Study guides · Stuff Every Scholarship Scout Should Know
Practice facts for the Scholarship merit badge. Not an official Scouting America credential. Grab a snack: this guide is the friendly version, with the answers explained and a groan-worthy joke waiting at the end of most cards.
Knowing Scholarship Scout saves you money, time and the occasional embarrassment.
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Short answer: Read, Encode, Annotate, Ponder
REAP helps you understand a text by reading, restating ideas, adding notes, and thinking further.
Groan of the day: Don't just skim the REAP, harvest the ideas.
Sources: Study skills
Short answer: Preview
PQRST starts with Preview, glancing over headings or syllabus points before reading.
Groan of the day: Preview the chapter so nothing catches you off guard.
Sources: Study skills
Short answer: They had better and longer lasting retention
Students who tested themselves retained material better and longer than those who just reviewed.
Groan of the day: Test yourself before the test tests you.
Sources: Study skills
Short answer: A rise in memory performance from testing
The testing effect describes improved memory performance that comes from testing yourself.
Groan of the day: Testing is not just measuring, it is memory building.
Sources: Study skills
Short answer: Accuracy and comprehension
Speed reading may be trainable but it lowers accuracy, comprehension, and understanding.
Groan of the day: Fast pages can leave slow understanding.
Sources: Study skills
Short answer: The order of compass points
The first letters match North, East, South, West in clockwise order.
Groan of the day: That wheat phrase points you in the right direction.
Sources: Study skills
Short answer: Point, Evidence, Explain
PEE breaks down exam questions into a point, supporting evidence, and explanation.
Groan of the day: PEE helps your answers flow, not trickle.
Sources: Study skills
Short answer: Mixing related topics or skills together
Interleaving practices multiple related skills in a mixed pattern, which research finds superior to blocking.
Groan of the day: Interleave your practice so skills learn to mingle.
Sources: Study skills
Short answer: AAA-BBB-CCC
Blocking means studying one topic at a time in a row before moving on.
Groan of the day: Blocking stacks one topic at a time like bricks.
Sources: Study skills
Short answer: Retrieving learned information from memory
Active recall means pulling information from memory, often through testing or self-quizzing.
Groan of the day: Recall is a call you make to your memory.
Sources: Study skills
Short answer: Topics to study first because they are important and simple
Green marks important and simple topics, so you start with the quickest benefit.
Groan of the day: Green means go study the easy wins first.
Sources: Study skills
Short answer: Lowest priority, complex and not vital
Red topics are lowest priority and only handled if time allows.
Groan of the day: Red means stop and save it for later.
Sources: Study skills
Short answer: It improves memorization
Getting enough rest helps improve memorization, so sleep is part of good study habits.
Groan of the day: Sleep is a study session your brain runs overnight.
Sources: Study skills
Short answer: In the morning
Students are generally more productive in the morning than in the afternoon.
Groan of the day: Morning minds are bright and ready to learn.
Sources: Study skills
Short answer: 30-minute sections with 25 minutes study and 5 minutes rest
Each Pomodoro is a 25-minute work period plus a 5-minute break within a 30-minute block.
Groan of the day: A Pomodoro is a tomato-sized chunk of focus.
Sources: Study skills
Short answer: Every 4 Pomodoros
After every four Pomodoros, a 15 to 30 minute break is recommended.
Groan of the day: Four tomatoes, then a longer rest to ripen.
Sources: Study skills
Short answer: They reported lower anxiety and better results
Students who journaled right before stressful tests reported less anxiety and better test results.
Groan of the day: A few written worries can lighten a heavy test day.
Sources: Study skills
Short answer: Different settings create stronger memory pathways
Changing location, sounds, or smells gives the brain more pathways to access information.
Groan of the day: A change of scene can change your recall game.
Sources: Study skills
Short answer: 40 percent
Carey says a simple change in venue improved retrieval strength, or memory, by 40 percent.
Groan of the day: A new venue can give memory a 40 percent boost.
Sources: Study skills
Short answer: A learning tool
There is some support for concept mapping as an effective learning tool.
Groan of the day: Map your concepts so ideas stop getting lost.
Sources: Study skills
Short answer: Encode
Encode means paraphrasing the author's idea into your own words.
Groan of the day: Encode ideas in your own words to decode them later.
Sources: Study skills
Short answer: Annotate
Annotate means adding critical understanding and relevant notes to the section.
Groan of the day: Annotate with care so notes are not just decoration.
Sources: Study skills
Short answer: Formulate questions to answer
After examining the topic, you write questions that your reading should answer.
Groan of the day: Ask questions first so reading has a target.
Sources: Study skills
Short answer: Summarize the topic in your own understanding
Summary means condensing the topic using your own understanding, notes, or diagrams.
Groan of the day: Summarize so the big idea does not get buried.
Sources: Study skills
Short answer: A B average or higher for a term
One option is showing an average grade of B or higher, or 80 percent or higher, for a term.
Groan of the day: A B average is a grade above the rest.
Sources: Scouting America: Scholarship
Short answer: Get counselor and parent or guardian approval first
With counselor and parent or guardian approval, you interview two professionals and discuss findings.
Groan of the day: Get approval first so your interview is on the level.
Sources: Scouting America: Scholarship
Short answer: 250 to 300 words
The report should be 250 to 300 words about education's future value or two careers.
Groan of the day: Keep it between 250 and 300 words, not a word more or less.
Sources: Scouting America: Scholarship
Short answer: A note stating behavior, leadership, and service were satisfactory
The principal or named official confirms satisfactory behavior, leadership, and service over the past year.
Groan of the day: A satisfactory note means your conduct made the grade.
Sources: Scouting America: Scholarship
Short answer: Assignments and activities
A planner records assignments and activities so you can see what is due and manage time.
Groan of the day: A planner is a real page-turner for your week.
Sources: Scouting America: Scholarship
Short answer: It offers books and periodicals
The badge lists the library, books, and periodicals as research methods with advantages and disadvantages.
Groan of the day: The library is full of novel ideas.
Sources: Scouting America: Scholarship
Short answer: Learning the importance of teamwork
The badge asks you to discuss benefits of participation and what you learned about teamwork.
Groan of the day: Teamwork makes the dream work, and the work work.
Sources: Scouting America: Scholarship
Short answer: Your positive contributions to the team
The badge asks you to tell about the positive contributions you made to the team and project.
Groan of the day: Be a contributor, not a spectator.
Sources: Scouting America: Scholarship
Short answer: Discuss what you find out with your counselor
After interviewing two professionals with approval, you discuss what you find out with your counselor.
Groan of the day: A good interview is a chat that matters.
Sources: Scouting America: Scholarship
Short answer: Where they were educated and what training they received
The badge asks where they were educated, what training they received, and how it prepared them.
Groan of the day: Training is the trail to a career.
Sources: Scouting America: Scholarship
Short answer: How they continue to educate themselves
The badge asks how professionals continue to educate themselves after their initial training.
Groan of the day: Learning is a lifelong class act.
Sources: Scouting America: Scholarship
Short answer: Visit it and report how you used it to learn
The badge asks you to visit an educational place and report how you used it for self-education.
Groan of the day: A museum visit is a trip worth taking notes on.
Sources: Scouting America: Scholarship
Short answer: Educational places where you live other than schools
You list educational places located where you live, other than schools, then visit one.
Groan of the day: Your town is a classroom with no bell.
Sources: Scouting America: Scholarship
Short answer: They may get a note from a parent or guardian
If your school has no principal, you may get a note from a counterpart such as a parent or guardian.
Groan of the day: At home, the principal's office is the kitchen table.
Sources: Scouting America: Scholarship
Short answer: Improvement for one term or semester
One option is showing that for one term or semester you improved your school grades over the previous period.
Groan of the day: Improvement is a grade above.
Sources: Scouting America: Scholarship
Short answer: How school will help you and how you will keep learning
The report covers how your school education will be valuable and how you will continue educating yourself.
Groan of the day: Your future self will thank your present study.
Sources: Scouting America: Scholarship
Short answer: How specific classes and good scholarship help your goals
The report covers two careers and how specific classes and good scholarship help you achieve your goals.
Groan of the day: Classes are stepping stones to a career.
Sources: Scouting America: Scholarship
Short answer: Choose professionals other than school teachers
The professionals you interview should be other than teachers or other professionals at your school.
Groan of the day: Look beyond the school walls for career clues.
Sources: Scouting America: Scholarship
Short answer: Organizing and memorizing information
A mnemonic is a method of organizing and memorizing information, such as a phrase or acronym.
Groan of the day: A mnemonic is a memory's best friend.
Sources: Study skills
Short answer: Visualizing key information in physical locations
The method of loci is a memory technique that places key information in imagined physical locations.
Groan of the day: The method of loci puts memories in their place.
Sources: Study skills
Short answer: Splitting study into shorter sessions over time
Spacing splits a long study session into shorter sessions, often days apart, to improve retention.
Groan of the day: Space out your study and give your brain room.
Sources: Study skills
Short answer: Consider every part of an exam question
The Black-Red-Green method helps ensure every aspect of an exam question is considered.
Groan of the day: Color-code the question and see it in a new light.
Sources: Study skills
Short answer: Blatant instructions that must be done
Black denotes blatant instructions, something that clearly must be done.
Groan of the day: Black marks the must-dos in bold.
Sources: Study skills
Short answer: Subtle signals or hints you might miss
Green denotes gremlins, subtle signals you might easily miss, or a hint on how to proceed.
Groan of the day: Green means go find the hidden hints.
Sources: Study skills
Short answer: A word or phrase that helps you recall a memory
A cue is a word, short phrase, or song that helps you access a memory you encoded with it.
Groan of the day: A good cue is a memory's cue card.
Sources: Study skills
Short answer: Cues you create yourself
Research suggests cues made by others are not as effective as cues learners create themselves.
Groan of the day: Make your own cues and call the shots.
Sources: Study skills
The whole guide on one screen. Screenshot it, print it, stick it on the fridge.
Think of your answer first, then peek.
Read, Encode, Annotate, Ponder. REAP helps you understand a text by reading, restating ideas, adding notes, and thinking further.
Topics to study first because they are important and simple. Green marks important and simple topics, so you start with the quickest benefit.
Encode. Encode means paraphrasing the author's idea into your own words.
Learning the importance of teamwork. The badge asks you to discuss benefits of participation and what you learned about teamwork.
How specific classes and good scholarship help your goals. The report covers two careers and how specific classes and good scholarship help you achieve your goals.
Read a chapter, then play the deck and see how much stuck.
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