The Purpose of this Review Sheet

You should already know what to study and if you have been following my advice you have been studying as we have been going along. I have provided you with lists of the most important concepts on the lecture outlines (both in the detailed reading assignments and in the lecture outlines themselves). I also have provided lists of concepts , the major themes of the course, and sample exam questions (on separate pages). The purpose of this review sheet is primarily to provide you with advice on how to review for the test.  Contrary to what you might expect, this whole process does not necessarily take a long time if you use your time efficiently.  You might notice as well that I have given some hints about what will likely be on the test along the way.

About the Exam

The majority of your exam will consist of multiple choice questions.  In addition the test will include a series of short answer/short essay questions. I use a variety of different types of questions to assess your understanding of different types of knowledge. Multiple choice questions are very good for measuring simple knowledge (definitions for example), for assessing how precisely students understand concepts, and can be used to assess student's ability to apply concepts. Short answer and essay questions are better for assessing the organization of ideas, problem solving skills, and conceptual relationships.

Questions will test your understanding of concepts and ideas from the course (definitions), how they apply to the case studies we have discussed, and how they relate to the major themes of the course (relationships).  In addition a few questions will test your understanding of concepts by asking you to apply them in contexts that may be different from those we have discussed up to this point. These questions are designed to assess how deep your learning it. I have not determined at this point exactly how many questions will be on the test.  Lets just say for now that it will be a reasonable number sufficient to gage your understanding of the material.  I’ll know more after I’ve constructed the test. 

Common Pitfalls

Not Studying for Relations Between Concepts/Precision

Students who find that they do not do well on the multiple choice questions sometimes say afterward that the test was "too picky" and focused on unimportant details. More often than not, this perception is generated when students simply memorize definitions, do not think about how concepts fit together, and/or do not pay enough attention to the precision of their studying. For example, a student may study the materials on conservation and preservation enough to know that these concepts are related to reducing human impact on nature. The student may have even memorized definitions for the terms. However in question 2 of the sample exam questions the student is required to differentiate between conservation and preservation. This was a major theme of the discussion we had. The student who just memorized definitions of the terms but did not pay attention to how they are different from each other runs the risk of not being able to answer the question correctly. Likewise the student who memorizes only the definitions of the terms may miss that Muir was an advocate of preservation and that Pinchot was an advocate of conservation. See below for some techniques that you can use instead of or in addition to memorization.

Test Anxiety

Test anxiety is a common problem, especially among students who are concerned primarily with the grade that they want to get on the test, students who are perfectionists, and students who incorrectly believe that they are just naturally not good at the subject of the class and therefore expect to do badly. The key to alleviating test anxiety is to train yourself to not care too much about the outcome. Do this by paying attention to counterproductive thoughts like the following:

• I'm going to fail this test.
• I'm not satisfied with anything other than an A
• My parents will kill me if I fail this test.
• If I fail this test it'll be a disaster.

Try to counter these thoughts with more productive ones like the following:

• I'm going to pass this test.
• If I get a B or even a C it won't be the end of the world.
• My parents might not like it if I fail the test but they'll understand I suffer from test anxiety.
• One test isn't going to prevent me from graduating

Get plenty of sleep the night before. Take a minute before the test to take some deep breaths and relax. Don't rush through the test. When you get to a question you don't know, don't dwell on it. Move on to the next one and come back later.

Avoidable Mistakes

Sometimes students simply make avoidable mistakes on their exams. Being well rested will help you avoid this pitfall. Rushing through the test and turning it in without reviewing your answers can also generate avoidable mistakes. When taking a multiple choice test read the question first and then think about or even write down what you think the correct answer is. Then review the answers provided. This will force you to think more deeply about the question and prevent you from simply choosing the answer that sounds the best. Before answering a short answer question, write down some initial thoughts before writing your final answer.

How to approach Reviewing for this exam

Studying is more than just memorization; it is about figuring out how different concepts fit together and apply in specific contexts.  Yes you must know what the various terms we have been using mean, but for significant learning to occur you have to know why they are important and how the relate to each other and the major themes of the course.  When you know how concepts and ideas fit together you will find that you are able to define them in your own words without looking at a book.  This is a sign that you have learned them.  This course has been designed to make this process easier by introducing and defining concepts and then by showing how they help us to understand a specific case study.  The process I've described below is one particular way to study that is effective for many students. On the other hand, different students have different ways of studying so this may or may not work for you.

How to Review (or How to make your own review sheet)

Step 1:  Identify major course themes

a.  Sit down with pen and paper without looking at any class materials and think about what the major themes and/or questions of this course have been to date.  Write down these themes and questions on your sheet of paper leaving space for Step 2.  These major themes give you some indication as to what is important.  They should also help you figure out the kinds of questions that may be asked on the short answer/essay portion of the test.

If you don’t know what the major themes of the course might be then either you’ve been absent from class, you have not been reading in an active way, or you have not been actively listening in lecture.  You would do well to seek out some advice in improving your reading and listening strategies (see these suggestions).  Sometimes it is just a matter of attending class. 

b.  Now that you’ve generated an initial list of major course themes from your memory, take a look back through your lecture notes, your textbook and the online lecture outlines.  Use these resources to jog your memory about any themes that you may not have remembered, or perhaps themes that you only notice now upon review.  Add these themes to your list.  You may now want to put each theme on a separate sheet of paper to give you room for step 2. 

Here is a list of themes that I’ve come up with.  It may or may not be comprehensive.

Step 2: Identify important concepts

In order to address the various themes in this course we have by necessity been introduced to a variety of concepts that may be new to you.  It is time to identify those concepts and begin to review them.

a. At first from memory write down any concepts that we have covered in the course that relate to each theme in the space that you have left below each major theme heading.  Alternatively think back to each lecture and write down the related concepts. Just jot down the terms, ideas, and concepts you remember for now.  If you are unsure of where particular concepts fit, jot them down under a theme titled Miscellaneous—You’ll need to think about these and see if you can connect them to particular course themes later.  It may be the case that particular concepts relate to more than one major theme.  Be sure to leave some space for step 3. 

b.  Now, go back through your lecture notes, your textbook, and the lecture outlines and add concepts that you did not remember but that seem important.  In your text important concepts are often in bold type and are listed at the ends of the chapter.  If a concept is illustrated in your text or if it appears in a section heading then you can be sure that it is important.  If a concept is listed on a lecture outline then you are assured of its centrality and importance. 

Here is my own list of concepts derived from the lecture outlines, but don’t peek until you make your own.

Step 3: Test your understanding of concepts

Now see if you can write a definition for each of the concepts you’ve identified without looking at your course materials.  Also see if you can come up with examples that illustrate the concept.  If you can’t come up with a definition for a concept, skip it for now and go on to the next one.  After you are done, check with your course materials to see that your understanding of the concepts that you did define is correct.  Pay attention to how precise your answers are. Then go back and read up on the concepts you could not define and write down definitions for them.  Repeat this process (make a list of concepts, and then write down definitions, review your progress) several times until you are comfortable with the majority of the concepts.  The idea is not necessarily to memorize definitions, but rather it is to gain enough understanding so that you can define the concept in your own words.

Step 4: Test your understanding of how concepts relate to each other and to the major themes of the course by creating an idea web.

Now that you have a general grasp of the concepts make sure you understand how they relate to each other and the major themes of the course.  Here is one way to test your knowledge and make yourself aware of other relationships that you may not have caught before by making an idea web. 

On a blank sheet of paper write down one or more of the major themes of the course and draw a circle around it.  In the space around the central theme, write down concepts that you believe relate to that theme.  It might be useful to write down concepts that seem to be related closer together, but allow some room between them.  Look at your map and identify concepts and/or themes that you know are related to each other and draw a line between them.  On the line write down a note about how the two concepts or themes are related.  Sometimes as you link concepts you might find that you make reference to additional concepts or concepts that you did not think were related.  If so, add these to your diagram.   If you can’t remember what a particular concept is, go back and review its definition.  Challenge yourself to see if you can make connections between every concept and/or theme on the page. If you do this thoroughly you should begin to see connections among concepts that you did not think about before.  You may want to make several webs for different themes. You might also want to just make a web consisting of the major themes so that you are sure that you understand how the major themes in the course fit together.

Take a look at this example I have started. 

Step 5: Ask questions

If there are any concepts, ideas, processes, relationships that you still don’t understand after reading your text or reviewing your lecture notes, contact your professor or consult with a classmate.  It may be a good idea to write down any questions that occur to you while making your review sheet. 

Step 6:  Repeat the next day 

There is little need to re-study things that you understood the first time around. A quick review should suffice. The second time around focus in on those concepts and themes that you did not understand or were not able to define the first time you studied. Try making an idea web focusing upon these concepts.

Step 7 Additional Studying ideas

Your textbook's web site has a review quiz for each chapter. Take it and see how well you do. Repeat it until you get all of the answers correct.

Answer the discussion questions at the end of each chapter in your text book.

Flip through your text and lecture notes to see if there is anything you have missed or to clarify anything that you don't fully understand.

Make flash cards. As well as using them to test your knolwedge of concepts, sort them on the floor into piles and think about how all the concepts are related. Be careful however, don't just rely on flipping through and looking at flash cards. Students who learn by doing probably should not rely upon flash cards as a study aid. Sometimes they provide a false sense of security.

Make sure you can answer the major questions from the discussions: What are different ideals of conservation and why are they important? Should we drill in ANWR (both arguments for and against)? Why is biodiversity important?

Make sure you can answer all the questions on the homework correctly, but don't spend too much time studying material that you already know.

See if you can write a short freewritten essay concerning each of the major themes of the course that incorporates and explains the concepts related to that major them.  That is see if you can write down a narrative that explains what the course is about and how everything fits together. 

Do some additional reading up on subjects that particularly interested you.

Step 8: Rest Up and Relax

Get plenty of rest the night before the test and eat a good breakfast.  Relax, This is only a test.  If you fail this one you’ll do better on the next one. The course is designed so that you can do poorly on one test and still do well in the course.

I don’t guarantee that you’ll ace the test if you follow these steps, but my guess is that by structuring your review in this way, you’ll do much better than if you just simply read through your textbook and lecture notes or even if you just make flash cards and attempt to memorize everything. 

If you follow my advice here, I'd be interested to see some of the products of your studying including yoru lists and your idea webs. I'd also be interested to hear about how you think studying in this way did or did not help you on the exam.