How do you learn best?

[MN81]

Well... respond to the poll...

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[Rafa]

LOL...I presume "study" isn't a euphemism for...ahem...

 

[MN81]

LOL...I presume "study" isn't a euphemism for...ahem...

either/or

 

[whyworldhateme?]

I study especially well with cute partners

 

[silas2642]

Well... respond to the poll...

I replied "other" because quite frankly, I learn best when I'm all alone in a corner, drinking Mike's Hard Lemonade while making up inappropriate sexually suggestive pneumonics and occassionally smelling my armpits. But hey, it got me in, so keep doing what works, right?

 

[Moto]

making up inappropriate sexually suggestive pneumonics

Precisely why I have to study alone

 

[Risa]

I voted other because "what, me study?" was not an option

 

[MN81]

I voted other because "what, me study?" was not an option

Oh, so you are the person who doesn't study, pulls off great grades, and gets into Harvard Med School...

"Jealousy" should be a smilie option

 

[DrBowtie]

Results: Conclusive.

 

[bbas]

Definitely alone. I am distracted way to easily.

 

[jbrice1639]

i actually learn best by listening to a good lecturer...but in classes where my lecturers weren't as good and i was forced to study more outside of class, i preferred alone. i think that's more just the nature of being a post-bac and not living on campus though...so i guess i chose alone by default.

 

[bbas]

i actually learn best by listening to a good lecturer...but in classes where my lecturers weren't as good and i was forced to study more outside of class, i preferred alone. i think that's more just the nature of being a post-bac and not living on campus though...so i guess i chose alone by default.

I wish that I could learn from lectures, but its pretty much impossible for me. The only way I learn is to read the text/notes in a quiet area. Even when I do go to lecture, I usually just end up reading the textbook. I guess I'm just not an auditory learner.

 

[the alchemist]

i voted 'other' b/c i like to study at home (sometimes in bed) in my PJ's with frequent study breaks to eat or do something less stressful (like watch some tv, esp sports, play with my cats, etc). i'm not into the study in the library where ppl give u the evil eye whenever u walk by and your shoes squeak or sth or the other extreme, when study groups are way too loud. usually i do this alone but i don't mind studying in a group *after* i've already done most of the material alone 1st (so that i don't get distracted or end up working on stuff i already know but most of the group doesn't understand). problem is i like to cram last minute (guess this'll have to change in med school) so i can't study in a group til i'm ready to.

 

[Rafa]

This is probably the most one-sided poll I've ever seen on SDN. Impressive.

Yup, I go it alone. I tried the group thing freshman year a couple of times, and it didn't work. I know what I know, and I know what I don't know (unlike Donald Rumsfeld). When I need to learn something (and *know* I need to learn it, since it'll show up on a test), I put in the effort to learn it, through the book, through notes, through practice problems and old tests. If it still doesn't sink in after all that, I take the test anyway, and aim for a B in the class.

And I hope I'm not the only one here for whom "study" refers to the...ahem..."speed-learning" that occurs in the days before each major test, and not to a day-by-day, diligence and discipline type of thing. Perhaps this should be a poll. "How often do you study?"

 

[shortyganoush]

I wish that I could learn from lectures, but its pretty much impossible for me. The only way I learn is to read the text/notes in a quiet area. Even when I do go to lecture, I usually just end up reading the textbook. I guess I'm just not an auditory learner.

Wow, there's someone else out there like me. Too bad I can't have in textbook or syllibus form everything my supervisors tell me.

 

[crazy_cavalier]

So many loners and gunners... sigh.

 

[Moto]

And I hope I'm not the only one here for whom "study" refers to the...ahem..."speed-learning" that occurs in the days before each major test, and not to a day-by-day, diligence and discipline type of thing. Perhaps this should be a poll. "How often do you study?"

You are not alone I need to alter that approach in medical school.

 

[NiteOwl]

This is probably the most one-sided poll I've ever seen on SDN. Impressive.

Yup, I go it alone. I tried the group thing freshman year a couple of times, and it didn't work. I know what I know, and I know what I don't know (unlike Donald Rumsfeld). When I need to learn something (and *know* I need to learn it, since it'll show up on a test), I put in the effort to learn it, through the book, through notes, through practice problems and old tests. If it still doesn't sink in after all that, I take the test anyway, and aim for a B in the class.

And I hope I'm not the only one here for whom "study" refers to the...ahem..."speed-learning" that occurs in the days before each major test, and not to a day-by-day, diligence and discipline type of thing. Perhaps this should be a poll. "How often do you study?"

You aren't the only one. I usually do the "speed-learning" method...and end up staying up for 36 hours or so studying and then going to class to take a test.

 

[fpr85]

LOL...I presume "study" isn't a euphemism for...ahem...

You mean like how Anthony Swofford "studies" with his girlfriend in the movie Jarhead?

... or studying anatomy with yourself?

 

[the alchemist]

And I hope I'm not the only one here for whom "study" refers to the...ahem..."speed-learning" that occurs in the days before each major test, and not to a day-by-day, diligence and discipline type of thing. Perhaps this should be a poll. "How often do you study?"

i agree with u. i'm a crammer but its worked so far (though i understand i may need to reassess this method once in med school)

 

[DrVanNostran]

I picked other b/c I first study alone, then study in groups to go through some q and a. So its a combo for me

 

[Zoom-Zoom]

Alone is the only way to really learn it for me.

I don't really go to lectures to learn the material. If I've done the reading it helps cement it in a little, and if I havn't read it kind of keeps me current so that when I do read I'm not totally confused and overwhelmed. I could absolutely never take a science test without reading. Psych classes are another story

 

[chandelantern]

i actually learn best by listening to a good lecturer...but in classes where my lecturers weren't as good and i was forced to study more outside of class, i preferred alone. i think that's more just the nature of being a post-bac and not living on campus though...so i guess i chose alone by default.

Dito. When I'm cramming though I do like my husband or a classmate to quiz me on the material, because hearing it always makes it stick more than reading it on the page. I cannot study in a group unless I go with the intent I am teaching someone the material...then it reinforces it for me and hopefully helps them, but undirected group studying just wastes my time.

 

[63768]

i do the group thing if i'm studying a week or something in advance when i have ample time to mess around or goof off with my friends. but when it's crunch time, i am most efficient alone.

 

[thedelicatessen]

I like studying by myself because I'm in control of what I study and I don't feel like I have to accomodate the other people studying. However, group studying is great if you're not comfortable with the subject to begin with so that they can help you out.

 

[dbhvt]

Reviewing power point slides all night with SDN open. That seems to do the trick.

 

[OwnageMobile]

I am quite a crammer. But doing the "coffee shop" thing, I like to be with friends, and take turns teaching eachother snippets. I tend to really solidify know-how when I have to teach it back to someone. Cramming I do alone and wear a baseball cap so I dont pull all my hair out

 

[drmota]

i can't stand studying with people that like to talk during it. irks me.
-mota

 

[red dot]

these results are interesting. i thought maybe 50% like to study alone... but why do people in the library study in droves? they take up whole rows of tables. with their bio books all out. it's actually kinda scary in a dude-i-feel-sorry-that-you-live-here sort of way.

 

[Thundrstorm]

Alone.

I don't want to tutor you. I don't want you to quiz me. I don't want to hear your stupid mnemonic if I have my own. No, I don't want to meet in the library. No, I haven't read 3 of the 4 chapters yet. Yes, I can study just fine in Starbucks with all of the noise, and I'll thank you to move so I can put my feet up on the chair you're sitting in.

 

[ivy91]

Alone.

I don't want to tutor you. I don't want you to quiz me. I don't want to hear your stupid mnemonic if I have my own. No, I don't want to meet in the library. No, I haven't read 3 of the 4 chapters yet. Yes, I can study just fine in Starbucks with all of the noise, and I'll thank you to move so I can put my feet up on the chair you're sitting in.

hahaha that's awesome!

 

[browniegirl86]

I voted for "small group," but here's how it actually goes down:

About 5 days before a test, I start studying on my own. A few hours of rewriting and organizing all the materials into outlines and flashcards, then reviewing and re-reading the chapters. I don't study excessively on these first couple of days, but I increase the # of hours (say, 3 becomes 8) gradually.

Then, the 2 nights before the test (this is a BIG test btw) I start studying with a small group, usually 2 or 3 other micro majors. We all had the same classes together for 3 years, so it was great to bounce ideas off of each other and talk through all the material. Spring semester of junior year was especially hardcore due to Tumor Biology and Medical Mycology tests falling on the same day each time. These group sessions usually lasted about 12 hours each, and were mostly only a few hours apart.

Sounds obsessive I guess, and I swear I'm actually a lazy-ass who always figures out the bare minimum to get an A, but it works.