Ethics and Updates

Well, I know it's been a while - I have currently been out traveling to multiple states for moving and to check out homes for my new post-doc in Ohio. Basically, I have spent 24 hours in a vehicle over the past 10 days. But now that I am back, it's back to getting on the EPPP studying train!

This past week or so I have been reviewing ethics - which I would recommend if you don't have copies of the ethics codes or maybe even some of the supplemental ethics codes, please refer to the Free Study Materials Page under the Ethics section.

Practice tests have been quite the learning experience. I'm finding myself questioning my intuitive guess, which always turns out to be correct after I changed it. My challenge is finding a balance between reading through each question and set of answers throughly, without over-reading into the question. On to continuing my practice test for this week...

Biological Bases of the Brain Study Apps

Here again, on my love for technology, is a post about using educational apps about the brain for study purposes. (As you probably have guessed, I just reached that particular portion of my study materials.) I'm a more visual person (or "right-brained" in study terms) and have always appreciated having a visual aid to accompany lecture or study materials. Since most study materials for the EPPP do not offer that (or it's very basic, if that), here are some cool apps for your phone or iPad that can help you master all of those portions of the brain that might be more difficult to visualize.

Screenshot from 3D Brain App

3D Brain (Free!!) - is a free app (iOS and Android) that outlines basic brain structures, and allows you to move them around in 3D space using your fingers. Its very basic, but also very free! I found so far it seems to do the job pretty well in identifying structures.


Brain Tutor 3D (Free!!) - Provides images of the brain using MRI imaging from multiple views. It also gives information for certain areas of the brain in terms of its parts, location, and function. The images on this app don't look the best, like someone took MRI images and then used Microsoft paint to color in the parts that are labeled. Brain Tutor 3D HD is also available for $1.99, and looks a little bit cleaner and provides more detailed images of the brain. 

Pocket Brain ($14.99) - Obviously, this one is very expensive in contrast to free or $1.99. It appears to be designed more for our friends in the medical field, but there is still potentially some use. It has comprehensive imaging and information about the brain, 3D rotating brain with 9 layers of interactivity, interactive clinical cases, multiple quizes, and the ability to add your own notes to the app. Here is an additional review of this app. 

Another study material that can be handy, and if you enjoyed coloring books as a child (and secretly love doing it now) is "The Human Brain Coloring Book". Just as a warning, this book is designed for anatomy students, so it is probably more comprehensive than for our purposes, but you can always take the color the pages that fit your study needs. Otherwise, just find some diagrams of various parts of the brain online, and pull out those colored pencils! 

Flashcard Exchange and Quizlet Apps

Flashcardexchange.com and Quizlet.com are excellent resources for both making your own flashcard sets, or borrowing from others who have made EPPP flashcards. I've been wanting to make my own for on-the-go use, using my iPhone or iPad, and you can easily upload flashcard sets from the exchange to your mobile device. I'm a technology lover personally, and so I love to take any opportunity I can to incorporate the excessive amount of money I have spent on electronics. Here are some of the top apps for flashcards. All of these apps are compatible with Flashcard Exchange, Quizlet, or both.

Quizard ($2.99) and Quizard Lite (free!) - Has flashcard, quiz, and test mode. Warning - the "lite" version only allows sets of 20 cards, so it won't be long before you'll have to purchase the full app.

Mental Case Flashcards HD ($5.99) - This app allows you to record audio and add photos to your flashcards, and can upload flashcard sets from Flashcard Exchange or Quizlet. This app looks beautifully designed and is also available for iPad. They also have software for Mac computers.

Flashcards Deluxe ($3.99) and Flashcards Deluxe Lite (free!) - This one seems to have some of the best user ratings on the iTunes store. Offers a variety of study modes and can hold over 10,000 flashcards. Again, the free version is more like a demo version to see if you want to purchase the app - it allows 4 decks with 6 cards each.

Flashcards++ ($3.99) - High user ratings like Flashcards Deluxe, offers over 20,000 flashcards in a deck (most of these apps are designed for foreign language study), and like Flashcards Deluxe, you can rate yourself on how well you know the answer. This one seems more aimed for foreign language study, so I think I would go with Flashcards Deluxe.

Flashcards to Go ($3.99) and Flashcards to Go Lite (free!) for iPad - This app, like most apps specifically designed for iPad, can have more features and fit more on the screen due to the iPad's screen size. It's more organized, prettier, but has a lot of similar features to the other apps. You can record audio with the flashcards, and beyond using Quizlet or Flashcard Exchange, you can also use CSV and other file forms to upload cards.

If you're up for technology, check out some of these apps for flashcard studying! You can also search for pre-made decks from those before us so you don't have to reinvent the wheel! Click on the "Free Study Materials" link above for links to previously made EPPP flashcards on FlashcardExchange.com and Quizlet.com.

Time Management

A while back, when I was still writing my dissertation, I was having a lot of trouble keeping focused on writing. I wrote a qualitative dissertation, so I knew it would be quite a lengthy dissertation, requiring many hours at the keyboard. I became easily overwhelmed at a seemingly endless task, wondering if I would ever finish. I arranged for a consultation with a dissertation coach, who mentioned the Pomodoro Technique. This technique saved my academic life and provided an easy way to create time management. Some of you may have already heard of this technique (especially with writing a dissertation), or used it previously.

For those of you unfamiliar, let me divulge the secrets of this technique that can make it an invaluable tool for completing large tasks, like I am now using for studying for the EPPP. The Pomodoro Technique is using 25 minute blocks of time (or whatever you decide) where you work non-stop, no distractions, until the buzzer rings. After the 25 minute block is up (called a "pomodoro" or "tomato" in English), you take a 5 minute break. You document what you have completed during that tomato, and after the 5 minute break, you go back to work for another 25 minute block and repeat the break and recording the task(s) completed. After 4 tomatoes, it is suggested you take a longer break (15-30 minutes). If you get distracted during a tomato and cannot focus on completing the task(s), the tomato is "squashed" and doesn't count. If you do get distracted during a tomato, it's recommended to write down tasks you are thinking about on a to-do list and come back to it following the tomato.

Now, not only does this insure that you will not exhaust yourself by not taking appropriate study breaks, but this also teaches you how much work you complete on average with each tomato, which makes it much easier to plan a study schedule, for example. After I began studying the past week, I have learned when going through Academic Review's study guides, I found that it took me about 20 tomatoes to get through one subject book. While not all books are the same length, it's likely that it will take me a similar amount for the rest of the books, which means I can plan out my study schedule appropriately to go through all of the study books in the timeline desired.

I know this doesn't work for everyone's study style, but this has been a great technique for many people in providing structure, discipline, and planning abilities. You can download the free ebook or just your basic cheat sheet, along with to-do lists and recording sheets here. If you would rather time and record your tomatoes online, you can use mytomatoes.com or there are tons of phone apps out there for the pomodoro technique. A lot of times its fun to keep track of how many tomatoes you complete for the day, and can be helpful to someone with a competitive personality. So, if you find yourself having trouble keeping focused and/or maintaining a good study schedule, consider giving this technique a try.

Let's Check Your Baseline

This is a print out from my first diagnostic assessment (my "baseline"), free courtesy of Academic Review, which assesses your competencies of all sections of the test. You can take this diagnostic test multiple times (once per month), as a way to keep track of your progress. This tool can be very helpful for remedial studying - focusing on the areas you may need some more attention. As you can see from these scores, I do have one big sore thumb - social psychology. However, this makes complete sense to me since I did not take social psychology in undergrad, and the EPPP asks about basic concepts in these areas (i.e. undergrad level). I also have some strengths - Neuropsychology (which I just completed a rotation on at my internship), diagnosis and psychopathology, and research design and statistics (this one has to be a fluke). 

Take advantage of diagnostic tests to help you plan your study schedule and guide your areas of focus for areas that might be a bit of concern.

I am pleased with a 62% with no studying! Only 8 more percentage points to go, which I believe to be more than achievable. :)