DISTANCE LEARNING | CONTINUING EDUCATION | ONLINE DEGREES

Say the words ‘secret society’, and you automatically conjure images of dark men meeting in dark chambers to perform arcane rituals and plot their world domination. Most of the secret societies that exist at college campuses today, however, are anything but secret. They’ve retained their weird chants and gothic abodes, but forget about discovering any hidden plots or sinister brotherhoods.

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College professors will be the first to tell you that their lives are boring. They don’t usually find themselves in critter-infested catacombs, duking it out with rabid Nazis or fighting supernatural beasts. They don’t find themselves becoming the victims of their own research, gaining superhuman powers in the process. They especially don’t find themselves in the arms of beautiful, cosmopolitan women. I mean, let’s face it: these guys make a living teaching half-conscious college kids and either reading others’ research or producing their own. They get more involved with spreadsheets and computer models than they do with any damsels in distress.

1. Indiana Jones, The Indiana Jones Quadrilogy

2. Peter Venkman, Ghostbusters I & II

3. Charles Xavier, The X-Men Trilogy

4. Sherman Klump, The Nutty Professor I & II

5. John Nash, A Beautiful Mind

6. Emmett Brown, The Back to the Future Trilogy

7. Mickey Rosa, 21

8. Robert Langdon, The Da Vinci Code

9.  Professor Kirke, The Chronicles of Narnia

10. Alan Grant, Jurassic Park I & III

College is a ceaseless barrage of assignments, deadlines, and papers. Somehow, between running to classes and pounding out essays, you have to actually absorb the deluge of information being thrown your way, to say nothing of maintaining your sanity and sense of normalcy.

Although learning styles differ, it has been found that certain techniques almost universally help students learn and retain knowledge better and faster. Check out the following five ways to improve your study skills:

1. Repetition. Repetition. Repetition. Did I mention repetition? That’s probably because “repetition is the mother of knowledge.” It was true when you were a newborn babe, and it’s true now. Humans learn by being exposed to things again and again and again. Research has found that humans, on average, must encounter information seven times before they commit it to long-term memory. Other research has found that frequently returning to the same information greatly increases retention.

How does this apply to you? It means that attending lecture isn’t enough. It means that you need to increase the number of times you see and think about the things you are learning. This may be as simple as reviewing your lecture notes the next day, reviewing material in a study group, or doing assigned homework exercises. The more you return to the information, the greater your chances that the information will be in your head when you need it.

2. Take notes. Something magical happens in the brain in the process of taking spoken information into the ears and translating them into words on the page. The brain has to process the information once when it hears it and then once more when it sends the signals to the hand to write it. The result: your brain thinks twice about information it is receiving, which is a good thing!

So, don’t substitute the digital recorder for taking good notes. Notes go a long way toward increasing retention. Returning to your notes can recall important memories of lectures and intuitive links made during those lectures. They are an essential companion to repetition.

To increase the power of note-taking, don’t just write down rote what the professor has on the board. Change up the wording. Put it in language you can understand and will easily recall later. This adds one more opportunity for your brain to process the information before moving on to the next item.

3. Diagram it. Before letters and words came along, man started his communications career using pictures to convey feelings, stories, and information. It seems the human brain is just hardwired to understand the world through pictures. So, you might as well use this unique ability to get through school.

When studying complex concepts, try sketching out diagrams that explain them in succinct but correct ways. Put these diagrams in the margins of your notes, over your Gene Simmons poster, or somewhere else where you will see them often. You will be amazed at how these diagrams pop right back into your head during exams or even later during crucial job interviews- instead of, say, pictures of Gene Simmons.

4. Create a space. Maybe as important as how you study is where you study. Places with lots of noise or activity create traffic jams in your brain with only limited amounts of desired information making it to your memory banks. On the other hand, places with lots of room and peace and quiet let you focus solely on the information before you and ensure maximum retention.

Experts recommend that you find your temple of study, a place that you can return to again and again with the sole purpose of studying. Look for a place with the following characteristics: good lighting, good ventilation, a comfortable (but not too comfortable) chair, and a desk large enough to spread out your materials. Some things you want to avoid: a view of activities that you want to be involved in, a telephone, a loud stereo, a TV, and a talkative friend. Pretty much anywhere in your dorm is a bad place to study.

Remember, you’re trying to train your brain to go into study mode every time you enter this space. So, don’t do anything else in your study temple but study. Some good candidates for study temples: libraries, wilderness areas, and study rooms/carrels.

5. Budget your time. Adequate study takes time and won’t usually happen accidentally. This means you’ve got to keep a planner, schedule in times to study, and stick to your schedule.

Having a consistent study schedule, like having a consistent study temple, helps your brain get used to studying intensely at certain times. This makes it easier for your brain to absorb maximum amounts of information.

The human brain is a powerful thing, and there’s a lot you can do to unlock its potential. What do you do to get the most out of your studying? Any tips for us? Let us know below…

College is an awesome way to learn, grow, and, of course, improve your future. You meet wonderful people and get exposed to things you never otherwise would have. You get challenged and earn your stripes, so to speak, in the real world. All good things. But I just hate some things about it.

This might seem like a funny thing to write on a website about education. However, after six years of higher education- just keeping it real here-, there are some things I will never get used to. In fact, leaving school and then returning for a master’s degree has not made it any easier. You know the whole absence-makes-the-heart-grow-fonder thing? Well, that’s not true with college.

So, in the spirit of complete honesty, I just wanted to gripe about college-related things I just can’t stand. I am hoping, obviously, that others out there will share my frustrations with the whole university experience. I also wince at the prospect that I am just being a big wimp about the whole ordeal and this will broadcast that wimpiness across the expanse of cyberspace, a risk I am willing to take. For your reading pleasure, following are the five things I hate about school. You’ll notice that most of these stem from my belief that universities should operate more like free market businesses and less like the stuffy universities of two centuries ago:

1. Expensive textbooks – Okay, nothing says ‘Welcome to a new semester of school!’ like paying several hundreds of dollars for books that you will go through in three to four months and never read again for the rest of your life.

Universities make very little effort to rein in money-hungry publishers and make things a little easier for students who are already paying out the yin-yang just to pay tuition and rent. The university holds our arms behind our backs while the publishers sock us in the stomach.

2. Grades (especially on the curve) – News flash: in the real world, there are no grades. Especially, people are not graded on the curve and they sure as heck aren’t graded on how well they tell the professor what he wants to hear. In fact, the most successful organizations are those which create win-win environments where all participants achieve their potential.

The university grading system is still around because, well, it’s just always been there and that’s what people expect to see. It’s high time this relic of a performance measure was retired and sent to a cold, lonely grave.

3. Anal professors – It’s no secret that professors often regard their classes as their own personal kingdoms, their word as gospel, and opposing viewpoints as a threat to their authority. Running ironically contrary to the supposed goal of universities to foster debate and free thought, these powermongers too often suppress their students merely for the pleasure of hearing themselves speak. Their lust for power is also manifest in their unwillingness to compromise with students on test scores or assignments.

Not every professor is this way, but too many are. Last time I checked, I was the customer, the one forking out the dough to consume their service. Shouldn’t they cater to me, instead of the other way around?

4. Anal students – Especially in groups, these students become extremely annoying. These students have bought into the false sanctity of grades, GPAs, perfect scores, and the pot of gold they will receive for graduating magna cum laude.

Were they to see how very little grades and test scores matter after school, they might loosen up and enjoy the company of their fellow students, stop and smell the roses. Sadly, their fate will be to tear through college only to enter the workforce and be shunned by their co-workers because of their lack of interpersonal skills or perspective.

5. Clueless professors – You walk into class one day only to find your classmates taking an unexpected midterm. When you ask the professor about it, she remarks, “Oh, I mentioned it two weeks ago in the middle of my lecture on tenant farming in the 17th century. You must have missed it.” Professors who are too laid back or who offer excessively ambiguous syllabi also can make your college life miserable. These professors make it virtually impossible to stay on top of the work in their class. The worst of these evaluate your work with a much more critical eye than they do their own.

There it is! I said it. Just had to purge there for a moment. Education is a wonderful time in your life full of discovery and inspiring teachers (except for all those things I just mentioned). Tell us your college-related gripes below…