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For about three years, Lane Community College has made 15 one-page "Study Tips" available to students for free. Designed for students who would not be likely to read a booklet on study methods or attend a full course, the "Study Tips" are displayed in the Counseling Department, Study Skills Center, and Multi-Cultural Center and are distributed by counselors, assessment personnel, and several instructors. Between 2000 to 3000 copies of the "Study Tips" are distributed each year. The "Study Tips" series is appended to this brief discussion of their format and use. Titles are: (1) "How to Use Some Facts about Your Brain in Order to Study Better"; (2) "Memory Tricks Can Make School Work Easier"; (3) "How to Use Categories and Have a Better Memory"; (4) "How to Learn Skills Faster"; (5) "Emergency Studying"; (6) "How to Create a Positive Mental Attitude and Learn More When You Study"; (7) "How to Relax So You Can Study Better"; (8) "How to Teach Yourself New Things: The MISTARS Method"; (9) "What Most Instructors Expect Their Students to Do"; (10) "What to Do When You Don't Understand What You Are Reading"; (11) "How to Take Objective Tests to Get the Highest Score Possible"; (12) "Personal Failure, Worry, and Self-Acceptance"; (13) "How to Plan Your Time So That You Can Get Your Homework Done"; (14) "How Students Succeed in College--Despite Having Reading Skills That Are Below Average"; and (15) "What is Intelligence? How You Can Raise Your Own Intelligence." (KL)

This guide provides a summary of the information and suggestions covered on an audiotape designed to help students prepare for and take tests. First, introductory material presents a rationale for the development of the testing skills materials and a discussion of their use at Lane Community College. Next, the objectives of the tape are specified and some common types of test questions are introduced. The following sections focus on pre-test strategies, covering getting useful information from the instructor, taking practice tests, studying in ways that will increase memory at test time, allowing a latency period without studying before a test, avoiding physical conditions that slow down the mind, and helping oneself concentrate. Next, techniques are recommended for use during a test, including using scrap paper to jot down key information, surveying a test before beginning, reading questions and instructions carefully, trying to answer multiple choice questions before looking at the options, handling questions when one is uncertain about the answer, watching for key words, remembering information, handling a time limit, changing answers, writing something on essay questions even when very little is known, coping with tiredness and distracting thoughts, spotting clues in questions, and handling mechanical details accurately. Finally, advice is provided for things to do after the test in order to improve performance on the next exam. (HB)

This guide summarizes the information and techniques presented on an audiotape designed to teach students to use the keyword method to memorize new words. First, introductory comments provide a rationale for the development of the materials and a discussion of their use at Lane Community College. Next, a summary is provided of the key word method, outlining the following steps: (1) study the term or concept and its meaning until you understand it; (2) choose a keyword (i.e., a word that sounds partly like the term you want to memorize); (3) make a vivid mental image of the keyword, not the original word; (4) make a vivid mental image of the definition; (5) make an interactive image of the keyword and the definition; (6) practice going from word to keyword to image and interactive image, and seeing the image of the definition and translating it into the definition's words; (7) repeat until correct; and (8) practice in reverse. The remainder of the guide provides: detailed description of the keyword method; examples; suggestions for selecting good keywords and making good imagery; information on common mistakes to avoid; practice exercises; and suggestions for individualizing the method. (HB)

This guide provides a detailed summary of the information, techniques, and examples offered in an audiotape developed to help students teach themselves physical skills. After section I introduces the topic and the objectives of the tape, section II provides concrete examples of adults learning motor skills. Section III presents and discusses nine general principles for learning physical skills which relate to: (1) correctly doing a sequence of actions, recognizing cues for beginning and stopping an action, recognizing the results of actions, knowing the standard for good results, comparing the results to the standard, and changing the actions if they do not conform to the standard; (2) observing a model perform a motor skill and imitating the behavior; (3) beginning to learn a physical task with the actions that are simple and slow, and with sensory cues and large areas or targets; (4) shaping behavior as a new skill is learned; (5) using prompts to begin learning a new skill; (6) getting high quality feedback on performance; (7) allowing oneself a short delay after getting feedback; (8) distributing practice time over shorter sessions; and (9) practicing under varied conditions. In section IV, advice is given on special topics including building up speed; correcting habitual mistakes and breaking bad habits; understanding what one can expect of oneself when learning physical skills; and using techniques involving games, competition, audiences, and striving. (HB)

This guide provides an outline of the information and techniques covered on an audiotape developed to help students lower their test anxiety. First, a rationale for the development of the test anxiety materials is provided and the use of these materials at Lane Community College is discussed. Next, a detailed outline of the material is provided, dividing the tape into the following sections: (1) introduction to the problem of test anxiety, the tape, and the sources used in the development of the tape; (2) general facts about worry and anxiety; (3) how to feel safe and reduce test anxiety by, for example, imagining the worst, accepting it, and improving upon it and preparing self-talk and self-hypnotic affirmations; (4) how to lower the sense that danger is imminent; (5) how to get belief that you have enough resources to cope successfully with test questions; (6) how to form an over-riding goal and make the goal more important than escaping danger; (7) how to focus on stimulus so that you don't think of the test; (8) what to do if you try these things and you still feel anxious on the test; (9) what to do if nothing works and you are in a severe panic and cannot work at all; (10) a warning about the things that you may have to change about yourself in order to successfully lower test anxiety; and (11) parting advice about implementing the techniques and learning more. The edited transcript is presented last, providing additional detail and advice. (HB)

Designed for incoming Lane Community College (LCC) students who may not know how to study effectively, this set of 15 short tips draws from the literature on cognitive psychology to offer guidance in the development of study skills. First, background information on the development of the guide is presented, along with responses to objections to its use, hints for writing similar aides, and an explanation of unusual study tips. Next, the 15 study sheets are presented. They are entitled: (1) Some Basic Study Methods; (2) Some Basic Ways to Memorize; (3) Memory Tricks--Similarities, the Link, and the Keyword Method; (4) Thinking--The Only Shortcut to Learning; (5) What to Do When You Don't Understand What You Are Reading; (6) How to Teach Yourself Physical Skills--The "Mist-Stars" Method; (7) How to Take Good Class Notes; (8) How to Create a Positive Attitude and Stop Procrastinating; (9) The Care and Feeding of a College Student; (10) Personal Failure, Worry and Self-Acceptance; (11) How to Take Objective Tests and Get the Highest Score Possible; (12) How to Plan Your Time So That You Can Get Your Homework Done; (13) What Most Instructors Expect Their Students to Do; (14) How Students Succeed in College--Despite Having Reading Skills That Are Below Average; and (15) What Is Intelligence? How Can You Raise Your Own Intelligence? (EJV)

As an aid to increasing teacher effectiveness, this paper outlines findings derived from the field of cognitive psychology on the way in which memory operates, provides examples, and suggests a variety of ways the information can be applied in teaching. Among the findings cited are the following: (1) some types of information can be encoded (i.e., their meaning elucidated) faster than others; (2) information is more easily remembered in the context in which it was first learned; (3) items in the memory are linked together in networks and require "maps" to retrieve them; (4) information that is useful, necessary, or meaningful can be more easily retained than superfluous or irrelevant material; (5) people tend to set criteria to determine whether they understand something; (6) there are limits to short-term memory both in terms of time and capacity; and (7) items in the memory can be activated by recalling related words or concepts. The paper suggests that teachers can apply these findings by, for example, varying the speed at which different types of material are presented; associating concepts with surrounding sights, sounds, feelings, etc.; establishing relationships which link concepts and ideas together; "mapping out" lectures; giving students concrete examples and using mnemonic devices; getting students to test themselves; avoiding overload of the short-term memory; and reactivating students' memories by reviewing facts and concepts. (HB)

Students' difficulties in assimilating new concepts can be a barrier to learning and may be exacerbated if the concepts are introduced in terms of detailed verbal definitions. Cognitive psychology suggests that a better approach to teaching new concepts may be to use prototypical examples of the concept as building-blocks from which verbal definitions can be understood and remembered. The steps in such a teaching technique include introducing the phenomenon, naming the term, describing one or two prototypical examples, providing the formal definition, matching the characteristics of the prototypes to each part of the definition, and providing additional examples which do and do not fit into the definition. For example, in explaining the concept of a caste system, first, the concept would be introduced; then India's classical caste system, which divided the society into brahmins, warriors, merchants, untouchables, etc., could provide the prototype of a caste system; and next the technical definition of caste system could be introduced and linked to the prototype. In this way the student can reconstruct the elements of the definition of the caste system, even if the verbal definition itself was not recalled. The technique is most effective if prototypes are vivid and concrete, if it is clear that prototypes are not the only examples, and if students are helped to focus on the relevant characteristics of the prototypes. (HB)

Poor student study habits are often rooted in the low standards which students set for themselves or in the absence of standards by which they can judge whether they have mastered a skill or subject. One technique for teaching students to apply standards to their work involves a series of steps by which students can monitor their own progress. The instructor teaches the student the correct actions to follow, how to identify and observe the results of their actions, the standards that apply to the work, the means of comparing the results to the standards, and the need to change their actions if their results do not meet the standards and to repeat the actions if standards are met. In teaching the standards, the instructor should use whatever senses (e.g., sight, hearing, touch, or feeling) are relevant; provide a checklist of traits that standard work should possess; provide negative as well as positive examples; and teach the standards appropriate for beginners as well as the ideal. Standards should also be stressed when giving assignments. Rather than telling a student to read or study a passage, the instructor should provide clear standards by which students can tell if they have mastered the materials. When students are taught to apply standards to the results of their work, they are likely to work harder and more accurately. (HB)

Teaching methods are recommended for dealing with particular learning and study problems experienced by students using a format which includes a statement of the learning problem, a description of a method for dealing with that problem, correct and incorrect examples of the use of the method, and an explanation of why the method works. The problems identified include students' lack of motivation and difficulties in comprehending concepts or definitions; students' tendencies to set low or unrealistically high standards for themselves; discouragement and apathy resulting from failure or fear of failure; poor note-taking techniques; inability to apply learned skills; poor study skills or habits; and slow progress, missing essential points, and making continued mistakes. Among the methods recommended for dealing with these problems are the following: (1) state why particular information is useful; (2) alter the sequence in which information is presented so that basic skills are learned first; (3) include a statement of terminal skills or goals and the component skills which are required to reach them; (4) use positive and negative examples; (5) explain the standards for the actions required to obtain particular results; (6) clearly indicate the information that should be noted down; (7) provide students with the opportunity to systematically practice the skills to be learned; and (8) state clearly the problem to be resolved, the goal to be attained, and the benefits of attaining that goal. (HB)

Research indicates that students' learning performance can be improved through techniques of "action-feedback-correction," which involves the student answering questions, feedback on which answers are right and which wrong, and repetition of the process until the right answer is achieved. Such a system can easily be devised using objective practice exercises and standard answer sheets, on which incorrect answers are marked, but not corrected, before the sheets are returned to the student. Efforts should be made to ensure that students do not cheat; that they do not answer the questions until they have studied the assignment or read the material; and that the scoring, feedback, and correction parts of the process are carried out. Time can be saved through scoring the tests by machine, as opposed to by hand, although hand-scoring increases the link between student and instructor. Instructors can minimize the time spent in writing questions by focusing on the fundamentals section of the course, e.g., on key definitions, problem-solving techniques, and critical principles. The benefits of the action-feedback-correction technique include individualized instruction at low cost, a clear communication of learning objectives, improved student learning, and better monitoring of student progress. (HB)

Developed to help instructors prevent their students from dropping out, this paper presents findings from the psychological literature that pertain to persistence. The paper focuses on research concerning: (1) goals, sub-goals, and feedback, which asserts that persistence at a task is influenced by goals, by whether or not a series of subgoals have been formulated, and by feedback to actions; (2) expectancy-value theories, which suggests that motivation and persistence at a task are jointly influenced by the degree to which individuals expect that their actions will lead to results, and the extent to which they value those results; (3) perceived self-efficacy, which maintains that persistence is influenced by individuals' judgments of their capabilities to organize and execute courses of action; (4) attribution of the reasons for past successes and failures; and (5) interruption-discrepancy theory of emotions, which claims that persistence is heavily influenced by the emotions felt when problems interrupt the completion of tasks. Specific findings in these areas of research are presented along with a series of research-based practical suggestions for encouraging persistence. 5 references. (EJV)