A professor’s advice on college success

By Claire Kamp Dush, PhD

Dear students,

The science of learning has identified many study strategies that can increase retention and comprehension, yet most college professors rarely talk about these strategies. Below I cover four topics: efficient study skills, accountability structures, distraction blockers, and additional tips. If you apply these strategies to every college course you take, and your life in general, the good news is that you will get better grades and improve your overall success in college, and the even better news is that it will probably take you less time than your current strategies and will improve your well-being.

Efficient Study Skills

The single worst way to remember something is to read it. That is, the single worst way to study is to read your notes. If you want to remember something, you have to practice remembering it. The first study strategy I am going to suggest to you is retrieval. In cognitive science, the retrieval effect suggests that if you want to remember or retrieve something from your memory, you have to PRACTICE remembering or retrieving it from you memory! If you do not practice retrieving it, then why do you expect to be able to retrieve the information on your exam, or, later in life, as most college professors would like you to do as you apply the concepts from your coursework to the real world. In fact, according to science, the more times you have to remember something, the more likely you are to remember it in the future. Thus, practice retrieval. Try making flashcards, using resources from your textbook which may include flashcards, or use Quizlet or other applications or websites that allow you to create your own flashcards or games. You can try creating regular flashcards, or try a strategy I once heard an ADHD coach suggest – create a visual depiction along with the word you are trying to remember. If you are a visual learner, you may remember better with the visual cue in conjunction with the word. Have a friend quiz you – perhaps a friend you make in this class, or another friend. Take turns quizzing each other on material from your respective courses.

The second study strategy I am going to suggest to you is prediction. In an experiment, UCLA researchers found that the simple act of predicting what you are going to be taught, even if it is wrong, increases retention of material. Specifically, according to James Lang’s book Small Teaching, when you use prediction: “you are compelled to search around for any possible information you might have that could relate to the subject matter and help you make a plausible prediction. That search activates prior knowledge you have about the subject matter and prepares your brain to slot the answer, when you receive it, into a more richly connected network of facts.” (p. 49). If you want a better grade in your courses, try predicting what you think you will learn in a reading, in a lecture, or in a video or podcast before you consume the material. Specifically, try reading the title of a chapter or video. What do you think it is going to be about? What do you think will be the four main points? Read the chapter or watch the video. Were you right? Even better, go back and correct your answers. This strategy will help you retain the material for the exams, and even later in life.

The third strategy I suggest is interleaving. Interleaving is the strategy of reviewing old material and adding in new material little by little. Instead of cramming lots of new material into your study practice right before a quiz, each day, review materials from previous modules, then add in a few new things. For example, review your flashcards for the last two modules, and then read or watch something from the next module, make flashcards, and study these too. This is an excellent and effective learning strategy. Practice retrieval through interleaving for 10 to 20 minutes each day. This way, you won’t cram all of your retrieval in right before the midterm or final. You will better learn the material, and you will save yourself a lot of time and stress in the long run.

Accountability Structures

When you have accountability, you are more likely to complete a task. At Ohio State, the most significant way I can advance my career is to work on my research. Yet, my research does not bug me with emails and doesn’t ask to meet with me. So, I use accountability to make sure that I get it done. You can use some of my same strategies to do better in your courses through accountability.

• Form a study group – Form a study group with others in the course. You could meet up for two hours every Sunday, do some predicting, read/watch course materials, quiz each other over these materials, work on assignments or discussion posts, etcetera. Then, celebrate when it is all done by grabbing pizza together or going to the gym, whatever you like to do for fun.
• Form an accountability study group – Find a few friends and form an accountability study group. Spend one hour on Sunday setting goals that you want to accomplish the following week. Perhaps it is to spend 20 minutes each day reviewing course material, or finishing your term paper, etcetera. Then, after you check in with your goals, spend an hour or two working on assignments or flashcards. Set-up a recurring time to check in with your goals/study together each week. You can even use a doodle poll to find a time that works for all of you. Next week at your meeting, check in with all of your goals. Did you meet them? If so, you get a gold star (make a chart!). If you almost met them, you get a silver star. If you did not meet them, you get a blue. Keep track of your goals and achievements over the course of the semester. Celebrate good grades and less stress because you are getting your work done. You can see more details about my accountability group here.

Importantly for both of these strategies, when the group is meeting to either goal set or study together, you need to turn all of your phones on do-not disturb and commit to not checking any social media or news alerts, etcetera while you are studying. A lot of cognitive science suggests that humans are really bad at multi-tasking, so focusing your attention on studying during this time will increase your learning. You also need to make sure you keep chatting under control. You do not want this to turn into a gossip session. Set a timer for 10 minutes for catching up, and once it goes off, start working. If you are looking for a place to meet, libraries and many residence halls have meeting spaces. Reserve one for the entire semester for your study time. I do something called write-on-site with other professors where we meet for two hours in a conference room on campus to get writing done. We all work quietly on our laptops, and no one checks their email or their phones. This accountability really helps my productivity.

• Use a Pomodoro – A Pomodoro is an online timer that can be used for accountability. Set the timer, work for 25 minutes, and then take a 5 minute break. Then, start another timer.

Distraction Blockers

How often do you want to get something done when you find yourself distracted by your phone or your email? Or, how often are you studying when you decide to take a break, but then you find yourself still on Instagram thirty minutes later? I like to joke with my husband that I do not even know if I could have gotten my PhD with a smart phone. I get distracted by my phone/email/the news just like all of you do. One way I think professors are failing our undergraduate students is by not talking about how to handle digital distractions. The following are strategies that I use to reduce distractions that would probably help you.

• Turn off all notifications. I have turned off all notifications on my email, Facebook, news apps, Snapchat, etcetera. I get notifications for my texts and a few other apps, but I am very selective about what I allow to send me a notification. You can find out how many likes your photo on Instagram got when you log into Instagram. You do not need to know immediately. Importantly, turn off notifications on your phone, your laptop, and wherever else you are getting notifications. You are in charge of your time – not your phone.
• Turn your phone on do-not-disturb. I have the ability on my iPhone to turn it on do-not-disturb. When I turn my phone on do-not-disturb, only people on my “favorites” list can get through. This allows me to up my concentration level and really focus on work I need to get done. For most of us, life-or-death emergencies while our phone is on do not disturb are unlikely. That text can still be responded to an hour later. And, you can tell your friend or parent – “Sorry, I was really trying to study and focus. I am done now – what do you need?” If you are not comfortable doing this, ask yourself why. Do you have fear of missing out? You will probably be able to engage in activities more fully, that is, be more fully present, when you are not ruminating about your school work. If you are still worried about missing texts, you can tell family and friends “I study for two hours uninterrupted every Tuesday from 3 to 5. I won’t respond to texts then, but will check my phone when I am done at 5. I will be here [fill in location] if you really need me.” You can even set up a recurring “do-not-disturb” for that time.
• Use fidget toys or walking to take a break during studying. I went on a writing retreat a while back, and the writing coach who led the retreat told me that one of her strategies for taking a break when she is writing is to use a fidget toy. In fact, she suggested that reading Instagram, or a news website, or anything text based continues to overwhelm our brains and makes it much less likely that we will continue on the task we were doing. Now, when I am writing, I take breaks with a fidget toy or by taking a walk around my office. Sometimes I will take a walk down the hall, but that can be risky because I am trying not to talk to anyone. I try to avoid engaging with someone else when I am trying to get something done.
• Use an app that will block distractions. I use apps like Freedom and StayFocusd. You can set these apps up to block websites for certain periods of time. I have all distracting websites blocked on my phone and computers from 9 am until 4 pm with the app Freedom. I also block distracting websites after 9 pm when I need to be getting ready for bed, and want to give my husband my full attention.

Additional Tips

• Get an Academic Coach!
• Take a workshop or course on study and procrastination tips
• Work with your campus Writing Center
• Practice Mindfulness and Meditation
• Exercise
• Sleep
• Self-care
• Mind Your Mental Health
• Take Care of Your Physical Health

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