Need help studying.

I've never been a person to get bad grades, but lately I've been getting them in the American History course. Who knew American History was so complicated? Yesterday I got a 14% on a test. It's going bad. I honestly study by reading the material over and over and over, but theres something about the style of the teacher's tests, or just the teacher herself, that makes me unable to answer the questions, even though I could perfectly explain them verbally. Also, when she is giving class, I can't seem to concentrate on what she's saying. It's so boring; I literally can't not look away or play with the pencil or bite my nails or anything. The teacher won't do anything to help, she said I should "study harder" but my studying method is obviously not working so, do you have any studying methods that work for you? Maybe they might work for me too.

Have you tried recording her lectures and listening to them later? That way, you can just replay parts you didn't catch the first time.

Okay maybe I can be of some help I hope. After I got out of the military I went to college and it was hard to adjust after being out of school for about 6 years. I have PTSD, ADHD, etc. and I was able to graduate. Here`s my advice:

-If you can get a note from a doctor with any diagnosis or reason that you may have a hard time due to a medical condition, show it to your professor or someone in the school, you may be able to take tests alone in a quiet room or other accommodation.

-When studying, I found it easy to do my work/studying in small increments. 15 minutes of school work, relax, 15 minutes, etc. until you can finish.

-If you are comfortable to sit in the front of the class (which is hard for me), you may be able to focus better because you won`t see what the people in front of you are doing. For me with my social anxiety/PTSD I usually had to sit in the back.

-Read the text book chapter that you are studying a few times so you can get a good understanding of the material before you attempt to do any work on it.

-Use the internet to do any additional research that you may not understand from the material provided by the teacher/textbook.

-Find a study partner and work as a team. You may find someone that is strong in something that you have trouble with, and vica versa. So you can help each other and both benefit from a study session

That`s all I can think of right now. I hope this helps.

Figure out your teachers pattern of test objectives. She may even point blank tell you. She does not benefit from failing students. Have her review the test grade after to see which types of questions you are missing. Just reading over it is not generally a good method because it's to much information. If she is a good lecturer, it will be pretty clear what she's wanting. Take notes! Even boring teachers must be paid attention to! I am the end made a good suggestion. Record her lectures. You should be able to spot anything she emphasizes. These will probably be test questions. Another thing is graphic organizers with your notes for complex questions. Also, I see people write 50 pgs of notes for a simple test. Probably not a good idea!

I tend to take notes from the textbook readings, jotting down important points. Everyone's method of studying is different. I think it is important to know what format the exams are. I remember taking a math class and I was prepared for the applied problems, but I bombed the first exam because it was 50% vocabularies (not what I expected). I did not see that coming and the teacher was not very clear in her review. I think it is best you speak with your teacher about your concerns and ways to raise your grades. Some teachers are nice and they will offer extra credits to boost the grades. Teachers are there to help you. Don't be afraid to ask for help. They won't bite