school & studying doâs and donâtâs: by abs-studies
disclaimer: these are strategies that have proven to be successful for me (a college student who was homeschooled/skipped most of high school), but I imagine theyâd apply at every level of education. Again, these work/donât work for me, and most of the studying things mentioned are backed by research and things I learned during college success seminars. The donâtâs are mostly based off of things Iâve tried or seen my classmates try (and usually it didnât go over well).
DONâT:
Skip lectures. Some argue that their time is better spent studying at home or watching videos of the topics. You could possibly get away with this for a math class or maybe even introductory psych, however, for most all other classes Iâve taken, being in class was 100% necessary. Professors design courses wisely, believe it or not. Theyâre usually not going to make you memorize every detail in the textbook. How will you know exactly what to study if you skip lectures altogether? Typically, lectures allow you to use many senses to take in the information; you listen, you look at the board or PowerPoint, and you take notes, and itâs targeted towards EXACTLY what you need to know for a test.
Rely strictly on rereading as a study method. Studies show this is both the most commonly used method and the most ineffective. Simply seeing the information a few times wonât get it nailed down, you need to apply it. The Snowball Method that I made up while struggling in bio has proven to be really effective for me! It will be linked at the bottom of this post so you can check it out.
Overlook small assignments. This is such a big one! Honestly, this could be the difference between a B and an A or a C and a B! When youâre handed a ten point assignment that will take an hour, a lot of people would rather spend the time studying than doing the assignment. However, in a point-based class, if you donât turn in the 10 points, thatâs another ten points youâll need to earn on, say, the final to make up for it.
Be afraid to ask questions. My mom is a professor, and she told me the other day that a student came in with a little notecard of questions about things she didnât understand the previous week. And she was SO happy to answer them! Having questions written down really shows youâre prepared. And during class, just raise your hand and ask something (unless youâre told otherwise). After class, Iâd also recommend taking a few seconds to jot down any questions or thoughts youâd like clarified or anything youâre unsure about. What I like to do after a long lecture is go to the professor and ask âwhen you talked about (topic) I understood that (details) meant (why they mattered/what it affects/comparison to another topic). Is this a correct assumption?â If you can find something else you learned in the class to compare it to, it will be super helpful to both you and the professor, so she/he/they can understand what you understand when you ask your question.
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