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Nammu · May 04, 2012, 01:16 PM

I have different methods for different classes.

I'm deaf and when I went to college the first time before the ADA I had to read lips and could not take normal notes as I was looking at the professors (lots of migraines!) so I developed a way of drawing the main points and just writing the vocabulary. I found this really helped me and continue to do this although I now have a note taker.

Sketching the main point of the lecture helps me as I'm a very visual person. When I'm taking the tests I can think back to my drawings visualize the picture and that helps me remember the answers. Since the vocabulary is mingled w/ the drawings I remember the specific words and that is always a plus with professors when you use the precise words.

Because of a car accident I have mild TBI and short term memory problems so I always try to take classes that come in parts in succession with no breaks. Say Gov I, Gov II, I'll take it fall and spring so I don't need to worry about forgetting things over the summer. Because of my memory and the need for longer study I do not take intensive classes over the summer.

I use the color coding one color for vocabulary, one for main ideas, one for peoples names, one for place name--if needed one for formulas.

I rewrite the note's that are taken for me, so that they are in my head and I have a physical memory from writing them. I can also rearrange them more to my liking.

I read most of the books, even chapters that are not assigned and I make sure to read ALL of the chapters that are assigned-the footnotes-box notes-highlights----some teachers test on those to see if students have read the assignments but they do not always cover those things in class. In one of my government classes only 9 of us passed the first test. 3/4 of the test was on the book although he did not talk about anything in the book, and 1/4 of those questions were from the footnotes and boxes. That professor even warned the class that most of them would not pass the first test. He did not say why, he just said that historically 50% or more of his classes failed to pass his first test so he had an essay for them if that happened. I read/skim though the preface, the glossary, appendix, bibliography, index, and charts the books might have, they can be really helpful especially if you have essay type questions on the tests.

For classes with a lot of information I write outlines and organizational charts. If it is historical I do a time-line.

Two weeks(if I'm being good-sometimes this gets down to the wire) before a test I make flash cards so I can start testing myself. Just the act of making these help me prepare for the test.

Since I am now taking the major I always wanted to-Art, not all my homework or tests are traditional. I spend hours finishing a project on my own. I spend extra time in the studio or I often bring things home and spend extra time on it because I'm not happy with it. I've gone without a lot of things to pay for equipment/supplies to do this, but it pays off. I would probably get the A even if I did not do that but it's not the A that I want. My teachers are also artists who exhibit and my commitment{the good kind of commitment-

} pays off with invites to shows, meeting other artists and getting my stuff placed in student shows.

Environmentally, I find I study best at home, on the floor in front of the TV, sound off, music on, supplies in a circle around me so I can reach everything I need. I like to lay everything out that I need and go non-stop although your supposed to take breaks- I hate to stop once I've started. I get better grades now that I'm older than I did before because I have more tolerance for classes I don't like but have to take. In the past I got A's in "interesting classes and C's or B's in classes I found less interesting or did not like the teachers. I got an F in one class because it was in an auditorium and no matter where I sat I could not read lips, and the two professors teaching it were not amendable to standing in one place. It was required for my major and so boring, at 19 I was too arrogant to realize the folly of thinking I was smarter than those old biddies.