Drew M. Hodis
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Building Strong Study Skills Series: Self-Explanation

Building Strong Study Skill Series: Self-explanation. Students studying with a tutor.

Building Strong Study Skills Series: Self-Explanation

Building Strong Study Skill Series: Self-explanation. Students studying with a tutor.

Note: This series details how to study smarter, not harder, to help students succeed in their academics. All information in this series draws upon principles from psychological research on learning and memory.

How often do you teach material to yourself as if you are the teacher? Have you ever explained a concept to yourself to check your understanding? Have you ever presented a PowerPoint to yourself?

These techniques are considered self-explanation study skills. To define the term, self-explanation is when you explain course material to yourself.

Proper Technique

Study a topic or several topics in your course and then explain those topics to yourself. You may choose to explain the techniques verbally or through writing.

Pull up your teacher’s slides and present them to yourself as if you are the teacher. Or make an outline of all the headings and subheadings in a certain chapter in your textbook and use them as a guide to explain the textbook in your own words. Or explain a tricky concept to yourself after reading about it.

Beware

Self-explanation is not helpful if your explanations are coming straight from texts. Your explanation must come from your own brain and in your own words to be effective!

Why It Works

Self-explanation is a powerful and effective tool for several reasons.

This study skill helps students identify connections between ideas they have learned so far in their course. Drawing these connections is crucial to gaining a deeper understanding of the material.

Being able to explain a topic in your own words demonstrates a certain level of mastery. If you are able to explain a subject simply, clearly, and unscripted then you likely understand the material pretty well.

On the flipside, self-explanation is also a sure-fire way to identify gaps in knowledge or understanding. If you can’t explain a concept or if your explanation sounds “off,” then you will know instantly that you need to refer to your notes or textbook to improve your understanding.

Summary

Self-explanation is a powerful study technique that is easy to implement, but isn’t enough alone to ensure you are retaining material. It should be used in conjunction with interleaving and other helpful study techniques that will be detailed in coming installments of this series.

Keep up with our weekly Building Strong Study Skills series to learn the most effective study strategies and succeed in your academics. Schedule a session with one of our expert tutors today to receive all the information and guidance you need to gain a deeper understanding of your academics and perform better on your tests! Building effective study habits takes time, so the sooner you get help, the better prepared you will be by the time finals roll around.

Read Other Articles in The Building Strong Study Skills Series

Sources:

  • Terry, W.S. (2018). Learning and Memory: Basic Principles, Processes, and Procedures, Fifth Edition. New York, Routledge, a Taylor and Francis Group. ISBN 978-1-13-864591-2.
  • Rhodes, M.G., Cleary, A.M. and DeLosh, E.L. (2020). A Guide to Effective Studying and Learning: Practical Strategies from the Science of Learning. New York, Oxford University Press. ISBN 978-0-19-021447-0 (pbk).
by
Drew M. Hodis
,

Building Strong Study Skills Series: Interleaved Studying

Building Strong Study Skill Series: Interleaved Studying. Students studying with a tutor.

Building Strong Study Skills Series:
Interleaved Studying

Building Strong Study Skill Series: Interleaved Studying. Students studying with a tutor.

Note: This series details how to study smarter, not harder, to help students succeed in their academics. All information in this series draws upon principles from psychological research on learning and memory.

How do you break up your studying when reviewing several different subjects? Do you study one subject for an hour and then switch to the next? Do you study for one subject on one day and another subject on a different day? This method is called blocked practice.

Now that we’ve gotten the worst study techniques out of the way, we will discuss effective study techniques. Today we talk about interleaved studying. Interleaving involves alternating between two or more subjects in a single study session. You can use interleaving for academics, music, and art!

Benefits of Interleaving

Compared to the blocked practice, you can retain information better with interleaving, acquire skills more effectively, and improve your abilities. These phenomena are part of the interleaving effect.

How to Interleave

To interleave your assigned readings, you may alternate between reading your physics book and your math book. Similarly, to interleave piano practice, you may switch between perfecting your performance piece, working on your technique workbook, and learning theory. To interleave illustration practice, you may rotate between using pen and ink, watercolor, and acrylics.

Interleave Properly

Everyone is different, so you have to practice interleaving to find what works best for you! But here are some general guidelines:

  • Typically, interleaving works best when you study each topic  for about 15 minutes before switching to the next. But this number ranges from 10-30 minutes depending on the person and subject. And, interleaving various subjects may look different. For example, interleaving readings may work best when you spend 15 minutes on each, whereas interleaving math and physics problems may work best when you spend 10 minutes on each.
  • Interleaving works best if you alternate between similar subjects, not identical ones, but also ones that aren’t too different. For example, it is more useful to interleave, say, math and chemistry than math and history. You could even interleave chemistry practice problems in thermodynamics and electrochemistry.
  • Interleaving is usually best when alternating between 2-3 subjects, but not more than that.

Warning

Interleaving is challenging – especially at first. Many students give up because they think they learned less in interleaving practice than in their blocked practice. And they very well may have had less success when they were getting used to the new study skill. However, once students get the hang of interleaving, they are more likely to retain the material.

Summary

Although interleaving can be challenging for beginners, it is more effective for retaining material, mastering skills, and improving your abilities. Although interleaving is effective, it shouldn’t be your only study skill. It should be used in conjunction with other study techniques that will be detailed in coming installments of this series.

Keep up with our weekly Building Strong Study Skills series to learn the most effective study strategies and succeed in your academics. Schedule a session with one of our expert tutors today to receive all the information and guidance you need to gain a deeper understanding of your academics and perform better on your tests! Building effective study habits takes time, so the sooner you get help, the better prepared you will be by the time finals roll around.

Read Other Articles in The Building Strong Study Skills Series

Sources:

  • Terry, W.S. (2018). Learning and Memory: Basic Principles, Processes, and Procedures, Fifth Edition. New York, Routledge, a Taylor and Francis Group. ISBN 978-1-13-864591-2.
  • Rhodes, M.G., Cleary, A.M. and DeLosh, E.L. (2020). A Guide to Effective Studying and Learning: Practical Strategies from the Science of Learning. New York, Oxford University Press. ISBN 978-0-19-021447-0 (pbk)
by
Drew M. Hodis
,

Building Strong Study Skills Series: Study Habits You Should Knock Part II

Building Strong Study Skills Series:
Study Habits You Should Knock Part II

Building Strong Study Skill Series: Study Habits You Should Knock Part II.

Note: This series details how to study smarter, not harder, to help students succeed in their academics. All information in this series draws upon principles from psychological research on learning and memory.

Most school course curriculums do not teach students to develop study skills, which poses a great barrier to academic success. And in some cases, some students are taught study skills that either don’t work or are extraordinarily inefficient! Last week we detailed some of the worst study habits. Read on to understand three more of the least effective study habits.


Keywords

Effective studying involves gaining a deep understanding of the material, to the point where you could even teach the exact material that you were taught in class or in your texts. Keywords are only snippets of the information you are expected to know. Even if you understand all of your keywords really well – do you know why you’re learning these keywords? Why do they matter? How do they relate to the overall topic? How are the keywords connected to each other?


Writing Text Summaries

Summarizing your text is helpful in demonstrating that you are able to condense a large reading into a brief writing. However, it does not necessarily demonstrate a deep understanding of the material, nor does it help you master the material. Where it might help is connecting ideas – but there are more effective and efficient ways to connect ideas.


Making Flashcards (Often, But Not Always)

Flashcards seem to be the go-to study skill for many students. Perhaps the most helpful part of flashcard studying is the process of making them. But the process itself takes a long time and is often an inefficient use of study time. Even if you are the speediest flashcard maker, flashcards should not be used as a sole study technique.

Making and studying flashcards before a test typically does not help you gain a deeper understanding of the material nor does it effectively help you encode that material into your long-term memory beyond the date of your test. We will detail the proper use of flashcards later in this series.


Summary

Keywords and writing text summaries are ineffective and inefficient study habits. Although making flashcards may be useful at times, this study technique is often misused.

Keep up with our weekly Building Strong Study Skills series to learn the most effective study strategies and succeed in your academics. Schedule a session with one of our expert tutors today to receive all the information and guidance you need to gain a deeper understanding of your academics and perform better on your tests! Building effective study habits takes time, so the sooner you get help, the better prepared you will be by the time finals roll around.

Read Other Articles in The Building Strong Study Skills Series

Sources:

  • Terry, W.S. (2018). Learning and Memory: Basic Principles, Processes, and Procedures, Fifth Edition. New York, Routledge, a Taylor and Francis Group. ISBN 978-1-13-864591-2.
  • Rhodes, M.G., Cleary, A.M. and DeLosh, E.L. (2020). A Guide to Effective Studying and Learning: Practical Strategies from the Science of Learning. New York, Oxford University Press. ISBN 978-0-19-021447-0 (pbk).
by
Drew M. Hodis
,

Building Strong Study Skills Series: Study Habits You Should Knock Part I

Building Strong Study Skills Series:
Study Habits You Should Knock Part I

Building Strong Study Skill Series: Study Habits You Should Knock Part I. Students studying around a table.

Note: This series details how to study smarter, not harder, to help students succeed in their academics. All information in this series draws upon principles from psychological research on learning and memory.

Do you or your student study hard but still underperform on tests? Before you can begin studying smarter, you must first understand what you’re doing wrong. Today we begin with understanding some study habits that provide little to no benefit.

Rote Memorization

Have you ever found yourself repeatedly reading something to get it into your long-term memory? Effective studying involves developing a deep understanding of concepts and relating them to other knowledge you possess. Rote memorization does not promote understanding. Even worse, the information acquired through rote repetition typically does not stay in long term memory for very long.

Highlighting

Highlighting is another go-to study skill for many students. Highlighting is not very effective, if at all, in helping students encode information into their long term memory. And re-reading your highlights is a passive study technique with very little benefits, if any.

Re-Reading

Always aim to read the texts assigned in class just once. Reading is time consuming and re-reading should be avoided at all costs! Obviously, if you didn’t take good notes on a section or are having trouble wrapping your head around a particular concept, then re-reading may be necessary and helpful. But if you take great notes and interact with the text while reading the first time around, you will have the opportunity to explore better study techniques in that time spared from re-reading your text. We will go over how to actively read texts and take notes later in our series.

Summary

Rote memorization, highlighting, and re-reading are very ineffective study habits and should be the very first study habits you knock.

Stay up to date with our weekly Building Strong Study Skills series to learn the most effective study strategies and succeed in your academics. Schedule a session with one of our expert tutors today to receive all the information and guidance you need to gain a deeper understanding of your academics and perform better on your tests! Building effective study habits takes time, so the sooner you get help, the better prepared you will be by the time finals roll around.

Read Other Articles in The Building Strong Study Skills Series

Sources:

  • Terry, W.S. (2018). Learning and Memory: Basic Principles, Processes, and Procedures, Fifth Edition. New York, Routledge, a Taylor and Francis Group. ISBN 978-1-13-864591-2.
  • Rhodes, M.G., Cleary, A.M. and DeLosh, E.L. (2020). A Guide to Effective Studying and Learning: Practical Strategies from the Science of Learning. New York, Oxford University Press. ISBN 978-0-19-021447-0 (pbk).
by
Drew M. Hodis
,

Shine Bright & Start Strong: 3 Small Steps to Be More Organized & Efficient

Shine Bright & Start Strong: 3 Small Steps to Be More Organized & Efficient

Shine Bright & Start Strong: 3 Small Steps to Be More Organized & Efficient

Shine Bright & Start Strong: 3 Small Steps to Be More Organized & Efficient

Some issues we see often with our students is a lack of organization and smart studying. It’s challenging for a student who already struggles in a subject to do well if they aren’t keeping track of assignments or aren’t efficiently completing homework or studying. This is why our expert tutors teach our students to be more organized and work more efficiently, which we’ll also share below:

1. Use a calendar to track homework assignments & tests

With many teachers now posting assignments online, students might think they don’t need to keep track of homework because they can just look it up. But a calendar or planner where you have all homework and test dates listed for all classes is more effective than looking up each class assignment page.

For one thing, you have all your information in one place and you can use the online assignment page to double-check or see updates. Second, hand writing things is proven to help people retain information better than typing it or simply reading it.

And finally, it puts a level of responsibility on the student, which they will need, especially as they advance in their education. A high school student will be expected to be more responsible and autonomous than a middle schooler, and so on.

student in a tutoring session with her tutor.

2. Put your phone on do not disturb

HLM’s next-level tutors always ask students to turn their phones on silent and physically put them away or move them to another room during sessions. 

The phone, especially one that buzzes every few minutes, is distracting for our students and makes it difficult for them to concentrate on lessons.

You can swear you’re the best multi-tasker in the world, but it is proven that notifications can and do adversely affect our ability to focus on tasks.


3. Set a timer

Homework can be daunting, especially if you’re looking at seemingly endless pages of reading or writing an entire essay.

To break the paralysis or “I don’t know where to start” mindset, set a timer and do as much work as you can within that time. You’d be surprised at how much you can get through in just 30 minutes!

This works well especially if you have lots of work to do for different subjects. Instead of getting overwhelmed, or wasting hours slogging through one assignment, a set time-frame anywhere from 30 minutes to 1 hour will force you to be efficient.

Reward yourself with small breaks between work, but make sure you set a timer for those too, so you can get back on track.

_____

These may seem like small things, but they can make a big difference in how organized and prepared a student feels and how efficiently they work.

Our tutors and educators aren’t just professionals in their field of study, but are also skilled at teaching organizational and key time management skills. These skills and study habits will benefit your student far beyond the classroom.

If your student is struggling in a subject, or just wants to get ahead, book a session with Hodis Learning & Music today!

by
Rachel Hodis
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Shine Bright & Start Strong Series: Setting SMART Goals

shine bright & start strong series: getting smart goals

Shine Bright & Start Strong Series:
Setting SMART Goals

 

shine bright & start strong series: getting smart goals

 

The start of a new year often inspires us to commit to new habits, practices, and ways of life to improve ourselves. However, studies have shown that resolutions often fizzle out after a month, or sometimes even in a matter of days or weeks. 

Our Shine Bright & Start Strong Series will provide content all month long focused on how to set goals, improve organizational skills, and create better study habits so our students can start 2022 on the right foot and find lasting momentum to carry them well beyond January.

scrabble letters for English tutoring

Make SMART Goals: 

For any goal that you’re setting, it’s best to create goals that are SMART: Specific, Measurable, Attainable, Relevant/Realistic, and Timely. These can be New Year’s Resolutions, or goals you set for yourself each week or month. And while SMART Goals work in any area of life, we’re going to explain how they can help you in your academic, music, language, or artistic pursuits.

Specific: Make your goal as specific as possible. Many people have a tendency to make general goals or resolutions like “I want to learn a new instrument” or “I want to get better grades.” These goals are hard to accomplish because there are no specifications. It’s fine to start with a general idea like the ones listed above, but then dig deeper and define your goal more clearly. 

  • “I want to learn a new instrument” becomes: I want to learn how to play guitar
  • “I want to get better grades” becomes: I want to get better grades in my math and science classes

Measurable: A goal is more easily accomplished when there are metrics. Metrics give you a number or place to work towards and a point of comparison. To explain this better, we’ll use our goals from before.

  • “I want to learn how to play guitar” becomes: I want to learn how to play one song on guitar. Suddenly our general goal is even more specific! We can see an outcome- learning one song. If you’re a beginner who has never played guitar before, this goal is realistic and possible.
  • “I want to get better grades in my math and science classes” becomes: I want to get B’s in my math and science classes. Now, you’ve defined the subjects you want to get better grades in and the grades you want to achieve.

tape measure for math tutoring

Attainable: Make sure your goal is attainable. If your goal isn’t realistic or attainable, it might be discouraging if you aren’t able to achieve it. For example, if you have never played guitar before, you probably shouldn’t expect to play guitar like a rockstar in your first few months of learning the instrument.

If you struggled in math and science classes last semester and you don’t remember the previous lessons, it might not be attainable to achieve A+ grades in those classes. 

It doesn’t mean those things aren’t possible at some point, but be realistic about your progress and starting point in order to set goals that you can actually accomplish.

Relevant/Realistic: It’s worth asking yourself at any stage of the goal-setting process if your goals are relevant and realistic to you, your stage of life, and your lifestyle. 

The way to answer those questions and to get to the heart of your goal reasoning is to ask yourself, why. Why do you want to set this goal? Why is this goal important to you? 

If your answers have more to do with other people, is it really a goal worth pursuing? For example, if your goal is to learn a new instrument because you want people to be impressed with you, that might not be sustainable motivation. 

That could be one reason you want to learn a new instrument, but maybe you also dream of joining a band. Maybe you want to challenge yourself and learn something new. 

Those are perfectly good and relevant reasons, but just be clear in your intentions because those will drive you to keep working towards your goal even when it’s challenging.

If you are a student and reading this, you might feel like some of your academic goals are determined by your parents. You might think because other people want you to improve your grades the goal isn’t relevant to you.

If you feel this way, I encourage you to think about how improving your grades might help you achieve your own goals. Do you want to go to a specific college? Do you have a dream job?

You also have the power to determine if the goals are realistic. Maybe your parents want you to be valedictorian, but you know you would be adequately challenged working towards a 3.0 GPA. Talk with your parents and set a realistic goal that will challenge you and allow you to work towards your own dreams.

Timely: The final step in making a SMART goal is setting a time frame in which you can reasonably achieve your goal. Be realistic and honest with yourself about your starting point. Also be realistic and honest about how much time you’re going to spend working towards your goal each day and each week. So let’s make our original goals timely:

  • I want to learn how to play one song on guitar by June 1, 2022. Make sure you also set a reasonable timeline for how often you will practice, and how frequently you’ll meet with a guitar teacher who can help you learn the song.
  • I want to get B’s in my math and science classes in the spring semester. This is a great goal! Again, make sure you are putting in time throughout the semester to achieve this goal. Schedule regular sessions with a tutor early in the semester to start working towards your goal right away.

clock for timing tutoring sessions

Additional Tips to Make Your SMART Goals Stick:

  • Tell someone about your goals: Telling a trusted friend, tutor, coach, teacher, parent, or mentor is important when setting your goals because they can keep you accountable. They can provide motivation when you don’t feel like working towards your goal and remind you why you set your goal in the first place.
  • Evaluate your progress regularly: Use a calendar, journal, or spreadsheet to track your progress. Check in regularly to determine if you will be able to achieve your goal within your set time frame. Your goal and time frame can help you determine how often you assess your progress, which could be every day, once a week, or once a month.
  • Don’t be afraid to adjust your goals: Regular evaluations will help you determine if you’re on track to achieve your goal within your set time frame. 
    • If you haven’t been practicing guitar regularly, perhaps you need to set a new completion date. Again, be realistic about your time and also make the necessary adjustments to achieve your goal. Perhaps you need to commit to practicing more often in order to learn the song on guitar. Set new practice times and stick to them. 
    • Adjusting your goal is also important if you find you can exceed it or reach it in less time than you thought. Maybe halfway through the semester you realize you’ve gotten A’s on all your math and science exams. Don’t be afraid to change your goal of getting B’s to getting A’s in those classes. Write it down, tell your friend, teacher, or mentor, and track your progress towards that goal the same way as before.
  • Reflect on your goals after you achieve them: After you’ve achieved your goal, celebrate your success and reflect on it! Writing down your thoughts in a journal can be helpful. How did you feel working towards your goal? How did it feel to achieve your goal? If you had to adjust your goal, how did that make you feel? Do you want to expand upon your goal, and use it to set new ones?

Our series continues with how to be more organized and efficient and cultivating a better mindset to achieve success.

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