- study in 20-50 minute chunks (take 5-10 minute breaks in b/w)
- music: stick to instrumental music and/or music that you're already familiar with
- repetition is the mother of skill
- learn the most important facts first
- (new information is acquired much more easily when you can relate it to material that you already know)
- when you are beginning to study a new chapter, it will make the information easier to learn if you first read the introduction, the headings, the first sentence of every paragraph, and the chapter summary before going on to read the chapter as a whole.
- if you have enough privacy, it also helps to recite your summaries aloud in order to involve more senses in the activity of learning
- if your textbook has a glossary, make sure that you understand these terms completely
- you don't have to memorize them, but whenever there is an important concept in a particular field, there is usually a special term to refer to it
- make associations. the most effective way to retain information is to "tie" it to existing information that's already lodged in your mind
- think about what you already learn and remember easily--song lyrics? choreography? pictures?
- understand the difference between homework and studying
- the general purpose of homework is to reinforce the knowledge that you learn in the classroom; extra practice, so that you can refine your skills and knowledge in a particular area
- studying refers to the time students spend on their own to go over material they learned in class.
- although cramming at the last minute can help you get a slightly higher score on a single test, this method won’t help you retain information for midterms and final exams, let alone for use in your career after graduation
- at the beginning of each week, determine why you need to study and what you plan to accomplish in each class
- do you want to raise your average in a particular class in order to maintain a certain GPA? are you preparing for a big exam?
- for example, if you are studying for an important midterm exam, alter your study plan two weeks prior to the test to incorporate review of old tests and notes in your sessions; when you don’t have an upcoming test, use your study time to read ahead one chapter in order to grasp the next lecture
- if you schedule several long days in a row of studying, you will get discouraged and will be tempted to give up. it is acceptable, and even recommended, that you schedule time for nonacademic activities
- as a general rule of thumb, most professors suggest that college students spend about two hours studying per week for each credit hour they take
- try to predict questions that your professor may put on an exam and practice how you would answer them
- hide-write-compare
- after you have read a chapter in your textbook and written down all the important terms, you can test your knowledge to see if you remember them; cover up the definition of each term and try writing it again from memory
- you can use analogies to compare and contrast specific terms or ideas
- there are several kinds of analogies
- battery is to a flashlight as a keyboard is to a computer
- smoking is to cancer as itching is to scratching
- try different methods for different kinds of courses
- for example, you will find repetition helpful for an anatomy course, whereas storytelling would be best to test your understanding in a history course
- when you study your notes, introduce various review techniques
- consider rewriting them by hand if you usually use a laptop or tablet to take notes, or vice versa
- break down long items into smaller pieces
- ie. 5551234567 is difficult to remember at a glance, but by breaking it down into several pieces, such as “555-123-4567,” you will be able to remember it long enough to write it down or store it in permanent memory
- (on flashcards) after shuffling them, go through them and quiz yourself.
- put cards that you get wrong in stack A, and the ones you get right in stack B
- review stack A every day, moving the cards you get right to stack B
- review stack B every week, putting the ones you get wrong in stack A
sep 3 2013 ∞
jul 1 2014 +