C.A.S.ACenter for Academic Student Achievement

&Islander Success Advocates

Attend classes– Attendance counts in MOST classes– Don’t just sit there, participate– Pay attention! Take notes! Ask questions!

Know your instructor– What are their tests like? Ask around.

(Also, go see your Professor during office hours)

Schedule regular study periods– Either by yourself or in a group

Be realistic– Don’t expect to get an “A” without studying or

going to class. It’s not going to happen!

Establish a regular study area/place– Where do you feel most comfortable and

relaxed?– Where would you study best?

Study in short periods of time- Don’t try to cram everything into one

night

Start study sessions on time – Set a schedule and stick to it

Study when you are most alert and awake - Are you a morning person or a night

owl?

Set a specific goal for each subject you study– Read a chapter or complete an assignment

Start assignments as soon as they are given– Don’t have to finish them, just get the ball

rolling

Review your notes regularly– Helps you become more familiar with the

material

Take regular study breaks– Don’t overexert yourself

Study your most difficult subjects first– This way you can get help if you need it

(Tutoring, Supplemental Instruction, Writing center)

Stay on top of your work– Don’t Procrastinate! “People who have a high GPA prepare for a

test a week before” Reward yourself for reaching your

goals– Movies, hang out with friends, etc.

Curve of Forgetting

Day 1-At the beginning of the lecture, you go in knowing nothing, or 0%. At the end of the lecture you know 100% of what you know.

Day 2- If you have done nothing with the information you learned in that lecture, didn't think about it again, read it again, etc. you will have lost 50%-80% of what you learned. Day 7- We remember even less Day 30- We retain about 2%-3% of the original lecture! This nicely coincides with midterm exams, and may account for feeling as if you've never seen this before in your life when you're studying for exams - you may need to actually re-learn it from scratch.

Here's the formula for making time to review material: Within 24 hours of getting the information - spend 10 minutes reviewing and you will raise the curve almost to 100% again. A week later (day 7), it only takes 5 minutes to "reactivate" the same material, and again raise the curve. By day 30, your brain will only need 2-4 minutes to give you the feedback, "yes, I know that..."

The Curve of Forgetting describes how we retain or get rid of information that we take in

Supplemental Instruction– Study session led by a student who has already

taken the course and has done well in it– They attend your class everyday and take notes

over material covered Tutoring

– We have tutors for just about every core class– Schedules located at http://casa.tamucc.edu

Writing Center– Get help with essays, lab reports, resumes,

bibliographies, etc.– Some instructors give extra credit for going to WC

Come visit us at

CASA!

Glasscock121A

or online athttp://casa.tamucc.edu