Study Suggestions

Lecture

Good lecture notes are essential for obtaining a good grade in this course. For each major topic covered in lecture, a basic outline is provided on the computer in class. Notes taken in an outline format provide easy, visual clues to important topics, sub-topics and details. These lecture outlines and associated diagrams are available on the Internet. You should access these outlines before lecture and use them to guide you through the required readings. You may find it helpful to print the lecture outlines, bring them to class and take lecture notes on the outline, however, do not use the Internet outlines as a crutch; do not use them in place of taking your own notes. Whether you print the outlines and bring them to class or not, you need to write down more than just the words on the outline; the outline alone is insufficient. In class, you need to participate actively by taking your own notes. The primary purpose of placing the outlines on the Internet is to help you prepare for class.

We will refer to a lot of diagrams, photos and maps throughout the semester. These may come from your textbook or from other sources on the Internet. Images from your textbook are not on the Internet; copyright laws prevent me from posting them on the class web site. You may want to bring your textbook to lecture, although you are not required to do so. You may want to print some of the diagrams not available in your text so you can add your own notes to the diagrams during class.

If you miss lecture, even for a legitimate reason, it is your responsibility to get the lecture notes from another student in the class. Remember, the lecture outline and some of the diagrams are available on the Internet, but the outline and diagrams alone are not sufficient; you need to get notes from another student in the class as well. Ideally, get the lecture notes from two other students in the class since no one person will write down exactly the same things you would have written down had you been in class. Remember, you are responsible for all material covered in class. It is ALWAYS better to attend class and take your own notes than to miss class and copy notes from a friend.

To prepare for an exam, it is crucial that you KNOW your lecture notes. You need to know the major topics covered. You need to know the sub-topics covered under each major topic. You need to know details on the sub-topics covered. KNOW YOUR LECTURE NOTES!!!!! When studying your notes, if you realize that they do not make sense, if you think you are missing some information, if you do not understand what you wrote down, there are several things you can do:

Ask me for help!! Questions are always welcome!! My office hours are listed with my class schedule and on the syllabus; office hours are for you!! Use them!

You can send me an email with your questions. I will respond within 12-24 hours, except on weekends.

Look up information in your textbook - it's a great resource - use it! Or, look up information in your lab manual.

You can also access the lecture notes and associated diagrams from the Internet.

Ask a friend for help.

Sign up for tutoring.

Most exam questions will not ask you to regurgitate definitions you have memorized, rather the questions will ask you to apply what you know. Thus, you need to know when to use information, how to apply that information, and why that information is important. Good lecture notes is the starting point; without good lecture notes, the exams and the labs will prove difficult.

Good lecture notes are also necessary for understanding lab exercises. If you miss lecture, the lab exercises may not make much sense. Some of the lecture material required for understanding lab exercises is not available in your textbook, therefore attending lecture is important. You may want to bring your lecture notes to lab class.

Lab

Do not miss lab class. Each lab exercise has an introduction. Since exercises are due at the end of class, be sure to read this introduction BEFORE coming to class. The introduction will review material and concepts that have been discussed in lecture, and that are important for that exercise. There is a list of "Important Terms, Phrases and Concepts" at the end of the introduction to each exercise. KNOW these terms, phrases and concepts. You should know what the terms mean, why they are important and how and when to use them. When learning new terms, do not just memorize a definition; make sure you understand what the definition means. Most of the terms listed in the labs should also be in your lecture notes, as well as your textbook. If the definition or description in the lab exercise does not make sense, refer to your lecture notes or your textbook for another explanation, or ask for help. Ask questions as you work through each exercise. Do not just copy answers from your friends and neighbors. Although you are allowed to work together, make sure you understand how to get correct answers on your own. You will not be able to get help on the lab quizzes. If there are problems to solve, make sure you know all the steps to follow to arrive at the correct answer, and make sure you can do those steps on your own.

For lab quizzes, know the terms listed at the end of the introduction. Pretend the exercise is a quiz; can you answer all the questions without referring back to the introduction or to your lecture notes? If tables or diagrams are necessary to determine an answer to a question, these tables or diagrams will be given to you in the quiz. Make sure you know how to use the tables and diagrams. If math equations are necessary to answer a question, these equations will most likely be given to you on the quiz. Make sure you know how to use the equations. Most quiz questions will not ask you what the definition of a term is, rather the questions will ask you to use the term and to apply what you know for solving problems. You will be asked to answer questions and solve problems similar to those you worked on in the exercise.

The answers to the lab exercises will be available in lab class. The answers will be available on the Internet AFTER the lab exercise is completed. Always take the time to check your answers and correct any mistakes. Remember, you are responsible for checking your own work and asking for help on things you do not understand.

Readings

You should do the assigned readings before coming to class. Use the outlines on the Internet to guide you through the readings. Add notes from the readings to the outlines. This will make taking lecture notes in class easier. These assigned readings are primarily from your textbook, but some are also on the Internet. The textbook is well written, but if you have questions, ask for help. There is a list of key terms at the end of each chapter. These are terms and concepts the author felt were important. You should know these terms, especially those terms used in lecture or lab. There are questions at the end of each chapter, and answering these questions is a good way to study for exams. There are many very good diagrams in your textbook. Take the time to examine the diagrams and read the associated captions. Make sure you understand the diagrams. There is also a glossary at the end of your textbook - use it!

Readings assigned on the Internet may have important terms highlighted, indicating not only their importance, but also a link to a definition list. Make sure you understand important terms. There may be questions on the exams from material covered in the assigned readings (textbook and Internet) but not covered in lecture or lab.

General Suggestions

Take the time to do the assigned readings. Some students feel that going to lecture is sufficient and they never open their book. This is NOT a good idea. When you read the text, look through the chapter headings and subheadings. This will give you an idea of the material covered and what the main ideas are. Then read the assigned reading from start to finish, without taking any notes or doing any highlighting. Read the material through to get an idea of the important topics and the direction of the discussion. Next, take notes from the assigned reading using the Internet outlines as a guide. After lecture, go back to your notes from the textbook and review these notes along with your lecture notes. As you review these two sets of notes, ask yourself questions. Are the terms defined in your lecture notes also defined in the text? If so, make sure you understand the definition; understanding a definition means more than just memorizing words. Are the topics covered in your lecture notes also covered in the text? If your lecture notes are missing information, don't make sense or are unclear, take the time to add explanations to your lecture notes from the textbook. If there are diagrams in your lecture notes, or diagrams used in lecture from the textbook, go back and review these diagrams. The diagrams given in lecture may appear in the textbook in a different format - if so, both formats should agree and make sense to you.

After taking lecture notes, reading the assigned material, and modifying your lecture notes using your notes from the textbook, you are still not done studying. To study for an exam, some students feel that reading through their lecture notes a few times is sufficient. It is not. Reading and studying are not the same thing. Studying involves practicing and testing yourself. After reading through your notes, when you think you know the material, start to test yourself. Make up questions on the material and see if you can answer these questions without looking back at your notes. Randomly flip through your notes (not in chronological order) and quiz yourself on whatever topic arises, without looking at your notes. Always check your notes after answering your questions to see if your answers are correct. Pretend you are the instructor; what topics would you ask questions on? Write your own multiple choice, matching and true false questions. Then, make sure you can answer these questions.

Some students find flash cards a good way to study. You can write terms or questions on one side of the card, and the answer on the other side of the card. As you flip through the cards, you can answer the questions or define the terms and then check the answer on the back. Some students find studying out loud more beneficial than studying silently. Some students find studying in groups better than studying alone. You need to determine what works best for you. Regardless, be sure your studying involves asking questions and then answering those questions. In addition, try to relate the material you are studying to your everyday life. We'll study the weather, so think about the actual weather as we study that. We'll talk about plant life, so take the time to look around you and see what plants there are.

Lastly,
This is a five credit course. We meet five times a week - three times for lecture and two times for lab. As a result, you need to spend more time studying for this course than for your other three credit courses. We will cover a LOT of material in this class and if you do not keep up, you will find yourself in trouble. DO NOT GET BEHIND!!! University guidelines suggest (and I also suggest) spending 2 hours working outside of class for every hour spent in lecture - that's 6 hours out of class each week that you should set aside just for geography! Given the fact that we spend an additional 4 hours a week in lab, you should probably add another 2-4 hours of work outside of class. In total, that's 8-10 hours a week for working on geography in addition to the time spent in class. You should set aside time in your schedule specifically designated for studying geography, just like you set aside time for coming to class. You should schedule 5-12 times a week to study geography out of class. These time slots should range from 15 minutes to an hour or an hour and a half. Do not schedule large blocks of time for working on one topic (e.g. 3-4 hours). Few people can concentrate for that length of time. Schedule smaller blocks of time and give yourself breaks.

Things to do outside of class:

Read through your lecture notes.

Determine whether what your lecture notes say makes sense and is complete - if not, ask for help or refer to your textbook.

Add information to your lecture notes from the textbook.

Memorize your lecture notes. Make sure you understand what you've memorized. Quiz yourself on the content of your lecture notes.

Read the textbook. Read the captions and explanations associated with the diagrams and maps in your textbook. Geography is a very visual discipline and these diagrams and maps are important.

Answer the review questions posted on the class web site. This is a good way to find out if your lecture notes are complete, or to find out if you really know your lecture notes (it's a way to test yourself).

Read the lab manual. Make sure you know the definitions of the important terms and phrases. Make sure you know why they're important, and how and when you would use the information.

Go through the problems in the lab exercises and make sure you know how to solve them without looking back at the introduction to the exercise. Make sure you understand how to interpret any data or math equations.

Do the practice lab problems posted on the course web site.

Do the practice quizzes and exams posted on the course web site.

Every discipline has its own vocabulary, including geography. There are a lot of terms you need to know. Take the time to learn the vocabulary associated with this class.

Study maps. Maps, maps maps!!! Maps are critical to geography. There are maps in your textbook. Study them. Know what patterns they show. Know why those patterns exist. Make copies of the North America map and the world map that come with your lab manual. Use these maps to help you learn the patterns to things such as winds, pressure, vegetation, etc. If you want extra maps, there are links to some web sites that provide outline maps on the syllabus.

Do all the study suggestions listed in the course outline.

If you have problems with the material, DO NOT WAIT TO ASK FOR HELP!!! Office hours are available for one-on-one help. Use my office hours!! Group tutoring is also available for everyone. Even if you are not having trouble understanding the material, do not wait until the night before an exam or quiz to study - there's too much material to go through it all in one evening.

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Karen A. Lemke: klemke@uwsp.edu
Last revised January 19, 2007