Category Archives: Student Help

Student Help

15 Strategies For Enhancing Memory

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The following strategies are offered to help students develop a more efficient and effective memory. This listing is by no means exhaustive, but rather is meant as a place to begin.

1. Take the mystery away.

The first and perhaps most important strategy is to insure that all students understand how memory works and identify their particular profiles of memory strengths and challenges. Then, students should be taught memory management strategies.

2. Give directions in multiple formats.

Students benefit from being given directions in both visual and verbal formats. In addition, their understanding and memorizing of instructions could be checked by encouraging them to repeat the directions given and explain the meaning of these directions. Examples of what needs to be done are also often helpful for enhancing memory of directions.

3. Teach students to over-learn material.

Students should be taught the necessity of “over-learning” new information. Often they practice only until they are able to perform one error-free repetition of the material. However, several error-free repetitions are needed to solidify the information.

4. Teach students to use visual images and other memory strategies.

Another memory strategy that makes use of a cue is one called word substitution. The substitute word system can be used for information that is hard to visualize, for example, for the word occipital. These words can be converted into words that sound familiar that can be visualized. The word occipital can be converted to exhibit hall (because it sounds like exhibit hall). The student can then make a visual image of walking into an art museum and seeing a big painting of a brain with big bulging eyes (occipital is the region of the brain that controls vision). With this system, the vocabulary word the student is trying to remember actually becomes the cue for the visual image that then cues the definition of the word.

5. Give teacher-prepared handouts prior to class lectures.

Class lectures and series of oral directions should be reinforced by teacher-prepared handouts. The handouts for class lectures could consist of a brief outline or a partially completed graphic organizer that the student would complete during the lecture. Having this information both enables students to identify the salient information that is given during the lectures and to correctly organize the information in their notes. Both of these activities enhance memory of the information as well. The use of Post-Its to jot information down on is helpful for remembering directions.

6. Teach students to be active readers.

To enhance short-term memory registration and/or working memory when reading, students should underline, highlight, or jot key words down in the margin when reading chapters. They can then go back and read what is underlined, highlighted, or written in the margins. To consolidate this information in long-term memory, they can make outlines or use graphic organizers. Research has shown that the use of graphic organizers increases academic achievement for all students.

7. Write down steps in math problems.

Students who have a weakness in working memory should not rely on mental computations when solving math problems. For example, if they are performing long division problems, they should write down every step including carrying numbers. When solving word problems, they should always have a scratch piece of paper handy and write down the steps in their calculations. This will help prevent them from loosing their place and forgetting what they are doing.

8. Provide retrieval practice for students.

Research has shown that long-term memory is enhanced when students engage in retrieval practice. Taking a test is a retrieval practice, i.e., the act of recalling information that has been studied from long-term memory. Thus, it can be very helpful for students to take practice tests. When teachers are reviewing information prior to tests and exams, they could ask the students questions or have the students make up questions for everyone to answer rather than just retelling students the to-be-learned information. Also, if students are required or encouraged to make up their own tests and take them, it will give their parents and/or teachers information about whether they know the most important information or are instead focused on details that are less important.

9. Help students develop cues when storing information.

According to the memory research, information is easier retrieved when it is stored using a cue and that cue should be present at the time the information is being retrieved. For example, the acronym HOMES can be used to represent the names of the Great Lakes – Huron, Ontario, Michigan, Erie and Superior. The acronym is a cue that is used when the information is being learned, and recalling the cue when taking a test will help the student recall the information.

10. Prime the memory prior to teaching and learning activities.

Cues that prepare students for the task to be presented are helpful. This is often referred to as priming the memory. For instance, when a reading comprehension task is given, students will get an idea of what is expected by discussing the vocabulary and the overall topic beforehand. This will allow them to focus on the salient information and engage in more effective depth of processing. Advance organizers also serve this purpose. For older students, CliffNotes or other similar study guides for pieces of literature are often helpful aids for priming the memory.

11. Use Post-Its.

The use of Post-Its for jotting down information can be helpful for students who have short-term memory or working memory challenges.

12. Activate prior knowledge.

In order to enhance the likelihood that students will elaborate on new incoming information, teachers should activate their prior knowledge and make the new information meaningful to them. An easy way of accomplishing this task is to ask, “What do you know”, “What do you want to know”.

13. Give extended time.

If students have difficulty with the speed of retrieving information from memory, they should be given extended time for taking tests so that a true picture of what they know may be gained.

14. Use multisensory methods.

When learners, both young and old, experience something through multiple senses, they are much more likely to remember it. Use a Multisensory approach by engaging as many of the senses as possible when teaching (seeing, touching, hearing, smelling, and tasting).

15. Review material before going to sleep.

It should be helpful for students to review material right before going to sleep at night. Research has shown that information studied this way is better remembered. Any other task that is performed after reviewing and prior to sleeping (such as getting a snack, brushing teeth, listening to music) interferes with consolidation of information in memory.

Better Speed Reading Techniques

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Research shows that there is a big relationship between reading rate and reading comprehension.

Some people read rapidly and comprehend well; others read slowly and comprehend badly. Thus, there is some reason to believe that the factors producing slow reading are also involved in lowered comprehension.

Good comprehension depends on whether you can extract and retain the important ideas that you’ve read, not on how fast you read them. If you can do this fast, then your reading speed can be increased.

If you pair fast-reading with worrying about comprehension, your reading speed will drop because the mind is occupied with your fears and you are not paying attention to the ideas that you are reading.

But, if you concentrate on the purpose of reading (locating main ideas and finding answers to your questions), your speed and comprehension should increase. Your concern should be not with how fast you can get through a chapter alone, but with how quickly you can comprehend the facts and ideas that you need.
Comprehension

Comprehension during speed reading is easier than during standard reading.

This is because the mind is busy looking for meaning, not rereading words and sentences.

The average reader spends about 1/6th of the time rereading words than actually reading them.

Rereading interrupts the flow of comprehension and slows down the process, that’s why the habit of it should be eliminated.

How to comprehend easily?

Scan the chapter first. Identify the sections to which the author devotes the most amount of space – what where the text focuses. If there are lots of diagrams for a particular topic, then that must also be an important concept.

If you’re really under time pressure, you can skip the sections to which the least amount of space is devoted.

Take note on headings and read the first sentence of every paragraph more carefully than the rest of the paragraph. The main idea is usually situated there. Read the important parts and the main ideas. Focus on nouns and main propositions in each sentence. Look for the noun-verb combinations, and focus the mind on these.

Then, close the book and ask yourself what you now know about the subject that you didn’t know before you started.

Reducing Skip Backs

Important: Don’t reread the same phrases from the text!

Poor readers read and reread the same phrase over and over again.

This habit of making “regressions” doubles or worse triples reading time and often does not even result in better comprehension. A single careful, attentive speed reading may not be always enough for completely comprehending the matter you are reading, but is often more effective than constant regressions in the middle rate of a reading.

It is best to work on paying closer attention and doing a preview first before the careful reading.

To help reduce the number of times that the eyes goes back to a previous word or sentence, run a pointer along the line as you read. This could be a finger, a pen or any pointed material.

Your eyes will follow the tip of your pointer, smoothing the flow of speed reading. The speed at which you read using this method will largely depend on the speed at which you move the pointer; so if you want to speed up your reading, you also have to increase your pointing rate.

Calculus: The Science of Fluxions

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The science of fluxions was Sir Isaac Newton’s terminology for the new field of science known today as calculus. Newton and German mathematician Leibnitz appear to have discovered the principles of calculus in about the same time; but Leibnitz published his work first. For years, there was friction between the two countries, England and Germany regarding which country was to take credit for the discovery of calculus. In the final analysis, it appears that both men arrived at their findings at about the same time and independently of each other. Both men appear to have learned from Egyptian, Indian and ancient Greece sources.

The name calculus is derived from the Latin or Roman term meaning pebbles which were a type of counting stone. The term fluxion was Sir Isaac Newton’s term for the science of calculus. His book “Method of Fluxions was published in posthumously in 1736, although it was completed much earlier in 1671. Whether Leibnitz’s or Newton’s authorship of the science is accepted as being primary, the fact remains that the subject of calculus is the most powerful mathematical invention of modern times.

There are two major types of calculus, known as Infinitesimal Calculus and that part of the total which is called Differential Calculus. Both types are built on a foundation on analytic geometry and are related by the Fundamental Theorem of Calculus. In simple terms, the theorem states that the sum of infinitesimal changes over time or some other quantity will add up to the net change.

To use a living plant as an example, as it grows, you can see the difference in size, or the increase over a period of several days and you could measure the growth, using conventional means. However, if you were to measure the difference in size after only ten seconds, it would be much more difficult to determine. If you then were to attempt to determine not the amount of growth over the time period, but the rate of growth over those seconds, you would not be able to do that using algebraic terms.

The science of calculus allows you to determine the rate of change for infinitesimally small amounts. There are a number of functions which impact the rate of change for the above example of a growing plant; things such as amount of sunlight, water, the temperature and others. However, if all other things remain equal, the variable for the rate of growth is time. By using calculus these variables can be determined. Most of the work in calculus is done by graphing formulas in order to determine the slope of the rate of change.

Calculus can be used in any field of science where a mathematical model can be designed and an optimal solution is desired. This includes physical sciences, computer sciences, business, medicine, engineering, economics and statistics. Although in the past, calculus has been considered too complicated to study as an individual subject without the benefit of a teacher’s direction, internet courses are readily available and can be studied as a self-paced course of study.

You Too Can Be A Foreign Exchange Student

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Have you ever wondered why there are so many foreign students at your school, college or university? Have you considered the possibility of you studying abroad as part of you studies?

Many full time overseas students are studying for a full degree at your college and stay for the 3 or 4 years it takes to complete the course.

There are however, thousands of foreign students studying on a short term basis, usually for the second or third year of their course. These are exchange students and as these exchange programs are generally reciprocal you may be able, as part of your study program, to study at an overseas university for a year.

Each year there are also thousands of school children who also attend school in another country for periods up to a year. Again it is not because their families have moved during the summer but it’s because they are foreign exchange students and their experience abroad is as much a part of their education as their regular classroom studies.

Foreign exchange students can be found in many different countries all over the world. They generally have an avid interest in the culture of the area they have traveled to and usually have to have at least a basic grasp of the language.

By living abroad they gain an insider’s knowledge that they could never aquire from a text book back in their homeland thousands of miles away. In addition they learn the language, often becoming fluent during their time abroad

Foreign exchange students embark on an adventure that includes living in the home of virtual strangers for months at a time. The program involves recruiting host families who provide a place to stay as well as the essentials for the foreign exchange students.

Host families are carefully screened and chosen based on certain criteria. When a host family applies to the program they are asked if they have a preference regarding the gender of the foreign exchange students or the age. The majority of foreign exchange students are in the mid to late teens.

Once the host family is chosen they are given more information on the student that will be living with them. This helps them prepare for their arrival.

The foreign exchange students in the program have usually studied the language and the culture of the country they are visiting and therefore have the ability to communicate, at least at a basic level, with their host family. Sometimes host families are surprised by the level of comprehension that the foreign exchange students have.

Foreign exchange students also have to go through a series of steps to enroll and participate in the program. Being away from their homes and familiar surroundings can be difficult and therefore they are normally expected to undergo several psychological tests including speaking with a professional. It is important for the foreign exchange students, their parents and the host family that the children are able to handle and embrace the experience.

Many foreign exchange students become an honorary member of the family they visit. When their visit has ended and it’s time for them to return home it can be a bittersweet experience. It can also be difficult for the host family as they have to say goodbye to the young person who lived with them for months.

Frequently the host family and student become lifelong friends and visit each other regularly.

If your school or college participate in a student exchange program (and most do) and you are studying a course where you will benefit from the overseas experience (e.g. a foreign language) then enquire and see whether you could be spending the next academic year abroad. Whether you are one of the foreign exchange students or part of the host family the experience can be one of the most enriching and rewarding things you will ever do.

Calculus Help

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The very definition of the word calculus is derived from a mineral build-up and means “hard”. The Mathematical term of calculus describes a field that is a theoretical offshoot of algebra that attempts to define the way in which events will change over time. Calculus is used to determine the slope of a variable, or chosen identity, and how its rate of change may change over time. The calculations usually produce a curve or graphical presentation rather than a discreet sum and the information is read from points in the curve, which reflect the rates of change. There are relatively simply calculus theorems that will allow the calculation of how often the phone will ring over the next month, or a how a population of deer will grow in the upcoming years.

However, calculus is meant to be a theoretical tool that describes hypothetical situations thereby imparting clarity upon the unknown. Many would be happy to let the unknown remain that way, but if calculus is on your agenda, you may need calculus help in the near future, and you can figure on this without a formula.

The field of modern calculus was largely worked out by Leibnitz, a German Mathematician who lived in the 1600′s. He was a genius who conquered Latin and began study of the Greek language and many other fields of learning by the time he was twelve. Shortly thereafter, he began the study of Law, but more relevant was his travel to Paris later in his life. It is here that he met the famous mathematician Huygens who routed the genius of Leibnitz toward the study of mathematics in general and to geometry in particular. It was he that developed the theories of Integrated and Differential Calculus, which remained largely unused until the complexity of the twentieth century brought these disciplines to the forefront. Differential calculus was then used in determining the rates of velocity, mass and was useful in the trajectory of rockets. Fourier calculations are based upon integral calculus. Integral calculus was used to determine the rate at which the door on the space shuttle can close.

Although calculus was developed by Leibnitz and furthered by other great mathematicians who followed him, it is thought that some elements of the science existed as early as the time of the ancient Greeks. It is thought that at this time, Exodius developed the Method of Exhaustion that contains rudiments of modern calculus. When you find that the Methods of Exhaustion are directly applying to yourself, it is time to seek help with Calculus.

The Mathematics study lab at your school, if there is one, will be happy to set you up with a tutor. If this is not possible, ask your teacher if he or she can recommend a tutor or approach someone who seems to get “A’s” on their work and ask for help. Remember that calculus is a discipline that builds upon itself. Therefore, each stage must be clear in your mind or the subsequent steps will be out of reach. Try to get calculus help early in the game and stay with each topic as it is introduced.

3 Free Sources to Get Dissertation Help From

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Have you got to give in your dissertation in the next 20 days and you haven’t started it yet? You find yourself badly stuck and don’t know what to do. You have absolutely no idea where to get the dissertation help from or how to even get started.

Stuck are you…uhh? Then following strategies will allow you, for FREE, to successfully undertake this task. There are three essential sources that provide dissertation help for free:

1. Dissertation Advisor:
”What slow and painful death can I give to my hopeless dissertation advisor? Crucifixion is too good for this useless wretch…Is this your immediate thought that comes into your mind when your advisor doesn’t reply your e-mails or doesn’t get in contact with you or always rejects what you send.

For the last 5 years I’ve been hearing from quite a few students that dealing with the supervisor is a total nightmare. As a matter of fact my research shows that every 8 out of 10 students who have to submit their dissertations say that they are stuck because of their advisors. Although in situations your advisor may prove to be chaotic but it is not the only reason of your dissertation stoppages. Turn the cameras on yourself and ask these questions from yourself:

• Are you missing your deadlines?
• Are you calling off and postponing meetings numerous times?
• Are you insisting on quick answers when you don’t provide them yourself?
• Do you always keep altering ideas, topic, or approach?
• Are you shying away from your advisor because of any of the above reasons?

If you answer is yes to any one of the above questions, then you may be a catalyst to the disorder of your relationship. Analyze what you can do to act more responsibly and consistently and more importantly to get the advisor help you.

2. A Friend Who Has Written a Dissertation Before:
Another source of dissertation help can be your friend. If you know someone who has already written a dissertation, you are likely to get tremendous help from them. Your friend can not only help you with the research but can give you a guideline that you could follow to write your own dissertation. You can also get a copy of your friend’s dissertation and use it as a reference.

3. Local & Online Libraries:
Libraries, whether local or online, also serve as a source of dissertation help for you. You can easily find material related to the subject and theme of your dissertation. Being able to go through literally hundreds of references will help you collect relevant matter for your dissertation.

All universities preserve copies of dissertations, usually in their libraries, or in the individual department, or both. Don’t forget to check the universities libraries to find a copy of your dissertation. You can also purchase it for nominal prices through university’s website or through phone.

Dissertations were being done long before the internet came along. Depending too much on the internet and not enough on your own resources, like taking a walk to a local library, can actually hurt your academic paper big time. However, internet resources are now much more sophisticated and comprehensive. Here is a list of few online sources I’ve found useful during my dissertation writing process:

• http://www.scholar.google.com: Google Scholar offers a search of scholarly literature across many disciplines and sources, including theses, dissertations, books, abstracts and articles.

• http://www.books.google.com: Google has digitized many books from library collections, including hundreds of books related to Old English literature: editions, translations and much more. You just need to have a Gmail account to access full books.

• http://www.questia.com: The world’s biggest online library. Although it is a paid resource but worthwhile browsing through. Also it is very cheap. A few bucks can get you a month’s membership to browse through thousands of books, journals, articles, newspapers and magazines.

• http://www.ebscohost.com: Through this great resource you can access hundreds of libraries by sitting at your home through internet. Remote access of EBSCO’s databases is only allowed to subscribing institutions for personal, non-commercial use. You should check with your institute to see if they have subscribed to this resource.

Final Thoughts:
Knowing the appropriate resources available for dissertation help will most certainly allow you to stay focused. Maintaining human relationship is an art. You have to be smart as well as responsible when interacting with your advisor to get maximum help. Friends and peers are often ignored when you are trying to get your dissertation finished. Don’t make the mistake of forgetting them.

When trying to get free dissertations online be careful about your topic and university guidelines. You may well download a dissertation thinking it as a great match to your topic but in reality it isn’t. You can also search and buy dissertations from the university’s website. Also see if there’s an interlibrary loan system that could send you a copy.