good studying materials/methods

hi, i do not believe i have posted in here. this question doesn't relate to school per say, but it does relate to study issues. i never had good studying methods/habits because k-12 and my parents never helped me with it. when reading, i can only recall about 14% of what read.

my note taking is horrible, i can not keep up with what someone says and write it down at the same time i didnt have the money to buy a recorder when i was in school. my auditory is not great because i have such racing thoughts and can not keep up with what is being said.

never had a teacher to work with me plus when i was a minor, my parents didnt wanna get me additional help so my grades suffered all my life. i have been wanting to do mnemonics but not sure where to start. my memory suffered when i was a kid from traumatic abuse and still suffers at 26 yrs old.

i am visual and kinesthetic more so than auditory. i tried to make something i was studying with into a song but the words did not match up to the tune of the song i really loved. for me, i'd like to stay away from note taking since that did not work for me. sitting there reading all day does not work well either.

i read how the brain recognizes things on shapes and pictures in order to recall things. i used to do note taking and drawing pics but for some reason i was able to recall 5% of what i took. it is very very bad and need to seriously improve for myself and career wise. i want to do so i can be prepared and ahead of the job searching game than the other candidates.

flash cards were fun but didnt work well. i just need different methods to get my brain going. i guess my question is what are some really good study-material sites that i can get a bunch of ideas from and incorporate it into my own studies? also, if anyone knows any various different types of studying methods from other countries? that would be great because i do not like the methods here in america.

a guy i know whos in his 70s said when he was in the military, they teach you your 5 senses whereas in normal schools they do not teach all 5 senses which i agree and they should teach it. with watching studying videos, again i take in a small percentage of what i hear not good at all either. i know of khan academy havent had a chance to check it all out yet.

if anyone has any resources/questions let me know!

Hi! I am also visual kinisethic learner. I have a similar issue with reading and absorbing. I usually skim the material. Then read it, and then take bullet notes on it. I use a system called two column note taking where u leave a little on the left side of the page. And then when ur notes are done, u write corresponding review questions. That helps me to when I am reviewing the info to jog some memories.

i tried that and didn't work. for me, it was too much writing nor did i understand my own writing.

I'm a very strong visual learner and decent at auditory learning. The problem I usually have is I'm able to remember almost every diagram in the textbook, lecture slides, study notes and labs. The problem is it often becomes a jumble in my head and when I begin to formulate the answer, it's always detailed but I have a tendency to focus on some of the details too much and don't give a complete answer to the question.

The way I got around this problem, especially for biology, was to create a lot of flow charts and memorize each. I'd then either draw out or work out in my head the ways in which the flow charts are connected to one another. When I studied, I ask myself what would happen if abc changed instead of def.

For math, I used a similar method. For some of my courses, I had to know the derivations of formulas, so I'd memorize them and see how I could derive additional formulas. I'd also write out then memorize examples of problems word-for-word and the steps needed to solve the problem. In this sense I created numerous mental templates and each time I was faced with a math problem, I'd run it through the various templates to see which it matched. In the cases when it didn't match any one template, I'd see which elements of relevant templates matched, think (or write out) how I initially got to them, then combine it all together to solve the problem.

The point I'm making for each is that once you recall a portion of the template or flow chart, generally you can recall the rest word-for-word or derive it. The next step is to create new ones for each problem, which is of course the hard part so start with easy practice questions then move your way up. Eventually, you may find there's something you don't understand or your solution is incorrect. This is a red flag that you need to review this particular concept. For me, I'd keep a sheet or two of paper that had notes on each concept I was having trouble with. Once I felt confident I knew it, I'd put a check-mark or cross it out but still keep the paper with me in case I had to review something.

Try to understand it S----L----O----W----L----Y until you understand it better and learn it just once so it'll be no problem if time passes! Try to make a quiz so you could test yourself whether you know the material. This two tips really helped me in my studies and I hope you too!

Visual
Rather than take notes, learn to outline
Color code words
Do mapping: http://www.studygs.net/mapping/
Watch videos (not studying videos, but videos about what you want to learn; if you are studying Jane Austin, for example, watch a video of Sense and Sensibility and then read the book, etc.)

Kinesthetic
Field trips, go to museums
Study with others
Role playing
Mneumonics: http://www.back2college.com/memorize.htm

I love to read but cannot read textbooks or "assigned" books effectively so I Web surf a whole lot and write and ask myself questions I want to know the answer to and, over time, I get a good enough picture so I know about that subject.

Rather than your weaknesses, what are your strengths in terms of interests and abilities? Your song writing is only a good idea if you are interested in song writing and can make it work; you said the words did not fit, that says to me that you don't normally write songs, were just doing what someone else suggested. If you want to learn something, want to engage with it, you will, as is easiest/best for you. Pay attention to what you like and do it a lot in relation to the material.

"Play" with the material. If you don't understand a scientific concept, go learn something about the scientist and his life, time period, why he wanted to know the information, get the "context" down and then the concept might make more sense. Read and write things that do make sense to you (write a short short story ("flash fiction" http://www.flashfictiononline.com/) about each of your outline points you have made listening in class).

You have to engage with the material; it does not get into your head any other way. Someone else or a system can't make it work for you, only you can.

as i said, this has nothing to do with school nor am i in school right now (i may go back and finish my bs not sure). i am doing this studying for myself to increase my skills/knowledge for my field or anything else so i can be ahead of everybody. outlining i had fun with i have used my outlines and ended up not understanding my own outline.

i hated in the past when teachers said write your own questions, that never worked either because i got myself confused by my own questions. when i ask a question, it is never sequential; they always start in the middle, end, and beginning or end, beginning, and middle etc that's how i ask/speak questions. i know it is weird/bizarre way of doing it lol.

song writing. i can sing and make up my own tunes taking songs i love and changing the wording around in general just not when i am studying. i tried song writing in general to see if it worked and it didn't work well. the prob is it takes me much longer to learn a material whereas some people can learn it in a short amount of time. i need to increase my learning so i can be able to adapt to a fast pace work environment when i do get a job.

i have been very slow in academics and in life general. good idea, i should use my strengths instead of my weaknesses and will check out those links. rather than what i was taught to do, sitting in a quiet place for a long period of time studying, i need to move my body around because sitting does not work well for me.

thanks!

It is hard to be happy with what you are doing if you are comparing yourself to others or against an entire field of knowledge.

It is necessary to be more specific about what you want to learn. Wanting to learn about "astrophysics" is too general/broad. You have to "drill down" to something practical that you can hold on to: Kepler, Kepler's first law (law of ellipses), down to ellipses and how they work, as related to astrophysics, or math, or English, but not all three (or all three if that is what you want to learn)! It takes wanting to focus and practicing discipline to bring yourself back from "Oh, look, they have ellipses in English, too!"

You can never get ahead of everybody because everybody is on their own schedule and started sooner/later than you did or are faster/slower learners than you are or more/less concentrated in whatever subject you are studying. Maybe you become knowledgeable about Kepler, but someone else wanted to focus on the Doppler effect or Newton's Laws of Motion. You cannot learn "everything" or be ahead of "everybody" and trying to do either will make you crazy (crazier? :-)

If I were you, I would take a single text/book you like (I know you are not in school but all subjects have basic text/books) and take the table of contents and a piece of paper and pencil and list the one-word or very short phrase subject of each chapter. I would then spend a week studying that word/idea 1-4 hours a day, however I liked. At the end of the week, I would read the chapter and compare it to what I had learned, what information was now "mine" because I had been concentrating on it for a week, and take notes on whatever else I wanted to know. If you are not in school, memorizing stuff in the traditional way (that doesn't work for you) does not make sense.

If you are studying a math, science, computer or other business subject, I would, after I'd read the chapter, do a few of the problems in the chapter/at the end. Presumably, if you are studying such a subject (like accounting), you will have come up with examples and problems as you studied it each day for the week. You might have set up your own system and be using it in your own home/work so be getting practice using it.

A lot of university professors have online pages to help their students; for example, I used this one http://www.physics.rutgers.edu/ugrad/341/ to look at what was involved in astrophysics and Kepler: http://www.physicsclassroom.com/class/circles/u6l4a.cfm.

If you are going to be going back to school and want to be "ahead" (know what courses you will be required to take) and more comfortable with the material before you are presented with it, I would look for college/university pages on the subject and work through them that way, staying with one syllabus/one text and single word subjects, "drilling down" as far as interests you and practicing staying focused (Kepler has three laws, you do each in turn, the 1st is about ellipses and you stay on how they relate to Kepler's law, not math in general or English). Usually such university pages are a bit limited in what they contain but that is good; it doesn't require notes or listening to lectures and will be easier to start with one word only and drill down, not going too far in sideway directions.

well, i already know the courses i need to take. 2 yrs ago, i got hired by a new startup non profit company who wanted to help me build up my web design skills (hence is why i was at another university for web design after comm college).

they promised they would help me but never did anything for me in return. long story short, the company was shady and i found out this year they went out of business...i wonder why. i, my bf, and a few others were only there a week before they kicked us out because the company needed to speak to their lawyers it was a mess. none of us ever got our job back and there was no contract about anything i needed on my equipment that i had to lug into the bldg. they claimed they had this woman who would help me but she was a novice not at intermediate level which i felt was shady by how they phrased it.

anyway, it takes me months and months for me to learn something complex and difficult. i remember in k-12, i was told by teachers that i would never be successful and ahead of the game because i am just too slow of a learner and how i will be playing catch up with my life forever (im still doing that with personal issues). if it was complex/hard/difficult, i would cry like a baby as i was not used to doing anything hard academically in my life.

they also told me how am i gonna learn something in a short amount of time at a job if i can not keep up? if i can not keep up, then they will let me go and find someone better. i felt so small hearing that from some of my k-12 teachers and my parents.

the thing is i want to improve my math, computer, problem-solving/critical thinking, and creative skills. i have taken many different math courses over a decade in my life with no improvement. i got my first B in mat120 in college because the instructor is dyslexic and was able to understand the math better than someone who didn't have dyslexia.

i told some of these issues with my therapist and it's basically because i didn't get the important vital information from my parents on learning and being successful growing up. i want to stay up to date on technology and be able to provide technology advice to people as well as using my creative side. i haven't had a chance to do anything creative since i have done all technical my whole life.

my therapist and i are still talking about being compared to others and why i still feel that way. she is having me to access my parasympathetic side instead of my sympathetic side. i know she told me she doesn't want me to see the negative side.

all my life, my parents have told me to do it all for xyz, abc, this, that, these, and those because my "father did it." however, both parents were never great role models.

honestly, i hated the "Traditional way of studying here in america," because it just never fit well for me. they still talk on tv and other educators how the studying in this country has been always terrible and how the students can not seem to advance themselves among other students/foreign students.

also, with everything changing so rapidly, i do not know if i will be able to keep up since i was not able to get an entry level network admin position right after college. they say right now is a good time to do studying to keep my skills up to date (hence is why i wanted the gov to pay for my certs because it is too expensive for me its thru the stimulus money now its on hold again). it may sound like a good idea, but i am hurting so financially bad that i can not seem to sit here, study, without some kind of income. how do i study and be able to sit here with zero money? who is happy being broke?!

i do not feel i should "compensate" sitting here for nothing and not getting some kind of income. however, the job market in the state i live in, is super horrible ur lucky to get a job and i have a degree still can not get a job.

i am so scatterbrain and not sure where to start on any subject that will increase my knowledge for a job - any job. growing up, my parents didn't even want me to have a childhood it was always come here and do this program, learn this, learn that, etc without even asking me if i wanted to do it that day or not it was "forced learning upon all of us." now, im blamed for not knowing everything my dad and brother knows in IT how us daughters are so stupid worthless *****s.

having fun and playing didn't seem to be encouraged when i was a kid. the study methods i was taught in k-12 were not that great because my grades always suffered even if i changed my studying habits a bit, my grades still suffered. i sat there for 2-3 hrs studying still not understanding what i was reading either by textbook or note taking hence is why i always flunked tests but had no problems passing easy tests.

i was doing some javascript on this new site i found on the news which is so cool. i haven't been back on it lately because i have a law suit against me on a cc debt. its been eating me up plus i got a student loan debt too ahh such a mess. anyway, i'm still in pain from childhood issues right now to job issues now.

i dont know i feel as though within me something is emerging or gonna emerge like this guy i talk to at safeway whenever i see him he says i am gonna go so far in life. it feels as when i was 25 and now 26 that something is about to emerge i dont know what but something will soon...

i will take a look at those links. which subjects do i start with first? do i do things one at a time? technology is rapidly increasing/changing wouldn't it be smart to start on that first? i just need to get enough knowledge on some subjects in IT that will help me especially putting it on my resume. i never was a self taught person right now i am forcing myself to self teach myself as i have always been the kind of person who learns from doing and by other people. it's like i have no idea what to do for a career anymore since everything is just about outsourced, IT is outsourced and the jobs i find in the state i live in wants over 5 yrs experience with tons and tons of knowledge.

If you cannot concentrate well now because of other issues, I would work on the other issues first, then worry about the schooling. You need a job to pay for the law suit/credit card debt and the student loan debt and therapy to work on your issues you want to work on.

I would go volunteer somewhere, for example, I just submitted my application to volunteer for my local humane society. I have a couple cats who have been having a really bad flea infestation problem and it is making them really hard to care for. I may not be able to take care of them if they don't get back to "normal". Too, I was spending time during the day watching "Animal Cops" and decided I could better use my time working to help instead of just watching other people working. It's kind of like watching Biggest Loser instead of doing any dieting and exercising of one's own, etc. Pick something you do or want to learn, etc. and volunteer for an agency where there is a chance of learning about it.

I might have to give up my cats for adoption but if I have to give them to the Humane Society, I want to get to know the people there and procedures; I'm think of myself as a "spy" :-) But instead of just sitting and watching TV alone for a couple hours every weekday, I will be with others and helping and getting to know other people and something new. I have good office skills so said I could help there. But I'd also like to work with the animals (mostly the cats) and they need people to walk the dogs and "cuddle" the cats, etc. so I volunteered for that too.

Getting out and about as a volunteer doesn't get you any money but it does get you in a place one might be able to learn of jobs in that field and where there will be people who have other stimulating ideas, suggestions, possibilities. My being home watching TV doesn't offer any of that. My Humane Society even has job openings: http://www.harfordshelter.org/?page_id=28 and volunteering somewhere and letting people get to know you and getting to know them and a place gives you an inside track to maybe getting one of those jobs.

I've volunteered before through Volunteer Match http://www.volunteermatch.org/ and even got an online volunteer job through them. Another thing I like about volunteering is that they often will teach you new skills or let you learn them yourself on the job.

Volunteer Match was showing a couple matches for my American Red Cross center, so I went to their site and they have quite a few jobs, including this one: http://www.redcrossblood.org/career-...ent-laboratory

Volunteer your way to learning or doing what you want. If you get a job with a large enough agency, they often will help with schooling, etc.

The guy cleaning my house today, he's an older guy and mentioned, when we were talking about his cleaning my house in 4 years :-) that he hoped he wouldn't be here in 4 years so I asked him what he wanted to do and he wants to go to tractor trailer school but, when he was a kid, he messed up and got a criminal record but that will be okay (after 10 years) next year and he'll be able to go to school. But he's working cleaning apartments (and private homes) with a large, franchise cleaner like "Merry Maids" biding his time and saving him money, he has a plan and he's doing what he needs to do to get where he wants to go.

Volunteer your IT/network education and skills and see if something good doesn't happen.

volunteering not happening i already made this clear to professionals unless there is a contract with pay then i will do it. someone at shabbat is helping me with the lawsuit preparing this paperwork for me to send to their lawyers to have them back off for good. i think said i am in therapy not sure if i did or not, but that is being paid by the state of AZ. i have state insurance...

humane society it depends on what they are hiring for. i have looked at their jobs i dont come close to what they are looking for in experience. i have done my share of "research" with the companies and job market a lot of time. student loan not gonna worry about that until later on.

honestly, i live in a state where there isn't much for jobs never was anyway even in a good economy. moving is out of the question, who moves with no money? not gonna bum on my siblings. my main concern as i said this before and will say it again to other professionals is i need to build skills and an income, but doing self teaching is not working for me. volunteermatch.org and redcross not telling me anything i already know. i have an account with volunteermatch i barely read it.

money is way more important to me in order to get from A to B and there is nothing close knit here in the state i live in hence is why you need a car to get around. a mile here is not a mile in cali, it took me almost 30 minutes to walk a mile in AZ!

did i miss something? who said i am watching tv? im active in my job search i may not go to these job fairs (they dont work for me anymore waste of gas) or networking groups, again it still takes money to get me where i need to go; but, i search for jobs and apply quite a bit. yep, a boring method but that's my only method. my contacts can not help that much but they have offered some places to check always to "work with kids" no thank you, i dont enjoy kids i enjoy animals than kids any day. it is always crap jobs they are referring me to.

those cleaning jobs, guess what? they want experience how do i know that? i read their ads they want someone who already has previous cleaning experience and won't hire anyone who doesn't has it. its not getting any better out there and i sure as hell am not interested in volunteering my bills comes first. if thats the case, why do ppl still suggest to volunteer? its dumb to say oh yea, our bills come first, then you redirect someone to go work for free.

most people can not afford to do that and i am one of those people who can not afford to do that either - just being honest. if this economy was great, yea i would volunteer for free. i would watch more tv if my mom wasn't so in awe of obama i am mostly on the computer or going out. however, i know my situation and my situation says you need an income, then you can go volunteer once everything is in place.

i know about the AZ humane society not telling me anything new. that shelter all they do is kill animals it got in the news about they killed a guy's cat when they promised to help the female cat and they killed her for no reason. she was wounded but didnt deserve to die. if i was him, id be suing since then humane society here doesn't have any nice customers towards them for what they did. their message about being a no kill shelter is misleading.

IT jobs, well, even for volunteering you need certifications and that i do not have. not like i am gonna get into the field even if i had certs because they are looking for tons and tons of experience in the field, i have over 17 yrs of experience not in the field but it is old technology. that many yrs outside of the field does not count because i was not getting paid and yea i was told this by the workshops and an IT manager at my ex college when i applied for a position with them as a student.

jobs fairs do nothing for me all they have is crummy jobs or jobs that i am nowhere near qualified for them. why go to them if they are not working for me? i need the workforce connection to pay for my certs too expensive for me and its thru the stimulus money for training, but you gotta jump thru so much hoops to get it! i was gonna do training this summer if i had everything done, now i cant get everything done because i have no means of transportation (i do, but need money for either gas or bus fare) plus doing a tour with these training schools.

everything out there consists of experience. i just got my degree 2 yrs ago ive applied to good paying ($10-13/hr) to low pay (min wage) and barely had any interviews. its so hard right now to even get to where i need to go because of lack of funds for my car.

the advice is i get is "your young, you got all of your years to work. wait until the economy gets better and you will have a job like everybody else!" can you believe that? these were professionals who told me that! it's not getting better, it is getting worse but that's my opinion.

i couldn't get a summer job this year, can ya believe that? i couldn't get one 2 yrs ago! i keep applying for holiday jobs and still get turned down. now, i have a better resume a functional and very confident about it i am still not getting calls. i get emails but it is not what i am seeking.

this whole job issues is an emotional rollercoaster for me and others too. holiday jobs are coming up, let's see if i am gonna get hired somewhere or not. not really easy to stay positive when it is not getting better. i mean i just want to be ahead of the game.....