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The Study Cycle & Focused Study Sessions THE STUDY CYCLE: A Continuous Process of Learning

Phase One:	Read or preview chapters to be covered in class before class. Create a chapter outline or concept map as you read or preview.
Phase Two:	Go to class, listen attentively, take notes, participate in class discussion, and ask questions.
Phase Three:	As soon as possible after class, review your notes from that day and summarize them in your own words.
Phase Four:	Implement focused study sessions and a weekly review.

FOCUSED STUDY SESSIONS Our brains do not learn at their best when we sit and try to learn for an extended period of time. With all of today’s distractions, it is also unrealistic to ask yourself to stay focused for hours on end. It is much more realistic to stay focused for 40-60 minutes.

Link lecture and text notes by creating one study tool to review. Work practice problems. Develop example problems and a guide for the process behind the example for better understanding. Read the text/lecture notes and summarize verbally what you are reading. Teach the information to assess your own level of understanding. Develop a concept map, matrix, or outline to organize the material and link ideas. Discuss material with a study group. Quiz yourself over your lecture and textbook notes with a whiteboard, flashcards, or by making a practice test. Reflect on your past exams and create new questions similar to your professor’s style to test yourself.

10 minutes: Take a break and move. Get up. Walk around. Grab a snack.10 minutes: Review the material you just studied Remember the principle of distributed vs. massed practice. The best study is short, intense, but frequent. WEEKLY COMPREHENSIVE REVIEW Once a week, take all of your notes out for a specific course and start from the beginning of your notes and bring yourself to where you are at for that week in class.

• You do not need to know every concept in your notes.
• The point is to review to see how the concepts you are learning connect together and are continually building.
• Also, by reviewing older material weekly, you will not forget the information as easily.
• Adapted from “Studying Techniques – LSU Center for Academic Success.” Accessed May 26, 2016.

: The Study Cycle & Focused Study Sessions
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What is the most effective study length?

Space Your Study Sessions – As course reading piles up, it can be tempting to let yourself fall behind, all the while reassuring yourself that you’ll spend two days cramming right before an exam. But while last-minute cramming may allow you to pass a test, you won’t remember the material for long, according to Williams College psychologist Nate Kornell, PhD.

Decades of research have demonstrated that spacing out study sessions over a longer period of time improves long-term memory. In other words, if you have 12 hours to spend on a subject, it’s better to study it for three hours each week for four weeks than to cram all 12 hours into week four. And for the most part, the more time you take between study sessions, the better off you are — at least within the time limits of an academic semester.

“At some point, waiting too long could have a negative effect,” Kornell says. “However, most of us space far too little. Practically speaking, too much spacing is not really a danger anyone should worry about.” Researchers aren’t exactly sure why spacing is so effective.

However, one possible cause is that, over time, people forget what they learned in their initial study session. Then, when they come back to the material later, the new study session jogs their memory and they recall what they learned the first time around. That process — forgetting and retrieval — helps cement the new knowledge in place.

In one study, published in 2009 in Applied Cognitive Psychology, Kornell showed that the spacing effect works on a smaller time scale as well. He asked college students to study a “stack” of 20 digital vocabulary flashcards. The students all studied each word four times.

But half of the students studied the words in one big stack — they went through all 20 words, then started over. The other half of the students studied the words in four smaller stacks of five cards each. So, the students who used the one big stack had a longer spacing time between each of the four times they saw a word.

On a test the next day, the students in the “big stack” group remembered significantly more of the words than the students in the “four small stacks” group — 49 percent as compared with 36 percent. When it comes to spacing, students are often led astray by their own experiences, says Kent State University psychology professor Katherine Rawson, PhD, who also studies learning.
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Why do I study better at night?

Being a student can be a very big challenge. Students have multiple different things they have to find time for and studying can be one of the hardest ones. When is the best time to study? Although some may say morning, nighttime is the best time for students to study.

1. This will have the largest impact on students.
2. Students study at night, because they have fewer distractions, they remember the information better, and this is the only free time students have available.
3. Students study at night because it is calmer.
4. Generally, at night everyone is asleep so students will have fewer distractions.

No one is up so you have no reason to be scrolling through social media or talking to anyone. It is also much quieter so you have nothing going on in the house that will draw you away from your homework. According to PBS Academy,” Studying at this time also helps to improve your concentration and creativity as there are fewer distractions, and with everyone in bed, there is peace and quiet.” With fewer distractions, students can focus on what matters and not have to worry about anything else.

1. Having fewer distractions will benefit the students in many different ways because they will finish more of their work.
2. Someone who studies before going to bed will have a better memory of the information the next day.
3. The brain remembers the most information before you go to sleep.
4. The University of Notre Dame conducted a study on students.

They had students who studied in the morning and at night before they went to bed. The students tested multiple different times to see who had better scores over 24 hours. According to the University of Notre Dame,” At the 24-hour retest, with all subjects having received both a full night of sleep and a full day of wakefulness, subjects’ memories were superior when sleep occurred shortly after learning, rather than following a full day of wakefulness.” Originally students who slept immediately after studying had better test scores than those who were awake for an entire day.

1. When tested the following morning after both groups had a night of rest both groups did better recalling the information.
2. The studying was looking into what type of memory was the best after a full night’s sleep.
3. Studying after you go to sleep not only helps your “semantically unrelated and related word pairs” according to the University of Notre Dame.

Since both types of memory are affected you should always study the most important information before going to sleep. One major reason students study at night is that this is the only free time they have. Students can be very busy. They can have a full day of classes followed by work, practice, etc.

Students have no time during the day to finish homework so they have to do it at night. According to Sam Kemmis, one of the biggest reasons people lack sleep is because of their work overload. People are focused on what they need to finish rather than how much sleep they will get that night. Even though people may think they are finishing everything by staying up later they normally have lower productivity than someone who has eight hours of sleep.

Overall, the research shows that students who study at night will overall do better in school. Students study at night because it is very calm and they will have no distractions. Students will also focus more if they study at night because they will have less distraction coming from their phones.

Students are also going to do better on tests and remembering their study material if they study at night. Overall, students are very busy with jobs, sports, and other extracurricular activities that studying at night is the only time they can fit it into their busy schedule. Kemmis, S. (2019, March 7).

The Science of Sleep and Productivity, Zapier. Retrieved October 9, 2021, from https://zapier.com/blog/sleep-and-productivity/, ScienceDaily. (2012, March 23). Learning best when you rest: Sleeping after processing new info most effective, ScienceDaily.
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What is the 50 minute study rule?

The 50/10 Rule: Make Your Study Break Count – Aspen University » Study fatigue — mental tiredness leading to lower focus levels — can be tough to manage! You can keep yourself on track, using the 50/10 Rule. What is the 50/10 Rule? For every 50 minutes spent focusing on studying or working, allow yourself a 10-minute break.

Pay some bills! Start a load of laundry Do the dishes Prep a meal or snack Respond to personal emails

If you’re feeling energetic:

Take the dog for a walk Do yoga or meditate Call a friend Do an ab circuit – planks anyone?

If you’re feeling tired:

Do some stretches Make yourself a healthy snack Make a fresh pot of coffee or tea Listen — or dance — to your favorite song

: The 50/10 Rule: Make Your Study Break Count – Aspen University
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What is the 15 5 study rule?

Experiment with the length of your pomodoros – For some types of work that require extended periods in a creative “flow” state — thinking coding, writing, composing, etc — 25 minutes may be too short. Try extended work sessions with longer breaks. A DeskTime study found that a 52-minute focus and 17-minute break is the perfect balance.

Others prefer 90 full minutes with a 20-30-minute break, based on Ultradian rhythms, For tasks that you’ve been putting off for one reason or another, 25 minutes might be too long. If you’re feeling a lot of mental resistance, or you just can’t get yourself to stay focused for 25 minutes, try a 15-, 10-, or even 5-minute pomodoro.

For most people most of the time, the sweet spot will be in the 25-50 minute range for peak concentration with a 5-15 minute break. Try mixing your intervals based on your available energy, the type of work, and how much a task makes you want to bury your head in cute puppy videos on YouTube instead.
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What is the 52 17 rule?

Take a Break – The 52/17 Rule Have you ever worked so hard without a break that by the time you stand up you’re practically sprinting to the bathroom? Have you ever found yourself nodding off in front of your work, unable to focus? Well, guess what? Neither our bodies nor our brains are made to work without a break all day long.

Taking a break, in fact, helps keep our memories intact. Scientists have long known that sleep helps solidify memory. Now it turns out that resting while awake–meaning taking a periodic break from work–plays a different but equal role in processing and ingraining information into the brain. Downtime, in essence, is a cognitive necessity not an indulgent treat.

It replenishes attention and motivation, creativity and productivity. Scientists have even figured out the perfect formula for this break, down to the minute. It’s the 52/17 rule: 52 minutes on, 17 minutes off. Downtime replenishes attention and motivation, creativity and productivity.

This week, we’d like you to try this 52/17 method. Use a timer, if you’d like, and stick to the rules: when you’re working, you can’t do anything else. No checking Facebook, no calling a friend, no texting, no staring out the window. Just work. Then, when you’re doing your 17 minutes off, you must be equally strict about not working.

Call a friend. Stare off into space. Take a walk or a bathroom break. Anything but work. Not only will you be helping your brain process information and keep it and memory intact, you’ll be upping your productivity as well. : Take a Break – The 52/17 Rule
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What is the 25 and 5 study rule?

What is the Pomodoro Technique—and how do you use it? – The Pomodoro Technique is a time management system that encourages people to work with the time they have—rather than against it. The basic steps are:

Choose a single task to focus on.Set a timer for 25 minutes and work only on your selected task. After 25 minutes take a five-minute break. Repeat steps 1-3 four times. Take a longer break of about 15 to 30 minutes.

Using the Pomodoro method, you break your workday into 25-minute focus periods followed by five-minute breaks. Each of these focus periods plus a break period is called a Pomodoro—after the tomato-shaped timer first used to test the method.
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What counts as a study break?

Provides a definition of breaks in study and vacation dates. A study break is the gap between periods a course is being delivered, for example mid-term or mid-semester breaks. This is not a case of where the student is simply not attending, or has taken a leave of absence from the course.
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How long can you concentrate while studying?

Some studies suggest that due to natural variations in our cycle of alertness, we can concentrate for no longer than 90 minutes before needing a 15-minute break – Some studies dating from the 1990s suggest that due to natural variations in our cycle of alertness, we can concentrate for no longer than 90 minutes before needing a 15-minute break. For those who can unglue themselves from their keyboards, a lunchtime jog outdoors could do the trick (Credit: Getty Images) Exercise is a good thing to do in with your break, as it seems to rev up the brain, putting it into a better state to knuckle back down, particularly, according to this study, if you follow it with a caffeinated drink.

1. Take your exercise outdoors and get a further boost – spending time in nature has long been suspected to improve people’s ability to focus.
2. Meditation is another option.
3. There is growing evidence that experienced meditators have better control over their attention resources than non-meditators and are much better at noticing when it’s time for a break.

If that all sounds a bit time-consuming, the good news is that, with or without exercise, a quick dose of caffeine improves memory, reaction time and attention in the short term. So however you choose to take your break, always stop to put the kettle on as you make your way back to your desk. Exercise not your thing? Caffeine can provide a short-term solution (Credit: Alamy) Don’t try so hard When you need to focus for long periods, less is more, according to studies by Joe DeGutis and Mike Esterman at the Boston Attention and Learning Lab in Massachusetts.
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Why brain breaks are good for students?

Explore topics selected by our experts – Short brain breaks during work time have been shown to have real benefits. They reduce stress, anxiety, and frustration. And they can help kids focus and be more productive. Brain breaks can also help kids learn to self-regulate and be more aware of when they’re getting fed up or losing track of what they’re doing.
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