Imagine that one of your best friends is struggling with his classes. He aspires to graduate in exercise science and go on to earn a degree in occupational therapy, but he failed his first two psychology exams. He's feeling nervous about his performance and comes to you for advice.

During your discussion, you learn that:

• he gets easily frustrated while working on psychology problems after approaching them the way he has always approached problems in his other classes;
• he is sleeping less than five hours a night;
• he works on psychology homework every Tuesday and Thursday night, but not on other days;
• he always keeps his phone on vibrate to check if he gets messages while he studies;
• he usually studies by re-reading the chapter;
• he pulls all-nighters before exams.

Based on this conversation, write an email to your friend explaining to him why his studying habits are ineffective and what steps he might take to improve his learning. Include at least 3 concepts from the course materials in your post. Include appropriate vocabulary from this module on memory and problem-solving. Be sure to cite your textbook or the videos in your response.

 

 

Below is the student's response. need help on how to respond to their posts. 

 

Discussion 1: 

 

Dear Colleague,

I realise you're struggling with your psychology tests. Following our talk, I found a few areas where you may enhance your study habits. To begin, your method of learning appears to be producing intentional interruption. This happens when previous information gets in the way of learning new information. You're attempting to approach psychology difficulties in the same manner that you address problems in other subjects, which may not be helpful. Rather of just memorising psychological ideas, try to comprehend their semantics. Second, your sleep routine may be interfering with your memory. According to the dual process theory of memory, memory development involves both conscious and unconscious processes. Sleep is essential for unconscious processing. Another thing I noticed was your habit of having your phone on vibrating may be interfering with your study. Distractions can obstruct effective active recall, which is the process of actively recalling memories as opposed to passively rereading the content. Finally, mnemonics and retrieval cues might help your research approaches. Mnemonics are memory aids that can assist you in remembering difficult material, whereas retrieval cues are reminders that trigger your memory. You might, for example, use a mnemonic to recall the steps of a psychological theory, and retrieval cues such as flashcards to test your memory.
I hope these recommendations are useful. Remember that it is critical to maintain your physical and mental health while studying. Goodluck! 

 

 

 

Discussion 2: 

 

Hello Friend! 

I hope everything is good and that you're doing great. I write to you to address the concerns about your studying habits that you made in our conversation earlier. We've been friends for a long time, and I hope you find my recommendations beneficial. I am aware of your goals, and I have confidence in your ability to realize them. Regarding some of the roadblocks you are experiencing, I have some suggestions. You become frustrated easily while working on psychology problems, the problem I can point out is that you consistently employed the same approach. When you repeatedly get the same outcome, it's time to switch methods. Encoding techniques like elaborative encoding, where you connect the material you're learning to something personal or relevant to you. Another option is to associate the knowledge you're trying to learn with an image. You can find it helpful if you are able to visualize an image that is connected to the information that you linked it with. It's also crucial to get an adequate amount of sleep so you are able to retain the information in the lesson that you are looking over, 6-8 hours is recommended. As well as managing your sleep it is also important to organize your study time. Utilizing the spacing effect is a smart strategy in this case to help you manage your time properly. Spreading out your study time and finishing assignments will help you retain information more effectively. This also combats the problem of cramming the night before an exam. Once you have the information from the lesson or section, start studying gradually. This could be 3-4 hours a day or in the morning and evening. Lastly having your phone nearby and with notification set on could prevent you from remembering the knowledge, it becomes a distraction. If you are studying and get a notification, the material you are examining could be lost right away being short term memory. Placing your phone in another room, turning it off or switching it to "do not disturb" could be some techniques that could help you. I genuinely hope you find this useful and effective, if you need anything don't hesitate to reach out. Continue doing great things and have nice rest of your day! 

Remembering and Judging. (n.d.). https://leocontent.umgc.edu/content/umuc/tus/psyc/psyc100/2232/learning-resourcelist/remembering-and-judging1.html