Tag: studying

A Thinking Hack to Help You Read More Effectively

April Sullivan Leave a comment

Do you ever struggle to read difficult texts? I’ve had a few different videos on this topic lately because it’s such a buggaboo for many of my clients.

In today’s video we explore a way to THINK about reading that might shift your ability to understand what’s in the text.

This tip comes to you courtesy of a client of mine, who made a brilliant observation about her own reading process. I just LOVE IT when my clients try the techniques I give them, but then come back with an even more brilliant observation of what works for them.

Check out the video to learn a small little tweak my client has made in her thinking that has given her the grit to get through a difficult reading.

Remember this one take away from the video:

Where To Study and Why It Matters

Gretchen Leave a comment

Did you know that WHERE you study can make a difference in how well you get prepped for a test? More about that topic in a moment.

But first — wow!! We had over 180 educators (and parents!) sign up for the Study Cycle 101 Masterclass yesterday. I was particularly impressed at the countries that were represented: Peru, Venezuela, Azerbaijan, Beirut-Lebanon, Canada, Australia, Canada, and more!!

It’s not too late to sign up if you’d like to watch the recording, and then participate in tomorrow’s Practice Labs! (Hint: During the masterclass I’m giving out a $100 discount code to my upcoming Art of Inspiring Students course, so if you’d like access to that, make sure to sign up. The discount is good through Friday evening).

But now — given it’s Wednesday! — I bet you’d like my weekly video tip. 🙂

P.S. If you’re curious to read the original article from the New York Times, here it is: https://www.nytimes.com/2010/09/07/health/views/07mind.html?

225: Save Money on Testing with Fee Waivers

Gretchen Leave a comment
For many families, the costs of taking standardized tests like the ACT, SAT and AP’s are out reach. However, it is possible to receive fee waivers, and Megan breaks down exactly how.

 

Tune in to learn more about topics like:

  • The difference between reduced and waived fees
  • How to use the “free lunch waiver” as the first step in waiving testing fees
  • The costs of regular registration
  • How to use these processes for waiving university application fees as well.

This is a super important episode, and many families don’t realize the college-related reasons they should apply for the “free lunch waiver.”

Please spread the word among friends, local organizations, and those who work with students who may need assistance.

Click here to tune in to learn about waivers and how you can get them if ti applies for you.

Does the idea of keeping a calendar overwhelm you?

Gretchen Leave a comment

Do you, or a student you love, struggle to keep a calendar?

I’d like you to meet Sarah Weidman, one of my star Anti-Boring Approach™ Certified Coaches. It’s August, we’re all revving up for the new school year, AND I’m excited to show off the expertise of the coaches who now use my Anti-Boring Study Cycle model in their coaching (learn it for free here!).

Towards the end of the last school year, Sarah had a client who told her that she didn’t like keeping a calendar. She felt overwhelmed by all of the assignments and activities listed. Sarah totally understood where her client was coming from (that’s the sign of a good coach!) and worked with this young woman’s concerns.

Tune in to discover the steps they took to make calendaring less overhwhelming… and more useful.

Are you in need of expert academic coaching this school year? Sarah is available and you can find out more info here. She’s an awesome academic life coach based in San Francisco but available anywhere thanks to the miracle of the internet.

 

224: Anti-Boring Tool #4 – Quizzable Study Tools

Gretchen Leave a comment

The most important part of studying is retrieval practice (in other words, testing yourself)…

…but how do you test yourself in new and interesting ways so that you don’t bore yourself to tears?

Tune in for Part 4 of the Anti-Boring Summer Series, where Gretchen walks you through how to create quizzable study tools, so you have lots of choices for how to test yourself .

If this anti-boring tip delights you and you want more from where this came from:

Don’t forget to click here to hear Part 4 of the Anti-Boring Summer Series, where Gretchen walks you through how to create quizzable study tools!

How to Remember Your Assignments When Your School Goes Digital

Gretchen Leave a comment

Has your school gone digital, but you and your kiddo are at a loss on how to keep assignments straight?

I’d like you to meet Marni Pasch, one of my star Anti-Boring Approach™ Certified Coaches. It’s August, we’re all revving up for the new school year, AND I’m excited to show off the expertise of the coaches who’ve gone through my Art of Inspiring Students to Study Strategically training.

Towards the end of the last school year, Marni had a student who couldn’t keep track of their assignments because their school had gone digital! Keeping paper assignments organized has its own challenges for teenage students, but organizing digital assignments can also be quite a headache.

Marni’s student figured out a modern way to survive in a digital school system… and Marni shows off this simple but brilliant idea in the following video:

Are you in need of expert academic coaching? Marni is available and you can find out more info here. She’s an awesome academic life coach based in Florida but available anywhere thanks to the miracle of the internet.

223: How to Apply for Testing Accommodations for ACT & SAT

Gretchen Leave a comment

 

It’s possible to receive accommodations on the SAT & ACT for students with physical or learning differences. However (and this is a super important point for families of these kinds of students):  you need to apply in advance.

Both SAT & ACT have tried to make the process easier, but unfortunately not all families know this is an option.

 

Listen in as Megan breaks down common issues related to applying for accommodations on standardized testing.

 

 Then, for more information, check out an article she wrote on the topic!

222: Anti-Boring Tool #3 – Hone It Notes

Gretchen Leave a comment
Do you ever review your lecture notes after you take them?

Most people don’t… mostly because it seems like a lot of work and they don’t know how.

This simple note taking tip could change your entire ability to learn effectively. It’s not easy, but if you could get yourself to do it — you’d e so much more ready for every test and feel that much more confident as a learner

If this anti-boring tip delights you and you want more from where this came from:

220: Anti-Boring Study Tool #2 – The Study Senses

Gretchen Leave a comment

Is studying tedious and boring?

Use the Study Senses as a simple checklist for how to engage your brain while learning, so that you learn more in less time.

Tune in for Part 2 of the Anti-Boring Summer Series, where she walks you through a simple model for how to mix up your studying so you’re processing information in multiple ways.

If this anti-boring tip delights you and you want more from where this came from:

How to Take Notes on a Nonfiction Book, Part 1

Gretchen Leave a comment

Do you have a hard time remembering what you read? I have this trouble all the time — I read a super interesting nonfiction book, but when it’s time to tell a friend about it, I can’t remember a single interesting fact!

Today I want to share a way I have of taking notes that allows me to capture the most important points from the non fiction books that I read. See: it’s not just students that study skills are good for! 🙂

Check out this video in which I walk you through the “book charting” process that I learned from my mom back in the day.

 

In today’s video I show you how to set up the process, and in the next two videos I’ll show you how I fill it out. So tune in the next couple of weeks to get more information!

 

How to Get Work done While You Travel

Gretchen Leave a comment

?Do you often intend to get school work done when you travel during breaks, but then can’t quite bring yourself to do it?

More and more of my clients these days have at least one, if not more, plane rides during the course of their school year.

These same clients are also the kind of students who often have late work they need to catch up on!

In this video, I talk about how one of my clients came up with a “Plane Plan” in advance of his trip, so that he could make better use of his time on the airplane. This plan was very successful in helping him follow through with his goals. Check out the video to find out how.?

Make sure you come up with your plan in advance so you have a solid idea and can stick to it!

How to Have a Productive and Fun Break

Gretchen Leave a comment

Summer is here for almost everyone! Which means relaxation and rest, right?

Hopefully for most of you that’s the case. But some students need to be productive, even over summer break thanks to classes at community college, rigorous summer assignments, internships and more.

Here’s a tip that might be helpful for those of you who want to maintain a sense of fun while also making sure you are responsible about being productive, too.

Listen in as I share a tip given to me by a 16 year old client who discovered a simple but powerful way to be productive over spring break! He was able to study for his AP tests AND have fun with his friends too.

I hope you all have a great Summer break!

A Simple Way to Study with a Friend

Gretchen Leave a comment

Do you like to study with your friends, but you’re not sure how effective you are together? Or do you question how well your teen actually learns with studying with a friend?

Recently a client was preparing to study for his AP World History exam with a friend, and asked me how he might study more effectively during their study session.

Here is a super simple format that I taught him, based on the available study guide that their teacher gave him. Check it out and see if it’d work for you too!

Here are the steps involved that I share in the video:

An Overlooked Method for How to Quiz Yourself

Gretchen Leave a comment

I get super suspicious when I hear a student tell me, “There’s no possible way I can quiz myself on this material.” That’s exactly what I heard this morning when my client and I were discussing how he might study for his AP World History exam.

Although it was tempting for me to wag my finger at my client and blame him for being a lazy thinker, instead I realized that he had overlooked a super straightforward way of quizzing himself. He thought quizzing needs to be fancy, with flashcards and quizlet decks and questions with answers. But instead, there’s a simple way to “practice retrieval” (a fancy name for “quizzing”) while you’re reading.

It’s easier for me to tell you about it rather than write about it, so check out this video.

 

 

Here are some tips about how to quiz yourself that I talk about in the video:

212: Is Your Student Vulnerable to the Cheating Epidemic?

Gretchen Leave a comment

Cheating is on the rise in high schools around the country!

Megan has been observing this in the reports coming from her clients’ and her daughters’ school.

Tune in as Megan and Gretchen explore this topic in more detail, including:

  • The reasons Megan observes for this epidemic, including the way the internet exacerbates the impulse to cheat
  • What the real harms are to students who succumb to temptation to cheat
  • Questions parents can ask their students to make sure that students have thought through impulses, consequences, and alternatives to cheating as a way to raise grades.

Tune in as Megan and Gretchen explore this topic in more detail!

An Antidote to Silly Mistakes on Math Tests

Gretchen Leave a comment

Do you ever make stupid mistakes on your math tests because you’re hurrying too much?

I have a client who was consistently scoring a letter grade lower every test because of silly mistakes. My solution for him? Check out the video for details about what it means to “study “in the manner of the test” and how we apply this idea to math tests to simulate the time deadline, and eradicate silly mistakes.

Check out the video here:

 

Don’t have time to watch the video? This picture pretty much sums it up:

 

 

If you study in the manner of a test. Meaning, the three things listed above. First you need to set a time limit so that you can get in the practice of having a set amount of time. Then, you need to focus on all the things you did in past tests that caused you to get the answers wrong. After your done count your mistakes. Do this a few times a week to get in some good practice for an upcoming test.

If your here to get tips to help students and are thinking about growing your own business as an academic coach – Try my FREE 10 day course.

 

College Prep Podcast #194: Research Reveals the Three Best Ways to Teach, Learn, and Study

Gretchen Leave a comment

Gretchen Wegner, Megan Dorsey, Megan Sumeracki, Yana Weinstein, The Learning Scientists, Best ways to teach, best ways to learn, best ways to study, best way to learn, best way to teach, best way to learn, NCTQ, college, students, College Prep PodcastWhat does research teach us about the best ways for teachers to teach and students to study?

Guest experts Yana Weinstein and Megan Sumeracki, otherwise known as The Learning Scientists, school us on what research shows is is the best ways to learn, including some surprising myths about what doesn’t work.

Together with Gretchen and Megan, they discuss:

  • The hilarious way that the Learning Scientists podcast got started
  • Stories from the classroom of what students at the college level struggle with in regards to learning
  • The three most effective strategies for learning, based on a research study from the NCTQ, which include retrieval, spaced practice, and dual coding.
  • Why intuition is sometimes misleading when someone is trying to figure out how to study
  • And more!

Here is the link for a cool way to use flashcards to do elaborative interrogation, which was mentioned at the end of the episode.

Find out more about the Learning Scientists Podcast at their website, www.learningscientists.org. Here is more information about each of them individually too:

Megan Sumeracki (formerly Megan Smith) is an assistant professor at Rhode Island College. She received her Master’s in Experimental Psychology at Washington University in St. Louis and her Ph.D. in Cognitive Psychology from Purdue University. Her area of expertise is in human learning and memory and specifically applying the science of learning in educational contexts. She also teaches a number of classes from first-year seminars and intro to psychology to upper-level learning and research methods courses. 

Yana Weinstein is an Assistant Professor at the University of Massachusetts, Lowell. She received her Ph.D. in Psychology from University College London and had 4 years of postdoctoral training at Washington University in St. Louis. The broad goal of her research is to help students make the most of their academic experience. Yana‘s research interests lie in improving the accuracy of memory performance, and the judgments students make about their cognitive functions. Yana tries to pose questions that have directly applied relevance, such as: How can we help students choose optimal study strategies? Why are test scores sometimes so surprising to students? And how does retrieval practice help students learn?

Click here to tune in as Gretchen and Megan, with guest speakers Megan and Yana, discuss teaching and learning.

College Prep Podcast #192: Seven Types of Students and Their Study Blind Spots

Gretchen Leave a comment

Seven Types of Students and Their Study Blind Spots, Gretchen Wegner, Megan Dorsey, Academic Coach, Academic CoachingThere are seven different types of students, in Gretchen’s experience, each with different approaches to school and studying.

As final exams approach, it’s a great opportunity to explore each type of student’s weaknesses in regards to studying, and what students, parents, and coaches can do to turn those blind spots around.

Listen in as Gretchen goes into much more detail about these 7 types of students:

  • The Stressed Out Perfectionist
  • The Fade Away Student
  • The Brilliant-But-Bored Student
  • The Meh Student
  • The Disorganized Student
  • The Artist
  • The Athlete
  • BONUS (at Megan’s Suggestion): The Over-Scheduled Student

Click here to listen in as Gretchen reviews the 7 types of students and how to help them.

A 30-Second Mind Trick to Envision a New Habit

Gretchen Leave a comment

Do you struggle to take action on new habits and routines that you know would be good for you? Recently, a client of mine was having trouble jumpstarting “The Set Up Routine,” which is a process I recommend to students for setting up their study space right when they get home from school. I realized that during last week’s session, I’d failed to help him truly envision himself doing the habit! This is a 30-second trick that can really make a difference. Check out the video, where I describe it in more detail.

Hey there, don’t have time for the full video? No worries, here’s a quick summary:

So, I have a quick 30-second trick to help you, or your child, or your client (if you’re an academic coach), get a jumpstart on a new habit. And this is something I was doing with a client just this last week. He knew he needed to do what I call the “setup routine”, which is to come home from school, walk in the door, and get your study space all set up. The problem was that while we’d talked about it the previous week, he wasn’t following through, and I realized we really needed to walk through it in much more detail.

So I had him imagine actually doing this task, in as much detail as possible. I asked him what the front door looks like, what it’s like on the inside of that door, where he has to go to put his study materials, where the table is, what’s in that space, etc. Then I asked him to imagine himself taking his books out, where he’d put them, what else he needed to do to set up, etc. And he was really able to see it in his mind, almost like a movie. One of the benefits of this was that it allowed me to see where he was getting stuck and help fill in the steps. It also benefitted him, as he was able to get a real feel for how the habit would go from start to finish.

I hope this little trick helps you, and if you want more tips and tricks, please consider checking out my course.

The Only Thing You Need to Know to Ace Tests

Gretchen Leave a comment

Hey there, do you have trouble with tests? Do you study by rereading your notes or textbook? Even if you don’t, it’s very likely that you use the same method every time you study right?

Well, I’ve got some good news and some bad news. The bad news is that the way you’ve been studying is most likely being wasted. The good news, I have the solution right here, and I’m going to share it with you.

Hey there, while I HIGHLY recommend watching this particular video in full, here is a summary:

The Study Cycle is composed of 3 steps and is the most effective, efficient, and anti-boring method I know for studying. So before we begin going over the steps, I have a little image here, which we will be referencing.

 

The Anti-Boring Approach to Powerful Studying | The Art of Inspiring Students to Study Strategically | Gretchen Wegner | Teacher | Teachers | Tutors | Academic Life Coach | Academic Coach | Academic Coaching | Academic Coaches | Tutors | Tutor | Study Skills | School Administrators | Parents | Parent | Student | StudentsWe start with the basket of knowledge and skills at the bottom of the image, this is what we need to learn, and we need to get this into your beautiful brain at the top. So step 1 is encoding the information from the basket into our brains. In this step, we are getting the information into our brains, whether we are teaching it to ourselves or it’s being taught to us.

Step 2 of The Study Cycle, which the majority of students skip, is practice retrieval. This is the process of getting the information out of our brains and assessing what we actually learned. By doing this, we get two very important pieces of information. The first is what we do know, what we actually did learn in step 1. The second is what we didn’t encode in step 1. What we didn’t learn, or encode, we put back into the basket of knowledge.

Then we have step 3. Step 3 is one of the least practiced steps, but just as important or more important than the other 2. Step 3 is to encode the information we assessed we didn’t learn in step 2 in a NEW way. The important thing is NOT just to try to re-encode it the same way you did in Step 1, but to encode the information in a new way.

My course, The Anti-Boring Approach to Powerful Studying, for students, and The Art of Inspiring Students to Study Strategically, for Educators, both are filled with a wide variety of tools to help students encode information in new ways. So check them out, and I look forward to hearing from you.