Fundamental of Biomedical Sciences

BMS 2020
Dr L. Sitali – Zimba
25.03.24
Basic study and Examination
skills
Study and Examination Skills
3.1 The importance of transferable skills
3.2 Managing study and leisure time
3.3 Working with others
3.4 Taking notes from lectures and texts
3.5 Keeping and using a diary
3.6 Learning effectively
3.7 Revision strategies
3.8 Assignments and exams
STUDY SKILLS OVERVIEW
 Study Skills
• What do we know about study skills?
• What are skills?
 Study Skills
• Study
– The act or process of educating or being
educated
• Skills
– the ability to do something well
– A special ability or technique acquired by
special training
 Study Skills
• Study skills can be put into practice informally and
formally.

• Skills for general study and personal development

are used almost all of the time and in everyday
learning.
 Study Skills
• For formal assessments of study, more structured
skills are needed
– Where individuals are asked to provide evidence of
study e.g coursework or sitting a written examination

• Four basic groups of study skills are outlined.

 Study Skills
• Basic study skills should be acquired easily by anyone
working towards or in possession of a qualification

• Basic skills should be familiar to anyone who has

recently been part of any education system, regardless
of the level of academic achievement.

• These are the skills needed for any learning, academic

or vocational qualifications, and even for leisure pursuits
and hobbies.
 Study skills
• Basic study skills classification
– Basic study skills for everyday life
– General study skills for learning
– Study skills for producing coursework
– Revision and exam
Study skills
 Your Study Area…
Make sure
•the room is well lit

•It’s free from distractions and noise

(No mobile phones )

•You have everything you need to study

(Calculators/ Books / Work books / Refill Pad)
 Remember….

• Listening in class is vital

• Review what was learned in class as soon as

possible

• Try and complete homework on the day it’s

given
 Improving Memory…

• Studies indicate that 66% of material is forgotten

within 7 days if it is not reviewed or recited again
by the student

• 88% is gone after 6 weeks

 Tips For Making Study
Easier…
• Plan in advance what topic you are going to study

• Break up tasks into small manageable sections

(the contents page of a book is helpful for this)

• Try to base the topic around questions at the end

of a chapter or the topics your teacher has advised
you to study

• Start with the subject you find most difficult or

dislike
 Tips For Making Study
Easier…
• Be active while studying: take notes – recite out
loud – use flash cards – mind maps – test yourself

• Take regular short breaks (5 - 10 mins. every 40 -60

mins.)

• Eat properly – Take regular exercise – Reward

yourself
 Literacy skills
• Abilities to read, use language in listening and speaking,
and to write.

• Or Ability to read, write, speak and listen in away that lets

us communicate effectively and make sense of the world

• Good communication skills are essential when working in a

laboratory.
 Literacy skills

•Appropriate levels of English language skills, written, and

verbal, are needed for the safe communication of results,
instructions, and information.

•Basic literacy is essential for biomedical scientists at every

level.

•It is unlikely that anyone could maintain a laboratory position

without literary skills equivalent to that taught at secondary
school.
 Literary skills- Reading Academic
• Academic reading is a different activity to reading for
pleasure

• It requires an effective use of time to obtain the maximum

benefit from a book, article, or webpage in the shortest
possible time.

• The five steps to effective reading are:

– Survey
– Question
– Read
– Recall
– Review

• It means of enhancing ones understanding about a new topic

 Study Skills:
Reading & Reviewing

Scan the text and identify its

structure.

Ask yourself about each

section.
Read the whole text quickly.
Even if there is something
difficult you don’t understand.

Identify the most important

Questions.

Read the important sections

slowly. Take notes about
 Literacy skills- Reading Academic
• The reading needs to be selective.

• Skim through the first few paragraphs of a book, studying its index or
the summaries of chapters to get a clues as to the relevance of the
contents.

• Look at the date of publication and the identity of the author; scientific
writing can quickly become outdated and authors can become
discredited by their peers.

• Academic publications may be expensive and are therefore frequently

borrowed, rather than purchased unless it is a key book or journal.

• Workplaces, friends, and libraries are inexpensive sources of academic

books
 Literary skills- Reading Academic
• While reading it is useful to make notes of key points

• It is counterproductive to copy out vast chunks of text with limited

understanding of the topic.
 Taking Notes
• Organize your note taking – rewrite after class
• Use your own words – this makes you think
• Go over your notes in 24 hours
– 50% gone after 24 hours
– Take notes on your notes
– Adjust your note taking (usually means shorter)
– If you don’t understand, get the information elsewhere (lecturer,
classmates)
 Note taking
• Notes should be taken from books, during laboratory
sessions, in lectures and tutorials

• An excellent way of staying focused on what you are

supposed to be learning

• Notes should be concise and be an aid to self study.

• Notes may be linear, in sentences, or expressed only as

key words.
 Note taking
• You may wish to develop your own form of shorthand.

• The only person who has to comprehend and use your

notes is you

• so it should not matter how illegible they are to others as

long as they aid your understanding of a topic

• help you to remember the points, and act as a revision

prompt.
 Academic study skills
• Academic study skills require assessment of course work and
examination papers to monitor progress of the students

• All students must spend some time finding out how to get the best
results based on the requirements of the awarding body.

• Remember academic institutions are there to pass students, rather than

fail them, as a high pass rate reflects well on the teaching of the college
or university.

• Lecturers and tutors are in the business of helping their students to

achieve the highest possible standards.

– The student must do their part

 Academic study skills
• All courses rely on two types of assessment: coursework and a
written examination.

– Coursework must have defined learning criteria in the form of aims and
assessed outcome
– Students should be familiar with the principles by which the coursework
will be assessed.

– Written examinations assess knowledge and skills at the end of a block of

learning.

– Examinations should demonstrate what the student knows; they are not
designed to highlight what is not known.

– Exams require careful revision and preparation.

 Academic study skills
• Taught courses follow a specified syllabus or curriculum

• Knowledge of its contents will give an indication of what material will

be examined and the form the examination will take.

• Assessment this involves collecting evidence to show that you have

met specific learning objectives.

• Formative assessment is the regular and on-going assessment

during a course of study.

• Summative assessment is the final or end-point assessment stage.

• Any questions!
Common Myths and
Misconceptions

•Students still believe in luck when it comes to

grades.

•They think students get good grades because

teachers like them.

•They believe that the “smart student” will get the

good grades.
• Other myths?
 STUDY SKILLS Basics
*Pay Attention in Class
*Come to School and Be on Time
*You can’t learn if you are not at school
*Take Good Notes
* Ask question in class
*Revise the lecture notes after a lecture
STUDY SKILLS BASICS Continued>>
*Have a note book
*Keep an Organized Binder
*Use Your Google Calendar or Planner to Record
Assignments
*Ask Questions in Class and Participate in Group
Discussions
MORE STUDY SKILLS BASICS

Plan a Definite Study Time Don’t Cram for

Hours the
and Place for Each Day Night Before a Test
INDEPENDENT LEARNERS
The following are characteristics of a successful student.
Develop these in yourself
• Ask questions

• Discuss topics with your peers

• If you don’t understand

something, speak up
 STUDY TIMETABLE
Study sessions just don’t happen when you feel like doing
them.
They need to be scheduled on an organized timetable.
Your study timetable should rule your life.
Study timetable
SOME TIPS
• Divide time equally between subjects-
Hardest first

• Revise your study timetable – things change

• Stick to it !
 STUDY SESSIONS
How do you study? Tips

•Organizing subject matter efficiently-

Prioritize assignments- HARDEST FIRST!

•Getting ongoing day- to- day work and assignments done-

DO YOUR Assignments on Time!

•Researching and revising work for exams- Studying minutes

every day for upcoming tests!
STUDY SESSION POINTERS:

•Don’t make study sessions too long

•Drink some water before you start

•Break tasks down into smaller manageable ones

•Do daily summaries of work covered in class in

your own words under Main Points

•Set a task to achieve for each session

PRIORITISING
• When do you study?
• How often?
• What about the other things you do?

Write down :
• The fixed things that you have to do-
“ROCK PRIORITIES”- Studying/Assignments
• Time you have no control over – the “musts”
• Activities where you have a choice of the “options”
• Remember procrastination (putting things off)
is an obstacle to your goals
Ideas to Balance Procrastination
Set S.M.A.R.T Goals
• Specific, Measurable, Ambitious, Realistic, Time-bound
• Teach kids to set specific goals with specific end times.
Be mindful of Motivation/Mindset
• Help students with growth mindset!
• Positive, encouraging, but HONEST words.
Help with Planning & Routines
• Teach kids HOW to plan, don’t plan everything for them.
• Create action steps and monitor progress
• Have kids help plan and monitor new routines
Acknowledge Success and Challenge!
• Rewards – Intrinsic or Extrinsic
• Celebrations vs. Consequences
 Wasting Time

 Students (including you) waste more time than

they’ll ever realize
-Time spent studying ineffectively
-Allowing interruption
-Cramming information in one session
-Wasting precious lecture time

 The following is a three-step method to help

students make the most of the little time they have
 Step One: Pre-Lecture Prep
• Take 15-20 minutes to skim chapter
• Read
– TITLE
– introduction
– concept overview or summary
– subheading
– examine illustrations
– seek main points of chapter
 Step Two: Being Active During
Lecture
 Pre-lecture prep helps students to stay
aware and active during lecture
 Student is able to relate what they’ve seen
to what instructor is reviewing
 Students have a much greater chance of
mastering the material if they are active
during lecture
 Students will greatly reduce their study
time if they focus and take effective notes
 Post-Lecture Review
 By reviewing notes within 24 hours of the
lecture, more information is retained and the
likeliness of further study is increased

 Students often wait too long to study and

material is forgotten before next class

 Short and frequent reviews are often less

threatening and more effective than long
study sessions.
 Avoiding Interruption
 Phone interruptions

 Be a good example to students. Have your cell

phone off or on silent and put away during session

 Tell students the following:

 SILENCE OR TURN OFF YOUR PHONE!!!
 Do not keep it within view when it is silenced
 When you’ve completed your task, you can check
messages and return calls
 Avoiding Interruption
 Where the student studies is a major factor in
his or her concentration levels. Share these
tips with your students:
 Avoid studying in places where you know you’ll be distracted

 People watching

 Roommate issues

 Library situations
 Avoiding Interruption
 More tips to helps students to avoid
interruption

 Be honest with yourself, do not welcome interruption

 Choose activities that will not be on your mind after study

breaks

 Do not talk to someone who may upset you before or during

your study time

 Do not allow facebook. myspace, email, etc to distract you

while studying. Set aside special time for internet.
USE TRAVEL TIME
You can also use travel time to and from school
for
• Planning and reviewing your notes
• Listening to recorded summaries or points on an
MP3 player

Then when you arrive home, it is much easier to get

down to study
Develop Effective Methods of study
 Ask someone to quiz you

 Read; reread; and highlight your notes

 Summarize; read your notes; read your notes out loud

(this helps with memory)

 Outline or make a graphic version of written work (lists,

columns, Venn diagrams, etc.)

 Quiz yourself

 Write memory work over and over until you feel confident
Develop Effective Methods…
Continued
 Use a worksheet as a quiz by covering over the answers
and re-doing it

 Look over old quizzes and try to figure out why you're
making mistakes

 Look over the returned assignments for the unit

 Tell someone else what the topic is about

 use online materials

Your success lies in your hands

Social Life:
• Put this on hold if necessary
• Give up parties, nights out etc.
• Plan your rewards you will give yourself after the exams

Exercise:
• Do something active like walk or jog daily to reduce the to
relieve pressure and stress
• It clears the mind and encourages positive thoughts
 COUNTDOWN to the
EXAMS
In the run up to your exams, you must adopt a
more disciplined attitude. Use your planner to
know when your tests are. Study a little every
day.
Your performance on the exam is vital to your
success- tests count the most towards your
grade.
Look at tests positively and as an opportunity to
demonstrate your understanding.
 Reminders

•Remember it is important to eat healthy and

sleep well by turning off electronic devices; tv,
laptop, cell phone
•Put yourself first – it is an important time for you –
try to talk to family about how they can make
studying a little easier for you, e.g. by agreeing times
when you can have your own space, when they will
try to be a bit quieter around the house and when
you would rather not be disturbed
TAKE BREAKS AND DO THINGS YOU ENJOY AND
HELP YOU RELAX
 Important advice
• Eat well
• Sleep is important for memory
• The last several days, study the structure
of the test (e.g. engage in practice tests)
instead of the content
• Minimal study the day before and day of
the test
• Find Counsellor if you need further help