ensures active participation

make sure that all team members know specifically what is expected of them and agree to do the work.

the moderator should develop the agenda

If you waste time and regularly meet much longer than you agreed to

agree to a regular meeting schedule

a variety of learning styles is helpful

Don’t make friendship the primary consideration for who should be in your group.

A larger group would limit each student’s participation and make scheduling of regular study sessions a real problem.

your work will just be much more effective.

Discussing course content will sharpen your critical thinking related to the subject,

A study group that is too large is more likely to digress into casual conversation.

there should be almost no need for long study sessions.

take short breaks at least once an hour.

Turn off your cell phone

Choose to study in a quiet, well-lit space.

Keep to that schedule as rigorously as you do your class schedule.

Make flash cards to review in downtimes,

Challenge yourself to come up with some really tough open-ended questions.

write an outline or summary of the material in your own words.

Don’t let a wrong answer be the last thing you wrote on a subject, because you will most likely continue to remember the wrong answer.

Test yourself by trying to answer your questions without referring to your notes.

two-column note-taking method

instructors usually build their lessons on material already presented.

What do the notes tell you about your material?

Studying begins after each class or assignment

To be effective, studying is something you do as part of an ongoing learning process, throughout the duration of the term.

reviewing and applying stage of the learning cycle involves studying and using the material you have been exposed to

take the learning cycle to its conclusion and a new beginning.

Effective studying is your most important tool to combat test anxiety,

Late-night cramming is not an effective studying strategy!

Have a plan and follow it.

You should be confident going into your exam (but not overconfident).

There are steps you should take if you find that stress is getting in your way:

take a moment to listen to your body

the pressure you put on yourself and the late night will cause more anxiety, and you won’t learn or retain much.

Keep focused on your own work and your own plan.

Translate that vision into specific, reasonable goals and work toward each individual goal.

stop what you are doing and clear your mind

A primary cause of test anxiety is not knowing the material.

Test anxiety is a psychological condition in which a person feels distress before, during, or after a test or exam to the point where stress causes poor performance.

Stress motivates you to study and review, generates adrenaline to help sharpen your reflexes and focus while taking the exam, and may even help you remember some of the material you need. But suffering too many stress symptoms or suffering any of them severely will impede your ability to show what you have learned.