Remote Learning For Students

Plan on checking in during online office hours at least once this semester. If you’re taking an on-demand remote delivery course, reach out to both your instructor and TA and request a quick meeting to discuss any questions you have about course requirements.

Don’t fall into the trap of multitasking, which is only effective for about 2% of the population. Instead, practice effective learning strategies such as interleaving, spaced repetition, and retrieval (see below). More information on listening and note-taking at BYU’s Learn Anywhere.

Time blocking or other time management methods may work. Schedule time each day to put away screens, relax, or work on homework. You could also download a helpful time management app like Focus Keeper or RescueTime to help you stay on track. More ideas on how to shape your day here.

Break your reading into sessions. Survey the reading before you begin; look at pictures and descriptions as you scan. Write down study questions or read the ones your instructor has prepared for you. As you read, take notes, write thoughts on the page or on sticky notes, and answer the study questions. Once you finish a reading section, quiz yourself by writing down or drawing a summary of what you read (without looking at the book). You can also talk about what you’ve learned with a friend or study partner.

Check out this video and infographic to see how it works.

Repeating the mantra “Just do it!” can help you remember that throwing yourself at the very thing you don’t want to do may be the quickest and easiest solution to stop procrastinating. But, if you find yourself procrastinating a lot, ask for help. Talk to a loved one, or seek advice from a professional. Find out more about why we procrastinate and how to overcome it.

Take notes, draw pictures or diagrams of what you’ve been learning, or write down a few problems and do them on scratch paper. These strategies require you to process information non-verbatim, which may help you conceptualize new ideas more clearly.

Don’t study the same topic in one four-hour block. Instead, mix other subjects into your study session and focus on each topic during shorter chunks of time. For
example, in a 3-hour study session, you can spend one hour on organic chemistry diagrams, 45 minutes on a calculus problem, take a 20-minute break, and then spend the remaining 55 minutes reviewing for your organic chemistry final. You can learn more about managing your study sessions in the book Make it Stick (free for BYU students).

Quiz and test yourself—make a Quizlet, play retrieval games, draw a mind map, make up a bank of test questions while reading your textbook and then take a “practice” exam. Write a few lines about what you’re learning in your journal. These study tools will give you the practice you need to go into your exams prepared. Good study habits will also help you prepare for a standardized test like the MCAT without having to relearn everything before the exam. Read more in the book Make it Stick (free for BYU students).

Spaced repetition is a more specific form of interleaving that works well for small, repetitive tasks. For example, if you’re memorizing a list of 50 biology terms, create flashcards and go through them at intervals. Give yourself time between these mini study sessions to allow your brain to forget a little; the act of re-memorizing logs knowledge into your long-term memory.