By Katie Azevedo, M.Ed. Various sources suggest that the average person makes around 35,000 decisions a day. That’s bananas. While the majority of our daily decisions are minor, such as choosing what to wear or what to eat, we occasionally face bigger decisions that have …
How to study for tests: The perfect 5-step study plan
By Katie Azevedo, M.Ed. My website analytics show me that how to study for tests is the second most searched term on my website. (First place is how to take notes.) I have written over 100 tutorials about study skills for this very reason. With …
How to study for a test on a book
By Katie Azevedo, M.Ed. From middle school through graduate school, being tested on what we read basically is school. Read a book, and then take a test: repeat forever. Therefore, knowing how to study for a test on a book is the key to doing …
9 Reasons You Have Bad Grades
By Katie Azevedo, M.Ed. Bad grades don’t just come out of nowhere for no good reason. Sure, you might fail a test once in a while because of extenuating circumstances, but chronically poor grades are a symptom of something bigger. In other words, chronically bad …
What to do when you’re confused in class
By Katie Azevedo, M.Ed. You’re sitting in class, paying attention (or not), and all of a sudden you have no idea what the teacher is saying. Or you’re doing your homework at home, and it hits you that you’re totally confused about the material. It …
Tips for cleaning school and office supplies
By Katie Azevedo, M.Ed. Think about how many times a day we touch our phones, pencils, and keyboards. Think about how many times a day we put our backpacks or work bags on the classroom or office floor and then put those bags on our …
Student tips: 2 tools and 2 skills every student needs
By Katie Azevedo, M.Ed. The internet is full of student tips that claim you can cut your study time in half, get an A on your essay without trying, and hack your way through school via some secret portal that no one knows about. This …
How to use active recall to study
By Katie Azevedo, M.Ed. Active recall is one of the most effective study methods there is. If you’re a student of any age, or even if you’re an adult taking professional development courses, you need to know how to use active recall to study. What …
Memorization vs. understanding: The ultimate study secret
By Katie Azevedo. M.Ed. When it comes to studying, there is a major difference between memorization and understanding. I’m going to explain the differences and when to use each method, but let’s start with this simple but important distinction: Memorization is temporary and limited to …
8 goal-setting tips for students
By Katie Azevedo, M.Ed. This tutorial offers 8 goal-setting tips for students, although many of the tips are solid strategies for goal-setting in general – for anyone. Goal-setting is all the rage around the new year, but I think most of that is simply traditional …