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- Nov 20, 2017
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Hello all! Last semester I had a pretty hard time producing effective study skills, even when I would take my medicine. Honestly, my anxiety about tests that were a month away would prevent me from learning anything. On top of that, my mind would constantly be racing so focusing on a single thing was near impossible. So this semester I wanted to change things up, and it really helped me get much better grades. Hopefully, this study technique will help anyone who was in the same boat as me!
While not officially part of the study technique, this was really detrimental to my learning and retaining information. As a pre-med its really hard to stay present when you realize your entire future somewhat rests on your academic performance during these four years, so it's really easy to get flustered and end up not learning anything at all. What helped me the most was being the best student I could be today, and trying my best not to worry about upcoming tests, and really honestly just staying present.
1.) Take really thorough notes in class, and focus only on what the professor is saying, and if you have time, make little asterisks/asides to elaborate and understand it in your own words.
2.) After your done with classes/work/EC's, make sure to relax for at least an hour, some research has shown if you try and overload with information, you end up retaining nothing, so just chill for a little while!
3.) Rewrite the notes you took in class but this time elaborate on them further in your own words to understand it yourself. Everyone has different ways of interpreting and explaining things including your professor, so make sure you can take the textbook definition, and apply it to your own vernacular.
4.) If there is anything you can not understand, or need some more elaboration on, make sure to stop by your professor's office to talk with them about anything you need help with. It helps them get to know you and that's never a bad thing!
5.) Keep rereading the notes taken in class, and rewrite them, for me, it really helped drill in the material by rewriting it once a day, or once every other day.
6.) READ THE BOOK!! Especially if your professor tells you to. This can be a drag, but it really does help. This becomes less important if your professors use powerpoints. What worked for me was writing and rewriting my notes taken in class, and doing the same thing for relevant areas in the textbook.
7.) Make some friends and make a study group to go over material from class. But make sure to stay on task. It gets really easy to lose focus in a group setting, so just get the material out of the way, and review those notes you took and rewrote with your group.
8.) I would repeat the above processes as much as possible until the material no longer becomes confusing, and to a point where you can talk about it in detail as much as possible.
Again this an aside but it is still important. If you are struggling with any mental health issues, it is integral to your success that you receive treatment and obtain a close support system. Taking care of a plant or small animal really helps me, and my fiance is extremely supportive. Close friends and family are really important as well.
While these steps helped me, find what works best for you!! Stop by your campus academic center and see what suggestions they may have for you. Sorry for the long post but hopefully this helps!
While not officially part of the study technique, this was really detrimental to my learning and retaining information. As a pre-med its really hard to stay present when you realize your entire future somewhat rests on your academic performance during these four years, so it's really easy to get flustered and end up not learning anything at all. What helped me the most was being the best student I could be today, and trying my best not to worry about upcoming tests, and really honestly just staying present.
1.) Take really thorough notes in class, and focus only on what the professor is saying, and if you have time, make little asterisks/asides to elaborate and understand it in your own words.
2.) After your done with classes/work/EC's, make sure to relax for at least an hour, some research has shown if you try and overload with information, you end up retaining nothing, so just chill for a little while!
3.) Rewrite the notes you took in class but this time elaborate on them further in your own words to understand it yourself. Everyone has different ways of interpreting and explaining things including your professor, so make sure you can take the textbook definition, and apply it to your own vernacular.
4.) If there is anything you can not understand, or need some more elaboration on, make sure to stop by your professor's office to talk with them about anything you need help with. It helps them get to know you and that's never a bad thing!
5.) Keep rereading the notes taken in class, and rewrite them, for me, it really helped drill in the material by rewriting it once a day, or once every other day.
6.) READ THE BOOK!! Especially if your professor tells you to. This can be a drag, but it really does help. This becomes less important if your professors use powerpoints. What worked for me was writing and rewriting my notes taken in class, and doing the same thing for relevant areas in the textbook.
7.) Make some friends and make a study group to go over material from class. But make sure to stay on task. It gets really easy to lose focus in a group setting, so just get the material out of the way, and review those notes you took and rewrote with your group.
8.) I would repeat the above processes as much as possible until the material no longer becomes confusing, and to a point where you can talk about it in detail as much as possible.
Again this an aside but it is still important. If you are struggling with any mental health issues, it is integral to your success that you receive treatment and obtain a close support system. Taking care of a plant or small animal really helps me, and my fiance is extremely supportive. Close friends and family are really important as well.
While these steps helped me, find what works best for you!! Stop by your campus academic center and see what suggestions they may have for you. Sorry for the long post but hopefully this helps!
