How to Teach Students How to Study for Exams

https://docs.google.com/document/d/1vFRtBG0yXi8Nrq0DTm3NyPgshajbOLY5/edit

THINGS INSTRUCTORS CAN DO, IN ORDER

  1. Read the guide to become familiar with the learning strategies and study recommendations. This is important so you can decide how to incorporate them in your course (Estimated instructor time 40 minutes)
  2. Give How to Study handout to students at the start of the course. This two-page overview recommends 7 ways to study for exams and links to tip sheets that describe strategies in more detail. (Estimated student reading time: Two-page handout, 15 minutes; Tip sheets, 45 minutes)
  3. Give online practice quiz on the How to Study Guide (Quiz and answer key provided with module; add to your course LMS, estimated instructor time ??; estimated student time 15 minutes)
  4. Discuss how to do well on the exam with your students
    1. Brief version — Discuss the 2-page guide (Discussion talking points provided with module; estimated class time 5-15 minutes)
    2. In-depth version — Students use the guide to assess their own study strategies and identify improvement goals, e.g., strategies and habits to adopt (Activity prompt provided with the module; estimated class time 20-30 minutes) 
  5. Create and distribute Exam Fact Sheet two weeks before the exam (Fact sheet format provided with module; estimated instructor time 30 minutes;)
  6. Give students recommendations regarding self-testing and self-explanation. Provide demonstrations of learning strategies, instructor demos live in class or recorded (estimated time ??)
  7. Have students create a Study Schedule. (list from easiest to hardest)
    1. handout — Give students Spaced Practice Study Plan example (Example provided with module; estimated student time 5-10 minutes) 
    2. assignment — Give assignment for students to create a spaced practice study plan. (Students use assignment format provided with module; estimated time 20-30 minutes) 
    3. Study Plan Evaluation — Have students evaluate their study plans after the exam. Students reflect on, evaluate and revise their study plans (Students use study plan evaluation assignment format provided with module; estimated time 30 minutes). Give individual or group feedback (estimated instructor time for individual feedback will vary depending on class size and amount of feedback; estimated instructor time for group feedback, 10 minutes to compose and 5 minutes of class time to highlight recommendations.)
    4. tip sheet [not sure what this was intended to be]
  8. Repeat parts 5-7 for each exam. [Would be good to add realistic estimated times for instructor, students and class time for all the steps. Possibly convert this list to a table with columns for what instructor does with estimated times and what Ss do with estimated time]

Integrate learning interventions throughout the course/unit/module. [Need to provide suggestions and examples of how to design for learning to learn]