The PsycholEdgy Podcast with Dr Paul
The PsycholEdgy Podcast with Dr Paul
Psychology Study Tips - Supporting Student Success
Psychology classes are sometimes a struggle for students, especially for those with little or no background in the subject. For this reason, it is extra important to establish good study habits.
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Music "Into the Step" by Hidden
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Welcome to the Psychology Podcast with Dr. Paul. Edgy by name and by nature. The Psychology Podcast will provide you with a competitive edge from education through to registration. Dr. Paul supports your transformation into becoming a psychologist, counsellor or allied mental health practitioner. Now here's Dr Paul.
Good morning, good afternoon, good evening wherever you are in the world today. My name is Dr Paul. Welcome to the Psychology Podcast. In this very special episode, I'm going to give you some tips on how you can study to be a better psychology student. The following few steps will provide you an effective few concepts that you might be able to put into good study habits, which then you can translate into academic success and psychology and creating good study habits won't just help you just in the psychology class but it will help you with everyday skills and routines that will help you pay off in a really really big way in your careers and your personal lives. So let's have a look at the first study tip.
The first study tip is study regularly and and there's three components to this. There's a two hour rule. So generally, there's a rule that says, for every two hours of time spent in class, you spend two hours of your own time studying the material. So if you have tutorials and workshops or live lectures or lectures that you get given on campus, they're very rare these days, 'cause most of them are online because of the world in which we live in, then you would use equally the amount of proportion of time that you spent in that class in your own time studying the same material. So it really, really sinks in.
Secondly, plan your study time. The amount of time that you need each week will vary based on the way that you learn. Reviewing the materials, really retaining the materials and assimilating them into your makeup so that you can begin at the end of the week to look back and say, wow, I really did cover a lot of material. You can look at how long it took you to get that material into your long-term or short-term memory, however you wish to view it, and how you complete your assignments, all your readings, and then give it some time to review. So really plan your study time out. And then of course, a study schedule. Ideally, you should schedule a specific block of time that you devote to each subject each day in each week or each couple of days, depending on how full on your course load is. And when you're busy set aside time for short periods, eat each time in that particular study day or study week to concentrate on your classwork and then obviously allow yourself to have regular breaks. The current literature says something like 20 minutes concentrated effort really needs 10 minute break. So in your two hours of review lecture time, it might actually take you three because you're going to take some study breaks in between that. So make sure you study regularly is the first tip. Second tip is really important. So that tells you when to study. Now I'm going to tell you how to study.
Active studying is a really important concept. Thinking critically about the material you've been given. Effectively studying involves not just reading and not just assigning text and skimming through your notes, but you need to analyse and really understand the material so it sinks in. Secondly, take notes. Read through your material slowly, write down key points, write down any questions you have and when you write down those questions, if you write them down at the start before you review the material, you look for the answers within the information you're reading and answering those will actually give you this aha moment that you've figured something out but more importantly that synthesis that you've got now between the critically thinking about the question you had to pose and the answer you've found really allows that material to sit in and so you will be much better in your class with your instructor to be able to respond. Test your understanding. Quiz yourself on the materials that you've just read. If you're struggling with certain aspects, reread it again, write yourself some notes, write yourself some flashcards and do yourself a quiz at regular intervals so that the things that you can't get a handle on straight away, you can really hone your skills on those things because the others are already in or they're simple or you think they're simple. The more difficult ones might take more time.
The last point under study actively is summarise your main points. Make sure that once you've studied the material, you can identify the main concepts covered in the material, you can think your own way through examples in each theory, problem or concept and you can apply them. Applying the concepts from one dimension or one facet of what you're learning to another is vitally important. It's insufficient these days just to have memory recall. The way that we set up tests in our courses and programs through the online system is the application of knowledge, not the recall of knowledge. So be aware you need to apply it. Number three, the big number three, be active in class. In my own classes, I have absolutely unequivocally got confidence that people that attend the classes on a regular basis and who actively contribute in those classes have higher scores at the end. Why? Because they're asking questions, they're engaging with the content, they're telling me about their life experiences. So beyond just the class notes and the summary that you put together, you don't need to transcribe what you and your instructors and classmates are saying, but you do need to make summarized notes of what was said so that you can retain and use this shared lived experience in the psychology class and bring that back to your own thinking. Next one is go to class prepared. Please do the readings before you start the class. If you haven't, It's very difficult for you to actively engage.
You'll already be on the back foot. And one of the hardest things for any students, including myself, when I was studying, was to keep up with the readings. But you know what? I found it so much more rewarding in class when I did. Number four and the last one, study alone initially, then in groups. Individuals study and individual sessions. They can happen whenever you're ready and it's convenient for you. and you're able to concentrate on the material. But as I say to all my students, please form a study group. If you can find a study group, get a good grasp on the material and you can work with your classmates to understand what the questions are saying, understand the concepts. That is called collaboration. And most people ask, when does that become collusion? Well, it comes collusion when you start sharing notes around or someone reviews your work and you don't do your individual work.
Collaboration, okay, work together, understand what the assignments are asking you to do. Collusion is actually supporting somebody with the intent that they will pass your work off or you will pass their work off as your own. Do not do it. It's an academic integrity mishap and you will be in a lot of trouble. So please take this advice on board and think about how you can actively engage in your education, in psychology, in your classes. Until next time, I'm Dr Paul, signing off. [MUSIC PLAYING] (upbeat music)