facebook page.

Sascha has written a brilliant book directed at parents with children who have dyslexia, ' At Home With Dyslexia: A Parent's Guide to Supporting Your Child'. You can buy this from Waterstones, Easons and other bookshops as well as on Amazon, or watch/listen to Sascha chat through some important chapters on her YouTube Channel:

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Leaving cert & Junior cert Exam Revision | Studyclix makes exams easier

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Dyslexia affects approximately 8% of the population meaning that there's likely to be at least two students per class who have this different way of learning and processing information. In this Studyclix guide, Dyslexia expert and founder of dyslexiasupport.ie, Sascha Roos explains that the key to studying effectively for a Dyslexic student is to get an understanding of your learning style.

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Memory is like any other discipline, if you don't consistently use it, it can under-perform and let you down when you need it most. Not only this but we were probably never taught how to properly use it. Like any other worthwhile skill, improving memory and recall will take a little bit of effort at first, but will soon become second nature to you. It will soon be easy to increase your focus, avoid cramming, and structure your study time well. Apart from these basics, there are many more useful tips for memorising your way to success.

Your memory works in three very simple steps:

Information in

Information storage

Information recall

All of these aspects are important for success in your exams. So how do we improve our ability to store and recall information? There are many different techniques and I can guarantee you that there are always some to help every student.

What type of learner are you?

Let's discuss some of the best methods for gathering and storing information in the first place. A small amount of time spent now on figuring out what works for you will reward you later as you approach exams.

Are you a visual or verbal learner? Think about the things in life that you remember vividly and in full detail. Is it information in the form of pictures and text? Or is it a speech from the radio or news read on the TV? Visual learners learn best from what they see and write down. Verbal learners learn best from asking questions and hearing answers.

If you are a visual learner then you will learn most effectively through the use of diagrams, clearly laid out notes, visual organisers, colour-coded bullet points and study techniques such as idea-mapping and flashcards.

If you are a verbal learner then you can improve study performance by reading texts and key points aloud, talking to others about what you have learned, recording your notes and playing them back on your mp3 player, and through memory techniques such as mnemonics.

Information and storage:

No matter how you learn best, it's a great idea to focus on learning in more ways than one, eg find ways to take in information visually and verbally.

Read aloud to yourself as you take notes and learn the same information in the form of idea maps and flashcards.

The more connections you create and storage areas you use, the easier it is for you to recall the information on cue in the exam.

Approach new material with strong interest and a high level of focus. This will help you to remember more details.

The opening and closing paragraphs will usually contain good summaries of the material covered.

End of chapter questions highlight the most important things that you need to know.

nTeach what you have learned to another person. This can be another student or even a family member, it's not important who.

In teaching somebody else, you have to approach the material in a different way and this helps create new links to the material in your brain. Not only that, but teaching others can help reveal gaps in your own knowledge that you were unaware of.

Teaching somebody else is very similar to writing in an exam, when you have to explain things to the examiner.

Try to connect new information to things that you already know. This could be in understanding the relationship between two geographic features or why certain Spanish verbs have similar changes in the past tense.

By establishing a relationship between a new idea and existing thoughts, you can strengthen your understanding and more easily recall this in the future.

Information recall:

Once you've started learning all of this information, it's time to begin working on your information recall. Having good memory recall means that you will be able to quickly and efficiently remember facts during the exam and present them to the examiner in the best way possible.

Keep learning and practising. It's important to keep using the material that you have learnt. The website examinations.ie is a great resource for past papers, marking schemes and practising under exam conditions. This is why it's important to have a regular revision schedule.

There are a number of methods to test your recall. Using an idea map or brainstorm, write down everything you can remember without consulting your book or notes.

Check what you left out. Repeat these two steps, focusing more on missing details each time. When you can recall all of the essential points, you have learnt it well.

Eat healthily. A healthy diet contributes to a healthy brain, and thus improves your memory recall noticeably. Foods that are high in antioxidants - broccoli, spinach and berries, for example - and omega-3 fatty acids (which can be taken in capsule form) aid healthy brain functioning.

Tips for good memory techniques:

Have good note taking techniques. Your presentation is very important. Keep them clear, neat and use colour. You should be able to revise the information at a quick glance later on.

Number your points in lists - they are easier to learn than those not numbered.

Leave a wide margin at the side of your notes to add extra details if necessary.

Don't copy diagrams from books. It's a waste of time. Study the drawing and then draw it from memory.

Leave lots of white spaces in your notes. Space your points out. This makes it easier to learn.

Constant self-testing and regular revision of topics helps you to remember information.

Flashcards:

Flashcards are one of the best ways to learn and study. They are quick to use, portable, and can help you learn difficult facts very easily. If made properly, they will greatly increase the speed of your learning. They can be used when traveling or in any other spare time when you might normally get nothing done. In fact, flashcards are most effective when used in short intervals, ie 10 minutes here and there.

Using flashcards to learn items of information and then testing yourself on these facts has several advantages over simply reading the information from the book or notes.

The method of testing is reversible, ie instead of English to French, you can try French to English translations.

The answer is hidden on the other side of the card so you can easily tell if you know it or not.

Flashcards turn simple facts into interesting questions, so you have to think as you answer.

Sometimes students approach flashcards in the wrong way. For example, they often put too much information on each side. Follow these simple tips to studying with flashcards and soon you'll be taking in huge amounts of information almost without even trying.

Each card should only have one question and one main answer - try to avoid large blocks of text. It's a good idea to put some relevant information on the answer side. This can be seen in the picture above which has "verbs that decline like courir" as well.

Keep a pile of blank cards on your desk when studying. When you come across something that you don't know, take a minute to make a flashcard for this fact. If you do it straight away then you don't have to worry about it later.

Make sure to keep your flashcards in your bag at all times. Since flashcards are portable and easy to use, you can study at any time, ie while waiting for class to begin, for the bus home, or watching some TV at the end of the day.

Create two different piles as you study your cards. Place all of the cards you know into one pile and all of the cards you got incorrect into the other.

You should now go through the incorrect pile in more detail and try again to commit these facts to your memory.

Once you've revised the incorrect pile, take both piles and shuffle them together. The next time you study these cards, repeat the same steps with correct and incorrect cards.

Eventually, you will make very few mistakes while revising your cards. A good strategy then is to take all of your incorrect cards from every subject, and place them in one pile. You now have all of your potential mistakes in one place, and it's even easier to eliminate them than before.

A good sample review schedule is to review the cards again after one day, then three days, then one week, then three weeks, then one month, then three months, and then six months. Come exam preparation time, you can revise the cards more frequently.

So remember:

Choose the important facts from the chapters you read.

Use your own words to summarise the key points.

Label the cards with the subject heading and date, and also make a note of when you last revised them.

Use different colours and diagrams where possible.

Above all, don't put too much information on the cards.

Acronyms:

Acronyms are words formed from the first letter of the first word of each point/fact you want to remember. It can be a made-up or real word, as long as it is memorable to you.

How to form an acronym

1. Write out the facts/details you need to remember.

2. Underline the first letter of the first word of each fact.

3. Arrange the underlined letters to form a real word or a word that makes sense to you.

For example, MRSVANDERTRAMP is an acronym which helps us to remember the verbs that take Être in French: monter, rester, sortir, venir, aller, naitre, descendre, e ntrer, r entrer, t omber, ret ourner, a rriver, m ourir, p artir.

You can also form an acronymic sentence to remember information in a certain order.

HOMES is an acronym that helps us remember the five great lakes of America, for example, and the sentence " Hungry Old Man Eats Steak" also helps to remember the five lakes: Huron, Ontario, Michigan, Erie and Superior.

Remembering numbers:
Some students have problems remembering numbers. If you do too, just make up a sentence in which the number of letters in each word represents each digit of the number to be remembered.

For example:
Value of pie is 3.1415926.

This can be remembered using the mnemonic:

May(3) I(1) have(4) a(1) large(5) container(8) of(2) coffee(6)

Visual organisers:
Visual organisers are simple drawings or formats used to represent information and they help to show connections between ideas.

These include:

Visual organisers are not suitable for constant use in every subject and topic area, but are a great tool to use in areas you find difficult to understand using plain notes.

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Memory is like any other discipline, if you don't consistently use it, it can under-perform and let you down when you need it most. Not only this but we were probably never taught how to properly use it.

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This one's for all the students out there! Throughout my academic career, I went through package after package of notecards. From the normal sized notecards, to the large and half-sized notecards, it seemed I always had a stack in my backpack for studying. I think flashcards are a great way to study any subject - if you're going to be tested on something, chances are there's a way to use flashcards to study for it!

Before you start making flashcards, here's what you need to figure out:

What am I being asked to do on this test? What information will be presented, and what information will I need to know in order to respond? For example, if you know you are going to be asked about the key themes in literary works, chances are you will provided the title, and you will have to respond with the themes.

The information that is being provided should be written on one side of the flashcard (I usually put in on the blank side), and what you will be expected to know should be written on the other side (the back).

Below I've included pictures & explanations of the way I used flashcards for a few different subjects: Art History, French, Literature, and Sociology.

For Art History flashcards, it's important to have an actual image on your card. Chances are, you will be provided an image, and you will be expected to provide a lot of information from just that image. That is why I have only the image on the front of the card, and everything I needed to know on the back: the artist, art movement/time period, date, and key themes and details. For the front of the card, you can use sketches or printed images, whichever is better for you. This format would also work well for any history course - just use an image or a name/event/concept on the front and details on the back.

Flashcards are a great way to learn a language. For vocabulary, I recommend using the half-size notecards with your native language on one side and the language you're learning on the other. I would usually start studying by looking at the French term and try to guess the English term. Then, once I was more familiar with the terms, I would look at the English and try to quickly translate to French. I would often put 3-6 words on one card depending on the length/importance of each term.

I also used regular & large-sized notecards for conjugations, grammar rules, and basic concepts. I would use different colored pens to make certain words pop out and to differentiate between definitions & examples. These cards are not used so much for memorization, but for quick & organized access to important information.

In a literature class, you might be expected to write a short (or long) essay about a specific work, with only the title and a short excerpt provided. I used these cards to make sure I could identify the author, literary movement, and important themes when I was only provided the title. You also might be asked to write about a specific literary movement or theme in a literature class. I used these notecards when I knew I would be asked to compare/contrast two works in the same literary movement, and to be able to identify how each work was representative of that movement. Like the larger french flashcards, these are not so much for memorization as they are a summary of important information.

For a sociology class (or other social studies courses), your knowledge of terminology is essential to sounding like you know what you're talking about. Often times, a teacher will look for a certain term in your answer, so vocabulary is very important. On these cards, I wrote the term/idea on one side and the details, definitions, and connected ideas on the other. You can use the cards in two ways: look at the definition and figure out the term, or look at the term and try to recall as much as you can about it.

I know this post is quite wordy and has a lot of pictures, but hopefully it helps you in some way. When I was a student, I was always looking for ways to improve my study habits and find more efficient ways of studying!

Do you use flashcards to study? If so, share your tips & tricks in the comments!

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How to Make Smart and Efficient Flashcards - Whatever Bright Things

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This one's for all the students out there! Throughout my academic career, I went through package after package of notecards. From the normal sized notecards, to the large and half-sized notecards, it seemed I always had a stack in my backpack for studying.

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Study Tips #2: How to make effective flashcards

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Every year, we create H1-standard Sraith Pictiúr notes to help you study for the Irish oral exam, which usually falls near Easter time, before the LC exams. The Sraith Pictiúr is all about pronunciation, vocab, accuracy and fluidity. Therefore, we've created mp3 audio clips and videos along with our notes to help you perfect these skills and suit...

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Every year, we create H1-standard Sraith Pictiúr notes to help you study for the Irish oral exam, which usually falls near Easter time, before the LC exams. The Sraith Pictiúr is all about pronunciation, vocab, accuracy and fluidity. Therefore, we've created mp3 audio clips and videos along with our notes to help you perfect these skills and suit...

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Combine techniques from different learning styles to help you build a connection with what you have to learn.

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We can be a little bit of all of these. Important to mix up our study skills strategies to keep ourselves focused and engaged.