Appendix: Information provided to 1st year students about learning and memory, and study skills

To help students with study skills, beginning in 2022, all first year and transfer students complete a learning preference survey and are provided with individualized resources based on their strengths and challenges, attend a required session during orientation, and may attend a second session about one month after the school year begins. Students also are given access to a Canvas site where they could complete modules on learning and memory, attention, and mindset and metacognition, and were encouraged to create a personal study plan. If you want access to these study modules, ask Dr. Root (rootk001@umn.edu) or Ryan Rupprecht (rrupprec@umn.edu).

Required orientation session:

1) Students may need new study skills for the DVM curriculum – Your school experiences prior to veterinary school were assuredly varied; some likely traveled linearly from kindergarten to your first year at the College of Veterinary Medicine. Others may have taken a more circuitous route. However, given your role as a student in the CVM class of 20xx, you have all been “good” students thus far. You have likely experimented with more than one study habit, from the “did not study at all” to the “I made 1,000 flashcards and ran out of time to look at them.” It is also likely that you have found that some of these strategies were more successful than others. Regardless of your previous success, learning how to learn in veterinary school is often a rough transition. Here are some key differences illustrating why your study habits may need to change: Veterinary school is a full time job, so studying has to occur simultaneously with learning other things for the first time. This information will enable you to do your job! These courses are no longer stepping stones to get through so that you can get to vet school. You are here now. Everyone around you is just as smart as you are, so the content of your courses is going to be challenging.

2) Learning how to remember things well will help with learning in the curriculum, passing NAVLE and specialty examinations, and with client education

3) There are many resources – Resources on-line in the Wellness and Academic Success section for current students on the website, VetPAC and SkillsPAC coaches, Jump Start – Ask for help! The University of Minnesota Twin Cities campus is basically the size of a small town (we’re about as big as Edina or Apple Valley) so don’t be surprised if the person you ask for help may have to dig a bit, especially if it’s a central resource.

4) Basics of good study skills

– Create a calendar and keep it updated

– Create a good, consistent study space with limited distractions

– Ensure you are spacing out your study and not cramming – The vast majority of studies comparing cramming to spaced studying show that the latter is superior both at the time of the exam (9% higher score for spaced studying) and with re-testing one month later (22% higher for spaced studying – that’s two letter grades).

– Pay attention and participate in class – if you take just 5 minutes out of a class to check your emails or shop for shoes, you only have to do that ten times to have missed a whole class session

– Consider finding a study group – it generally works best to study alone first, then to practice in pairs, and review in a larger group

– Sleep, exercise, eat properly

Elective check-in session about one month after orientation:

1) Today’s session is just a check-in as you start taking examinations this semester. First of all, if some of you feel like you’re struggling, a couple of things to remember – Don’t compare yourselves to others – Think about how you’re studying and if you’re prioritizing the most important things – Your instructors are very happy to talk to you about any questions you have (content or logistics of the course) – If you think you may need accommodations for a diagnosed disability, the Disability Resource Center is very happy to help you – If you haven’t already set up some kind of calendar, I strongly encourage you to do so – Remember that there are resources available to you (Resources on-line in the Wellness and Academic Success section for current students on the website, VetPAC and SkillsPAC coaches, Jump Start)

2) Memory skills – Learning is about linking things to information that is already in your brain and then being able to retrieve when you want to. What are good ways to promote memory and retention of information? Please note that repeatedly watching or listening to the same lecture is not on this list and that this method, while commonly used by students, is not an optimal way of learning or remembering information.

– Retrieval – Self-testing is a valuable tool in helping ensure retention. There is an idea of traces; every time we think about something or pull it from memory, we create one more trace that makes another pathway for our brain to use for retrieval. Examples = flash cards, quizzing (alone or with others)

– Elaboration – This is explaining new information to connect it to ideas you already know. Example = putting things in a real-life context – think about what you know about COVID vaccines when you’re learning immunology

– Interleaving – This is varying your subjects as you review information and is a reflection of real-life when you will be presented with a variety of cases over the day. An example comes from baseball. Vet med example = as you prepare for the final exam for Prev Med; save the weekly review questions I send out and mix them up when you’re reviewing as that will be a more accurate representation of what you’ll see on the final examination.

– Generation – This is thinking through what you think the answer might be before actually learning the material in depth. This kind of “mystery” is very engaging to our brains and creates a story that helps you learn the information. Example = case studies

Reflection – Think back on what happened and use those “failures” as learning moments. Example = quiz and exam review – I can still remember not knowing the Latin name for the saltwater form of Ich in fish

Mnemonics – These are handy ways to remember things. Examples = every good boy does fine, many very early men ate juicy steaks using no plates (except they demoted Pluto..)

Calibration – This is clarification of what you don’t know. If you’re studying with a partner and you realize the two of you are disagreeing on something this is a good chance to really dive into that topic and see where your lines of thought diverge. Example = quiz and exam review and talking to the instructor to make sure you’re clear on things you apparently misunderstood