Being an Effective Student Series

Marcus SimmonsSupportive Services Coordinator/Advisor –

Itawamba Community College

Being an Effective Student Series

Marcus SimmonsSupportive Services Coordinator/Advisor –

Itawamba Community College

Note takingTime Management & Organizational SkillsEffective Study SkillsTaking Exams or Tests

Being an Effective Student Series

Marcus SimmonsTech Prep Coordinator –

Itawamba Community College

This CD:

Note taking

Note Taking• The Cornell Method• The Outline Method• The Mapping Method• The Charting Method• The Sentence Method

The Cornell MethodJackson Mississippi

The US Senate

The capital of Mississippi.

Serves for 6 years before having to run again. Each state has 2 senators

The Cornell Method• Advantages

– Organized and easy to review– Good format for major concepts and ideas– Simples and efficient– Saves time

• Disadvantages– None

• When to Use– In any lecture type situation

The Outline Method

• Extrasensory Perception– Definition: means of perceiving without use

of organs• Three kinds

– Telepathy: sending messages– Clairvoyance: forecasting– Psychokinesis: perceiving events external to a

situation• Current Status

– No current research to support or refute– Few psychologists say impossible

The Outline Method

• Advantages– Well organized if done correctly– Reduces editing– Easy to review

• Disadvantages– Requires more in class thought– May not show good sequence relationships– Cannot use if the lecture is too fast

• When to Use– Great to use when the lecture is presented in outline format– Best when there is enough time during the lecture to really

organize your thoughts well– Best when you have mastered the note taking skills and are a

better note taker than most people

The Mapping Method

Extrasensory Perception

Telepathy –Sending messages

Psychokinesis – Perceiving events

Clairvoyance – Forecasting

3 types

The Mapping Method

• Advantages– Can visually track lectures easily– Little thinking required and relationship can be tracked

easily– Easy to edit later– Reviewing easy conducted– Easy to transfer to other means of studying like flashcards

• Disadvantages– Hard to hear changes in content from major points to facts

• When to Use– When the lecture is well organized– Can be useful with guest lecturers when you are not

familiar with what the lecture will be about

The Charting Method

Period Important People Events

1941-1945 FDR WW II

The Charting Method

• Advantages– Helps to track conversational style lectures better– Reduces the amount of writing– Easy to review facts and relationships

• Disadvantages– Learning the system and being able to distinguish good

categories or headings– Must be able to understand the lecture well

• When to Use– When tests focus on facts and relationships– Content is heavy and presented very fast– When you need to reduce editing time– When you want to get a large overview of all of the

material

The Sentence Method

Example Lecture: A revolution is any occurrence that Affects other aspects of life, and so forth. ThereforeRevolutions cause change. (see pages 29-30 in your Textbook about this).

Sample of Notes: Revolution – occurrence that affectsAspects of life…eg… econ, soc, etc… text pp. 29-30

*Develop your own set of abbreviations and symbols.

The Sentence Method

• Advantages– Slightly more organized than paragraphs– Gets most all of the information

• Disadvantages– Hard to determine the major and minor points– Difficult to edit without re-writing– Difficult to review unless edited or re-written

• When to Use– Lecture has to be organized well– When you can hear the points but are unsure of their

relationship during the lecture– The instructor present points, but points are not grouped

together well

Conclusion Try the other of this

series: • Time Management &

Organizational Skills• Effective Study Skills• Taking Exams or Tests

Marcus Simmons Supportive Services Coordinator/Advisor Student Support Center – Room 123 E mgsimmons@iccms.edu

ReferencesDeveloping your studying method. (n.d.) Certification Crazy. Retrieved January 6, 2006 from, http://www.certification-crazy.net/study- advice%20method.htm

Doyle, B. (2004). Effective study techniques. Retrieved January 6, 2006 from Arkansas State University web site: http://www.clt.astate.edu/bdoyle/effective_studytechniques.htm

Ellis, D. (2006). Becoming a master student. (11th ed.). New York: Houghton Mifflin Company.

Landsberger, J. (2005). The SQ3R reading method. Study Guides and Strategies. Retrieved February 10, 2006 from, http://www.studygs.net/texred2/htm

Lorphevre, T. (2005). Core Skills Survival Guide. Retrieved February 10, 2006 from London South Bank University Core Skills Survival Guide web site: www.lsbu.ac.uk/caxton

Note taking system. (n.d). Retrieved February 10, 2006 from California Polytechnic State University web site: http://www.sas.calpoly.edu/asc/ssl/html

Richards, R. (2002). Memory strategies for students. LDOnLine. Retrieved October 4, 2005 from, www.ldonline.org/ld_indepth/teaching_techniques/memory_strategies.htm

Seidman, A. (2005). Program justification. Learning Support Centers in Higher Education. Retrieved February 2, 2006 from, http://www.pvc.maricopa.edu/~lsche/resources/program_just.htm

Test taking and anxiety. (2001). Retrieved January 6, 2006 from Pennsylvania State University Learning Center web site:http://www.ulrc.psu.edu/studyskills/test_taking.html