Muskingum College - Center for Advancement and Learning (CAL)

Organization

Background Information on Organization

Purposes of Organization Strategies

Advantages of Organization Strategies

Specific Organization Strategies

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BACKGROUND INFORMATION ON ORGANIZATION

Organization refers to keeping things in predictable places or arranging things in an orderly or structured manner.

There are two aspects of organization. Being organized involves keeping your personal space in order so that you can find things when you need them. Being organized also entails keeping the information you learn in school in order so you can better understand it, process it, and remember it. You might have one without the other, but both components of organization are worthy of your efforts to achieve them.

Organization is not a cut-and-dry issue. There are different states of organization that vary from person to person. Organization is a personal thing. What is organized for one person may not seem very organized to another. It is important to develop organizational strategies that suit you personally. The strategies described in this page should help you develop an arsenal of approaches to fit your personal needs.

PURPOSES OF ORGANIZATION STRATEGIES

Organization strategies impact a variety of aspects of student life. Some strategies are designed to organize one's personal space. Others are intended to organize information from books, lectures, and other sources.

ADVANTAGES OF ORGANIZATION STRATEGIES

One advantage of being better organized is that it saves time spent looking for misplaced books, notes, and other items. This, in turn, helps one to avoid the frustration and stress that stems from being unable to find something important.

Good organization skills help to eliminate one factor that causes some people to procrastinate. If you can't find an assignment, it is easy to put off starting it. If you can find an assignment, you've lost one excuse for procrastinating.

In a similar vein, being organized diminishes distractions. Some people are unable to begin a project if their surroundings are not in order. By keeping things in some sense of order, you may be less distracted and better able to remain focused on the task at hand.

Information that is organized is easier to register in and recall from memory. The process of reorganizing information after you read it or hear it in class is an excellent way to review the new material. The benefits of this are obvious; being able to organize information effectively will positively impact class participation as well as testing performance.

SPECIFIC ORGANIZATION STRATEGIES

Strategies for organizing one's personal space and for organizing information are discussed in this page.

Spatial Organization
Information Organization
- Introduction to Information Organization
- Color Coding
- Three-Ring Binders
- Comparison-Contrast Organizers
- Hierarchical Organizers (Arrays)
- Flow Charts
- Outlines
- Continuum Charts (Scale Charts)
- Matrices (Tables)
- Herringbone Maps (Fishbone Maps)
- Spider Maps or Webs
- Sample Word Map (Concept Map or Semantic Map)
- Opinion Chart
- Frayer Model
- Flash Cards (Concept Cards)
- Running Concept Lists (Split-Page Vocabulary Lists)

INTRODUCTION TO SPATIAL ORGANIZATION

Spatial organization strategies dealing with keeping one's physical space in order. For students, it is important to keep one's room and study area organized so that study materials are easily located and one is not distracted.

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ORGANIZING ONE'S ROOM

Spatial organization is important for locating study materials and other items when needed. If one's room is in order, it is one less distraction from academic tasks and it saves wasted time looking for things.

Organizing one's room does not mean it has to be neat and orderly. Being organized means that things have a place and you are able to locate them easily. Therefore, even messy or sloppy people can be and should be organized.

Organize your room so you have a place for all your school materials and can access them with ease. Organizing one's study area is discussed in the next section of this page.

Have a section of the room for personal items like toiletries, hair dryers, etc. Designate another area for food, coffee pot, popcorn popper, etc.

Restoring order to one's room should become part of each student's daily or weekly routine. It may be necessary to reorganize one's room periodically.

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ORGANIZING ONE'S STUDY AREA

Spatial organization is important for locating study materials and other items when needed. If one's study area is in order, it is one less distraction from academic tasks and it saves wasted time looking for things.

Set aside a special place in your room where most of your schoolwork can be conducted. Usually a desk is the focal point of the study area. The study area should have the following characteristics. It should be quiet and free from distractions like posters, windows, television, and/or stereo. It should allow one easy access to study materials. It should be comfortable in terms of temperature and physical comfort, but not so comfortable that it encourages one to fall asleep. For more information on eliminating external distractions, refer to that section of the Attention and Listening page.

Purchase shelves or book cases for sorting textbooks, lab manuals, three-ring binders, etc. Bricks and scrap plywood provide a relatively inexpensive alternative to book cases.

Purchase several paper bins for separating school assignments, club activities and paper work, and personal papers, bills, or letters. Prioritize your papers within each bin by using file folders. For example, have a file marked "Urgent" for tasks needing immediate attention and a file marked "Less Urgent" for less pressing assignments.

Have study aids close at hand, on book shelves or the desk. Study aids include an English dictionary, foreign language dictionaries, a thesaurus, and style guides like Turabian's A Manual for Writers.

Display time management planners and schedules in prominent places like the desk top, above the desk, on the door, above the refrigerator, or on the mirror. For more information, refer to the time management strategies in the Time Management page.

Organize school supplies and keep them in one place on or in your desk. You should have the following supplies on hand for completing assignments: pens, pencils, erasers, highlighters, colored pencils, tape, glue, hole punch, stapler, paper clips, calculator, protractor, and ruler. You might also consider making a "travel case" of supplies that can be quickly thrown into a backpack for use in classes or labs.

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INTRODUCTION TO INFORMATION ORGANIZATION

Information obtained from lectures, text books, movies, and other sources may be organized using one or more of a number of strategies. Information organization aids memory, note taking, test preparation, test taking, and writing.

Students should attempt to use a number of information organization strategies. The type of organizer used will depend on the nature of the information, the nature of the task at hand, and the student's preferred learning style.

In addition to color coding and three-ring binders, this section describes and illustrates thirteen approaches to organizing information. At least three images are provided for each strategy: a blank template that users may print for personal use, a generalized image showing how the organizer is used, and at least one completed example using course-specific content information. The thirteen organizational strategies are:

Comparison-Contrast Organizers
Hierarchical Organizers (Arrays)
Flow Charts
Outlines
Continuum Charts (Scale Charts)
Matrices (Tables)
Herringbone Maps (Fishbone Maps)
Spider Maps or Webs
Sample Word Map (Concept Map or Semantic Map)
Opinion Chart
Frayer Model
Flash Cards (Concept Cards)
Running Concept Lists (Split-Page Vocabulary Lists)

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COLOR CODING

Color coding may be used to organize lecture notes, study materials and school supplies, time management planners, and test preparation materials.

Lecture Notes

Color coding may be used to organize lecture notes after class. The strategy is described in more detail in the Color Coding section of the Note taking page.

To organize notes using color, first scan the notes to get a general idea of the content of the lecture. Then compare the notes to the text book and/or syllabus to determine the major topics covered in the notes. Assign a highlighter color to each of the major topics, and highlight all the information pertaining to each topic using its assigned color. The notes then may be reorganized according to the major topics.

This strategy is particularly useful for courses in which the instructor skips back and forth between different topics. It also allows one to incorporate text book material into the notes, resulting in a more complete and accurate set of notes to use for exam preparation.

Study Materials and School Supplies

Use color to organize study materials and school supplies. Buy notebooks, three-ring binders, and folders of different colors, and assign each course a different color. This will make it easier to locate needed materials before rushing to class or a study session. Computer floppy disk labels also may be color coded to correspond to certain subjects or tasks.

Time Management

Another organizational use of color coding relates to time management. In one respect, colors may be used to emphasize or distinguish different activities (e.g. class, work, study, practice, social events) on time management planners. In another way, color coding may be used to evaluate one's time management habits. For more information on these strategies, see Color Coding in the Time Management page.

Test Preparation

Color coding may be used in a variety of ways during exam preparation. First, try writing flash cards about different topics in different colors of inks or on different colors of index cards. Second, use different colors of ink to arrange information in outline form. To distinguish main points from supporting details, write the former in one color and the latter in another. To distinguish information related to different topics, write the main points and supporting details for each topic in different colors. Third, identify important information in the notes or textbook by using colored highlighters.

Be creative! Think of other ways to use colors to indicate relationships and associations among information to be learned for the test.

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THREE-RING BINDERS

Three-ring binders, loose-leaf paper, and dividers are strongly suggested for organizing notes and other course papers. Course papers, including notes, exams, homework, handouts, and syllabi, are effectively organized using three-ring binders. Three-ring binders allow one to organize class materials in one place, and they are easily transported to class or the library.

Three-ring binders offer a number of advantages over spiral notebooks. First, notes may be easily inserted and removed for reorganizing, recopying, or reviewing. Second, supplementary course papers may be organized and added using a hole punch. This puts all course materials in one place for easy studying. Third, dividers may be inserted for separating notes by major topic or for separating notes from syllabi, handouts, quizzes, homework, and other course papers. Fourth, three-ring binders are easy to transport from class to room to library. Fifth, binders allow one to locate material more easily than spiral notebooks. Finally, most three-ring binders have inner pockets for storing extra paper.

The following list outlines tips for effectively using three-ring binders.

Purchase a three-ring binder for each class every quarter or semester. Buy certain colors for different classes if desired. For example, use red binders for classes in your major, blue binders for science classes, green for history, etc. Using different colors makes it easier to locate the correct binders when they are needed for class or for studying.
Label the spine and/or front of each notebook with the course name and your name. Include your address and/or phone number inside the folder in case it is lost. Use sticky labels rather than marking directly on the binder with a magic marker; labels can be removed and changed more easily if the binder is re-used.
Purchase divider pages to put in each three-ring notebook. Use them to separate different topics in the notes or to separate notes from other course papers like exams, handouts, and homework.
Reorganize and recopy your notes if necessary.
Put the notes in the proper sections of the binder.
Purchase or borrow a hole punch so that other course papers may be added to the binder. Put the syllabus, exams, homework problems, and handouts in separate sections of the binder, or add them by topic after each section of notes.

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COMPARISON-CONTRAST ORGANIZERS

Comparison-contrast organizers are used to graphically illustrate or summarize how two or more concepts are similar and different. They are very useful for encoding information for essay exams.

Compare and contrast organizers are set up in one of three ways: column, matrix, and Venn diagram. Each of these is described and illustrated below.

COLUMN COMPARE-CONTRAST ORGANIZER

This format allows one to compare and contrast two or more aspects of a general topic. The information is arranged into divided columns for noting similarities and differences between the items.

The general format of a column organizer is illustrated below.