Here are some online seminars that USU has put together to help you achieve success in the classroom:

• The Power of Positive Thinking
• The Power of Positive Thinking part 2
  
• The Academic Resource Center has many resources to help you be a better student.
• There are a lot of websites full of study tips and test-taking strategies. Some of the most popular include studytips.org, how-to-study.com, and study guides and strategies. You can even print out a variety of Idea SheetsVARK assessment to see what type of learning style works best for you.

Great Advice From Fellow Students (feel free to add to this list)

1. I was very nervous about the test but glad it went okay. I am not sure what I did differently than other students to help prepare for it. I did have a study group a couple times a week (we met for one hour twice a week). I think that it helped to talk about the concepts together. Especially the concepts that we had each had OH! moments to in our own personal study time. We each had come to understand separate individual concepts and it was very helpful to bring the best parts of each of our understandings together. Also, noticing how things tied together amplified our understanding as well. I did study the notes thoroughly... and my family has not eaten for the last week either...
2. Know well what it is you are reading
   • When you look at a question and can't understand it or deduct from it a reasonable answer, then you're not quite understanding the material
   • I admit I didn't understand the questions because I didn't understand the content fully. I knew only part of the content so of course I should have only got what I did on the test.
   • You can't go and memorize the questions; how good is it to just memorize it if you can't recall what the question actually meant? I try to understand it in my own terms, asking questions to myself and to others
   • I might not ask a lot in school, but do ask a lot with the people I work with--I love to gain their knowledge and experience.
   • I also like to do the end of the chapter tests so I can see what I have learned from lecture and what I read so I can see what I have retained and what I need to continue to try and understand and what questions I need to ask.
   • I also like to study in a comfortable place--nothing too cozy nothing too uncomfortable, but I find sitting in my truck by the river with my own thoughts are good.
   • I am not the smartest nor am I simpleton but I strive for success and knowledge is the key and asking questions is the answer! Speak up even if you are not sure whether you are right or wrong; you'll be surprised how two minds are better then one, and don't presume to know all the answers because you will learn something new each day.
   • Oh and remember to breathe and relax, tension causes the mind to suddenly have a memory block and you begin to panic and that's when things go wrong and errors happen the most.

6. A few things I found very helpful (from a student): 1) memorizing the Latin roots at the back of the book, 2) making my own flash cards. The act of writing all the info down and being able to take it wherever I went helped a bunch, 3) taking all the practice quizzes on the books web-site. You have to know the material to be able to answer those questions from the difficult Multiple choice, 4) Listening to certain lectures over again, 5) Lots of study time.
7. (suggestion copied from an anatomy/physiology discussion board): One of the most important things for you to do is develop good study habits & skills.There are many strategies available.They aren't all applicable to every individual. You will have to experiment to find which methods work best for you.I suggest that you begin by designating a quiet, comfortable place as your "study space". Eliminate ALL distractions. Turn the phones, TV, radio, etc. OFF. Have EVERYTHING that you need to study within arms reach, including text, lab manual, notes, handouts, flashcards, pens/pencils, paper, snack.....The ONLY reason that you should have to get up is to go to the bathroom. Invest in one of those "port-o-potties" at the local RV dealership and you won't even have to do that. READ your textbook, section by section, and take notes on them as you progress. As you begin, make a list of the key terms and define them. Keep that list handy as you read. It is difficult to understand concepts if you do not understand the terminology and the definitions. You have to disrupt the flow of information in order to look up words and meanings. After you have read and taken notes, go back and read the entire chapter from beginning to end. This will help you"connect the dots" and see how the concepts relate to one another.
8. I like to go to http://www.youtube.com/ and do a simple search for a section of the body, a body part, a muscle, a nerve, or body system, such as the circulatory system for example. I have been able to find every video I have searched for. I love watching the videos because I`m able to see a good dissection of what I`m searching for or a diagram. I like hearing the narration to the videos, so I can learn visually and hear it as well.

Some advice from other instructors, TAs, etc:

• If your philosophy is I want an A, then you will at least need to do the following: Know 100% of the material. Be able to think about the material and understand how ideas, terms, and concepts inter-relate. If you feel that you could teach these ideas to others you are probably on the right track. You must look at this goal as a challenge that is obtainable but requires effort. You will probably have to work harder than you have in other courses. These students have read ahead in the lecture notes and come to class with questions instead of no understanding of the topic. They employ good study and test taking strategies.
• If you do not understand the vocabulary, you will fall into a pit of deepening confusion. Just memorizing the material will not be enough to succeed on tests—you must understand and be able to use the language. Maintain a list of unfamiliar words—perhaps in a notebook, or on flash cards. Skim the notes before class and highlight all unfamiliar words. Then pay attention to those words in class. If you don’t understand a word or concept after it is defined, immediately ask a question to clarify. Another great tool for vocabularly is to do a “define:” search on Google. For example, typing define: mitochondria would return short definitions of mitochondria from across the web, as seen here, rather than a list of websites. Don’t forget to type “define:” (with a colon) before the word of interest.
• Use Wikipedia and other sources rather than just studying from a single source.
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