students studyingThe Student Succes Centre offers tips for exam prep.

Program offers seven ways to study smarter during final exams

With the approach of final exams, Christina Alcena of the Student Success Centre offers study tips to help prepare for the workload.

Transitions services intern for Student Development and Support, she encourages students to connect with the University of Windsor’s Skills to Enhance Personal Success (STEPS) program, which offers a Study and Learning Skills Board on Pinterest.

Among her suggestions:

  1. Manage your time. Set dates and times for studying. Consider using the Weekly Time Management Handout offered online by STEPS.
  2. Commit to a schedule. Scheduling time to study concepts, review, and check for comprehension is important. Getting a reliable friend to help with this will make attending these study sessions more likely.
  3. Make the material more approachable. Make sure your study material is broken down into smaller parts.
  4. Ask for assistance. Ask for help from professors or teaching assistants sooner rather than later. Students may also purchase a STEPS membership and meet with a member of the Student Success Centre staff to book a learning strategies appointment.
  5. Check for comprehension. Think of additional examples that were not given in class to check for comprehension.
  6. Make the material more relatable. Think about how what you’re studying relates or applies to your future career or your current professional or volunteer experience.
  7. Reward yourself. Schedule something to look forward to after your exams are completed.

STEPS workshops are complete for Fall 2014, but Alcena encourages students to consider them for next semester.

“We offer daily session to introduce practical methods that can help students improve their learning and study skills across disciplines,” she says.

The schedule for workshops in Winter 2015 is now available online. For more information about the STEPS. program, contact Alcena at christina@uwindsor.ca.

—Siri Gauthier