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Test taking skills will differ depending upon the test the individual is taking.

For instance, the strategies used on a multiple choice question test will not be the same as those used on a short answer or true/false test.

You can prepare for a maths exam by starting early. Pay attention in class, do the homework assignments and work to understand the problems, not just to get them right. If you can accomplish each of these three things then you have cut your study time in half.

Work a variety of problems as you prepare to take the test. Many maths books have review problems or practice tests in the back of the book. Use those so you aren’t sure of the type of problem you are facing. When you are doing homework the maths problems you’re doing are the same as the concept you just learned but in a test you are tested over several past week’s worth of material. By using problems that you aren’t sure about you more accurately mimic a test situation.

Some students enjoy cramming. In other words, they don’t study through the week and then stay up for hours trying to learn everything in one marathon long session. However, maths isn’t memory work but rather learning to recognise patterns and applying the correct technique to solve the problem. You are being tested on skill and not memorised facts. This means that you must work problems every day to learn the skill.

Try to reduce everything you need to one sheet of paper. These are called crib sheets. Some teachers allow you to use them and others don’t. If you can use one then you have it, if not the act of doing it will help to organise the material in your mind and retain it.

Try to form or join a study group with 3-4 dedicated students. In this way you’ll both read, work and discuss the problems which gives your brain multiple ways of absorbing the material. And, if there is another student who doesn’t understand the material and you can’t explain it then you don’t know it as well as you think you did.

At the start of any maths exam briefly look through the whole test. You can prioritise sections, pace yourself and do the easy questions first. Read the instructions carefully! You may get the maths right but if you got the question wrong then you won’t even get partial credit.

Do a “brain-dump” or instant crib sheet. This is a list of key formulas on an empty section of the math test so you have them available later in the test when the pressure of solving the problems has driven the formulas out of your head.

Clearly write each step of the problem and don’t skip steps. It’s very easy to skip a step and miswrite numbers from calculations you did in your head. Be very neat in your writing and calculations and keep checking the solutions.

If you get stuck on a problem then move on and come back to it later. When you finish the test recheck your work and be sure you answered all questions. If you believe that an answer is wrong don’t change it unless you are equally sure that the new answer is right.

Answer the question being asked. If the problem asks for the dimensions of a box then your answer should have 3 numbers; if the problem asks for a percent then the answer shouldn’t be a decimal point. Each of these small errors can mean the difference in an entire letter grade.

Stress will affect your body and the way that you think. Pay attention to the way you are feeling and if you find you are getting stressed then do something about it. Close your eyes and take a deep breath; tense each muscle group independently and release it, drink water, visualise or stretch. Do something to reduce your stress level.

By learning to incorporate some of these math exam tips into your test take strategies you’ll be better able to perform up to your ability and successfully achieve the grade you desire.

 

Spending hours every day studying, may not be the most effective way to learn.

For many students, high school and college / university, there isn’t enough time in the day to accomplish all of their school work, job and social responsibilities. So they quickly learn that they must study smarter. This means learning to improve the amount of information that the student can absorb in the shortest amount of time possible. By learning some good time management strategies, reading techniques, and learning personal learning style students can study smarter and achieve their goals.

Start by figuring out your personal learning style. Some students absorb more information by reading it (visual), hearing it (auditory) or touching (tactile). It’s important to understand which of these techniques works best for you so you can more easily absorb the material. Most research has determined that students who both hear and see the information will learn it better but when you incorporate the learning style that is yours first you’ll learn even more.

Recite the information as you read it. In other words, read through a paragraph or section and then, out loud, quiz yourself or recite the information so that you are both processing it and hearing it. This helps students to understand the information better and faster because it is active learning. It also points out areas that the student is making mistakes and gaps in their understanding.

People who are visual learners will benefit from taking full notes during lectures and while reading sections. This is because they learn most rapidly from reading the information or writing it down. Audiotape the lectures and take notes later if you aren’t able to get the full amount of information down during the class time. Notes should be in your own words that you are paraphrased from the lecture. This reinforces learning much more than underlining or highlighting in a book or notes because it is mechanical and active.

It is best to review the material directly after a class time or reading because it will create more firm pathways in the brain when it is reviewed quickly. Students find that the beginning and end of the material is remembered best so don’t overlook the middle sections.

Research has found that students who learn new material and then ‘sleep on it’ will better remember the material. Unless the student is physically or mentally overtired they should spend an hour before bed studying material they want to remember the next day.

Study in 20 -50 minute chunks of time and take a 10 minute break to stretch and get the blood moving. Spend your time on your three most challenging classes every day and early in the day.

To maximise your time management skills, make a list. Stay on top of deadlines for class work and tests and keep your lists active. Know what you have to study and when, so that papers and tests don’t sneak up on you. Lists will help you identify your goals, save you time and give you something to rely on than just your memory.

By learning to study smarter and not harder, students can fit in their social obligations, study time, class work, job and family into a short 24 hour day – and still achieve the goals they want.

 

Learning strategies are methods that students use to learn concepts.

These strategies can range from techniques used to improve memory, study habits or test taking strategies to improve outcomes. Learning strategies are a person’s individual approach to learning and retrieving information. Students who do not know or learn good strategies often learn passively and will ultimately fail.

Some tutor or teaching institutions will help students to learn strategies to improve their learning. This instruction focuses on helping students learn to be more active learners and how to solve problems more successfully.

Some learning strategies change the design of instruction, such as the use of questions before, during and after instruction. This is called the ‘method of loci’ and is a classic memory improvement technique.

Another typical study strategy is the SQ3R that suggests students use 3 different steps to improve their study habits and memory.

These steps include:

(1) surveying the material to fully understand the scope of what is to be learned,

(2) develop questions about the material before studying,

(3) reading through the material,

(4) recalling the key ideas to improve the content understanding and learning,

(5) review the material both through questions, notes and reading material.

Institutions that teach learning strategies attempt to give students well rounded techniques to improve their ability to learn. Well rounded programmes address how students usually acquire information. This includes how to paraphrase information so the student puts the information in their own words, which improves understanding, remembering information, asking questions and making predictions about what is coming next.

Programmes that teach learning strategies also evaluate what the students do with the knowledge once it’s acquired. This means that students must be able to retrieve the information they have retained. By developing mnemonic devices, memorisation aids and learning new vocabulary students are better able to prepare for testing.

How students express themselves in communicating their thoughts in sentences as well as learning how to self-monitor for errors and approach their tasks confidently are another part of improving learning strategies students need to maximise their retrieval.

No single criteria or factor of learning and retrieval is any more or less important than any other. Students must also learn how to manage their stress, good study habits and the importance of deadlines to round out their ability to learn, retain and retrieve information

 

It’s Only an Exam … Don’t Worry!

How you take a test or school examination can make a difference in how well you do.

The tips you use to take a multiple choice test will be different from those used to take a fill in the blank or short answer question. By knowing these tips and working the test correctly you can vastly improve the likelihood that your answers will accurately reflect your knowledge of the topic.

Always show up prepared for the test. In other words, bring the right amount of pencils, pens, erasers and calculators if allowed. And bring spares – spare pens, erasers and calculator batteries. Get plenty of rest the night before. Wake up early and eat a nutritious breakfast to feed your brain with the nutrition it needs to function optimally. Arrive to your class or examination on time. Allow time for holdups in traffic and to relax before the test.

During the test there are a few things to do that will make a difference in the outcome. For instance, always read the directions carefully! Many points have been lost by students who don’t read the directions carefully. Preview the test and work the easy parts first. If you are penalised for incorrect responses then don’t give an educated guess. Save time at the end of the test to review your answers for completeness – your first answer is usually the correct one so don’t change answers but check to be sure you have answered all questions.

These preparations are good for any type of test question. Now what do you do when you are faced with multiple choice questions versus short answer questions?

When taking a multiple choice question, take this small fact into consideration: Professional examiners, and some college professors, will choose the same letter answer for multiple successive questions. Students begin to feel confused and anxious and may change their answers, sure that they are wrong. In this case the test writer is a true test of comprehension. Some questions also test the recognition of a word or concept in an incorrect position. One trick is to take a prominent word from the question and put it in an incorrect option.

Read the question completely and try to answer the question without reading any of the answers first. This way the choices on the test won’t trick you. If you can write on the test then cross out the answers you know aren’t right. Don’t change your answers because your first one is usually correct. In questions that have “All of the Above” as a choice and you see at least two answers that are correct then it is probably the right answer. The correct answer is usually the one with the most information. And, a positive choice is more likely to be true than a negative one.

If you are stumped by the question or more than one answer seems correct then narrow the field. Choose the answer that is true in all situations and not in only a limited or narrow condition. If you have to make an assumption to get the answer then ask yourself if the assumption is obvious enough that all students would make it. Avoid reading too much into questions – most instructors don’t intentionally decieve students.

If, after all of these tactics, you are still down to just 2 answers then go with your gut. Research suggests that feelings are frequently accessible and correct.

On short answer questions the teachers are usually looking for a foundational knowlege of the material that is factual. Students should focus on the keywords and ideas and eliminate information that doesn’t directly answer the question. Answers should be concise and short. If you are unsure of the answer make an educated guess that could get you more points than leaving the question completely blank.

If you don’t know the answer to the question, then come back to it at the end of the test. Other questions may give you the information you need to complete this one. If you have more than one answer ask the instructor what they suggest.

When answering true/false questions remember that every part of the statement must be true for the answer to be true. If any part is false then the whole statement is false. Pay close attention to negatives or qualifiers. Read these questions closely because it is easy to read quickly over a question and mistake the meaning.

Qualifiers are words that mean the statement must be true all of the time or part of the time. Those words that mean the statement is true all of the time such as never and always, often lead to a false answer while those that imply that the statement is conditional will more likely lead to a true answer.

By using these tips most students are able to improve their odds of increasing the number of test questions they get correct and the outcome of the examination. Do not overlook the importance of understanding the material well nor the importance of using good test taking strategies.

 

Memory Tips Part Two

A different twist on this is to first organise the notes into sections that make sense, have patterns, are familiar or other ways that will break the information into patterns. Then follow the steps listed in Part One.

3. Some information is better memorised in and out of order and for those facts you might try note cards.
4. The index cards should be thicker so you can’t read through them.
5. On one side in black ink write the word in all caps. On the opposite side write the concept/definition/idea in lower case letters in another color pen.
6. Mix up the note cards. Find a quiet place to rehearse.
7. Spend time testing yourself using the cards. If you answer the questions correctly then put them in one pile, and another if you answered incorrectly and yet a third if the answer wasn’t quite right.
8. Now pick up the cards that you didn’t get right and go through them until you have them right. Repeat with the third stack of cards.
9. Now mix the cards up and repeat the testing from the beginning making the same three piles as you answer the questions.
10. Rinse and repeat until you get them all correct.

Using note cards allows you to test yourself throughout the day, when you may have a spare minute.

4. A mnemonic device is another tool that students and teachers have been using to memorising information for decades. This is a method of enhancing memory and can be alliterative or have a rhyming nature to help improve the ease. The most popular are alliteration, acronym, rhymes, groups, numbers, pictures and poems.

You might make up your own mnemonic device or use a common one. For instance, when young school children remember the colors of the rainbow in order they learn the name: Roy G. Biv

Red

Orange

Yellow

Green

Blue

Indigo

Violet

Another common one are the names of the planets in order:

My (Mercury)

Very (Venus)

Educated (Earth)

Mother (Mars)

Just (Jupiter)

Served (Saturn)

Us (Uranus)

Nine (Neptune)

Pizzas (Pluto)

You can use this tool to help remember your surroundings, peoples names, information for school or business, traveling in a foreign country or trying to learn another language.

5. Learning and committing poetry to memory is another type of information that you may want to retain and retrieve. Retrieving this type of information requires understanding and incorporating the information rather than pure memorization. By incorporating the techniques of reading over the content and attempting to both understand the information and the way in which it is structured will help the memorisation process.