STUDY SMARTER, NOT HARDER Being a student is a full-time job. It requires motivation, organization, and the ability to manage your time efficiently. Besides these things, a successful student needs to know how to study well and not just study hard. It is somewhat of a myth to believe that in studying a lot and cramming for exams and tests, success will be achieved. The amount of studying that goes into preparing for a test does not always bring about the expected positive results. Students are taught methods of study by their teachers and are expected to use these techniques even though they may not be suitable to all people. By knowing how to study in a way that works best for the student, he or she is able to focus and direct energy toward tasks that require the most attention, and decrease some of the stress that comes with being in school. These tips will help any student study smarter, not harder. Here are some of our favorite study tips: Recite As You Study Recitation should first take place as you read through each paragraph or section. Quiz or test yourself. This promotes understanding as well as faster learning because it is a more active process than reading or listening. It also tests understanding, revealing mistakes or gaps. Recite in your own words. Auditory learners should spend more time in reciting orally what they are learning than visualizers. Read aloud passages you find difficult. When to Study Make studying a regular part of your schedule. Let it become routine like brushing your teeth or tying your shoes. For example, once your class times are set, find times when you have a two-hour block, say 2-4 pm on Tuesday/Thursday and 8:30-10:30 pm Monday/Wednesday. Do not ever schedule something else at those times: make them sacred! Choose study times and days when youre likely to feel energetic and have enough time to complete assignments before class. Use daylight hours (as much as possible). Research shows that 60 minutes of study during the day is the equivalent of 90 minutes of study at night. List and do tasks according to priorities. Remember Parkinsons Law: Work expands to fill the time available for its completion.” If you allot two hours to read ten pages, it will probably take you the full two hours to complete this 30-minute task. Take Fuller Notes Visual learners should take fuller notes during lectures and their readings, as they learn more readily by visualizing than hearing. Auditory learners should take fuller notes perhaps on their readings. Notes should be in your own words, brief, clear but succinct. They should be legible and neat. Writing notes better reinforces memory than mere underlining, which is frequently done mechanically, often to excess and does not check understanding. Study the Middle The best time to review is soon after learning has taken place. The beginning and the end of material is best remembered, so pay close attention to the middle which is likely to be forgotten. The peak of difficulty in remembering is just beyond the middle, toward the end. Change your method of review. Sleep On It Study before going to bed unless you are physically or mentally overtired. Freshly learned material is better remembered after a period of sleep than after an equal period of daytime activity because retroactive interference takes place. Connect Ideas Whenever Possible There are two ways to memorize: by rote (mechanically) and by understanding. Multiplication tables, telephone numbers, combinations to safes, and the like are better learned by rote. ideas, concepts, theories and significances and the like are learned by understanding. Sometimes they work simultaneously. The more association you can elicit for an idea, the more meaning it will have; the more meaningful the learning, the better one is able to retain it. Always note similarities in ideas and concepts, and put them in their proper place in a larger system of ideas, concepts and theories. A bare literal understanding is often of little valuable. Never be satisfied with a hazy idea of what you are reading. If you are not able to follow the thought, go back to where you lost the trail.
Posted on: Sun, 07 Sep 2014 18:21:15 +0000