Connecting Values to Study Habits & Intro to Effective Techniques

1. Introduction & Reflection on Past Study Habits (10 min)

Individual Reflection (5 min): Students individually reflect and write down their past study habits, what strategies they used in high school/previously, what worked well, and what didn’t. This sets the stage by activating prior experiences.

Share-Out (5 min): A few volunteers share common challenges (possibly cramming before exams, difficulty concentrating, etc.). The instructor notes patterns (like cramming, heavy highlighting, last-minute studying) to validate their experiences and highlight the need for better strategies. (No extended discussion yet; primarily brief sharing to avoid a big discussion at the very start.)

2. Values and Motivation for Learning (15 min)

Mini-Lecture (Intrinsic Motivation & Values): Explain how motivation affects studying. Introduce intrinsic vs. extrinsic motivation e.g., intrinsically motivated students (who learn for personal interest or growth) often perform better academically than those driven solely by grades. Emphasize that connecting studying to personal values or a “why” can increase persistence and enjoyment. Mention research showing that when students reflect on their core values, it can reduce stress and improve academic performance​ (values affirmation exercises have led to better grades by reducing psychological threat).

Activity – Identifying Personal Learning Values (5 min): Students list 2-3 personal values or reasons they are studying psychology. Prompts: “Why is earning a psychology degree important to you? How does it connect to what you deeply care about?” Examples might include “helping others,” “curiosity about the mind,” “personal growth,” etc.

Pair & Share Discussion (5 min): Students pair up to share one of their values and how it might motivate their learning. This helps them verbalize the connection between their studies and something personally meaningful.

Debrief: Invite to share insights. Highlight how studying with a sense of purpose can increase resilience: if you value “helping people,” then psychology content gains personal significance. This grounds study habits in a deeper motivation.

Suggested Content Sources: For background theory, see Deci & Ryan’s Self-Determination Theory on intrinsic motivation. Empirical example: Cohen et al. (2006) on values affirmation improving student outcomes​ (pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov. A short video clip from a study motivation talk or a YouTuber (Ali Abdaal on Study motivation 0-3 min and 8-end, more generally core values 2:30-4:30, 8:25-11:00)

3. Setting Long-Term and Short-Term Goals (15 min)

Teaching Segment (Goals 101): Transition from “why” to “what” and “how.” Introduce the importance of goal setting for effective studying. Explain long-term vs. short-term goals: Long-term goals give direction (e.g. “Become a clinical psychologist” or “graduate with honors”), while short-term goals break the journey into manageable steps (e.g. “finish reading Chapter 3 by Friday”). Research in education and organizational psychology shows that setting specific, challenging goals leads to higher performance than vague goals (For instance, students who set specific study goals tend to achieve higher grades than those who “just do their best”.) Emphasize making goals SMART (Specific, Measurable, Achievable, Relevant, Time-bound).

Link to Motivation: Note that goals aligned with one’s values and intrinsic / identified interests (while identified interest involves recognizing the value of an activity, intrinsic motivation is about finding personal enjoyment and satisfaction in the activity itself.) can be especially motivating. Additionally, encourage mastery goals (focused on learning and understanding) rather than purely performance goals (just grades), since a mastery approach often leads to deeper learning (and good grades follow).

Activity – Goal Setting Exercise: Each student writes down one long-term academic goal and one short-term goal:
Long-term goal example: “By the end of this academic year, I want to confidently apply at least 3 psychological theories to real-life situations.”
Short-term goal example: “This week, I will study at least 1 hour each day, focusing on summarizing lecture notes.”

Peer Discussion (5 min): In small groups, students share their goals. They discuss: Are these goals specific and realistic? Any challenges they foresee? Peers offer suggestions to refine goals (e.g., making a goal more specific (SMART) or aligning it with values). This discussion builds accountability and idea-sharing (50% of this segment is interactive).

Instructor Tips: The instructor listens for common themes. Before moving on, they highlight 1–2 examples from the groups (with permission) – e.g., “One group discussed a goal of doing practice questions every weekend to prepare for exams – a great short-term habit that feeds a long-term goal of avoiding last-minute cramming.” Reinforce that written goals can guide day-to-day study decisions.

Suggested Content Sources: Goal-setting theory by Locke & Latham (e.g., Goal Setting and Task Performance, 1990) provides theoretical background – specific, challenging goals improve performance. In education, Morisano et al. (2010) demonstrated that a structured goal-setting intervention improved students’ GPAs​researchgate.net. For practical tips, consider resources like a short Thomas Frank video on setting goals (more general).

(Break – 10 minutes) – Students take a break. (Stand up, stretch, or grab water. Optionally, the instructor could display a slide with a thought-provoking quote about learning to keep them thinking subconsciously, but no formal discussion during break.)

4. Introduction to Effective Study Strategies – Retrieval Practice (15 min)

Interactive Lecture (Active Recall): After the break, introduce retrieval practice as a powerful study tool. Define it in simple terms: “Retrieval practice means actively recalling information from memory (like quizzing yourself) rather than passively re-reading notes.” Explain the “testing effect” – retrieving info helps learning. Cite evidence: students who self-test remember material better than those who just review. (For example, Karpicke & Blunt (2011) found that practicing recall produced significantly greater learning than elaborative studying with concept maps ​semanticscholar.org. Many studies show any form of active recall outperforms passive review).

Demonstration Quiz (5 min): To let them experience retrieval, do a quick demo:

Ask students to close notes and spend 2 minutes writing down three key ideas from the earlier part of Session 1 (perhaps “one personal value I identified,” “my long-term goal,” or one thing they remember about intrinsic motivation). This is an active recall exercise.

After writing, have them open their notes to check what they missed or got wrong. Emphasize how this process of trying to remember and then checking is a simple form of retrieval practice that can strengthen memory.

Group Discussion (5 min): Ask, “How did it feel to recall information without looking? Hard, maybe a bit uncomfortable? Explain that this desirable difficulty is exactly why it works, the effort signals our brain to reinforce the memory​cambridge.org. Discuss in pairs: how could they apply this technique in studying? (e.g. quizzing each other, using flashcards, doing practice questions at the end of a textbook chapter). A couple of pairs share ideas with the class.

Practical Tips: Introduce tools like flashcards or quiz apps: “Many students use apps like Anki or Quizlet for flashcards – these use spaced repetition (which we’ll cover next session) to schedule quizzes.” Emphasize they can also do low-tech retrieval: cover their notes and recite, write summaries from memory, or teach a friend without looking.

Empirical Support: Briefly mention that this isn’t just a gimmick – it’s backed by cognitive science. Even at Cambridge and Oxford, students and educators are adopting active recall because the research is so compelling. At RUG, SlimStampen is often used as a professor-to-student learning tool. (Optionally mention that popular study YouTubers such as Ali Abdaal – a Cambridge medical graduate – and Thomas Frank have popularized active recall, always citing the science behind why testing yourself works​ reddit.com.)

Mini-Quiz to Reinforce: End this segment by posing 2-3 questions to the whole group about Session 1 content (e.g., “What’s one benefit of linking your studying to your values?” or “Name one characteristic of an effective study goal.”). Have students call out answers or use a quick poll. This not only reinforces today’s content through retrieval but models a technique they can use on their own.

Suggested Content Sources: Cognitive psychology papers on the testing effect (e.g., Roediger & Karpicke, 2006; Karpicke & Blunt, 2011)​semanticscholar.org. A first year student-friendlier explanation, the book Make It Stick (Brown et al., 2014) has an excellent chapter on retrieval practice. You could show a clip from Huberman about active recall.

5. Conclusion & Setting Future Goals (5 min)

Recap: Summarize Session 1’s key takeaways: “Effective studying isn’t just about working hard, but working smart.” Today, they reflected on past habits, identified personal values to drive their motivation, set concrete goals, and learned about the power of active recall.

Take-Home Action: Instruct each student to set a small action plan for the week connecting today’s learnings:

For example: “I will practice active recall by quizzing myself after each reading assignment,” or “I will revisit my short-term goal each night to check my progress.”

They write down one action in their notebook. This serves as a future-oriented goal bridging to next session.

Preview Next Session: Tease that in Session 2, we’ll build on this by learning when and how often to study (introducing spaced repetition) and techniques to read more efficiently and concentrate better. Encourage them to notice during the week how they study, they will reflect on it next time.

Closing Motivation: End on a positive note: “By applying these strategies, you’re not just working harder – you’re working smarter, and your future self (during exams) will thank you.”