By McKayla Rosser/reporter

Rewriting notes is helpful, but it takes time, students learned Sept. 26 at Pizza with a Purpose: Purposeful Preparation.

The event was one of the 15 study skill seminars that will take place on NE Campus throughout the months of September and October. 

Each session will strive to teach students the skills they need to be successful throughout their time in college. 

“Don’t spend your time talking about your favorite NFL player,” speaker and NE supplemental instruction coordinator Kate Johnson said, noting how easy it is for students to be distracted when studying together. “You want to talk about the book.”

It is important to plan out a studying schedule for a test or else a student might end up staying up late and cramming the night before, which could lead to exhaustion and a poor grade, Johnson said.

Students discussed their favorite study methods with others at their table at the beginning of the event. 

After the discussion was over, Johnson passed the microphone to students selected at random, asking them to share their study methods with the room.

NE student Shaw Hu was one of the students selected.

“Studying is not just the time you put in. It’s also the method you use,” Hu said. “Usually, I do an outline first, and after that I look through the things I don’t understand. I don’t just read through the whole textbook.”

Every student has their own favorite studying method, a method that works best for them. There is no wrong or right way to study. All that matters is that the student understands the material.

“Your goal is to be comfortably prepared with the material,” Johnson said.

Index cards were discussed in-depth, and Johnson said students should only make notecards for terms they aren’t already familiar with.

Next, students shared how they prepare for exams. 

Many students agreed that getting a good night’s rest the night before a test is important. They also agreed that taking the day off from studying the material to avoid becoming too overwhelmed is a good thing to do too.

“If you’re not sure about a test question, mark it and keep going,” Johnson said. “Sometimes, we have timed tests.”

Students now have access to apps which can help them study, such as Google Keep, which can be set to give reminders based on the user’s location or the date and time.  

Pomotodo is an app that gives students 25 minutes to study, a five-minute break and then an additional 25 minutes of studying to ensure that students stay on task but aren’t exhausted from cramming.

“I didn’t know about the time management apps, so I’ll definitely be using those,” NE student Maribel Velasquez said.

If a student is still having trouble with a subject, NE, like other campuses, has a variety of learning centers that offer additional assistance, such as the science learning center, math testing center, language acquisition center and more. 

Like teachers, tutors all have different styles of helping students learn, so if students don’t like the style their tutor uses, they shouldn’t feel discouraged. Students should also be specific with their questions, so that tutors can understand how to help them.

“Don’t just say, ‘I don’t understand anything,’” Johnson said. “For instance, maybe you would say, ‘I don’t know when to use a common denominator or not.’”

What matters most is that students ask questions and keep an open dialogue going with their tutors and teachers, she said, adding that to be successful, students must be involved with learning. 

They cannot passively accept the information. Sometimes, they must ask questions and pursue it further.

“I encourage you to talk to your teachers. I encourage you to ask questions,” she said.