Scholarly Advice for Academic Mastery
A collection of insights and advice from some of the most successful university, graduate, and professional students and scholars.
Topic: Quiet
One of the greatest keys to academic success is learning to study while living in a dorm situation. Dorms can be very distracting. There are so many things to do, friends to talk to and laziness to be had. Still learning to isolate time to study will help greatly you’re your classes. The best way to do this is to separate the space where you live from the space where you study. Since the dorm room is where you watch TV, relax and basically do anything except study, it can be very hard to focus there. The best way to avoid the distractions is to leave them. Find somewhere away from your dorm room to study. The library, a shady place in the grass to lay and read, or a quite table at a coffee house are all examples of places to go and study. Finding a separate space to study can help you focus while you are there and feel more compelled to use your time efficiently. In addition once your studying is complete, your can more fully enjoy the laziness in your dorm room!!!
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Jessica Lynn Taylor Master of Arts in World History East Tennessee State University
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When I study I go into a silent room and study by myself. Some people can study in a group of people but I find it easier to be alone and be in the quiet. When it comes time for testing I take the most important parts of the lecture and make flash cards. Listening to the professors inflection can tell you what is important and what isn't, I listen closely to everything my professor says. Making flash cards and then going over them at least 10 times is the trick for me, after the tenth time it is time to test myself. I have my partner take the cards and quiz me over the information, once I've done that I feel I'm ready for the test. However, an hour before a test I go over my flash cards one more time just to be sure.
Melinda Brown
University of Arkansas
Be honest with yourself about your study habits. It's entirely possible to convince yourself that "you study best with music on," or "you can only get work done when you're in your room," or "if you don't have friends around, you can't focus," but in the end, it is highly unlikely that those things are true. It may be relaxing to read with music on, but it isn't likely to be "more efficient." It may be comfortable to work in your room, surrounded by familiar scenery, but it probably isn't "more effective," and so on. Not only does research show that academic reading and writing is best done in a quiet, well-lit area, but most of us will admit, in the end, that these "alternative" study strategies are really about meeting other, non-academic needs. It's important to relax, to be comfortable, and to be social in college (in fact, these may be equal objectives to academic success in some regards), but it pays psychologically to be honest about which needs you're actually meeting with your study strategies. That way, when you are facing a serious academic challenge, you'll be ready to prepare in a serious and effective way.
Conor Williams
PhD, Government (Political Theory)
Georgetown University
Seems simple enough-finding a quiet place to study. When I was an undergrad, quiet had little to do with it. It was the library, but it was really about 'who' was there. When I really needed to concentrate, I'd lock myself in my apartment. But then sometimes the phone would ring, someone would knock at the door or I'd decide pizza sounded really good. I've learned from these experiences and I've learned to be firm in my decision to go to my quiet place when I need to study. Often, my husband will look at me and say 'we'll be quiet, I promise, just stay here'. Tempting, but I know from the past, that will not be the case. It's not even them that keep me from concentrating, it's the laundry machine, the phone, the dogs, the refrigerator-everything becomes a distraction. So I trudge out the door, sad looks from everyone, mumbled 'I love you's' and off to my quiet place. I can't divulge where it is, but I do keep my cell phone on vibrate, just in case. Once I am there, I situate myself so that my field of vision is minimal and my focal point has to be only what is in front of me. Sounds like solitary confinement, but it works. I can knock out in 2 hours what would take me 2 days at home. I only go once or twice a week, but I try to keep the times the same, so I don't throw anyone off too much. This is the key to my success-the quiet place.
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Sheri Lynn Robertson Masters in Education/Reading and Literacy Mississippi University for Women
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If you prefer a quiet environment to a loud or distracting environment to study in, then try going to the library. Libraries have quiet areas meant for reading or studying. Libraries usually have fewer distractions than outside, in a dorm, or in the memorial union. If you go there with the purpose to read or study, then you probably will because there is not much else to do at the library. You might try finding a quiet place on a bench, under a tree, or in the memorial union, but there is no guarantee that someone will not come up near you and talk on their cell phone. If you live on campus with a roommate, try studying when they are not there or when both of you agree to study at the same time. If you live off-campus but have time between classes or if you live on campus, the library is a great place to study.
| Sarah Becker Arizona State University |
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I think that a large part of success and motivation in
school starts with the right mindset and environment.
When studying in my dorm room, I feel that I get through the material at a
snail's pace. I often need to remind myself to get into another study
environment, away from the TV, Nintendo wii, and talkative roommates.
Getting out of the dorm room can be half the battle in conquering the
studying process. In a library or classroom, surrounded by books and desks,
I find it easier to put myself into a more intellectual mindset.
In times when I really need a jumpstart to getting into that mindset, a
minute or two of symphony music on the iPod can do the trick. While I like
hip hop and R&B the most, the symphony music has a more intellectual kick to
it. I like to listen to Spanish music like Daddy Yankee or Calle 13 before
Spanish papers and tests. Again, the music puts me in the mindset for what
lies ahead of me.
The most important piece of the puzzle for creating a good study environment
for myself is surrounding myself with friends that have a desire to do well
in school. I've found that I dread doing work when I hang out with friends
that don't place much of an emphasis on schoolwork, but instead get their
sole pleasure out of partying. When I associate with friends that still like
to have fun but are more motivated in school, I've noticed that studying
doesn't seem nearly as long and laborious, and I do much better on writing
papers and taking tests.
Christopher Stem
Princeton University
“Character cannot be developed in ease and quiet. Only
through experiences of trial and suffering can the soul be strengthened,
vision cleared, ambition inspired and success achieved.” Helen Keller
To many, studying and class preparation must be performed in the solitude of
a quiet area. For those of us that grew up with the IPod in our ear, the TV
on, the computer running, and sitting in room full of people “all jacked up
on Mountain Dew!” – Quite is sensory deprivation. The pits of Wall Street,
an Emergency Room, and any working office have one thing in common – It’s
not quiet. Why do we train ourselves to think only in quiet and yet we call
upon ourselves to make decisions in the midst of chaos.
The United States Marine Corps has helped soldiers and military leaders
better understand this and the effects this has on the mind and body. I am
not suggesting that all students will be highly successful understanding
their sensory needs, but we all have to that we are not training our mind
for the proper decision making battleground.
Research has shown the effects of noise may raise blood pressure and cause
other stress related complications and we all know that college is stressful
in it’s self. I would suggest you find a balance of quiet and sensory
overload. Remember – “Work, love and play are the great balance wheels of
man's being” Orison Swett Madison
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Robert Williams Adjunct Instructor - Buena Vista University Master of Educational Leadership Viterbo University
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