How to study from slides (9 steps)
A lot of professors in university teach using slides and so it’s important to know how to learn from and study using them.
I got asked how I take notes off slides recently, and how I know what’s important or not. I find for my profs, the slides are already summaries of the textbook’s content so I tend to copy them down word for word. Whereas when I study from textbooks I tend to read through the chapter first while highlighting important bits and then summarizing the notes. It’s important to note the difference because if you’re summarizing slides too much you might be missing out on important information.
Before going to class download the slides on to your iPad or laptop (if your professor makes them available). If you’d rather take notes by hand then print off the slides (I like doing 2 slides per side).
In class, highlight important points on the slides and annotate them with what your professor is saying. Having the slides means you don’t need to try and write down everything and you can focus on what your professor is saying and their examples.
Make sure to clean up any notes that need it so that you can understand them later. By doing this right after class you make sure the lecture is still fresh in your mind. (If you want to put in more work now, then you can also do step 7!)
Go over your annotated slides and make sure everything still makes sense. If not, ask your professor in office hours or ask a friend for help. This step is super important! These sections you don’t have great notes on are usually the questions you’ll get wrong on tests.
By using presenter mode on your computer you can time how quickly you’re getting through slides, as well as plan your notes better by seeing what slides are coming up next.
TIP: I think it’s helpful to remove all animations when studying: just go to Slide Show > Set Up Slide Show > Show Without Animation.
Summarize the slides and your annotations into one clean document. I like handwriting these, but you could also type them up. By re-writing the notes you help consolidate your knowledge and remember stuff better. You also make sure it looks cleaner for when you need to study this same topic again during finals. (Trust me, getting stuff done early so you have less to do over finals is a good idea!)
Do practice problems! No matter how much you write theory down, some subjects really need to be practiced (for me those subjects are math and sciences). Other subjects may require more memorization, and for those I find flashcards to be very helpful.
Use your summary to help you do the questions and highlight sections you couldn’t figure out on your own.
Now you have highlighted all the sections you have most trouble with. These are the ones you should study most! Then re-do the questions you got wrong after re-studying these sections.
And that’s it! These are the 9 steps I use to study from slides. I hope it helps <3
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