A college education is all about opening minds. Even when I am presented with two open pathways for growth, the possibility that a life-changing experience lies behind the red door dictates that I open it as well, right?
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Tag: study habits
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Open that Door?
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Multitasking – Bad for the Brain?
The question is not whether we multitask (we all do), but how much do we do and what effect does it have on us? Is switching quickly from email to homework problem to text message to Facebook to YouTube to homework problem just another way of being efficient, or does it have more dire consequences?
The first-ever study of chronic multitaskers was published back in 2009. A team at Stanford gathered 41 subjects. HEAVIES were identified as heavy multitaskers based on the large amount of multitasking they reported doing each day. The other 22 subjects were identified as LIGHTS or light multitaskers because they spent significantly less time each day multitasking.
Once the subjects had been ranked in this way, their ability to process information was tested. But before I give you the results, let me give you a chance to guess the outcomes.
- Which group, HEAVIES or LIGHTS, would you expect to be better at filtering out relevant information from a background of information?
- Which group, HEAVIES or LIGHTS, would you expect to be better at filtering relevant information in their memories?
- Which group, HEAVIES or LIGHTS, would you expect to be better at switching rapidly from one cognitive task to another?
- Which group, HEAVIES or LIGHTS, believes it is better at multitasking?
Vote, then check out the results.
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Dealing with distractions
Can I get your attention for a sec? Just a sec. I know you’re really here to do some o cheming, but just hang on to that thought for a moment and take a quick look at this:
Maybe worth a chuckle, but see my point? See how far you are from whatever brought you here? The mind naturally drifts, gets stuck, drifts. What’s unnatural is sitting still for 30 minutes to study o chem, write a paper, learn a part for the spring play. But that unnatural activity is a big part of the job description for a Reed College student: “will sit still and focus for up to 30 minutes at a time and repeat.” Expect more posts on the unending war between study and distraction. I’ll tag them “distraction” and/or “study habits”.
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Anticrastination anyone?
Procrastination is a problem. I have trouble dealing with it. Everyone that I know suffers from it. (Actually, “suffers” is the wrong word; “complains” would be more accurate. Procrastination can be a good thing, but if you find yourself complaining about not getting around to things, you have a problem.)
How do I procrastinate? Two ways. First, I don’t do things that I need to do. Second, I siphon my time into other things that don’t help at all. So what can I do? Fight back. Become an Anticrastinator.
Today’s At Reed describes two computer programs, Freedom and Anti-Social (no joke!) that can help you anticrastinate more effectively. These programs won’t make you do the stuff you ought to do, but they can keep you away highly distracting time siphons.
You might also be interested in signing up for one of the anticrastination workshops offered by Student Services. The complete schedule of academic workshops is posted here; RSVP encouraged, but drop-ins are welcome.
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New Homework Signals New Direction
I have just posted a new homework assignment: HW #6. You can download it from the homework page.
This assignment signals a switch from an emphasis on modeling to an emphasis on chemical transformations. It is essential at this point that you adjust your study techniques so that you learn about transformations from several angles:
- knowing what to expect from certain reactions (fill in the product)
- knowing how to bring certain transformations about (fill in the reagent)
- knowing how to produce desired materials (fill in the starting material + plan a synthesis)
- knowing how to rationalize why things are the way they are (draw a plausible mechanism).
I hope that the new direction in homework assignments will encourage you in this.
A Study Guide and Solutions Manual essay that is particularly worthwhile: 5.2 How to Study Organic Reactions (p. 70). I hope you will incorporate the suggestions that this essay makes into your study habits. Some other valuable essays:
- 5.3 Solving Structure Problems (p. 74)
- 11.1 Learning New Reactions from Earlier Reactions (p. 211)
- 11.2 Common Intermediates from Different Starting Materials (p. 211).
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Contemplating the rest of the semester
Exam #2 has been graded. Scores are based on a 100-point scale just like the first exam and are written in a box on the last page of the exam.
You can pick up your exam from Kathy Kennedy on Wednesday of Fall Break, or from Alan on Thursday and Friday of Fall Break.
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