[Switch]

So, I just read the article that Elan Vital posted in "Everything You Thought You Knew About Learning Is Wrong". I suggest you look into it, but it's not necessary.

It spurred me to ask everyone how they study? What do you find affective? Do you have a routine?

I'm currently in the middle of studying right now! I have a midterm coming up, and this time I bought a note book. I'm studying in an abandoned classroom way far out of the way on campus, under one of the furthest res buildings. I've been here most of the day, with the exception of food. I've been writing my way through my notes in notes, rewriting them into this book in a organized fashion (first 5 pillars of islam, then a political timeline, then the calendar and holidays, ext), highlighting key terms in blue, and important points in pink. I'm going to bring it to a study group on Monday!

Usually though I just re-read my notes, and my readings or at least skim them, and pray for the best

Similar thing for essays: I write out a bunch of points and point form some quotes I like, then throw them to the side and write the essay! lol

So what are your study habits like? What works for you?

[horseontheloose]

I make notes, then organize my notes and elaborate. Then I go back and read my nice elaborate notes a few times. This gets me 100%. I get into study time and can't be interrupted. I mean I don't like being interrupted, and I don't hear anybody anyway. LOL

[jaxter23]

I've always been told you are supposed to read, write, and read what you wrote. I usually go to the library or someplace i'm comfortable and won't get easily distracted. I always read and take decent notes, then read my notes. I think that is pretty common lol

[DenisDonnacha]

I stare at my notes, wonder did I suffer a seizure while writing them, and then after comprehending them I make up an idea in my head of what I need to know by combining the notes I took with my lecture slides and usually an article or 2 on the web.

Also, I found if you can say what you're supposed to know out loud then it should be easy to write down.

[Umbral_Seraph]

I've never truly studied. I would take notes to make sure I remembered everything, but I knew that if I didn't already understand it, reading it again didn't help. Of course, the vast majority of what I wrote down were not exactly notes, they were formulas.

I work through books, go through a whole book and make notes on the things I need to know Then add from my own notes and colour code and stuff. I get really picky that my notes have to be superly neat lol then I just read them over. I make revision cards of things that have a question on one side and the answer on the other, then answer them all the time until I know the answers. I make a glossary, and then get someone to test me on it to make sure I understand the basics of everything. Then for the things I really struggle on I'll make a mind map, with diagrams because then I memorise the diagrams and take it from there It's a very loooong process for me haha. Then for formulas I am not so great, I just have to write them over and over, and I speak them out loud with someone testing me.

[Chontel]

I love to be in a very quiet room that wont make me sleepy. Peace is the key to a sucessful grade.

[Switch]

Originally Posted by Jess95

I work through books, go through a whole book and make notes on the things I need to know Then add from my own notes and colour code and stuff. I get really picky that my notes have to be superly neat lol then I just read them over. I make revision cards of things that have a question on one side and the answer on the other, then answer them all the time until I know the answers. I make a glossary, and then get someone to test me on it to make sure I understand the basics of everything. Then for the things I really struggle on I'll make a mind map, with diagrams because then I memorise the diagrams and take it from there It's a very loooong process for me haha. Then for formulas I am not so great, I just have to write them over and over, and I speak them out loud with someone testing me.

Wow! That's impressive. I tried to do something like that but then I get caught up in the color coding.

Originally Posted by Chontel

I love to be in a very quiet room that wont make me sleepy. Peace is the key to a sucessful grade.

I agree! I really like how you put that too.

[ur_ladybird]

Hi switch, it's been a whilst for me since I studied (not that far as I did adult college and got a degree) but thought I give my bit to the discussion .

I think everyone studies differently and it really does depend on the way you and your brain work. For me personally I found when I tried to study I would mess up. In school I lost a star in front of my A mark because I studied the night before an exam and it just really meddled with my brain.
For me logic works. I need to understand the subject to be able to do something with it, like writing an essay. And yes, by all means, everything should be proofread I think lol. I have always researched absolutely everything I didn't understand with means of books Internet, people...

A friend of mine is dyslexic but has a photographic memory and can repeat things word by word (she still freaks me out when she does it and I have known her for 20 years +). She studies a lot with verbal communication or reads books with audiobooks and it just sticks with her.

A lot of people find it helpful, me included to put things in writing. It seems to make it easier if you have to remember something.

Background noise can make a big difference. I can't concentrate if I have music or tv on or if people are around me... But then again I know others who can't stand the silence and they need loud music.

Try to look at you and the way you do things even when not studying. Do you find it easy to communicate... Then you can learn a lot by asking questions. Are you shy ... Then a book or Internet is better etc.

The one bit of advise I can pass on is.... Don't leave it till your exams are there unless your IQ is hitting the roof lol.

Take care, I'm going to read the article you mentioned now lol.

[PrincessxKitty]

I go through my notes, if I didn't get to type up all the notes completely then I look up the "unfinished" part of my notes and get full answers. In that process I get easily distracted and side-tracked; therefore I spend 4 hours when I was only supposed to spend 1 hr or 1 1/2 hr at max to "complete" my notes . Study sessions are frustrating to say the least and at times impossible for me especially since I'm easily distracted (checking FB and other stuff). I've considered keeping my phone and laptop away, but listening to music helps get in the "zone" to study and my notes are on my laptop...
Thank god for my concerta, it lessens the non-sense and frustration

[Perna]

I learned a lot taking online classes; writing is very effective for me, asking questions, finding answers, constantly working different aspects of things that interest me about whatever subject I'm working on studying. Wandering the Web. I rarely read textbooks but do get an overall "sense" of them writing required papers where I have to find my facts/quotes from them.

[Switch]

Originally Posted by PrincessxKitty

I go through my notes, if I didn't get to type up all the notes completely then I look up the "unfinished" part of my notes and get full answers. In that process I get easily distracted and side-tracked; therefore I spend 4 hours when I was only supposed to spend 1 hr or 1 1/2 hr at max to "complete" my notes . Study sessions are frustrating to say the least and at times impossible for me especially since I'm easily distracted (checking FB and other stuff). I've considered keeping my phone and laptop away, but listening to music helps get in the "zone" to study and my notes are on my laptop...
Thank god for my concerta, it lessens the non-sense and frustration

Any chance using a sterio for music? That way you can't play with it? Hook up your ipod. I think 2 way cables are pretty cheep if you don't have one specifically for ipods, or if you have another music playing device.

[DenisDonnacha]

I know I posted here already but on my week off this week I came to a startling conclusion... I cannot study like I used to, procrastination levels went through to the roof this week.
I'm going to have to find a new method of actually getting started again, which was always the biggest hurdle, once I started I did it, but now it's becoming a real effort to start again.

[Switch]

Denis, feel free to take some study methods from here, that's mostly why I started it. My weird procrastinating brain deciding "you know what, I'm going to procrastinate productively and find out other peoples study methods so I can study better!"

In all seriousness though, try some other peoples methods. And/or find out how you learn best (auditory, tactile, visual etc.) and go from there.

Sorry to hear about your procrastination. Good luck! (We in Canada have the week off )

[ariadna]

hehe this is very interesting, i go through books, using underline and notes, also i do some schemes and very simple concept maps, and i write a loooot on my notebook, but i cant get rid of my procrastination habit, i am struggling with it very hard I just read this about that bad habit, and maybe someone will find it useful too: http://sas.calpoly.edu/asc/ssl/procrastination.html
Good luck and thanks for sharing the useful stuff

[JustDontAsk]

Honestly, it depends on the subject and what I am trying to do. But the most important thing for me is NOISE. I HAVE to have some sort of noise in the background. I don't care if it is the TV, the radio, my family...something has to break the silence for me. Always.

For memorization, I usually rewrite until I get it. This is normally with Spanish vocabulary because I will need the words for the Spanish class I will take as a senior.

If I'm just trying to remember something for the test (which I do quite frequently...), I either make flashcards or read through my notes. I tend to make flashcards for history, government, and economy because those are my weakest areas. For classes like chemistry, I read through my notes...chemistry is fairly easy for me though.

I almost never study for math. If I do, it is because I am struggling with a certain part of it, which almost never happens. This has only backfired on me once, which is a good thing. (:

I always do any review sheet that teachers hand out, and I always study for semester tests, mainly because they are worth so much of my grades. Otherwise I probably wouldn't...I still use the above study techniques, if that is what you want to call them.

These have helped me maintain a 4.0 through 5 semesters of high school, and I am currently a junior in my second semester (6th semester total). Almost done, can't wait! (:

[elocin_ievoluoy]

i attend classes, listen to teacher, take good notes and go to class prepared

[PrincessxKitty]

Originally Posted by Switch

Any chance using a sterio for music? That way you can't play with it? Hook up your ipod. I think 2 way cables are pretty cheep if you don't have one specifically for ipods, or if you have another music playing device.

That's a good idea, but I usually end up in the library if I really need to study like for a midterm or something. But I'll give it a try when I'm studying at home

[brokenlove222]

So I don't know what kind of study thing I am. I know I learned somewhat when I recopied my notes but that takes a lot of work and time that I just don't have. Also when I made this biology project I learned from that a little bit ( a cell project for school ) . Is there any way that I can figure out what is best for my study habits? I'm failing three classes in high school and this is just not working well for me. lol

[ssk2095]

i just make a bunch of notes and review them through repetition

[nutmeg89]

i take notes on my books because i have a hard time listening to boring professors and writing down their boring notes. this is horrible because it takes for ever to write down things about everything. once im done i feel great. some times i read them over again and they day before the exam i read them alot like 10 to 20 times.

i dont recommend this method, but it works for me even tho its tedious.

im also looking for a better method that would help me out. ive tried plenty but none so far have helped unfortunately, so im sticking to this till i find somethign else

[bipolarmedstudent]

First off, I'd have to say I'm a very skilled test taker and very good at studying. I've studied for so many exams in my life, and I've gotten so used to it that I'm almost like a study-machine when I get down to it, lol.

I study by making notes. I type them out. For one exam, I will typically type out around 30 pages of single-spaced notes in 10 point font (yes, lots of detail). I also organize the information into tables. Then I read and highlight my notes. If the stuff is all route memorization, I will sometimes make flashcards. I find I retain information by writing it out. In the last day before an exam, my mind becomes extremely sharp, and I am able to retain info just by reading and highlighting my textbooks. But that's just the last 24 hours or so before an exam that I'm able to retain simply by reading.

other stuff:
- I need complete quiet to study. No music, no noise, no talking.

- I need to be comfortable. I have a desk set up in front of my bed. I sit on the bed, lean against a backrest, and I have my laptap on the desk. I can't study well sitting on a chair. It has to be a bed, generally, with my legs crossed.

- I try not to take breaks. When I take breaks, I find I have trouble getting back into the material. I know this goes against all the recommendations, but really I do much better without breaks.

- I feed myself a steady diet of energy drinks and chocolate. My brain needs the caffeine and sugar to work.

- I never sleep the night before an exam. I find I forget everything I studied if I sleep before an exam. Yes, again this goes against all the recommendations, but it's what works for me.

- I love textbooks. I study from textbooks (summarize by taking notes).

- If possible, I study whatever I'm in the mood for studying. If I'm feeling in the mood for math, I study math. If I'm feeling in the mood for microbiology, I study that. I go with my mood. Sometimes I just feel like memorizing things. Other times I feel up to deep thinking, so I use that mood to study a new complicated theory. Use your moods. Studying something you are not in the mood for studying is typically unproductive. Obviously, this doesn't always work, but generally, if you are taking multiple classes, it works. When I was studying for the MCATs, for example, some days I really felt like studying physics, other days I really felt like studying bio, then other days I was in the mood for verbal.

- If I'm just really not in the mood for studying, period, I don't study. It's pointless. I'll get something else done instead (like chores). I don't stick to a 'study schedule'. I hate schedules.

- To make studying more fun, if I find something in the materal particularly intriguing, I'll look it up on wikipedia, and then do the whole jumping from link-to-link thing in wiki. Sometimes I will look up youtube videos on the subject (like once I was studying rabies and I looked up youtube videos on rabies). When you read for interest, you retain the material amazingly well!

- If I really need motivation, I go to the library/study room. It's quiet, and seeing other people study gets me in the mood for studying as well. It's nice to have quiet company, sometimes.

- I almost never go to class. I find classes useless, generally speaking.

[bipolarmedstudent]

Originally Posted by nutmeg89

i take notes on my books because i have a hard time listening to boring professors and writing down their boring notes. this is horrible because it takes for ever to write down things about everything. once im done i feel great. some times i read them over again and they day before the exam i read them alot like 10 to 20 times.

i dont recommend this method, but it works for me even tho its tedious.

im also looking for a better method that would help me out. ive tried plenty but none so far have helped unfortunately, so im sticking to this till i find somethign else

hey, it's a good method. To make it faster, switch to typing instead of hand-writing. Use short-forms. And try to use key words. That way you write less and remember more.

[cryingoutloud1]

I look at what i need to know and then i make flash cards. I go over the flashcards and find what i know and try to memorize what i don't know. making ususally by association. Right now i am studing for my social work licenece so i am going through the study guide and making flash cards.

[euterpe_forever]

honnestly I don't have any great study skills, I have all my notes emaild to me because I have hearing loss, but I could use some pointers