Workshop: Make Better Flash Cards

http://www.learningscientists.org/blog/2016/6/23-1

Workshop: The Five Minute Oh Crap Scenario (Short Stack Strategies)

Half of this has nothing to do with studying, and more to do with being real with yourself about how long it takes you to do things.

Step One: Understand how long it takes you to do things.

Step Two: Reliably budget that much time to secure an A grade at that task.

Now turn this knowledge and use it against a vocabulary list. My junior class gets 45 words and has three weeks per cycle to effectively memorize 45 definitions. With three weeks to get the job done, the teacher point of view says that short of a catastrophic injury or illness, everyone should be getting an A three weeks later. History shows that procrastination and poor planning claim their victims every vocabulary cycle.

Scenario: You walk into class and have the sudden realization that today is the vocabulary test and you are walking in unprepared. There are approximately five minutes left until the order comes to put all notes and flash cards away. How do you best prepare with only five minutes of time on the clock?

Workshop: Ambient Noise and Designing the Ideal Soundscape for Studying and Productivity

There is no one best way to design a productivity soundscape and every student will need to experiment before finding their own individual preferences. Some households are noisy. Kids running around. Parents working night shifts and getting ready for work at unusual hours. Radio and television blaring at all hours. It can be difficult sometimes to shut it all out and focus on classwork for a few hours.

One study suggests that too much noise is a problem, but total silence is also not the best option. For effective study, you need the right amount of noise, and the right kind of noise.

• Journal Article: Is Noise Always Bad? - Exploring the Effects of Ambient Noise on Creative Cognition (2012)
  • "Results from five experiments demonstrate that a moderate (70 dB) versus low (50 dB) level of ambient noise enhances performance on creative tasks and increases the buying likelihood of innovative products. A high level of noise (85 dB), on the other hand, hurts creativity."
  • “A moderate level of noise enhances creativity compared to both low and high levels of noise. Moderate background noise induces distraction which encourages individuals to think at a higher, abstract level, and consequently exhibit higher creativity.”
• https://qz.com/work/1573440/why-music-affects-your-productivity/

One option to experiment with is ambient noise generators. Websites that create your ideal mix of the right kind of noise. Sound that your conscious mind won't pay attention to while your unconscious mind stays stimulated. Below are four ambient noise generators that can get the job done in order of my preference. I want a one-screen easy-to-use interface in which every noise is adjustable. Some of the pay versions might work better than the free versions, and the mobile version might be better than the web version. http://asoftmurmur.com/ is my current #1 recommendation for free web-based ambient noise. During one of our vocabulary study sessions we will have several of these ambient noise generators available for students to experiment with.

1. http://asoftmurmur.com/ - Ten sound options with sliders.
2. http://rainycafe.com/ - Just rain and cafe sounds with sliders. Don't need anything else.
3. http://defonic.com/ - Twenty-one sound options with sliders. Doesn't fit on one screen. Day and night screen modes.
4. https://www.noisli.com/ - Sixteen sound options with sliders. Doesn't fit on one screen. Has white, pink, and blue noise.