Some Suggestions for Studying Online Geology 101 Gwyn Jones 1 READY Review past material and strategies Consider how the online format differs from classroom based courses and what traits it shares Feedback from students who ve taken online classes Almost universally and perhaps surprisingly to newcomers it takes more work more time better self motivation better organizational skills to succeed in an online class Carefully read graded work you ve gotten back quizzes labs homework etc Try to figure out what went well for you what didn t and why Find the correct answers to any questions you missed Work on ways that will help you learn the material more easily deeply and or efficiently Are certain types of concepts or questions especially difficult for you Which ways of learning seem to work really well for you Choose one or two new learning strategies and try them for a week For example try outlining the textbook chapters and labs if you don t already 2 SET Prepare to learn the next material Start early Now s a good time Check the syllabus to see what s coming up next readings assignments labs quizzes etc Skim each item that s due soon to get a sense of what s involved amount and depth of material resources needed etc Estimate how long it will take you to do each Be realistic It usually takes longer than it seems like it should Write down a schedule of what you ll do when Tackling each item has several stages setup first pass learning studying organizing synthesizing review Break large tasks into smaller chunks Don t count on being able to learn a ton of information in one study session Cold Hard Fact We cover the same amount of material for the same number of credits as a classroombased course which meets 8 hours a week I expect that you ll be spending those 8 hours a week you d normally spend in lecture to study for this class That s in addition to the time you would have spent studying in the traditional class format Make up a schedule write it down and stick with it no matter what It s easy to let this commitment to yourself slide hey no one s checking up on you but please don t It s vital to your learning When you sit down to work have all the needed materials ready at hand sharpened pencils with erasers notebook for taking notes printed lecture notes your own notes appropriate lighting and noise level glass of water etc Make sure you re fed and rested enough to be effective 3 GO Study learn the material Stick to your schedule A friend of mine who teaches study skills classes uses a timer with an alarm 1 Every half hour stand up and take a 5 minute stretch to help clear your head and get the blood moving If you start getting distracted or nodding off work standing up for a while sounds weird but it works Pace yourself so you re moving fast enough to stay alert but slowly enough that you understand the material All sorts of studies have shown that to truly learn something you need to be exposed to it at least 3 times Practically no one gets it all the first time A lot of the students who seem to grasp things quickly have had some exposure to the material or way of thinking before Don t be afraid to pause and ask yourself Am I understanding this or just passing my gaze over it Where concepts are unclear or an interesting thought or question pops into your head jot a note to yourself If it looks like it ll be straightforward to find the answer spend a short time looking for it If not note how you ll try to find out Exchange phone numbers and email addresses with one or more of your classmates Contact them when you re unsure of information and or to study for tests Consider this order it works well for many top students 1 Start with the textbook Read the book before attempting any assignments You ll pick up a lot more if you ve already familiarized yourself with the material Science textbooks are not like novels Plan on reading each chapter at least twice and interacting with it intensively Jot questions in your notebook or textbook Mentally prepare Realize there s a lot of information in the book and concepts build on previous material You might have to read a paragraph several times in order to get it and that s okay Remember that my lecture notes are on my website The notes may be helpful to you so it s probably worth printing out one chapter s notes to see Read the textbook Chapter Summary to see what you ll be learning Read the chapter itself underlining highlighting and or taking notes as you go Pay special attention to the figures and tables A picture s often worth a thousand words When you think you understand the material well test yourself by trying to define the Key Terms at the end of the chapter and answering the Questions for Review and For Further Thought questions You might prefer to wait until after you ve viewed any videos CDs websites or do it at this point 2 Then work with videos CDs websites related to the textbook material you just learned Mentally prepare Think of these materials as brief lectures by visiting geologists who are supplementing and maybe clarifying what s in the book They re not nearly as comprehensive as a regular lecture but as we don t have regular lectures anyway seek information in other formats Skim related homework questions to see the kinds of things you ll be asked View the material with notebook pencil textbook for reference remote controller etc in easy reach Take good notes I can t ask you about everything that s in these materials but there s lots of other important information in there Rewind replay and watch it again this time with related homework questions in hand Answer what you can on scrap paper pausing and or rewinding as needed Remember that not all the questions will be directly from the video CD ROM website 2 Do the assigned homework using the information you gathered above and any outside references You re always encouraged to go beyond the assigned materials to explore more deeply on your own 3 Review and do the labs Mentally prepare For the online class you have all of the materials you need to do the lab in the manual related websites textbook and occasionally your own house Think of working on labs as playing detective e g reading the rocks to find out how they formed Lab is also a great way to get hands on involvement with the course material I ve included background information for most of the labs but it s pretty condensed If you ve read the textbook first you ll understand the lab better Read the lab carefully