How to Study or Methods of Learning
I work as a tutor for a year now, and I noticed that many students know only one way to study for an exam: flash cards. They come to me with a pile of hundreds of flashcards and tell me that this is the only way works for them. I probably could write another post about how much I don’t like flash cards but it’s a different story…
Here I want to list all kinds of study methods that I found helpful after three years in college
Many professors now upload copies of the notes or PowerPoints. If they don’t do this, you can use your own notes or a student book. One of the study methods is to rewrite those notes. That doesn’t mean that you need to rewrite word by word, it’s the opposite. The purpose of this technique is to analyze the material, put it in your own words, organize it as you want, and then write it down. Never rewrite information when you don’t understand it, it defeats the whole purpose.
2. Make diagrams, tables, and trees
You can’t use these visuals to study everything, however, they’re extremely helpful to remember complicated concepts and processes. I draw them in my notes and sometimes redraw them on a draft paper multiple times if a concept is very hard to remember.
If you can’t create your own diagrams, you can look for them on the Internet or use visual resources like Crash Course and Khan Academy
As a tutor, I teach many students. Teaching others helps to remember any material and even understand it better. It works because you talk about a subject aloud and you force your brain to recall information as fast as possible. You don’t have to be a tutor to do this. You can teach anyone: your friend, sibling, mother, or you can pretend that you teach someone. This method is also great because it uncovers all hidden parts that you didn’t know you don’t understand/remember.
5. Imagine what you study
Most people probably do it on an intuitive level, but there are some students that don’t do it. You can incorporate this method while you’re reading or rewriting notes. I always imagine different processes in my head. For example, how molecules collapse and interact with each other or how gases diffuse from alveoli into capillaries. I kinda create “a movie” in my mind. It’s fun!
It doesn’t work for me, but I know it does for some.
discoholicmusic
andulkaphoto
stormborns
theartofmadeline
kianamaiart
