Achieving A GPA Med Schools Will Love: Its All About Study Strategies Saundra Y' McGuire, Ph'D' Dire

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Achieving A GPA Med Schools Will Love Its All
About Study Strategies Saundra Y. McGuire,
Ph.D.Director, Center for Academic SuccessAdj.
Professor, Department of ChemistryFaculty
Advisor, MSPPSLouisiana State University
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Desired outcomes

• You will understand the difference between
  meaningful learning and rote memorization
• You will have concrete strategies to improve your
  academic performance
• You will be committed to using some of these
  strategies in your classes
• You will see positive changes in your test
  grades, your GPA and your MCAT prognosis

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Excelling in College Requires

• A Positive Attitude About Your Courses
• Effective Study Strategies and Behaviors
• Strong Relationships with Faculty
• Utilization of Available Resources

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Does your GPA reflect your intellectual ability?

• If not, why not?
• What changes must be made (by you and/or others)
  so that your GPA WILL reflect your ability?

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Attitude

• Its your attitude, not your aptitude,
• that determines your altitude.
• Rev. Jesse Jackson

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Factors that Affect Your Attitude

• The Reason You Are in College
• Friends and Peers
• Self-Talk
• Motivation to Achieve Your Goals

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Behavior

• Its the difference between knowing and doing
  that determines the degree of success.
• Anonymous

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Keys to Studying Smarter

• There is a hierarchy of learning levels.
• It takes time to climb the ladder of
  understanding.

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Judgment the ability to make decisions and
support views requires understanding of values
Evaluation
Combining information to form a unique product
requires creativity and originality
Synthesis
Identification of component parts determination
of arrangement, logic, semantics
Analysis
Use of information to solve problems transfer of
abstract or theoretical ideas to practical
situations
Application
Identification of connections and relationships
Interpretation
Restatement in your own words paraphrase
summarize
Translation
Verbatim information memorization with no
evidence of understanding
Recall
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Counting Vowels in 30 seconds

• How accurate are you?

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Stages of Learning

• Acquisition (understanding the information)
• Fluency (being able to discuss it in your own
  words)
• Application
• Generalization

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Meaningful learning is a continuous, ongoing
process repetition is the key. let it soak
in
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Study Strategies that Work

• Time management
• Continuous Process of Learning
• Intense Study Sessions
• Study Groups
• Strategic Exam Preparation

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Time Management Tips

• Keep a calendar or planner
• Monthly, weekly, daily
• Make a study plan and stick to it
• Use daylight hours to study more efficiently
• Guard your time dont let it be stolen from
  you!
• Answering the door or phone is a choice

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Continuous Process of Learning
Phase 1 Read or preview chapter(s) to be
covered in class before class. (Create chapter
maps) Phase 2 Listen actively, take notes,
participate in class. Phase 3 Review and
process class notes as soon after class as
possible. Phase 4 Intense Study
Session. Repeat
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Intense Study Session

• 2-5 minutes Set goals for next 40 min.
• 20-40 minutes Read text more selectively
  Highlight important information
• Make doodles/notes in margins
• Create mnemonics
• Create concept maps
• 5 minutes Review what you have just
  studied
• 10 minutes Take a break
• Repeat

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Good notes are essential to meaningful learning
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Average Retention for Learning Activities (Source
National Training Laboratories, Bethel, ME)
5 Lecture
10 Reading
20 Audio-Visual
30 Demonstration
50 Discussion Group
75 Practice by Doing 90 Teach Others/Immediate
Use of Learning
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Cornell Note Format
Notes on Taking Notes, 9/14/98
Recall Column

• Uses of notes
• identify major points
• identify minor points
• There are 4 Kinds of Notes
• Running Text
• Formal Outline
• Informal Outline
• Cornell Note system

Reduce ideas and facts to concise summaries and
cues for reciting, reviewing and reflecting over
here.
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Get the Most Out of Homework

• Start the problems early--the day they are
  assigned
• Do not flip back to see example problems work
  them yourself!
• Dont give up too soon (lt15 min.)
• Dont spend too much time (gt30 min.)

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Special Problem Solving Tips

• Work extra problems!!!
• Visualize the problem situation. Draw diagrams.
• Use front end back end problem solving
• What can I get from what I am given?
• What do I need to get what I am trying to
  find?
• - Estimate the answer, if possible. Check
  your answer to make sure it is in the ballpark.
  

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Utilize All Resources

• Peers Form Study Groups
• Faculty Use office hours
• Tutors/Learning Centers

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Get the Most from Office Hours

• Try to understand the concept or work the problem
  by yourself first
• Come prepared to ask questions
• Explain the material to the tutor or professor or
  study group members

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Exam Preparation Tips

• Find out the coverage, type, and length of the
  test
• Study for 100 Mastery
• Rework problems
• Expect memory blocks
• Analyze returned tests

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Commitment

• Its not over til its over, and YOU determine
  when its over!
• Change strategies when necessary, but never give
  up your goals. If you can dream it, you can
  achieve it!

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In conclusion With the proper attitude,
appropriate behavior, and unrelenting
commitment to your goals, you will achieve
academic excellence at LSU and beyond!
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Final Note

• Please visit out website at www.cas.lsu.edu.
• We have on-line workshops that will teach you
  a variety of learning strategies. Please feel
  free to contact me at smcgui1_at_lsu.edu, if you
  have any questions or just to let me know how
  these strategies are working for you. I wish
  you great success this semester.
• Dr. Saundra McGuire