Taking Online Learning Into Your Own Hands
Written by Martina Faitakis
Photo by Jess Bailey on Unsplash
If you’re a SMU student, you know that in March the university made the decision to move all learning to online delivery. You might be taking Spring or Summer classes, or have already finished a course with the new format. Others might have their first taste of online learning starting in September. Whatever your situation is, you likely have some anxiety or stress about how your learning and studying is going to inevitably change.
Even if COVID-19 hasn’t affected you or your family personally, you have been subject to government changes, regulation changes, economic changes and even, knowingly or unknowingly, mental and emotional changes. What I mean by this is that even though you may or may not feel the pressure of the pandemic right now, we are currently living through history. The effects of the pandemic will ripple on and even once a vaccine is developed, people will remember this time as one that completely flipped people’s lives upside down.
For most of us, the term “student” makes up a large chunk of our identity. We spend our free time making connections with other students and we spend our days on campus or doing things related to our studies. From middle school to high school to university, we have tailored our studying skills to meet and fit our own needs. Whether we focus better at night, early in the morning, surrounded by people or in complete silence, everyone has studying habits that are unique to them. There is no “one size fits all” approach to learning. That being said, many students study in similar ways. We learn by modelling those around us and if our friends are using a certain method to study, we are more likely to try that method ourselves.
The shift to online learning will be a major one. Some may cope better than others, and that’s totally okay and normal. Although the change to online learning is completely out of our control, the way we adapt our studying habits is up to us and our ability to be resilient is something we can practice and learn. You might find the studying skills you utilized for in-person classes won’t work as well for online delivery. For one thing, we will be mostly working from home and won’t get the same face-to-face interaction. Furthermore, sitting in front of your computer in an online Zoom lecture is going to feel quite different than sitting in an actual classroom with a professor. Finally, it will be important to take breaks from our screens, as we will be on our computers more than ever for classes, studying, and entertainment. Below are some studying tips you may benefit from to take your online learning into your own hands and reduce your procrastination when studying from home.
Self-monitoring: Systematically track the frequency and amount of studying (e.g., the number of hours studied per week, number of study tasks accomplished). Tracking how much you study may help you actually realize how much or how little work you are actually accomplishing. We often overestimate how much work we do and underestimate how long it will take us to do something. It’s also important to note and be cognizant of the fact that when we work from home, we could be sitting at our desk for 5 hours, but actually only accomplishing 2 or 3 hours of actual studying or work.
Stimulus control: Increase cues associated with studying (e.g., have a dedicated space used only for studying) and/or decrease cues associated with not studying (e.g., place your cell phone out of arm's reach or in another room if you have one). Placing distracting items, such as your phone, out of arm’s reach makes it less likely you will automatically pick it up when you get a message and more likely that you will continue working. If you have a desk or a table, it’s better to study there than on your bed, because your bed is where your body adjusts to go to sleep or watch Netflix.
Decrease response effort: Make studying less effortful (e.g., have all your needed study materials within easy reach). If you have everything you need close by, there will be less reason for you to leave your studying station and a higher likelihood you will stay studying.
Increase motivation: Increase your general motivation for studying (e.g., provide yourself with frequent reminders of long-term goals). Write down your long or short-term goals and have them somewhere visible in your studying space to remind you what you are trying to accomplish (e.g. become an accountant, finish this assignment with an A).
Self-reward: Reward yourself after completing a study task or session. (e.g. give yourself a sweet treat after you finish reading a chapter or finish writing a section of a paper). Since we are all still working from home, this one might be a little more difficult to do. Reward yourself with time outside or other breaks from your laptop or screen. If treats aren’t your thing, find other things that are rewards like reading a chapter of a book, doing a quick workout break or going for a walk around the block.
Social commitment: Arrange social consequences for failing to study (e.g. let others know of your study plans). If you make a social commitment to someone else that you will get something done, you won’t want to let them down and you’ll be more inclined to finish it on time. When working from home, one thing I’ve found helpful is to have “Zoom” study dates with friends and classmates. Pick a time to work with your friends and put all of your microphones on mute. You’ll be working at the same time knowing that everyone else is studying just like you. It really does make a difference knowing others are in the same boat as you.
Scheduling: Create a weekly and/or daily schedule for your study activities. Not only does scheduling your day make it easier to follow, but it gives you a sense of accomplishment when you can cross things off your list. When working from home, make sure to give yourself breaks and not to beat yourself up if you don’t finish everything on your schedule. A schedule can be more of a guideline of how you want your day to go.
Keep it reasonable: Create a modest study plan that is readily attainable (e.g. plan to study for two hours rather than four hours). Trying to get a whole assignment done in one night is usually not a great idea. Breaking it down into sections and allowing yourself to write a few paragraphs or a couple hundred words at a time is more achievable.
Balanced schedule: Schedule both study tasks and leisure activities. Although we’re students, it’s important to balance our lives with activities that are enjoyable. If you find it difficult to do fun things, try scheduling them into your planner first and then scheduling your work around your activities. Make them the priority so you commit to working first before enjoying yourself. Even though many outings are still closed down, it’s still important to socialize with others. Plan a socially distanced walk with your friends or an evening on a patio with some beverages. If you were involved in clubs or sports, try to keep in contact with your friends and teammates regularly to set up events. Just like studying over Zoom can be productive, arranging a social event over Zoom with your friends can be a great time!
Set Sub-goals: Break a large task down into specific sub-goals (e.g. lay out specific steps needed to complete a term paper). It’s always a good idea to create an outline for an assignment first. Write words down no matter how good or bad they are, then edit them afterwards. Don’t try to do both at the same time.
Just get started: When you feel a strong resistance to study, set a smaller goal to complete before making a final decision (e.g. study for just 5 or 10 minutes and then decide whether to continue or not). Many fitness trainers use this tactic to encourage clients to workout. If you can do just 5 minutes of exercise, you’ll definitely keep going! The same applies to studying, if you do 5 minutes you might realize it isn’t so bad and you won’t want to stop.
Set a timer: Setting a timer is one way to ensure you stay on task when working from home. Many smartphones have apps that can set a timer for you and lock your phone, so you are unable to use it during your study period. For example, Flora is an app that grows “trees” while you work. After your timer finishes, you’ll see your tree in your virtual garden and you can give yourself a break for working so hard during that time. If you accidentally get off task during those 20 or 25 minutes, just take a little break to reset and start over. The more you work with a timer, the more you can increase the amount of time you can work without a break. Start small (10-15 min) and then increase it as you see fit.