Passive rereading.
Running your eyes over a passage again and again does not help you learn it. Frequently pause and review in your mind what you just read. Recall is what makes memories strong.
Letting highlights overwhelm you.
Highlighting can fool your mind into thinking you are putting something in your brain. Some flagging of important points can be helpful but it is better to write into your notes. Writing notes with your hand helps more than typing.
Merely glancing at a problem’s solution and thinking you know how to do it.
Do not jump to looking at, or watching problem solutions until after you try to solve it yourself.
Waiting until the last minute to study.
How would you practice for a track meet? Work out only the day before the meet. It takes time in days to learn this material, not hours. 10 or fifteen minutes a day can fit into a very busy schedule. This is best before bedtime so your brain can work while you sleep.
Repeatedly solving problems of the same type that you already know how to solve.
Keep challenging yourself with some new material. Some review problems are useful, but do not review things you already know well to often.
Letting study sessions with friends turn into chat sessions.
Study sessions for homework can be helpful. A good scenario is to have a partner. Both individually solve problems then compare answers. If your answers differ, try again. If they still differ, get together and work out the details. Study sessions are not social events, keep to the task at hand.
Neglecting to read the textbook before you start working problems.
Understanding the concepts in this course is very important. First learn the concepts by reading or watching the lecture before reading or watching sample problems. It is not being solving homework or quiz problems that is important in this course, but learning how to problem solve.
Not checking with your instructors or classmates to clear up points of confusion.
If there is something you do not quite understand or are stuck on a practice problem use the Student Forum or Online Office to ask for explanations. Chances are good if you do not quite get a topic someone else could also have trouble. You can also use email or office hours to phone/Zoom your instructor.
Thinking you can learn deeply when you are constantly distracted.
Deep learning requires focus. Set aside 25 minute work sessions without even minor interruptions. For focus mode “Chunk” building this is very important. Diffuse mode can have interruptions though.
Not getting enough sleep.
You need rest and sleep. Spending time with family and friends is also very important. It is rare for a person at the end of their life saying “I wish I spent more time working”. While “I wish I spent more time with my family” is far too common.
Revised from Oakley, B., (2014) A Mind for Numbers, How to Excel at Math and Science (Even If you Flunked Algebra), Penguin Random House, LLc. pp 257-260
