3 Last-Minute Study Techniques for AP Exams

3 Last-Minute Study Techniques for AP Exams With AP exam dates quickly approaching, it can feel like crunch-time. Instead of frantically trying to absorb information while studying, enlist strategies that will help you more effectively use your remaining prep time. Here are three last-minute study techniques for AP exams that can help you achieve test day success: 1. Create an AP exam study guide Writing your own study guide for an AP exam is a productive exercise. If you have received a guide from your teacher, use it as a model for your own. If you havent received one, start from scratch. Make your own AP exam study guide by: Listing key terms and definitions Writing out important formulas, or drawing visual aids and diagrams Taking notes on crucial concepts and ideas. This will give you agency as the test-taker and help you more effectively grasp material. Creating a study guide will also help you find gaps in your knowledge. This is especially helpful if that gap is a concept you know will be on the test. [RELATED: Top Tips for AP Exam Week] 2. Organize your notes and other class materials prior to your AP exam Another helpful strategy is to go through your notes and other class materials, including handouts, in-class or homework assignments, and readings. One way to begin is to organize your notes chronologically, or to group them by concept. Outline essential concepts, and dont be afraid to annotate your notes or to jot down key words on a separate sheet of paper. You might try color-coding your notes, using highlighters or colored pencils. This will help you visually group information and focus on whats important. [RELATED: 4 Myths About AP Prep] 3. Take a practice test when preparing for your AP exam Practice tests can help you understand the format of the exam and illustrate tested concepts. You can go to the library to check out a practice test book, or ask your teacher if he or she knows where you could find sample exams. You can also look online for sample questions. Remember to abide by the time limit when youre taking practice tests, and read through the answer key to understand the questions you missed. [RELATED: How are AP Exams Scored?] AP exams can be stressful, and they are often held on back-to-back days. Remember to take quick breaks during your study sessions, and pace yourself as much as possible. Lastly, have a balanced meal and a good nights sleep to keep your brain fresh and alert. Any topics you want to know more about? Let us know! The Varsity Tutors Blog editors love hearing your feedback and opinions. Feel free to email us at blog@varsitytutors.com.

Using Technology To Engage Students

Using Technology To Engage Students Falling asleep in class, theres the hooded sweatshirt pulled over the head, hide your eyes as you rest your head on your hand or the-Im-just-going-to-hope-teacher-doesnt-see-me approach, is something that just happens at times, despite actual effort or interest. However, teachers are wising up and using new ploys to catch and wake up students, ploys more effective than the if-you-sleep-or-daydream-I-will-catch-you ploy. Teachers, in attempts to keep students awake, paying attention and engaged in their classes, are now armed with technology. Professors and teachers are now giving their students small hand-held devices called clickers that resemble TV remotes to monitor their students attention spans and quiz them, according to an article in The New York Times. Each clicker has a series of numbered buttons on it, and every 15 minutes or so a professor will give short quizzes that correlate with the current lecture, requiring students to first be paying attention and second push one of the buttons to correctly answer the quiz question. Heres how it works: John Jacobs Jr. is sitting in his 8 am Economics 101 class. Mr. Jacobs Jr. had a late night last night, staying up studying for other tests. Mr. Jacobs Jr. is growing increasingly more tired as Professor Dr. Preston Hulcuth is lecturing on supply and demand correlations and how they relate to the world of micro economics. Mr. Jacobs begins to nod off in the back row of class as Dr. Hulcuth periodically quizzes his students using the clickers. Dr. Hulcuth, stuck on supply and demand curves, announces a sudden quiz that will count toward each students grade. He asks, True or false, generally speaking, price and demand are inversely related meaning as one increases the other decreases and vice versa. Press the button labeled one for true and button two for false. Then students who are awake and paying attention would press button number one, correctly answering the question as true. However, John Jacobs Jr., and other students who are not paying attention, will incorrectly answer the question or sleep through it, getting points off their final grades. Professors can also ask multiple choice questions with the clickers and take attendance. Students can push a button on their clickers to inform the professor that they are confused about something in the lecture or provide other information. Northwestern, Harvard, Ohio State and other universities have already implemented these clickers into classes, asking students to answer quiz questions and provide feedback every 15 minutes, keeping them paying attention and engaged in classes. Administrators also hope that these devices will keep students off their cell phones and other gadgets during classes. Early studies at Harvard and Ohio State suggested that using these devices or other gadgets (making iPads and BlackBerrys, etc into class-ready clickers) increases students learning of new material. Professors can then display students responses to questions and the feedback they give on overhead monitors at the front of classrooms. Some students feel that these products unnecessarily monitor students in a big-brother fashion; however, others enjoy the increased interactions with professors.