INTRODUCTION In the past, most AP history course summer assignments have consisted of reading 1 or 2 large historical books over specific topics. The purpose of this was to improve your reading level, to get you ready for the rigor of a college level class, and to give you in‐depth knowledge on a specific era or field of history. This book activity was concluded with a test, essay, and discussion on the first day of school. This year we are trying something new. This change is an effort to correct an area that every student struggles with when transitioning into their first college course. Students universally struggle with the following:  the amount of reading  the retention of what they just read  staying organized  taking notes effectively  managing their time wisely  studying for tests that move beyond regurgitation of data to show a mastery of the skills the AP class is built around, that they must then apply and display. This does not mean students don’t possess these skills. Most AP students do as they often are among the brightest and most hardworking students, they just have not developed them the level needed to be successful in what is a college level course. Our summer assignment this year has been built around teaching, enhancing, and applying those skills so that every student may start the school year in a much better position to achieve success. You will be reading a series of articles on reading techniques and retention strategies as well as various note‐taking styles. You will then read articles using the new reading techniques on a variety of topics including:  time management  study strategies  effects of technology and devices on learning  the framework of themes and skills AP uses  how to study effectively  stress management  how diet can affect your performance You will summarize the content contained in the articles above utilizing all the variety of note taking styles to see which kind works best for you. These summaries and notes will be due on the first day of school. Your summaries and notes must be HAND WRITTEN and not typed on a computer. We will also have a discussion on the first days of school where students will be evaluated on their participation and quality of their comments to show they read the articles. It would wise to space these out rather than trying to do them in the closing days of summer. This will strengthen the skills by practicing them over a prolonged period as well as making it a less miserable and less stressful experience. It should really equate to reading about 1 article a week if you spread it out. 1 ACTUAL ASSIGNMENT Read each of the following articles. I have copied the text from the website rather than using the hyperlinks so we will be fine in case the host websites changes the URL or moves the info. You should read them in order as they have been carefully planned, and each article builds on previous ones. The first article discusses a variety of note taking styles. You will need to take notes on the note taking article using one of the 5 styles described. The notes should be hand written in blue or black ink pen and must be a minimum of at least 1 page in length with a maximum of 3 pages for the longer articles. That would be 3 single sided pages, or the front and back of 1.5. You should give some thought and consideration if you write big or small. The limit is not to cause you stress but part of AP is learning to be concise and specific as on the AP exam your writing is timed and limited to a certain number of pages. If you go a little over that is fine this is all part of our process in AP. Your handwriting must be legible or you will not earn a grade as we cannot discern if you have shown the skills. As you read the next 11 articles you should take notes on each one using the above instructions. You will then need to read the following articles (1‐11). Ideally you would apply what you learned in each article to the following articles. You will take hand written notes on each. You must use the outline and Cornell methods 3 times each and for the remainder you may use whatever style notes you have come to prefer. So, by the end you should have 12 sets of notes (1‐3 pages each) to turn in on the first day of school. Each set of notes should have a heading in the top left that lists your name, the date, the number of the article and the style of notes you used. It would look something like this: Dave Smith 6‐30‐2017 Article # 4 Cornell method NOTE TAKING METHODS OVERVIEW 1. HAND WRITTEN vs. TYPED NOTES ARTICLE 2. MULTITASKING ARTICLE 3. LEARNING STYLE ASSESMENT 4. READING ARTICLE 5. RETENTION ARTICLE 6. TIME MANAGEMENT/ORGANIZATION ARTICLE 7. HOW DIET EFFECTS YOUR BRAIN 8. HOW YOUR BRAIN WORKS ARTICLE 9. TEST ANXIETY ARTICLE 10. STRESS MANAGEMENT 11. STUDY TECHNIQUES ARTICLE TURNING THE ASSIGNMENT IN Put the notes in the correct order and connect them with paper clips, staples, etc. Turn in the set on the first day of school. This assignment will be worth 100 points which can cushion your grade as you get used to the rigor of the course and will set you up for success all year long. The notes will be graded on your ability to follow these directions, the accuracy of your note taking, the organization, and information covered in your notes. Turning in the assignment late will lead to the Social Studies Department’s mandated reductions of ‐25% for one day and ‐50% for two days an up. 2 NOTE TAKING METHODS Great note‐taking takes practice. You have to find a method that works for you, and that may change depending on the class that you’re in (for example, a science class versus a humanities class). Here are 5 methods that are proven to be successful. Read over each one and decide if there’s one that might work for you. These styles are described in the format you would use to take notes in class. You might find that a comfortable method is a combination of 2 or more of the ones listed here, and that’s fine. Figure out what works for you and stick with it!
3 4 5 . Article #1: A LEARNING SECRET: DON’T TAKE NOTES WITH A LAPTOP Students who used longhand remembered more and had a deeper understanding of the material By Cindi May on June 3, 2014 The old‐fashioned way works better. Credit: Credit: Szepy via iStock “More is better.” From the number of gigs in a cellular data plan to the horsepower in a pickup truck, this mantra is ubiquitous in American culture. When it comes to college students, the belief that more is better may underlie their widely‐held view that laptops in the classroom enhance their academic performance. Laptops do in fact allow students to do more, like engage in online activities and demonstrations, collaborate more easily on papers and projects, access information from the internet, and take more notes. Indeed, because students can type significantly faster than they can write, those who use laptops in the classroom tend to take more notes than those who write out their notes by hand. Moreover, when students take notes using laptops they tend to take notes verbatim, writing down every last word uttered by their professor. Obviously, it is advantageous to draft more complete notes that precisely capture the course content and allow for a verbatim review of the material at a later date. Only it isn’t. New research by Pam Mueller and Daniel Oppenheimer demonstrates that students who write out their notes on paper actually learn more. Across three experiments, Mueller and Oppenheimer had students take notes in a classroom setting and then tested students on their memory for factual detail, their conceptual understanding of the material, and their ability to synthesize and generalize the information. Half of the students were instructed to take notes with a laptop, and the other half were instructed to write the notes out by hand. As in other studies, students who used laptops took more notes. In each study, however, those who wrote out their notes by hand had a stronger conceptual understanding and were more successful in applying and integrating the material than those who used took notes with their laptops. What drives this paradoxical finding? Mueller and Oppenheimer postulate that taking notes by hand requires different types of cognitive processing than taking notes on a laptop, and these different processes have consequences for learning. Writing by hand is slower and more cumbersome than typing, and students cannot possibly write down every word in a lecture. Instead, they listen, digest, and summarize so that they can succinctly capture the essence of the information. Thus, taking notes by hand forces the brain to engage in some heavy “mental lifting,” and these efforts foster comprehension and retention. By contrast, when typing students can easily produce a written record of the lecture without processing its meaning, as faster typing speeds allow students to transcribe a lecture word for word without devoting much thought to the content. To evaluate this theory, Mueller and Oppenheimer assessed the content of notes taken by hand versus laptop. Their studies included hundreds of students from Princeton and UCLA, and the lecture topics ranged from bats, bread, and algorithms to faith, respiration, and economics. Content analysis of the notes consistently showed that students who used laptops had more verbatim transcription of the lecture material than those who wrote notes by hand. Moreover, high verbatim note content was associated with lower retention of the lecture material. It appears that students who use laptops can take notes in a fairly mindless, rote fashion, with little analysis or synthesis by the brain. This kind of shallow transcription fails to promote a meaningful understanding or application of the information. 6 If the source of the advantage for longhand notes derives from the conceptual processes they evoke, perhaps instructing laptop users to draft summative rather than verbatim notes will boost performance. Mueller and Oppenheimer explored this idea by warning laptop note takers against the tendency to transcribe information without thinking, and explicitly instructed them to think about the information and type notes in their own words. Despite these instructions, students using laptops showed the same level of verbatim content and were no better in synthesizing material than students who received no such warning. It is possible these direct instructions to improve the quality of laptop notes failed because it is so easy to rely on less demanding, mindless processes when typing. It’s important to note that most of the studies that have compared note taking by hand versus laptop have used immediate memory tests administered very shortly (typically less than an hour) after the learning session. In real classroom settings, however, students are often assessed days if not weeks after learning new material. Thus, although laptop users may not encode as much during the lecture and thus may be disadvantaged on immediate assessments, it seems reasonable to expect that the additional information they record will give them an advantage when reviewing material after a long delay. Wrong again. Mueller and Oppenheimer included a study in which participants were asked to take notes by hand or by laptop, and were told they would be tested on the material in a week. When participants were given an opportunity to study with their notes before the final assessment, once again those who took longhand notes outperformed laptop participants. Because longhand notes contain students’ own words and handwriting, they may serve as more effective memory cues by recreating the context (e.g., thought processes, emotions, conclusions) as well as content (e.g., individual facts) from the original learning session. These findings hold important implications for students who use their laptops to access lecture outlines and notes that have been posted by professors before class. Because students can use these posted materials to access lecture content with a mere click, there is no need to organize, synthesize or summarize in their own words. Indeed, students may take very minimal notes or not take notes at all, and may consequently forego the opportunity to engage in the mental work that supports learning. Beyond altering students’ cognitive processes and thereby reducing learning, laptops pose other threats in the classroom. In the Mueller and Oppenheimer studies, all laptops were disconnected from the internet, thus eliminating any disruption from email, instant messaging, surfing, or other online distractions. In most typical college settings, however, internet access is available, and evidence suggests that when college students use laptops, they spend 40% of class time using applications unrelated to coursework, are more likely to fall off task, and are less satisfied with their education. In one study with law school students, nearly 90% of laptop users engaged in online activities unrelated to coursework for at least five minutes, and roughly 60% were distracted for half the class. Technology offers innovative tools that are shaping educational experiences for students, often in positive and dynamic ways. The research by Mueller and Oppenheimer serves as a reminder, however, that even when technology allows us to do more in less time, it does not always foster learning. Learning involves more than the receipt and the regurgitation of information. If we want students to synthesize material, draw inferences, see new connections, evaluate evidence, and apply concepts in novel situations, we need to encourage the deep, effortful cognitive processes that underlie these abilities. When it comes to taking notes, students need fewer gigs, more brain power. Are you a scientist who specializes in neuroscience, cognitive science, or psychology? And have you read a recent peer‐
reviewed paper that you would like to write about? Please send suggestions to Mind Matters editor Gareth Cook, a Pulitzer prize‐winning journalist and regular contributor to NewYorker.com. Gareth is also the series editor of Best American Infographics, and can be reached at garethideas AT gmail dot com or Twitter @garethideas. https://www.scientificamerican.com/article/a‐learning‐secret‐don‐t‐take‐notes‐with‐a‐laptop/ 7 Article #2: YOU’LL NEVER LEARN! Students can’t resist multitasking, and it’s impairing their memory. By Annie Murphy Paul French students prepare their stories on Greek issues at a hostel in downtown Athens on April 2, 2013. Attending to multiple streams of information and entertainment while studying, doing homework, or even sitting in class has become common behavior among young people Living rooms, dens, kitchens, even bedrooms: Investigators followed students into the spaces where homework gets done. Pens poised over their “study observation forms,” the observers watched intently as the students—in middle school, high school, and college, 263 in all—opened their books and turned on their computers. For a quarter of an hour, the investigators from the lab of Larry Rosen, a psychology professor at California State University–Dominguez Hills, marked down once a minute what the students were doing as they studied. A checklist on the form included: reading a book, writing on paper, typing on the computer—and also using email, looking at Facebook, engaging in instant messaging, texting, talking on the phone, watching television, listening to music, surfing the Web. Sitting unobtrusively at the back of the room, the observers counted the number of windows open on the students’ screens and noted whether the students were wearing earbuds. Although the students had been told at the outset that they should “study something important, including homework, an upcoming examination or project, or reading a book for a course,” it wasn’t long before their attention drifted: Students’ “on‐task behavior” started declining around the two‐minute mark as they began responding to arriving texts or checking their Facebook feeds. By the time the 15 minutes were up, they had spent only about 65 percent of the observation period actually doing their schoolwork. “We were amazed at how frequently they multitasked, even though they knew someone was watching,” Rosen says. “It really seems that they could not go for 15 minutes without engaging their devices,” adding, “It was kind of scary, actually.” Concern about young people’s use of technology is nothing new, of course. But Rosen’s study, published in the May issue of Computers in Human Behavior, is part of a growing body of research focused on a very particular use of technology: media multitasking while learning. Attending to multiple streams of information and entertainment while studying, doing homework, or even sitting in class has become common behavior among young people—so common that many of them rarely write a paper or complete a problem set any other way. But evidence from psychology, cognitive science, and neuroscience suggests that when students multitask while doing schoolwork, their learning is far spottier and shallower than if the work had their full attention. They understand and remember less, and they have greater difficulty transferring their learning to new contexts. So detrimental is this practice that some researchers are proposing that a new prerequisite for academic and even professional success—the new marshmallow test of self‐discipline—is the ability to resist a blinking inbox or a buzzing phone. The media multitasking habit starts early. In “Generation M2: Media in the Lives of 8‐ to 18‐Year‐Olds,” a survey conducted by the Kaiser Family Foundation and published in 2010, almost a third of those surveyed said that when they were doing homework, “most of the time” they were also watching TV, texting, listening to music, or using some other medium. The lead author of the study was Victoria Rideout, then a vice president at Kaiser and now an independent 8 research and policy consultant. Although the study looked at all aspects of kids’ media use, Rideout told me she was particularly troubled by its findings regarding media multitasking while doing schoolwork. “This is a concern we should have distinct from worrying about how much kids are online or how much kids are media multitasking overall. It’s multitasking while learning that has the biggest potential downside,” she says. “I don’t care if a kid wants to tweet while she’s watching American Idol, or have music on while he plays a video game. But when students are doing serious work with their minds, they have to have focus.” For older students, the media multitasking habit extends into the classroom. While most middle and high school students don’t have the opportunity to text, email, and surf the Internet during class, studies show the practice is nearly universal among students in college and professional school. One large survey found that 80 percent of college students admit to texting during class; 15 percent say they send 11 or more texts in a single class period. During the first meeting of his courses, Rosen makes a practice of calling on a student who is busy with his phone. “I ask him, ‘What was on the slide I just showed to the class?’ The student always pulls a blank,” Rosen reports. “Young people have a wildly inflated idea of how many things they can attend to at once, and this demonstration helps drive the point home: If you’re paying attention to your phone, you’re not paying attention to what’s going on in class.” Other professors have taken a more surreptitious approach, installing electronic spyware or planting human observers to record whether students are taking notes on their laptops or using them for other, unauthorized purposes. Such steps may seem excessive, even paranoid: After all, isn’t technology increasingly becoming an intentional part of classroom activities and homework assignments? Educators are using social media sites like Facebook and Twitter as well as social sites created just for schools, such as Edmodo, to communicate with students, take class polls, assign homework, and have students collaborate on projects. But researchers are concerned about the use of laptops, tablets, cellphones, and other technology for purposes quite apart from schoolwork. Now that these devices have been admitted into classrooms and study spaces, it has proven difficult to police the line between their approved and illicit uses by students. In the study involving spyware, for example, two professors of business administration at the University of Vermont found that “students engage in substantial multitasking behavior with their laptops and have non‐course‐related software applications open and active about 42 percent of the time.” The professors, James Kraushaar and David Novak, obtained students’ permission before installing the monitoring software on their computers—so, as in Rosen’s study, the students were engaging in flagrant multitasking even though they knew their actions were being recorded. Another study, carried out at St. John’s University in New York, used human observers stationed at the back of the classroom to record the technological activities of law students. The spies reported that 58 percent of second‐ and third‐
year law students who had laptops in class were using them for “non‐class purposes” more than half the time. (First‐
year students were far more likely to use their computers for taking notes, although an observer did note one first‐year student texting just 17 minutes into her very first class—the beginning of her law school career.) Texting, emailing, and posting on Facebook and other social media sites are by far the most common digital activities students undertake while learning, according to Rosen. That’s a problem, because these operations are actually quite mentally complex, and they draw on the same mental resources—using language, parsing meaning—demanded by schoolwork. David Meyer, a psychology professor at the University of Michigan who’s studied the effects of divided attention on learning, takes a firm line on the brain’s ability to multitask: “Under most conditions, the brain simply cannot do two complex tasks at the same time. It can happen only when the two tasks are both very simple and when they don’t compete with each other for the same mental resources. An example would be folding laundry and listening to the weather report on the radio. That’s fine. But listening to a lecture while texting, or doing homework and being on Facebook—each of these tasks is very demanding, and each of them uses the same area of the brain, the prefrontal cortex.” 9 Young people think they can perform two challenging tasks at once, Meyer acknowledges, but “they are deluded,” he declares. It’s difficult for anyone to properly evaluate how well his or her own mental processes are operating, he points out, because most of these processes are unconscious. And, Meyer adds, “there’s nothing magical about the brains of so‐called ‘digital natives’ that keeps them from suffering the inefficiencies of multitasking. They may like to do it, they may even be addicted to it, but there’s no getting around the fact that it’s far better to focus on one task from start to finish.” Researchers have documented a cascade of negative outcomes that occurs when students multitask while doing schoolwork. First, the assignment takes longer to complete, because of the time spent on distracting activities and because, upon returning to the assignment, the student has to refamiliarize himself with the material. Second, the mental fatigue caused by repeatedly dropping and picking up a mental thread leads to more mistakes. The cognitive cost of such task‐switching is especially high when students alternate between tasks that call for different sets of expressive “rules”—the formal, precise language required for an English essay, for example, and the casual, friendly tone of an email to a friend. Third, students’ subsequent memory of what they’re working on will be impaired if their attention is divided. Although we often assume that our memories fail at the moment we can’t recall a fact or concept, the failure may actually have occurred earlier, at the time we originally saved, or encoded, the memory. The moment of encoding is what matters most for retention, and dozens of laboratory studies have demonstrated that when our attention is divided during encoding, we remember that piece of information less well—or not at all. As the unlucky student spotlighted by Rosen can attest, we can’t remember something that never really entered our consciousness in the first place. And a study last month showed that students who multitask on laptops in class distract not just themselves but also their peers who see what they’re doing. Fourth, some research has suggested that when we’re distracted, our brains actually process and store information in different, less useful ways. In a 2006 study in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, Russell Poldrack of the University of Texas–Austin and two colleagues asked participants to engage in a learning activity on a computer while also carrying out a second task, counting musical tones that sounded while they worked. Study subjects who did both tasks at once appeared to learn just as well as subjects who did the first task by itself. But upon further probing, the former group proved much less adept at extending and extrapolating their new knowledge to novel contexts—a key capacity that psychologists call transfer. Brain scans taken during Poldrack’s experiment revealed that different regions of the brain were active under the two conditions, indicating that the brain engages in a different form of memory when forced to pay attention to two streams of information at once. The results suggest, the scientists wrote, that “even if distraction does not decrease the overall level of learning, it can result in the acquisition of knowledge that can be applied less flexibly in new situations.” Finally, researchers are beginning to demonstrate that media multitasking while learning is negatively associated with students’ grades. In Rosen’s study, students who used Facebook during the 15‐minute observation period had lower grade‐point averages than those who didn’t go on the site. And two recent studies by Reynol Junco, a faculty associate at Harvard’s Berkman Center for Internet & Society, found that texting and using Facebook—in class and while doing homework—were negatively correlated with college students’ GPAs. “Engaging in Facebook use or texting while trying to complete schoolwork may tax students’ capacity for cognitive processing and preclude deeper learning,” write Junco and a co‐author. (Of course, it’s also plausible that the texting and Facebooking students are those with less willpower or motivation, and thus likely to have lower GPAs even aside from their use of technology.) Meyer, of the University of Michigan, worries that the problem goes beyond poor grades. “There’s a definite possibility that we are raising a generation that is learning more shallowly than young people in the past,” he says. “The depth of their processing of information is considerably less, because of all the distractions available to them as they learn.” 10 Given that these distractions aren’t going away, academic and even professional achievement may depend on the ability to ignore digital temptations while learning—a feat akin to the famous marshmallow test. In a series of experiments conducted more than 40 years ago, psychologist Walter Mischel tempted young children with a marshmallow, telling them they could have two of the treats if they put off eating one right away. Follow‐up studies performed years later found that the kids who were better able to delay gratification not only achieved higher grades and test scores but were also more likely to succeed in school and their careers. Two years ago, Rosen and his colleagues conducted an information‐age version of the marshmallow test. College students who participated in the study were asked to watch a 30‐minute videotaped lecture, during which some were sent eight text messages while others were sent four or zero text messages. Those who were interrupted more often scored worse on a test of the lecture’s content; more interestingly, those who responded to the experimenters’ texts right away scored significantly worse than those participants who waited to reply until the lecture was over. This ability to resist the lure of technology can be consciously cultivated, Rosen maintains. He advises students to take “tech breaks” to satisfy their cravings for electronic communication: After they’ve labored on their schoolwork uninterrupted for 15 minutes, they can allow themselves two minutes to text, check websites, and post to their hearts’ content. Then the devices get turned off for another 15 minutes of academics. Over time, Rosen says, students are able extend their working time to 20, 30, even 45 minutes, as long as they know that an opportunity to get online awaits. “Young people’s technology use is really about quelling anxiety,” he contends. “They don’t want to miss out. They don’t want to be the last person to hear some news, or the ninth person to ‘like’ someone’s post.” Device‐checking is a compulsive behavior that must be managed, he says, if young people are to learn and perform at their best. Rideout, director of the Kaiser study on kids and media use, sees an upside for parents in the new focus on multitasking while learning. “The good thing about this phenomenon is that it’s a relatively discrete behavior that parents actually can do something about,” she says. “It would be hard to enforce a total ban on media multitasking, but parents can draw a line when it comes to homework and studying—telling their kids, ‘This is a time when you will concentrate on just one thing.’ ” Parents shouldn’t feel like ogres when they do so, she adds. “It’s important to remember that while a lot of kids do media multitask while doing homework, a lot of them don’t. One out of five kids in our study said they ‘never’ engage in other media while doing homework, and another one in five said they do so only ‘a little bit.’ This is not some universal norm that students and parents can’t buck. This is not an unreasonable thing to ask of your kid.” So here’s the takeaway for parents of Generation M: Stop fretting about how much they’re on Facebook. Don’t harass them about how much they play video games. The digital native boosters are right that this is the social and emotional world in which young people live. Just make sure when they’re doing schoolwork, the cellphones are silent, the video screens are dark, and that every last window is closed but one. This story was produced by The Hechinger Report, a nonprofit, nonpartisan education‐news outlet based at Teachers College, Columbia University, and MindShift, a news website focusing on innovations in education and new trends in teaching and learning. http://www.slate.com/articles/health_and_science/science/2013/05/multitasking_while_studying_divided_attention_a
nd_technological_gadgets.html Article #3: ASSESSING YOUR LEARNING STYLE 11 If you are trying to figure out how to maximize your academic success, an important first step is assessing your learning style. Knowing your learning style will help you determine strategies to capitalize on your strengths and support your weaknesses. Find out how you learn by using the resources below.
FELDER'S INDEX The Felder's Index provides an immediate assessment of your learning styles that requires no username or password to take the test. It is a 44 question survey that assesses your study habits. To take this survey, click on the following link: http://www.engr.ncsu.edu/learningstyles/ilsweb.html Developed by: Barbara Soloman and Dr. Richard Felder, both from North Carolina State University. http://www.dartmouth.edu/~acskills/success/selftest.html Article #4: ACTIVE READING: COMPREHENSION AND RATE Many college students discover that there is significantly more to read in college than there was in high school. Students frequently remark that they don't have enough time to read through all of their assignments during the week. However, many students have bad habits and subscribe to reading myths. This page is designed to help you understand reading as an activity and help you become a more efficient and effective reader. Some common reading myths: 
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Read every word.
One reading is sufficient.
Don't skip passages.
Machines improve speed.
A faster rate means less comprehension.
12 HANDOUTS Reading Myths:  Six Reading Myths (28K Word)
 Harvard Report on Reading (20K Word)
Active Reading Strategies:  SQ3R Method (22K Word)
 Getting to Know Your Texts (23K Word)
 Pivotal Words (22K Word)
 Using Your Textbook (21K Word)
 Vary Your Reading Rate (25K Word)
Where to Read:  The Reading Environment (28K Word)
VIDEOS Reading Improvement Video (10:48 Minutes) Reading Improvement Video with Captions (10:48 minutes) Article #5: 8 TIPS TO REMEMBER WHAT YOU READ By: Dr. Bill Klemm Horizontal Stacked BooksDespite television, cell phones, and Twitter, traditional reading is still an important skill. Whether it is school textbooks, magazines, or regular books, people still read, though not as much as they used to. One reason that many people don’t read much is that they don’t read well. For them, it is slow, hard work and they don’t remember as much as they should. Students, for example,may have to read something several times before they understand and remember what they read. Why? You would think that schools teach kids how to read well. Schools do try. I work with middle‐school teachers and they tell me that many students are 2‐3 years behind grade level in reading proficiency. No doubt, television, cell phones, and the Web are major contributors to this problem, which will apparently get worse if we don’t emphasize and improve reading instruction. Some of the blame can be placed on the fads in reading teaching, such as phonics and “whole language,” which sometimes are promoted by zealots who don’t respect the need for both approaches. Much of the blame for poor reading skills can be laid at the feet of parents who set poor examples and, of course, on the youngsters who are too lazy to learn how to read well. For all those who missed out on good reading skills, it is not too late. I summarize below what I think it takes to read with good speed and comprehension. 1.
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Read with a purpose.
Skim first.
Get the reading mechanics right.
Be judicious in highlighting and note taking.
Think in pictures.
13 6. Rehearse as you go along. 7. Stay within your attention span and work to increase that span. 8. Rehearse again soon. 1) Know Your Purpose Everyone should have a purpose for their reading and think about how that purpose is being fulfilled during the actual reading. The advantage for remembering is that checking continuously for how the purpose is being fulfilled helps the reader to stay on task, to focus on the more relevant parts of the text, and to rehearse continuously as one reads. This also saves time and effort because relevant items are most attended. Identifying the purpose should be easy if you freely choose what to read. Just ask yourself, “Why am I reading this?” If it is to be entertained or pass the time, then there is not much problem. But myriad other reasons could apply, such as: 
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to understand a certain group of people, such as Muslims, Jews, Hindus, etc. to crystallize your political position, such as why a given government policy should be opposed. to develop an informed plan or proposal. to satisfy a requirement of an academic course or other assigned reading. Many of us have readings assigned to us, as in a school environment. Or the boss may hand us a manual and say “Here. We need you to read this.” Whether the order comes from a teacher or boss, we need to ask, “What do you want me to learn from this?” In the absence of such guidance, you should still formulate your best guess about what you should learn and remember from the reading. 2) Skim First Some reading tasks require no more than skimming. Proper skimming includes putting an emphasis on the headings, pictures, graphs, tables, and key paragraphs (which are usually at the beginning and the end). Depending on the purpose, you should slow down and read carefully only the parts that contribute to fulfilling the reading purpose. Even material that has to be studied carefully should be skimmed first. The benefits of skimming first are that the skimming: 1) primes the memory, making it easier to remember when you read it the second time, 2) orients the thinking, helping you to know where the important content is in the document, 3) creates an overall sense and gestalt for the document, which in turn makes it easier to remember certain particulars. Browsing on the Internet encourages people to skim read. The way content is handled on the Web is even causing writers to make wider use of Web devices, such as numbered or bulleted lists, sidebars, graphics, text boxes and sidebars. But the bad news is that the Web style makes it even harder to learn how to read in‐depth; that is, the Web teaches us to skim, creating bad reading habits for in‐depth reading. 3) Get the Mechanics Right For in‐depth reading, eyes need to move in a disciplined way. Skimming actually trains eyes to move without discipline. When you need to read carefully and remember the essence of large blocks of text, the eyes must snap from one fixation point to the next in left‐ to right‐sequence. Moreover, the fixations should not be one individual letters or even single words, but rather on several words per fixation. There are reading‐improvement machines that train the eyes to fixate properly, but few schools use them. I know from personal experience with such machines that they can increase reading speed markedly without a cost in lower comprehension. Poor readers who stumble along from word to word actually tend to have lower comprehension because their mind is preoccupied with recognizing the letters and their arrangement in each word. That is a main reason they can’t remember what they read. Countless times I have heard college students say, “I read that chapter three times, and I still can’t answer your questions.” When I ask thought‐
provoking questions about the material, they often can’t answer the questions because they can’t remember the 14 meaning of what they read. Even with straightforward simple memorization questions, they often can’t remember, because their focus on the words themselves kept them from associating what their eyes saw with their own pre‐
existing knowledge and thus facilitating remembering. In short, to remember what you read, you have to think about what the words mean. I am not arguing against phonics, which in my view is vital for the initial learning of how to read. But phonics is just the first step in good reading practice. At some point, the reader needs to recognize whole words as complete units and then expand that capability to clusters of several words. Among the key tactics for good mechanics of reading, I list the following: 
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Make eye contact with all the text not being deliberately skimmed See multiple words in each eye fixation Strive to expand the width of each eye fixation (on an 8.5″ width, strive for three fixations or eventually two per line). This skill has to be developed in stages. First, learn how do read at five or six fixations per line. Then work on four per line. Then three. Snap eyes from one fixation point to another (horizontal snaps on long lines, vertical snap if whole line in a column can be seen with one fixation). Learning how to do this takes practice. If you can’t do it on your own, consider formal training from a reading center. 4) Be Judicious in Highlighting and Note Taking Use a highlighter to mark a FEW key points to act as the basis for mental pictures and reminder cues. Add key words in the margins if you don’t find useful clues to highlight. Almost all students use highlighter pens to identify key parts of a text. But many students either highlight too much or highlight the wrong things. They become so preoccupied in marking up the book that they don’t pay enough attention to what they are reading. A better approach is to highlight just a few key words on a page. If many pages don’t require highlights, sticky tabs on pages with highlights can greatly speed a study process for whole books. It is crucial to think about the meaning of text. Highlighted text needs to be rehearsed in the context of how it fits with the purpose, why it needs to be remembered, and how it fits with important material that preceded it. Every few paragraphs or pages, depending on the information density, the reader should stop and self‐quiz to make sure the important material is being memorized. Making outline notes of such material after it is first read can be an important rehearsal aid for forming immediate memory and for later study. The act of creating such an outline from working memory, and checking it against the content just read, supports memory formation in very powerful ways. 5) Think in Pictures A picture may not be worth a thousand words, but it can certainly capture the essence of dozens of words. Moreover, pictures are much easier to memorize than words. Those memory wizards who put on stage shows owe their success (as do card counters in casinos) to use of gimmicks based on mental pictures. Ordinary readers can use to good effect the practice of making mental images of the meaning of text. The highlighted key words in text, for example, if used as a starting point for mental pictures, then become very useful for memorization. One only has to spot the key words and think of the associated mental images. Sometimes it helps to make mental images of headings and sub‐heads. Pictures also become easier to remember when they are clustered into similar groups or when they are chained together to tell a story. Mental pictures are not the only way to facilitate memory for what you read. I understand that actors use another approach for memorizing their lines for a play, movie, or TV show. Actors “get into the part” and study the meaning of the script in depth, which seems to produce memory automatically for them. When the same script is memorized with mental images, it appears that the text is being looked at from the outside, as something to be memorized. Actors, on 15 the other hand, appear to be looking at the same text from the inside, as something to be experienced. The actors probe the deep meaning of the text, which inevitably involves attending to the exact words. For example, they seem to explore why their character would use a given set of words to express a particular thought. This is still a process of association, except that actors are associating words with real meaning and context as opposed to contrived visual image meaning and context. Both approaches require engagement. The reader has to think hard about what is being read, and that is what helps you to remember what is read. 6) Rehearse As You Go Along
Read in short segments (a few paragraphs to a few pages, depending on content density), all the while thinking about and paraphrasing the meaning of what is written. To rehearse what you are memorizing, see how many of the mental pictures you can reconstruct. Use headings and highlighted words if needed to help you reinforce the mental pictures. Rehearse the mental pictures every day or so for the first few days after reading. Think about the content in each segment in terms of how it satisfies the purpose for reading. Ask yourself questions about the content. “How does this information fit what I already know and don’t know? Why did the author say that? Do I understand what this means? What is the evidence? Do I agree with ideas or conclusions? Why or why not? What is the practical application?” How much of this do I need to memorize?” Apply the ideas to other situations and contexts. Generate ideas about the content. It also helps to focus on what is not said. To do that you also have to keep in working memory what was said. This not only helps memory, but you get the opportunity to gain creative insights about the subject. In short, thinking not only promotes memory formation but also understanding. 7) Operate Within Your Attention Span
Paying attention is central to memorization. Trying to read when you can’t concentrate is wasting time. Since most people have short attention spans, they should not try to read dense material for more than 10 or 15 minutes at a time. After such a session, they should take a break and quiz themselves on what they just read. Ultimately, readers should discipline their attention so they can concentrate for longer periods. 8) Rehearse Soon After Reading Is Finished
At the reading session end, rehearse what you learned right away. Avoid distractions and multi‐tasking because they interfere with the consolidation processes that enable longer‐term memory. Answer again the questions about content mentioned in the “Rehearse As You Go Along” section. Think about and rehearse what you read at least twice later that day. Rehearse again at last once for the next 2‐3 days. In Summary 1.
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Read with a purpose.
Skim first.
Get the reading mechanics right.
Be judicious in highlighting and note taking.
Think in pictures.
Rehearse as you go along.
Stay within your attention span and work to increase that span.
Rehearse again soon.
16 Reference Noice, H., and Noice, T. 2000. Two approaches to learning a theatrical script, p. 444‐455. In Memory Observed, edited by Ulric Neisser and Ira Hyman, Jr. Worth Publishers, New York, N.Y. Bill Klemm— W. R. (Bill) Klemm, D.V.M., Ph.D. Scientist, professor, author, speaker. As a professor of Neuroscience at Texas A&M University, Bill has taught about the brain and behavior at all levels, from freshmen, to seniors, to graduate students to post‐docs. His recent books include Thank You, Brain, For All You Remember. What You Forgot Was My Fault‚ and Core Ideas in https://sharpbrains.com/blog/2009/05/14/8‐tips‐to‐remember‐what‐you‐read/ Article #6: STUDY SKILLS – TIME MANAGEMENT
A few reasons why you should care about time management 
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You find yourself wishing for more free time…
You always feel busy, you miss meals and sleep…
You forget the dates of your tests and assignments…
You often put off starting an assignment and find something “better” to do…
Does this sound like you? If you want to increase your productivity, improve your concentration, and actually get more free time, time management is the key! Let us get you started on better managing your time VIDEO LINK https://youtu.be/6dXtILcl0cM Click here for a PDF transcript of the video. The following tips and information can help you better organize your time. Here are some of the topics: 1. What is time management?
Simply put, time management is a way to balance your hours of rest, work and leisure. Whether you realize it or not, you’re always making time management decisions. Every day, you decide when to sleep in, go to class, study, go to the library, go to the gym or chat online. And these decisions play a role in your personal time management strategies. 2. What can you expect if you manage your time effectively?
Better time management can lead to improved concentration, better overall organization, higher grades and, most importantly, it will reduce your level of stress. By organizing your time more effectively, you will find the right balance between your leisure, rest and study time. On top of that, you will feel happier. 3. What makes it so hard for you to implement effective time management strategies?
Managing your time effectively is never an easy task. As a student, you have many new responsibilities and priorities, all of which compete for your time and attention. 17 Your adaptation to university life comes with important changes to your time management plan. These changes include: 
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Increased independent learning; New sports, student associations and meetings to attend; New friends and new experiences; More autonomous decisions to make with less input from your parents or siblings; Increased responsibility in grocery shopping, planning and preparing your meals, doing laundry, cleaning house, paying your bills, etc.; Working part‐time to help pay for your studies or housing. 4. How can you improve your time management? Planning is the key . As much as you hate to admit it, making lists of things to do, taking the time to think and plan for the next day, the next week, the next month, is critical in taking control of your own time. A few tips to get you started: 
Keep a calendar, date book or computerized agenda. o Write down important academic dates (i.e. last day to add a course, last day to drop a course, mid‐term and final exam dates, assignment due dates, end of classes, study breaks, etc.). For information please visit the University’s academic calendar. o Mark down dates for personal or social activities (i.e. travel times, sporting tournaments, theatre performances, doctor’s appointments, etc.). Fun Fact What percentage of managers answered yes to the following question: “Do you consider your agenda (paper, PDA or computer program format) indispensable to managing your time?” Answer: A.
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17% 38% 57% 77% 89% 5. How can you organize your agenda more effectively? Once you have added to your agenda major dates and commitments, it’s time to include your other, more regular activities. You can divide your activities in the following four categories: 
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Fixed academic/professional activities o Classes o Job o Labs/discussion groups o Work placements (co‐op or volunteer work) o Meetings Fixed social/personal activities o Meals o Sleep 18 
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o Travel dates o Exercise (training, aerobic classes, sports) Variable academic/professional activities o Study groups o Project group meetings o Study and homework periods Variable social/personal activities o Outings with friends and family o Shows, movies, television, social media… o exercise, phone calls… Organize your weekly schedule starting with the fixed activities; then add the variable activities. Remember that school and work are important, but putting aside enough time for all your activities is the balance you’re looking for in life. The goal is not to fill your entire schedule but rather to make sure that the things that need to get done, actually are done. 6. What are the guidelines for good time management? Here are some general rules of good time management: 
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Get enough sleep: between 7 ‐ 8 hours a night. Try to plan all your activities between 7:00 a.m. and 11:00 p.m. Every week should contain the four types of activities. Schedule at least 20 hours a week for studying (on top of the minimum 15 hours you spend in class as a full‐time student). Plan up to a maximum of 10 hours of school work in one day. Plan up to a maximum of five hours of work in the same subject per day. Change subjects regularly if you put aside an entire morning or afternoon to study. Allow time for breaks. Occasionally plan a whole day without any school work. Be realistic! An overflowing schedule is discouraging and inefficient. Here are some tips to help you stick to your schedule: Make a schedule that suits the rhythm of your life and work. 
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Be flexible and adapt to changing situations. Learn how to say NO (you can refuse to go out before an exam or take on more optional commitments). Ask your friends to respect your schedule and make them understand that they can’t always keep on calling or seeing you while you’re studying. Isolate yourself to work efficiently: close your door and avoid answering the phone, checking your e‐mail and messaging. 7. How to overcome procrastination? Procrastination is the act of putting off what you should and most likely could do today. Let’s face it: procrastination leads to bad study habits. By using an agenda, you will know exactly the number of activities you can fit in a day’s time and you will quickly find out that putting off any assignments or research projects just won’t help you in the end. 19 A few tips to fight the temptation of procrastinating: 
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Start small and early: Starting a project as soon as you get it is best but not always possible. Try breaking down your projects into more manageable activities and start as early as possible. Start small: choose your topic, write a plan, create your template, create sections and subheadings, write down your major ideas on a given subject, etc. These small steps will start you thinking about your assigned work and make it less overwhelming the next time you sit down to do more. Work without distractions: Turn off your computer's instant messaging programs such as Facebook Messenger, Facetime, Skype, Twitter, BBM or whatever else keeps your attention away from your work. If it helps you, listen to music to keep you on track and focused. Create a playlist with plenty of songs and try to work through the entire list. Change subjects regularly: Changing your focus can actually be more productive and keep you from becoming bored. Back to Study Skills to find other helpful guides. https://sass.uottawa.ca/en/mentoring/tools/time‐management Article #7: BETTER ACADEMIC PERFORMANCE — IS NUTRITION THE MISSING LINK? By Chrissy Carroll, MPH, RD ‐ Today’s Dietitian Vol. 16 No. 10 P. 64 Proper nutrition is essential to children’s health, yet our society struggles with the paradox of children being overfed and undernourished. According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, in 2012 more than one‐third of children and adolescents aged 6 to 19 were considered overweight or obese.1 Despite this, many children’s diets lack nutritious food choices. More than 90% of children aged 4 to 18 don’t meet recommendations for vegetable intake, and more than 75% don’t meet guidelines for fruit intake. Moreover, more than 90% of children consume more than the recommended amounts of solid fats and added sugars.2 In addition to the well‐researched health consequences of poor nutrition in children, such as an increased risk of chronic health problems and overweight or obesity leading into adulthood, there are potential education‐related implications of poor eating patterns and sedentary lifestyles. This continuing education course reviews the current research on the associations between academic performance and nutrition, specifically breakfast frequency and composition, sugar‐
sweetened beverage consumption, fruit and vegetable intake, and diet quality. Education‐Related Concerns Given the amount of wealth and resources in the United States, it’s surprising that the country doesn’t lead in academic performance. Instead, compared with other countries with similar economic development, the United States ranks as average in reading and science and below average in mathematics.3 In addition, often there are staggering differences in academic achievement within the country when comparing areas of high socioeconomic status with areas of low socioeconomic status.4 While there are many reasons for these differences, it’s plausible that the Western diet may be one contributing factor. And since better academic achievement can lead to better job opportunities, housing situations, and access to health care, a poor diet in childhood may result in more serious problems down the line. It also may create a cyclical pattern in 20 future generations, particularly in areas of low socioeconomic status where other compounding issues are present (see figure).5 Cyclical Relationship Between Poor Nutrition and Educational Outcomes Because academic performance influences future health, it’s an important public health issue. It’s also important to assess what nutrition factors most influence academic performance and how to improve them. Breakfast A regular, balanced breakfast offers many health benefits for children, including ensuring that they consume adequate calories to support growth and providing a variety of vitamins and minerals to prevent deficiencies. School breakfast programs have been shown to improve nutrition status among students who are considered to be at nutritional risk.6,7 Health isn’t where breakfast’s benefits end, though. Of all the topics examined in this course, the relationship between breakfast and academic performance has been the most researched. Breakfast consumption has been shown to enhance academic performance by improving cognitive functions such as memory and neural efficiency,8‐10 and school breakfast programs have been shown to reduce absenteeism and tardiness.7,11 Frequency of Breakfast Consumption Studies of school breakfast programs have provided insight into the effects of regular breakfast consumption, particularly those studies that looked at implementing new breakfast programs. Meyers and colleagues compared one school district’s standardized test scores before and after school breakfast implementation. Participation in the school breakfast program was associated with decreased tardiness, reduced absenteeism, and significantly greater increases in standardized test scores compared with nonparticipation.11 Another study looked at the implementation of a universal breakfast program and found that children who participated in the program were more likely than others to improve their nutrition status. Those children with improved nutrition status experienced decreased hunger, reduced absenteeism, and increased math scores.7 Such results generally aren’t limited to school breakfast programs, although the improved attendance and reduced absenteeism may be specific to them. Students who eat breakfast regularly, regardless of location, likely are to see academic benefits, as many cross‐sectional studies have demonstrated an association between overall breakfast frequency and better academic performance.8,9,12‐15 A large study in Korea examined breakfast consumption among more than 75,000 students in grades 7 to 12. Male students who ate breakfast five days per week experienced improved academic performance compared with those who didn’t eat breakfast. Among female students, positive associations were seen with as few as two breakfasts per week. With both sexes, eating breakfast every day showed the strongest odds of improved academic performance.12 A smaller Korean study found that students who ate breakfast regularly had grade point averages that were 0.15 to 0.28 points higher compared with those who didn’t eat breakfast regularly.13 Similar results have been found in studies in the United States. Among 800 sixth‐grade students in North Dakota’s Fargo Public Schools, for example, higher mean math standardized test scores were associated with students who ate breakfast more frequently.14 One Norwegian study looked beyond standardized testing and academic grades to view self‐related subject difficulties as a measure of academic performance. Among the 475 high school students surveyed, those who ate breakfast regularly had a reduced risk of writing, reading, and mathematical learning difficulties.15 It’s possible that breakfast’s effects on academic performance are related to cognitive improvements, both in terms of a broader overall definition (eg, IQ) and in specific areas (eg, word recall, reaction time), each of which could improve learning ability and performance over time. For example, a cross‐sectional study in China found that kindergarten 21 students who ate breakfast often or always had higher IQs than did those who ate breakfast sometimes or rarely, and this persisted even after controlling for factors such as parental education and current living situation.8 Other research has shown better performance on specific cognitive tests, including immediate memory recall, among breakfast eaters compared with breakfast skippers.9 Additional improvements in academic performance based on breakfast consumption may come from both nutritional and social factors. From a social perspective, children who eat breakfast regularly with their parents may experience improved communication and social development.8 Vocabulary and comprehension skills also may improve as a result of regular family meals.8 In addition, the children may be more likely to discuss school‐related concerns or homework with their parents during these times. Nutritionally, there are several mechanisms involved in improved academic performance. Breakfast serves to break the overnight fast and replenish blood glucose levels that a child’s brain needs to perform well academically. Children’s brains use more glucose than do adult brains,16 indicating that regular breakfasts may assist brain function by providing the necessary level of glucose. Typical breakfast foods such as fruit, oatmeal, and whole wheat toast contain carbohydrates that increase glucose levels.8 Studies have shown that increased blood glucose levels can improve attention span, reaction time, and word recall.17‐
19 Therefore, skipping breakfast may lead to difficulty concentrating, a shorter attention span, and memory problems.18 Liu and colleagues present one possible explanation: “Glucose is the primary source of the acetyl groups that are used in the formation of acetyl CoA [coenzyme A], a precursor for the acetylcholine that regulates neurotransmission and benefits components of cognitive function, such as memory.”8 In addition, after eating, insulin and cholecystokinin levels increase, which is associated with “enhanced memory by means of neural activation and stimulation of the amygdala and hippocampus.”8 Also, the physical symptoms of hunger associated with not eating breakfast, such as headaches and stomach pain, can distract a student from learning in the classroom. There are confounding factors that may challenge the strength of the association between breakfast and better grades. For example, more frequent breakfast consumption could be a marker of better overall nutrition status among children, which may be the true link to better academic performance. It also could be linked to better socioeconomic status at home or other social factors. However, several studies have attempted to control for these confounders and have concluded that regular breakfast consumption does positively affect children’s health and academic performance.8,11‐
13 Breakfast Type Breakfast’s effects on learning may be influenced by the type of breakfast a child consumes, not just the frequency or regularity of consumption. Some research has shown that lower‐glycemic‐index (GI) breakfast choices, those that don’t result in a rapid initial increase in blood glucose, are associated with better cognitive outcomes. This is interesting considering the previously mentioned research showing an association between increased glucose levels and cognitive benefits such as memory and attention span. However, the benefits from low‐GI choices could be due to the slower and more sustained blood sugar response and fewer fluctuations in brain levels of glucose over a period of several hours.20 This physiologic response to low‐GI foods could improve students’ ability to better concentrate during the several hours between breakfast and lunch, thus contributing to better academic performance.18,20 A few experimental studies have examined the impact of GI ratings of food choices on cognitive tests. Mahoney and colleagues looked at the effect of three different breakfast options—ready‐to‐eat cereal, instant oatmeal, or no breakfast—on the results of cognitive tests among elementary school children. Among children aged 9 to 11, eating 22 either the cereal or oatmeal breakfast enhanced cognitive performance compared with no breakfast, but the oatmeal had additional benefits compared with the ready‐to‐eat cereal. Boys and girls had enhanced spatial memory, and girls also had improved short‐term memory when they ate oatmeal. The same results were found when looking at children aged 6 to 8, and these younger children also showed better auditory attention.18 A similar study of adolescents aged 12 to 14 found improved response times on two cognitive tests, the Stroop and Flanker tasks, which evaluate cognitive processing speed, choice reaction time, and selective attention, with a low‐GI breakfast compared with a high‐GI or no breakfast.21 Other research has examined the impact of different GI choices on the results of cognitive testing at regular time intervals throughout the morning. In experimental trials, children who were given a low‐GI food choice for breakfast showed less cognitive decline over time compared with those given a high‐GI choice.22,23 While not all research has shown a connection between the GI and improved cognitive function,24 most supports an association between low‐GI breakfast choices and better cognitive performance. It’s logical to postulate that the improved cognitive performance could be responsible for better standardized testing scores and grades over time. In addition to the GI of food choices, overall breakfast quality has been shown to influence academic performance, with higher‐quality meals associated with better grades.25 One way of assessing breakfast quality is to look at the number of food groups eaten. For example, Herrero and colleagues divided students into groups based on their breakfasts using the following categories: 
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good quality (contained food from each of the dairy, grain, and fruit groups); improvable quality (lacked one of the three groups); insufficient quality (lacked two of the three groups); and poor quality (no breakfast). There was a significant increase in students’ average grades at the end of the year as the quality of their breakfasts increased.26 These results suggest that parents and schools should be encouraging any breakfast consumption, regardless of the food choice, since any breakfast is better than no breakfast. For families and schools that want an additional impact on academic performance, focusing on lower‐GI breakfast foods and a complete breakfast that includes a few different food groups would be ideal. These choices may improve cognitive measures such as memory and attention, and may impact academic performance throughout the school year. It’s important to keep in mind, however, that the blood sugar response to a food depends on several factors, including portion size, how the item is cooked or prepared, and the other foods served with it. It isn’t essential to cut out all high‐
GI breakfast foods but rather to incorporate them into balanced, portion‐controlled meals combined with lower‐GI foods. Examples of good breakfasts that both parents and schools can provide include the following: 
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low‐fat yogurt topped with whole grain cereal and fruit; vegetable omelet and milk; tomato, avocado, and cheese on whole wheat toast; whole grain, low‐sugar cereal with milk and a piece of fruit; steel‐cut oatmeal with sliced apples, cinnamon, and nuts; and a piece of string cheese, a piece of fruit, and a handful of pumpkin seeds. 23 Sugar‐Sweetened Beverage Consumption Sugar‐sweetened beverages are a significant source of calories among both children and adults. From 2009 to 2010, children aged 2 to 19 consumed an average of 8% of daily calories from sugar‐sweetened beverages, totaling an extra 155 kcal/day.27 Soda is the No. 1 source of added sugar in children’s diets, followed by fruit drinks.28 Many of these beverages don’t provide nutrients that support children’s growth and development, and some, such as sodas and energy drinks, may provide potentially detrimental substances such as caffeine and certain herbal stimulants.29,30 There has been less research on the relationship between sugar‐sweetened beverages and academic performance than there has been for some other dietary components. Studies focused on the immediate effects of sugar on cognitive performance, rather than on overall consumption, have revealed little evidence to support any negative associations. For example, a meta‐analysis conducted in 1995 examined studies of sugar on behavior and cognition.31 Studies were eligible for inclusion if they had a double‐blind design, with one group consuming a known amount of sugar and the other consuming a placebo substance; sixteen reports met inclusion criteria. For all of the 14 measurement constructs examined, including scores on neuropsychological tests, motor skills, and academic tests, sugar consumption didn’t affect behavior or performance. However, newer research looking specifically at soda consumption rates on overall academic performance has revealed different findings. Park and colleagues used data from the Youth Risk Behavior Survey to examine correlations between soda intake and academic performance in more than 16,000 students in grades 9 through 12. Drinking a soda at least once daily was associated with the increased likelihood of mostly B, C, or D/F grades compared with mostly A grades.32 Another study looked specifically at fifth‐grade students, surveying 1,095 students in 11 elementary schools in Colorado. The authors found that drinking more than one soda each day was associated with reduced academic performance.33 One question that has arisen is whether such associations relate only to soda or to all sugar‐sweetened beverages. One study compared all sugar‐sweetened beverage consumption with academic performance among sixth‐grade students and found that those who consumed fewer sugar‐sweetened beverages had higher mean math and reading test scores.14 Future research focusing on both individual soda intake and total sugar‐sweetened beverage consumption could provide valuable data and hopefully help narrow the potential reasons for these associations. This research is interesting considering earlier studies found no relationship between sugar consumption and cognitive/behavioral variables.31 The connection may seem counterintuitive since the brain needs a supply of glucose for memory and recall functions and sugar‐sweetened beverages provide carbohydrates that affect glucose levels. However, as the breakfast research has demonstrated, lower‐GI foods lead to a more sustained energy release over several hours, which may create a better glucose environment for the brain.18,20‐23 If sugar‐sweetened beverages lead to a quick rise and fall of glucose levels, learning may suffer during the period when levels are dropping. Along the same lines, other components of sugar‐sweetened beverages, such as caffeine or herbal stimulants, could contribute to negative academic performance. Earlier experimental studies looked at sugar consumption vs a placebo but didn’t look at other possible ingredients.31 However, a recent cross‐sectional study found that the consumption of caffeinated sugar‐sweetened beverages was associated with stomach aches, headaches, and sleeping problems among youths aged 10 to 12.34 Energy drinks, which have a higher caffeine content than cola, led to more pronounced side effects.34 It’s possible that children may perform less well academically as a result of these physical side effects of caffeine consumption rather than sugar. Confounding variables also could skew the cross‐sectional research. Sugar‐sweetened beverage consumption may be a marker of a poor overall diet and has been associated with other less healthful behaviors, such as getting fewer than eight hours of sleep per night and being sedentary.32 Another possibility is that parents who allow their children to 24 consume an excess amount of soda show less concern about their children’s health, wellness, and academic performance. A variety of other factors, such as parental education, parental IQ, and socioeconomic status, could contribute to the relationship as well. Though the research on the academic implications of sugar‐sweetened beverage consumption is limited, it seems prudent to recommend keeping low the number of such beverages that children and adolescents consume. Even if the demonstrated relationships are due to another factor, from a health standpoint, the recommendation falls in line with the current dietary guidelines to limit added dietary sugars. Fruit and Vegetable Intake Fruit and vegetable consumption is another area that has been explored for its impact on academic performance. Current fruit and vegetable intake is less than ideal among children, and this is true even among school lunch participants, where fruits and vegetables are offered and/or provided as part of the meals. Plate studies have indicated that 55% of elementary school students and 66% of middle school students didn’t select a vegetable as part of their lunch. In addition, students who chose vegetables and fruits left more than one‐third of these items uneaten.35 While research currently remains limited, several studies have shown consistent associations between fruit and vegetable intake and better academic performance.36‐39 Among junior high and high school students in three studies, inadequate fruit and vegetable consumption was associated with poor academic performance.36‐38 One was a cross‐
sectional study conducted in Iceland that collected data on fruit and vegetable consumption, among other dietary variables, on 5,810 school children.38 Academic achievement was assessed using self‐reported data on grades, and the strongest association for any dietary variable and high grades was fruit and vegetable intake.38 Only one study has looked at fruit and vegetable consumption among elementary school students. Researchers in Nova Scotia surveyed 5,200 fifth‐grade students and their parents. The researchers collected information on dietary intake and compared it with results of a literacy test. Students with higher fruit and vegetable intake were less likely to fail the literary assessment than were students with lower intake.39 As with other factors, the exact relationship between fruit and vegetable intake and academic performance remains unknown. However, there are many potential explanations. Nutrients in fruits and vegetables help protect the body from infection and/or reduce the risk of nutrient deficiencies, which could lead to fewer missed days of school and more time spent learning.40‐43 Fruits and vegetables also provide fiber to prevent constipation, which may distract children from learning because of discomfort and crankiness.44‐45 In addition, since children’s stomachs are smaller, they often need snacks in addition to meals to provide adequate nutrients and energy to support growth and development.46 It seems reasonable to believe that snacking on fruits and vegetables during the day may alleviate hunger and provide a healthy boost of energy, potentially helping to increase children’s focus on schoolwork or homework. Diet Quality Diet quality refers to the overall composition of an individual’s eating patterns or a generalization of how healthful the diet is rather than looking at one specific food or nutrient.47 For example, one study used a food‐frequency questionnaire and determined a diet quality score with the Diet Quality Index‐International. Among 5,200 fifth‐grade students, those with poor overall diet quality were more likely to perform poorly on a literary assessment.39 Compared with students in the lowest tertile of diet quality, those in the second and third tertiles were 26% and 41% less likely to fail the literary assessment, respectively. After adjusting for sex, parental income, education, and the particular school attended, students in the second and third tertiles still were 18% and 30% less likely, respectively, to fail the literacy assessment compared with those in the lowest tertile.39 25 Variety and adequacy were the diet quality index components most significantly associated with better academic performance compared with moderation and balance. The authors defined adequacy as “intake of foods and nutrients essential to a healthy diet such as fruits, vegetables, grains, dietary fiber, protein, iron, calcium, and vitamin C.”39 Two other studies on diet quality took a somewhat different approach, assessing poor diet using a clustering of several junk foods. In the first, the variable of poor diet was assessed based on how frequently the student consumed five foods: sweets, chips, French fries, hamburgers or hot dogs, and pizza. Among the 5,810 ninth‐ and 10th‐grade students, there was a significant negative correlation between poor diet and good grades.38 In the second study, a poor diet was represented by high consumption of “sugar‐sweetened soft drinks, sweets, chocolate, savory snacks, pizza, and hot dogs.” The study found that a high intake of these foods was associated with increased mathematical difficulties.15 Thus, the available literature suggests a possible association between overall diet quality and academic performance. However, it’s an area that deserves more research, as only a few authors have examined this association. The ways in which diet quality influences learning have yet to be firmly identified, but several theories exist. Diet quality may influence energy balance and micronutrient intake, which are important factors in overall health and academics.48,49 Poor diet quality may be a marker of food insecurity and hunger, which can cause physical symptoms that interfere with learning.49,50 Poor‐quality diets may lack certain nutrients, such as iron and zinc, which play a role in brain development, cognitive function, and behavior.49,51,52 — Chrissy Carroll, MPH, RD, is a Massachusetts‐based freelance nutrition writer and private practice owner with six years of experience working in school wellness. http://www.todaysdietitian.com/newarchives/100614p64.shtml 26 Article #8: DON'T FORGET, THE SCIENCE OF MEMORY IS KEY TO HELPING STUDENTS LEARN Neuroscientist Catharine Young explains how memories are formed and suggests strategies teachers can use to make sure students remember information By Catharine Young Since the dawn of time, learning and memory have gone together like bread and butter, up and down, spaghetti and meatballs. These two phenomena are so intricately linked that understanding the basics of how we remember can help teachers when designing lessons. So how do we form memories? It starts with us receiving information from our surroundings through sight and sound. This information is then converted into a pulse of electrical energy that zips along brain calls called neurons. The cells “talk” to each other through this energy by releasing chemicals, which bind to their neighbours through special proteins called receptors. This process allows the coded electrical message to continue from one neuron to the next. A remarkable phenomenon occurs when two neurons communicate regularly with each other: the efficiency and strength of the connection increases. This process, called long‐term potentiation, is now considered to be a major mechanism by which memories are stored. In addition, dendrites (short‐branched extensions of the nerve cell) have a remarkable ability to increase in both size and number in response to learning. This highlights the amazing nature of the brain – it rewires itself and strengthens its connections to store new experiences. So stimulating growth and strengthening connections is great for students’ brains. Here are some ways to do this: Appeal to all the senses Learning strategies that engage all of our senses including visual (seeing and perceiving), auditory (hearing and speaking) and tactile (touch and movement) increases the likelihood of both storing and retrieving the information. The more ways a concept is introduced to the brain, the more dendritic pathways will be created. Appealing to all the senses also allows for the information to be stored in different regions across the brain, allowing for greater interconnection. Tip: Make your lessons memorable by teaching important material and concepts using all the senses. For example, if your lesson plan includes teaching about the heart, have your students watch a short video (TED‐Ed videos are perfect for this), read text aloud, mimic the movement of the heart and blood flow, and draw the heart and the parts that make blood flow. Scientific research has revealed that the most successful construction of a memory takes place when new content is linked to prior knowledge. The probability of remembering something new is increased when teachers demonstrate the connections and relationships that exist between new and old knowledge. Tip: Allow your students numerous opportunities to analyse and reflect on new content. Brainstorming is a powerful yet simple strategy to allow students to connect their experiences and prior knowledge to the current lesson. For example, project an image related to the content you are going to introduce and ask students to tell you everything they can about the picture. Choose images that make sense and connect to the new concepts students will be learning. 27 Repeat, repeat, repeat Once a memory is constructed it needs to be activated multiple times to deepen the synaptic connection. Every time we learn a new concept, a certain number of neurons are activated. When this action is repeated, the same neurons respond. The more time students are allowed to repeat the concept, the more dendrites grow and interconnect, resulting in greater memory storage and recall efficiency. Tip: Repeat core concepts of lessons periodically. The absence of repetition results in a decay of the memory. For example, use the last 10 minutes of class as an opportunity to review what you taught. See how much students remember. This can also help build their confidence, while giving you a sense of what to review the next lesson. Smaller chunks It was previously thought that short‐term memory could hold up to seven chunks of information. However, current research now suggests that two to four chunks of information is the maximum amount for working memory. The amount of stimulus constantly received by the brain overloads our short‐term memory very quickly. Learning and memory also quickly consumes resources such as glucose. The more intense the learning, the quicker these resources are consumed, meaning students can become overburdened even sooner. Tip: Teach in small digestible chunks and allow students adequate time to process the content. Then rest the brain. Too much content taught in a short time span means the brain cannot process it and won’t retain it. Provide a stress‐free environment When students are constantly overloaded with school work and personal responsibilities they are on hyper‐alert. This response has evolved from the physiological mechanism designed to allow us to survive in a crisis. Stress chemicals help mobilize energy and increase alertness. With chronic stress, however, our bodies become flooded with these chemicals, resulting in a loss of brain cells and an inability to form new ones. This can affect our ability to retain new information. Tip: Incorporate physical activity or music into lessons, allowing for both a break in the content and an increase in blood supply (and hence oxygen) to the brain. Or consider incorporating stress‐relieving techniques such as stretching and breathing exercises as part of your curriculum. You can do this at the start your class or when you start to see students become anxious or lose interest. A happy brain is a productive brain. https://www.theguardian.com/teacher‐network/2015/dec/01/dont‐forget‐science‐memory‐key‐students‐learn 28 Article #9: TEST ANXIETY Symptoms It is normal to feel nervous about an exam. In fact, it is beneficial to be moderately stressed right before the exam. A little tension can give you just the right amount of adrenaline you need to do your best. It can heighten your awareness and sharpen your reflexes, allowing you to perform more quickly. It can even help you recall information you may not have otherwise remembered. However, if your level of stress rises too high, it can result in insomnia, loss of appetite, and sometimes even hair loss! This can obviously affect your performance on the exam. So how do you know if you suffer from test anxiety? Here is a checklist to see if you may be a little too frazzled... Test anxiety quiz (don't stress, it's a take home!) (True/False) I have trouble sleeping at night and spend those last few minutes before sleep worrying about upcoming exams or projects. 
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The day of an exam, I experience drastic appetite changes and either overeat, or skip breakfast and lunch. While studying for or taking an exam, I often feel a sense of hopelessness or dread. While studying or taking an exam, I have problems concentrating and I sometimes feel bored or tired. I often yawn during an exam or while studying. During an exam, I often feel confused or panic. During an exam, I experience sweaty palms, mental blocks. While taking an exam, I sometimes experience headaches, vomiting, or fainting. After the exam, I pretend the exam meant nothing to me, and discard the result as meaningless. When I am finished with an exam, I sometimes feel guilt and blame myself for not studying enough. I sometimes get angry or depressed after an exam. As a general rule, I view test taking as a stressful situation and dread it. If any of these statements were true for you, you may suffer from test anxiety. The first thing to do is realize that it is not a lost cause, and you can manage the anxiety to work for you, instead of against you. Is Test Anxiety Bad? NO! In fact it is general stress that helps motivate us to succeed. Take for example that football game you saw last weekend. If the players did not feel somewhat anxious about the outcome of the game, they may not have worked to their full potential. Stress only becomes our enemy when it becomes an end in itself. When the focus of our energy turns to anxiety rather than the task at hand, it becomes detrimental to your efforts. Dealing with Thoughts 
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Yell STOP! o If you feel yourself beginning to brew a storm of anxiety, stop what you're doing and mentally draw a blank. Wait for the clouds to clear before continuing. If you are in an environment that permits it, actually tell yourself to STOP! This may embarrass you a little, but at least it will get your mind off the stress. It may take a while for your mind to clear, but wait for it. The time spent doing this will in the end be less than the time lost due to poor performance because of stress. Daydream 29 Work! Work! Work! All through school, you are told this. In class, your teacher may have scolded you for daydreaming. Now, forget all that. Allow yourself the benefit of daydreaming. If you feel overwhelmed by the material, let your mind wander. Think of being with a friend or at a place of comfort and let your body relax. Feel the physical tension in your body release, and then return to the grindstone. Visualize Success o Anyone who has been involved with some form of athletics knows the value of visualization. Basketball players who visualize their shots have a higher scoring ratio. The same applies for academics. Most people contemplate what failure will feel like. Doing this only sets you up for the fall. Instead, spend time visualizing success. Rehearse what it will feel like to get that A. Be specific with your goals, and physically produce them for yourself. If your goal is to ace an upcoming exam, put a copy of a previous exam on the bulletin board in your dorm or apartment and write a big 'A' on it. If your goal is a specific GPA for the semester, write that figure on the board and chart your progress. Thinking positively results in a higher level of energy and stress levels drop. Focus o Focus on the task at hand. Alright, I know I just said take time to daydream, and you should. But afterwards, when you are working, do not allow outside influences to pervade your thoughts. This allows for efficient use of time. If you have multiple projects, as most of us do, work on one at a time. If you feel yourself stressing about another course, write a note and assure yourself you'll get to it. Then, forget about it until you are finished with what you are doing. o During an exam, if you feel yourself becoming overwhelmed, take a few moments to focus on something in the room. Consider the texture of the desk or your eraser, listen to the sounds of the lights in the room, or focus on something within the room. This can help you clear your mind of outside thoughts before continuing the exam. Praise yourself o Talk to yourself using positive language. Treat yourself as you would a friend. By the way, this is good advice throughout life, not just during an exam. Rather than saying, 'Way to go dummy, you don't even know the answer to the first question!' try, 'Get back to that question, maybe it will come to you as you work through the rest of the exam.' Encourage yourself and promise yourself a treat after you finish the exam regardless of your feelings toward your performance. This helps you to focus on something other than the importance of this particular exam. Keep in mind that no one exam is going to completely devastate your career as a student. o
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Dealing with Physical Tension Here are a few exercises you can try to help relieve the tension in your body. It can help you relax and boost your energy level. 
Focal Breathing o Often, stress is a result of a lack of oxygen. This exercise focuses on breathing and optimizing oxygen intake on every breath. Start by exhaling all the air in your lungs. Exhale slowly for ten seconds. Then, keep exhaling until you feel your lungs are completely empty. Breathe in through the nose to a count of eight. Keep your shoulders down and focus on filling your rib cage. As you feel it expand, start to push down into your abdomen. You should feel your lower body expand and near the end, pressure in your lower back as your diaphragm lowers. 30 Exhale slowly, focusing your breathing by shaping your lips in an ooh position. Pretend there is a candle in front of your mouth that you are trying to blow out. Focusing on this type of breathing will help to focus your mind as well as work to re‐oxygenate your blood and reenergize your body. Body Check o Sit down someplace comfortable and close your eyes. Focus on the muscles in your feet and notice if there is any tension. Tell the muscles in your feet that they can relax. o Do the same with your ankles, then move up to your calves, thighs, and buttocks. Tell each group of muscles to relax. Work slowly being sure to scout out any tension that may be hiding in obscure places. o Do the same for your lower back, diaphragm, chest, upper back, neck, shoulders, jaw, face, upper arms, lower arms, fingers, and scalp. Pretend you are tracking an electrical current through your body that it starting at your toes and escaping from your fingertips and scalp. You may have to do this twice to be sure not to overlook any tension, but be thorough in your search. Tense and Relax o When scanning your body, you will find tense muscles or groups of muscles. This method will help you to relax that area. Focus on that muscle and increase the tension. If your shoulders are tense, flex them and pull them back. Arch your back to make them even tenser and hold that position for a count of five. o Then, relax the muscle slowly and keep relaxing the muscle until all the tension is gone. In this way, you can consciously purge that area of all stress. Exercise Aerobically o This is more of a lifestyle than a practical on‐site method. Still, it can help to reduce general stress and even improve your health. Do some form of exercise that elevates your heart rate and keeps it beating at that rate for twenty to thirty minutes. It should be something you enjoy, and that you can do at least three times a week. Aerobic exercise includes cycling, basketball, running, swimming, and tennis just to name a few. o
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Don't cram for an exam. The amount you learn won't be worth the stress. Don't think of yourself or the test in a negative sense. Don't stay up late studying the night before. You need the sleep. Begin studying a week in advance if possible. Don't spend time with classmates who generate stress for you on test day. Don't take those last few moments before the test for last minute cramming. Try to relax and spend that time reading the newspaper or some other distraction. Do remind yourself that the test is only a test. Do focus on integrating details into main ideas. Do reward yourself after the test with food or a movie or some other treat. Do something relaxing the last hour before the test. Do tell yourself that you will do your best on the test, and that will be enough! Penn State Learning is committed to making its websites accessible to all users, and welcomes comments or suggestions on access improvements. Please send comments or suggestions on accessibility to Miranda Fenush, [email protected]. https://pennstatelearning.psu.edu/test‐anxiety 31 Article #10: STUDENT GUIDE TO SURVIVING STRESS AND ANXIETY IN COLLEGE & BEYOND By Melissa Cohen Melissa Cohen is a Licensed Clinical Social Worker and Certified Coach in New York City. She has been in practice for more than two decades. Feelings of stress and anxiety are a part of life. Some levels of stress can actually be good for us, as the right kind of stress encourages us toward change and growth. However, when stress and anxiety exist for an extended period of time, they can become a burden or even a health risk. This guidebook will help you recognize and understand feelings of stress and anxiety and learn how to manage them so that they don’t become overwhelming. What is Stress? Stress is the body’s reaction to a challenge. Though stress is often perceived as bad, it can actually be good in some respects. The right kind of stress can sharpen the mind and reflexes. It might be able to help the body perform better, or help you escape a dangerous situation. Stress produces a physiological reaction in your body. Hormones are released, which results in physical manifestations of stress. These can include slowed digestion, shaking, tunnel vision, accelerated breathing and heart rate, dilation of pupils and flushed skin. This process is often referred to as the “fight or flight” response. That is just what it sounds like: Our bodies are poised to either run away from the stressor or stick around and fight against it According to the American Psychological Association, there are three types of stress: acute, episodic acute and chronic. 1. Acute stress is the most common form and is the result of recent or anticipated stressors. Acute stress can be both positive and negative. For example, the excitement before a fun event is a type of positive acute stress. Getting into a car accident is negative acute stress. As long as the acute stress doesn’t last for extended periods or occur too frequently, there is nothing wrong with suffering from acute stress. It happens to all of us, and it passes with time. 2. Episodic acute stress is acute stress that occurs frequently. This is the kind of stress that continuously pops up, sometimes in a pattern. It is accompanied by worry and angst about things that are happening to you or around you. You might be especially prone to this is you have a “type A” personality, as you can have a sense of urgency and a need to get things done that might actually become overwhelming. Episodic acute stress is a recurring type of stress, happening over and over. 3. Chronic acute stress can be thought of as never‐ending stress that relentlessly wears away at you. If you don’t see an end in sight, if you are facing something that has no way out, then you are likely to begin suffering from chronic stress. This type of stress eventually begins to affect your health, and can lead to heart problems, strokes, or even cancer, among other issues. Chronic stress definitely requires reaching out for help. STRESS QUIZ HERE’S HOW TO GRADE YOUR QUIZ: 
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ALMOST NEVER APPLIES TO ME 0 POINTS APPLIES TO ME SOME OF THE TIME OR TO A SMALL EXTENT 1 POINTS APPLIES TO ME A SUBSTANTIAL AMOUNT OF TIME, BUT NOT THE MAJORITY OF THE TIME 2 POINTS APPLIES TO ME MOST OF THE TIME, ALMOST ALL OF THE TIME 3 POINTS 32 1. I find it difficult to take the first step to get things done. 2. I have tremors, twitches or shakiness in parts of my body. 3. I worry about situations where I could make a fool of myself. 4. I feel depressed or melancholy. 5. I no longer enjoy the things I used to enjoy. 6. I tend to overreact to situations, whether personal or professional. 7. I am easily agitated or annoyed. 8. I have trouble sleeping or falling to sleep. 9. I engage in activities or work that make me nervous or anxious 10. I get upset by unimportant or small things. 0 1 2 3 0 1 2 3 0 1 2 3 0 1 2 3 0 1 2 3 0 1 2 3 0 1 2 3 0 1 2 3 0 1 2 3 0 1 2 3 Symptoms and Signs There are four primary types of symptoms of stress: physical, emotional, cognitive and behavioral. Depending on the individual and the cause of the stress, the number of symptoms from each category can vary. The below chart will give an overview of types of symptoms that may be present in someone suffering from stress. 
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Physical Symptoms o Irregular bowel movements o Involuntary twitching or shaking o Irregular or missed periods o Getting sick more often than normal o Reduced libido o Chest pain with or without tachycardia o Headaches o Nausea o Muscle aches o Trouble sleeping o Heartburn or indigestion o Fatigue o Flushed skin o Clenched teeth o Unusual changes in weight Emotional Symptoms o Less than normal patience o Feelings of sadness and/or depression o Feelings of being overwhelmed o Restlessness o Reduced or eliminated desire for activities once enjoyed or regularly done o Irritability o Sense of isolation o Trouble coping with life’s issues o More frequent or extreme pessimistic attitude Cognitive Symptoms o Impaired concentration o Trouble with remembering things, such as homework assignments or deadlines o Chronic worrying o Anxious thoughts or feelings 33 
o Reduced or impaired judgment o Impaired speech (mumbling or stuttering) o Repetitive or unwanted thoughts Behavioral Symptoms o Change in eating habits o Change in sleeping habits o New or increased use of drugs, tobacco or drugs o Nail biting o Pacing o Abnormal failure or delay to complete everyday responsibilities o Significant change in school or work performance o Unusual desire for social isolation o Frequent lying o Trouble getting along with peers, such as coworkers, classmates or teachers Stressed Students College Stress by the Numbers [Sources: AP,ADAA, APA] 
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20% of college students say they feel stressed “most of the time.” 10% of college students had thoughts of suicide 34% of college students report feeling depressed at least at one point within the last 90 days 13% of college students have been diagnosed with depression, anxiety or other mental health condition. 80% of college students say they sometimes or often feel stressed About half of surveyed college students felt overwhelmed with anxiety at least once within the last 12 months . Causes of Stress Academic Demands and Test Anxiety This may be the most common long‐term cause of stress for college students. After all, that’s why students go to college – to learn. When you don’t get the results you think you should get, or you feel pressured to get certain academic results, this can cause a lot of stress. For some students, college is the first time they are academically challenged. If high school was a breeze for you, college may be the first time you get a low grade on a test. Consequently, test anxiety may be experienced for the first time or with increased intensity.Test anxiety is anxiety that usually comes before or during the taking of tests. The symptoms can be physical and mental and usually inhibit your ability to perform as well as you otherwise could. Ways to manage or reduce the anxiety include: STUDY AS MUCH AS YOU CAN. One of the causes of test anxiety is the fear that you didn’t study enough. By studying as much as you can, you can reduce this fear. TRY TO MIMIC TEST TAKING CONDITIONS. It might be taking practice tests, studying in the same classroom or building where you will be taking the test or doing practice problems under timed conditions. These steps can help familiarize you to otherwise unfamiliar test taking conditions. LEARN TO STUDY MORE EFFECTIVELY. Maybe it’s getting a tutor to help explain concepts, someone to double check your work or using something as simple as flashcards to study, but finding someone to help you study more effectively can make all the difference. 34 FIND WAYS TO CALM DOWN. What cools you down? Squeezing a stress ball? Taking deep breaths? Whatever relaxation technique you choose can help reduce the symptoms of text anxiety. WATCH YOUR DIET. Eat well and eat properly. For example, too much caffeine can exacerbate the physical symptoms of test anxiety. GET ENOUGH SLEEP. Research is clear that not getting enough sleep can impair one’s memory and reasoning abilities. The more clear‐headed you are, the less anxious you will feel. EXERCISE REGULARLY. Exercise can release tension, and the less tension you feel as you go into the test, the better off you might be. MAKE SURE YOU HAVE PLENTY OF TIME. You’re worried enough about the test. No need to add more worry about being late and having less time to take the test as a result of unexpected traffic or a test location change.Resources to help reduce text anxiety can be your school’s academic services office, your family, classmates and the following websites: 5 School Stress Busting Tips 1. No matter where you are in the school journey, these tips can help you cope with and manage the stress that comes along with it. 2. GET PLENTY OF SLEEP. Not getting enough sleep impairs academic performance and makes it harder to get through the day. THINK POSITIVE. Research has shown that positive thinking may improve physical well‐being, produce lower feelings of depression and produce lower levels of distress. 3. HAVE A STRESS “OUTLET.” This could be a social activity like going out or participating in intramural sports, finding a hobby or joining a social club. 4. ENGAGE IN RELAXATION TECHNIQUES. This can include things like slowly counting to ten, meditation, thinking positive thoughts, visualization or playing with a stress ball. 5. TALK TO SOMEONE. Sometimes just talking about what’s stressful or having someone listen to your problems can drastically reduce stress. Learn what expert Melissa Cohen, LCSW Licensed Clinical Social Worker, has to say about stress and anxiety. Everyone deals with some level of stress from time to time. What signs make it clear that it’s time to get help? Feeling stress and anxiety is normal but they can manifest in different ways for each individual. For some people, it’s time to seek help when your feelings begin to have a negative impact on everyday life and your ability to carry out daily routines or have normal relationships. For others, it is when these thoughts and feelings begin to prevent them from being able to focus and enjoy the important things in life, when their stress and anxiety are the only thing they can focus on, or when their thoughts and feelings begin to interfere with work or school. It can be any one or combination that sparks the need to get help. How can someone spot the differences between stress and anxiety? What are those differences? Stress and anxiety can share some of the same primary physical symptoms, such as, pounding hearts, rapid breathing, dilated pupils and muscle tension. The symptoms vary but can overlap and some people are more susceptible to them than others. Some people stress when making ordinary daily decisions, such as, where to go, what to eat and what to buy and other people thrive and can be highly productive when driven by these forces of pressure. The words are mostly used interchangeably but they are different experiences and you can have one without the other. Stressful feelings include frustration and nervousness and anxious feelings include fear, unease and worry. The key difference is that stress is a reaction to something that is happening now and is triggered by a specific situation. Anxiety is concern about something that may or may not happen in the future. Anxiety is also the stress that continues after the stressor is gone. 35 What can someone expect when they reach out for help from a counselor, psychiatrist, social worker or other professional? Reaching out to someone is not a bad thing. It is probably the healthiest and most positive thing you can do. Pretending that everything is ok is not the answer. It even helps to be proactive. Something does not have to be wrong with you for you to seek help. Therapy can also be for the person who just want to achieve a goal and needs some guidance. You can count on someone to listen and to help you focus on the cause, the feelings associated with the cause and ways to manage and work through it, not against it. Once you locate a therapist, the hardest part is to make the initial phone contact. Once you make the first appointment then you need to show up. Be prepared to tell your story. Most therapists use this time to get to know you and your concerns. Therapists are not there to judge, they are there to listen. Speak about the current issue but don’t forget to tell them what makes you, you. There is some room to talk about the past but you do not need to go into specific details, there will be time for that. Focus on what is most important to you, your current feelings and how long you have had them. If you have questions for the therapist about your goals and plans, don’t be afraid to ask them. Share with the therapist what you want to get out of therapy, how you would like things to be different, what you have done to feel better and if you have talked to anyone else. If you are on medication or have any documents that you feel will be helpful, share them. The therapist will take notes but it is just for their records and they will have to give you a diagnosis, mostly for insurance purposes. However, if they feel it is necessary, they may give you a referral to a psychiatrist for medication. They will also schedule you next appointment. It is important that you find a therapist that you feel comfortable with because you need to be honest with them and yourself. Give it a chance even if you don’t click right away. If you have concerns, discuss them. After your first session, it is common to have many feelings that range from relieved to horrified, peaceful to more anxious, discouraged to hopeful or any combination of these and many more. Make sure that you feel there is a plan in place and that you feel listened to and comfortable. Take an active role in your treatment and don’t put off taking the first step. Therapy is a team effort and you need to come prepared, open and honest. Also, have realistic expectations. Therapy is not a quick fix but a process. It is a tool that can be used to resolve problems. Resources and Tools for Stress Management Each person has different types of stressors. What bothers one person might not bother another. What seems overwhelming to one might be perfectly manageable to another. But when it comes to your particular kind of stress, you know when you feel it – and you know when it’s becoming serious. These stress reduction techniques can help anyone, no matter the situation. Whether you are in a hospital bed awaiting surgery, dealing with a boss who seems to be out to get you, or lonely at college while you await that next test that has you so anxious you can barely study, these tips can ease the worry you are dealing with and help you face the next hurdle with a more centered, calm mind. Relaxation Techniques and Tools Our expert Melissa Cohen, LCSW, has a few tips that can help ease stress. These are her best options for anyone facing a stressful time, including college students, parents, employees, and more. 1. Acknowledge your feelings and keep a journal – not a formal one but one where you can keep notes and thoughts. 2. Prioritize and tackle the easiest things first. This makes the list shorter. 3. Break it down into pieces. Set realistic and manageable goals. 4. Breathe, deeply. 5. Take a break and focus on something else for a while. 36 6.
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Do something that you enjoy – draw, write a letter, cook, or call a friend Workout – go for a run, a walk, or take an exercise class Meditate – just 3‐5 minutes can help change your perspective Think positive, reframe the negative. Visualize a place where you feel calm. Avoiding Stress Wouldn’t it be nice to avoid stress? Fortunately, there are some ways you can make that happen. Though there is no way to completely avoid stress, there are some ways to get a better handle on the things that cause it, how you respond to it, and what it does to you. These techniques can help you avoid stress. 
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KNOW YOUR LIMITATIONS Jumping into something you can’t handle can often leave you with stress and worry. When embarking on something new, know what your limitations are, and never bite off more than you can chew. HAVE A GOOD SUPPORT SYSTEM When life gets tough, having someone to turn to can help. Your support system should include family, friends, and professionals if necessary. UNDERSTAND YOUR TRIGGERS What stresses you out? Learning to avoid things that make you anxious, nervous or worried can be enough to help you live a life filled with less stress. LEARN RELAXATION TECHNIQUES When stress comes calling, being able to relax can help you cope with it. Take the time to learn the techniques that make most sense to you. MANAGE YOUR TIME Plan out your time wisely. This includes any situation, including school, career, or everyday life. Make sure to plan in plenty of downtime, too. LEARN TO SAY NO When you say yes to everything, you eventually become overwhelmed. Make “no” a strong part your vocabulary, and only say yes to things that will be enjoyable for you. EXERCISE Getting active releases hormones that can help you relax, stay calm and cope with life’s stressors. Even a small amount of exercise each day can work wonders. BE MORE ASSERTIVE Learn to stand up for yourself and those around you. Never allow yourself to be bullied, whether it’s by fellow students, coworkers, a boss or anyone else. Stress Don’ts There are very few absolutely certain things in life. But when it comes to stress, there are a few things that are simply destined to cause it. These stressors are serious for anyone who deals with them, and they can lead down a road that brings the worst stress you can imagine. If you are dealing with any of these issues, getting help right away – right now – is the only appropriate response. 1. SUBSTANCE ABUSE Though turning to drugs and alcohol might seem to relieve stress in the short term, it is a recipe for disaster. The negative problems that quickly result will turn your future into a nightmare. 2. ADDICTION Any sort of addiction can quickly spiral into something you can’t handle. Avoid anything that might seem to be an addictive trigger for you, including substances, gambling, and the like. 3. ABUSE OF ANY KIND If you are being abused by anyone, in any way, get help right now before it gets worse. Emotional, verbal, physical, sexual abuse – as well as other types – can send your stress levels off the charts. 4. ISOLATION When you are feeling isolated for whatever reason, stress builds up to the breaking point. If you are suffering alone, without a support group or support system to help you, it’s time to reach out. It might be tough, but there are people just like you who can benefit from the discussions you could have. 37 Good Stress/Bad Stress Remember that not all stress is bad for you. Sometimes it’s a very good thing. Stress can push you to succeed in areas that you believed were off‐limits to you. It can propel you to do things that turn out to be great adventures. It can spur you to study harder, work longer hours, focus more on the things that matter, and take your good health into your own hands. Stress can also have a very clear‐cut purpose if you are ever in a dangerous situation. The “fight or flight” response is a very important biological urge that is designed to lead us out of harm’s way. For instance, the urge to run when someone begins chasing you, or the instinctual need to fight back when you are confronted with a dangerous situation are both a result of this stress response. In that way, stress is a good thing, because it keeps you safe. Healthy stress might make you feel anxious or worried for a time. Imagine the stress you feel when taking that big test, the one that your final grade is riding on. The stress might be tough, but it spurs you to study more, and that can drive you to a higher grade. Or imagine the worry you feel when you are struggling with a relationship issue. The worry doesn’t feel good, but it leads you to talk things through more often, and that can lead to a better place in the relationship than what you experienced before the stress took hold. So before you discount stress as being a terrible thing, think of times when it spurred you on to greater things. It might help you put stress in perspective the next time you feel overwhelmed by it. Anxiety Worry. Apprehension. Fearing the worst. Anxiety is all of these things and more. When you are constantly feeling on edge and worried about something, you are probably suffering from anxiety. Here’s the rundown of what it really is: 
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What is it?
o Anxiety is a general term that can cover several different types of disorders. All of them have
nervousness, worry, fear, and apprehension in common. Sometimes the feelings can be overwhelming
enough to manifest physical symptoms.
Why does it happen?
o Anxiety is considered a mental illness. It happens when someone is faced with a situation that
overwhelms them. Those who have anxiety disorders might even have difficulty living a normal life.
Is it hereditary?
o Some studies say that certain individuals are predisposed to anxiety disorders due to their genetic code;
however, other studies say there is no hereditary link at all.
What are the physical symptoms?
o Those with anxiety might suffer physical manifestations of their worry, including a rapid heartbeat,
sweating, problems with sleep, an inability to concentrate, shortness of breath, fidgeting, fatigue, and
the like. Anxiety is not stress, though the two terms are often used interchangeably. Stress is something
that is usually transient and can be remedied; anxiety might be a constant, unrelenting sensation that
requires intervention from a professional in order to solve.
HOW IS ANXIETY RELATED TO STRESS? When it comes to stress, we know exactly where it is coming from: That deadline, the decline of a relationship, the argument with the boss at work. Anxiety is much harder to pinpoint, and can be a constellation of problems that seem to build up at the same time. Then the physical problems begin to set in. According to Melissa Cohen, LCSW, anxiety takes on a life of its own. “We are less aware of what we are anxious about and the reaction we have becomes the actual problem,” she said. “We get anxious when we keep thinking about the same thing over and over. We develop a sense of uneasiness and since we don’t want to forget, we fixate. Mild anxiety can actually be a positive experience for some but when it is prolonged and happens in the absence of a stressful event or begins to interfere with normal life, it needs to be addressed.” 38 A Few Notes on Anxiety Disorders There are several anxiety disorders recognized by mental health professionals. The most common of these include: 1. PANIC DISORDER The sudden escalation of physical symptoms can be distressing, to say the least. It might include feelings of terror, including the certainty that death is imminent. Panic disorder might include a feeling of suffocation, chest pain, sweating, or fear that is so intense it makes you feel as though you are going “crazy.” 2. SOCIAL ANXIETY DISORDER This is an intense fear of social situations, or any situation in which you could be judged by others. It might include something as intense as being unable to go out on a date with someone new, or something as simple as being afraid to answer the phone. 3. GENERALIZED ANXIETY DISORDER This disorder includes a feeling of perpetual dread, worry, and fear that doesn’t seem to have any true basis. You might be afraid or worried about almost anything in life, whether it is something that should cause stress or not. 4. SPECIFIC PHOBIAS Fear of enclosed spaces, heights, flying, stairs, or even certain foods can be considered a phobia, especially if the problem interferes with your everyday life – for example, if you are so afraid of stairs that you refuse to climb them, your everyday life is affected every time you go to a public place. When it comes to specific anxiety disorders, it’s time to talk to your doctor about how to treat the problem. These disorders rarely go away on their own, so it is always necessary to seek out medical help and professional advice. Tools for Anxiety Management 1. When you are suffering from anxiety, professional help is always recommended. But what you can you do in between visits with your therapist or counselor? What can you do if the anxiety becomes overwhelming? There are ways that you can bring the anxiety back under control. These tips and tools might help. 2. KEEP YOURSELF BUSY. One of the best ways to ease anxiety is to not think about it. How do you do that? By staying as busy as you can. The more you are moving and doing things, the less likely you will have time to dwell on what is bothering you. TURN TO NATURAL REMEDIES. Natural remedies, such as lavender aromatherapy or chamomile tea, have been proven to help relieve stress and anxiety. These natural remedies should always be used properly – ask your doctor if they will be okay to take along with any medications you might be on. 3. GET PHYSICAL. Working out anxiety with a lot of sweat works for some. Hit the gym and hit it hard – the more you work out, the more good hormones are released. You might also sleep better, have better digestion, and feel better overall. 4. TALK IT OUT. When you can’t take one more minute of what is going on inside your head, it’s time to talk to someone else. Discuss what is bothering you. If you don’t want to talk to someone at that moment, write it all down on a piece of paper. 5. WALK AWAY FROM THINGS THAT BOTHER YOU. Does watching the news make you anxious? Turn off the television. Does talking to a particular person make you feel nervous? Avoid them. Does your chest get tight when you think about that big test? Do what it takes to move your mind to something else. Mindfulness Mindfulness Being mindful of the things that are happening and the world around you can help you cope with many things in life, including stress and anxiety. Though there are many definitions for mindfulness, the general idea is the same: It is a mental state that is focused on the moment, staying calm, and accepting and acknowledging how you feel, the sensations around you, the thoughts that come into your head, and the other things in your internal and external environment. By “being in the moment” and embracing it, you can reduce or relieve stress and anxiety. In fact, mindfulness can work so well for some that it becomes a way of life, one that leads to a much better day‐to‐day existence. 39 What is it in relation to anxiety and stress? Mindfulness has been proven to reduce stress and anxiety, and in some cases, actually prevent it from happening in the first place. Not only does mindfulness pull you out of your own head and help you see the bigger picture, it can reduce physical stressors that might make your mental state feel even worse. By focusing on the present, you are not dwelling on the mistakes of the past, nor are you overwhelmed by thoughts of the future. You are focused on the here and now, and that can allow your subconscious to work on the things that are bothering you. How can you approach mindfulness? Starting a routine of mindfulness can be tough, especially when you are entrenched in a fast‐paced world. But it is definitely worth a shot. Start by setting aside some time to focus on the here and now. This means choosing a quiet spot where you will not be disturbed, and where distractions are at a minimum. Focus on every aspect of your body, one at a time, starting with your breathing. Move up from your toes, focusing in the sensations you feel in every part of yourself, until you reach your head. What thoughts are there? What are you feeling at the moment? Just acknowledge those things, breathe in deep, but do nothing about them. The goal is to live in the moment, not look for solutions. You can indulge in this during other times as well. For instance, while eating a meal, focus strongly on the flavors and textures as they move over your tongue. Focus on your breathing, the smells of the food, the motion of swallowing it. Try to be as deeply in that moment as you can be, and fill up your senses with what you find there. Mindfulness Tips and Techniques Ready to try it? These tips can help you get on track. 
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MEDITATE. Let your thoughts go where they may, but don’t pay much attention to them. The goal is to listen to the quiet inside you. LISTEN TO YOUR BODY. What is it saying? Focus on the sensations you are feeling, including the stressful ones. Then take a deep breath and envision letting them go into the world, outside of you. LET THOUGHTS GO. Do the same thing with your thoughts. Acknowledge what comes into your mind (“yes, I am scared”), and then let it float away while you move on to something else. RUN THROUGH THE SENSORY GAMUT. Focus on your body again, and what it feels at every point. Are your feet warm? Is your hand tingling? Focus strongly on the sensation, acknowledge it, and then go to another body part. Get in touch with you. CLENCH AND RELEASE. Still feel tense? Starting at your toes, clench a body part one at a time. Hold the clench for a few seconds. Then slowly release while exhaling. Go up your body, working every muscle group, until you are at the top of your head. Then do it again if you need more relaxation. TRY AGAIN. Mindfulness can be tough to learn. If you don’t seem to “get it” the first time, keep trying. Mindfulness is different for everyone, and it will take some time for you to figure out what it means for you. Mindfulness resources: The Free Mindfulness Project http://www.learnpsychology.org/student‐stress‐anxiety‐guide/ 40 Article #11: PRACTICE TESTING IS ONE OF THE MOST EFFECTIVE STUDY TECHNIQUES, STUDY SAYS A team of cognitive and educational psychologists recently reviewed all the evidence on 10 popular study techniques to answer this question. According to the study in Psychological Science in the Public Interest, students and teachers often use study techniques that are not very effective and should make far greater use of study techniques that have a greater impact on learning. The 10 techniques reviewed in this study are: Summarization, highlighting, keyword mnemonic, practice testing, imagery use for text learning, rereading, distributed practice, elaborative interrogation, self‐explanation and interleaved practice. The most effective study techniques across a range of learning conditions were practice testing and distributed practice, the researchers report. Students often cram before a test, but the research shows distributed practice, studying over many sessions, results in better long‐term retention, the researchers write. And, while most students see testing as an undesirable necessity of education, the fact is that testing also improves learning. Practice testing may work through a number of mechanisms. When students retrieve target information their related knowledge is activated. Practice testing may also help students organize information. “One concern here is that students who do well in earlier grades, in which learning is largely supervised, may struggle later, when they are expected to regulate much of their own learning, such as in high school or college,” write the researchers. “Teaching students to use these techniques would not take much time away from teaching content and would likely be most beneficial if the use of the techniques was consistently taught across multiple content areas, so that students could broadly experience their effects on learning and class grades.” High‐utility techniques Practice testing with feedback consistently outperformed practice testing alone, according to the researchers. Providing feedback when students respond incorrectly prevents perseveration of errors. Fortunately, students do not need to get immediate feedback for this corrective effect. In one study, final test performance was actually better when feedback was delayed. Many textbooks do not encourage distributed learning. Related material is often grouped together and subsequent units do not review previously covered material. Educators can encourage distributed learning and discourage cramming with more frequent testing. Students often will not engage in distributed study unless the situation forces them to do so. Teachers can also better educate students about the reasons for and benefits of distributed practice. What are the ideal lags between study sessions? Most studies have used relatively short intervals, less than a day. However, according to the study, the answer is not just longer intervals. One study of people’s learning of trivia facts on the Internet found that the ideal lag between study sessions was approximately 10‐20% of the desired retention interval. For example, to remember something for 1 week, learning episodes should be spaced 12‐24 hours apart and to remember something for 5 years, they should be spaced 6‐12 months apart. Of course, when students are preparing for exams, they can’t space their learning sessions that far apart, but the longest intervals possible (e.g. intervals of 1 month or more) may be ideal for studying content that needs to be retained for a long time. 41 For this study, researchers reviewed the evidence for each of the 10 learning techniques and considered generalizability of results based on the learning conditions, materials, student characteristics and criterion tasks in the studies. The researchers then rated utility of each learning technique as low, moderate or high. Moderate‐utility techniques Five techniques in the study were rated as low utility: summarization, highlighting, keyword mnemonic, imagery use for text learning and rereading. Three techniques were rated as moderate utility: elaborative interrogation, self‐explanation and interleaved practice. In elaborative interrogation, teachers ask students to provide explanations for explicitly stated facts (e.g. The hungry man got into the car. Why did the hungry man get into the car? The hungry man got into the car to go to the restaurant). Elaborative interrogation takes little training but it is limited to discrete factual statements. With longer texts, effect on learning is diluted if teacher poses questions infrequently, such as every 1‐2 pages. Researchers rated this technique as having moderate utility not only because it may not be that useful with lengthy or more complex texts but it also seems to largely benefit students with low levels of domain knowledge, researchers write. There is solid evidence that it is effective for short‐term learning, but it is unclear if it is effective for long‐term retention. In self‐explanation, students explain some aspect of their processing during learning. Like elaborative interrogation, self‐
explanation may enhance learning by supporting the integration of new information with existing prior knowledge. Self‐
explanation facilitates problem‐solving and helps students overcome misconceptions. For this study, researchers reviewed studies using prompts that were relatively content‐free. While this technique’s strength is that it can be used across different content materials and age groups, one issue with self‐explanation is that some students may require more instruction to be successful with it. Another issue is that self‐
explanation can be time‐consuming and that the increased time on task may account for some of the benefits. Many fewer studies have focused on interleaved practice than the other techniques researchers examined in this study. In virtually every class at every grade level, students need to learn about many different subtopics in a content area, the researchers write. Most students may study or practice in blocks, studying one type of material or problem before moving on to the next. However, recent research indicates interleaved practice, in which students alternate their practice or study of different problems, subtopics or material, produces superior results for learning, especially in math. Interleaved practice may enhance organizational processing and item‐specific processing by allowing students to more readily compare different kinds of problems. When students work on similar problems in one block, they rely on working memory, while interleaved practice requires distributed retrieval from long‐term memory, the researchers write. Low‐utility techniques The researchers rated the following techniques as low‐utility for the following reasons: Summarization—Summarization is feasible for learners who already know how to summarize and less so for younger students (middle school and below) and students with disabilities, according to the researchers. It also may require extensive training for some students. Highlighting—Highlighting seems to do little to boost performance and may actually hurt performance on higher‐level tasks that require inference making. Most students do not highlight effectively and highlight too much material so that the major points get lost, according to the researchers. Keyword mnemonic—The effort involved in using this technique, i.e. generating keywords may not be the most efficient use of time given that retrieval practice benefits retention as much as the keyword mnemonic. Surprisingly, use of 42 keyword mnemonic leads to accelerated forgetting since students may have difficulty remembering which word the image is supposed to trigger. Imagery use for text learning—Visualizing text can improve students’ learning of text materials. However, the benefits of imagery are largely limited to image‐friendly materials and this technique has only been shown to be effective in tests of memory. Further research is needed. Rereading—This technique is one that students most frequently report using during self‐regulated study. Some studies have reported that 18% of students reread entire chapters and another 62% reread parts of the material. However, rereading lags behind the other techniques in this study in terms of research showing its effectiveness. Most of the effects have been shown with recall‐based memory measures and the benefit for comprehension is unclear. It may also depend on other student characteristics such as knowledge or ability. The major implication of this study is that teachers and students should make greater use of study techniques to increase learning. Students often favor fairly ineffective strategies (rereading, highlighting) and should be educated about high‐impact techniques such as practice testing and distributed practice. Students can begin to learn about the use of these techniques beginning in the upper elementary grades. Teachers can easily integrate techniques in homework assignments and in class. “Improving Students’ Learning With Effective Learning Techniques: Promising Directions From Cognitive and Educational Psychology,” by John Dunlosky, Daniel Willingham et al., Psychological Science in the Public Interest, 2013, Volume 14, number 1, pps. 4‐58. http://www.ernweb.com/educational‐research‐articles/learning‐techniques‐effective‐study/ AP WORLD HISTORY COURSE FRAMEWORK – summarize in notes 1. Click on the following link and open the pdf that is the course description and framework for AP World History. This is everything for the course. The themes, skills, content, rubrics, and exam info. You should save this PDF to your main computer and/or your device you will be bringing to school with you. https://secure‐
media.collegeboard.org/digitalServices/pdf/ap/ap‐world‐history‐course‐and‐exam‐description.pdf 2. Just read the pages listed for each section for example, for Theme 1 just read pg. 12. 3. Read the section on Historical Thinking Skills (pgs. 7‐9) and summarize the skills. 4. Read the intro pages for each of the Historical Themes and summarize the themes.  Theme 1 (pg. 12), Theme 2 (pg. 15), Theme 3 (pg. 19), Theme 4 (pg. 25), & Theme 5 (pg. 30) 5. Summarize the 6 periods (units) of AP WH and give their dates and summarize what happens in that period  Period 1 (pg.37), Period 2 (pg.44), Period 3 (pg.55), Period 4 (pg.66), Period 5 (pg.78), Period 6 (pg.93) 43