The students among us are always looking for a more effective way to study. There are many articles (compare with this) specifically addressing this need. You may also want to read these study tips.
Here I want to review the basics from keytostudy perspective.
Mindset matters.
This is a big issue that can be broken into several components.
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- You should be confident in your skills, based on true successes and not on wishful thinking.
- Do not try to take over more than you can, but also do not procrastinate more than your schedule allows.
- Avoid perfectionism and drama. There is no absolute success or absolute failure, just another skillset to learn.
- Be driven by curiosity and understanding, not fear of missing out and mindless memorization. This is especially true for our students.
- Do not get competitive with others. Learn the social dynamics and use them to facilitate your learning.
Control your environment.
- You should carry with you what you need, but not more than you need.
- Your room should be sufficiently tidy and quite for you to study. Even if it isn’t, do find a place where you can study effectively.
- Our sleep is very important. Each one of us has different needs. Have enough sleep if you want to be productive.
- Food, drinks, sports also matter. You need to find what works best for you. Some get energy through jogging, others through meditation.
- Do not stay in one place all the time. That may build a depression. Venture out and explore the surroundings.
- Do take breaks. Reward yourself. Do not forget to have fun.
Take notes and memorize.
- You should take notes during lectures and reading.
- Memorization does not have to be connected to notetaking. Create mnemonic devices and memorize everything you might need.
- Occasionally you should compare your notes with your memorization. Constantly improve both memorization and note-taking.
- When you visit classes you get a lot of specific cultures and build a network in nonverbal clues. Notes do not substitute class time.
- There is a difference between handwritten notes, margin notes on printed handouts, Evernote and other media. Use your media wisely.
Practice.
- Take test exercises, prior year tests, always measure your success.
- If there is a workshop or a lab, do get some hands-on time. Your report does not have to be perfect: just understand what you are doing and why.
- Set measurable goals and achieve them. Monitor your time.
- Put a little learning for the exam preps as you can. I remember I used to study during the semester and left 1 day before the exam to refresh.
- If something interests you, try to find out the truth even if this will not be on the exam. This is the best way to learn.
- Discuss it with friends. Study groups are great but do also study by yourself.
Learn! Your ultimate goal should be not passing one exam or another but learning a skillset for the rest of your life. This is a long term investment. If you fail to learn for the first time, you may need to learn again and again.
You would expect this post to be about reading speed, retention percentage, and memorization tricks. These tools are important, but all they do is enable you getting great results with less effort. The ultimate make or break learning talent is generating good learning environment and treating learning as investment or life-long passion. It is really easy to get overwhelmed by information, requirements, scheduling issues, exams. The school years can be very stressful, but they can also be the best years of your life. Learning is a great adventure, do not forget to enjoy it.
(https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cynefin_framework)
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