Evening study bugs!
Now that most kids are back at school (at least where I live), now is a good time to talk about revising content! As a freshly graduated eighteen-year-old, staying on top of content when I was at school was something that was imperative to staying afloat (especially doing as many content heavy subjects as I did). Whether you’re more visual or logistical in the way you learn, I’m sure there will be something for every type of student down below with my six tips to revising content.
One) Type to book revision! This method is a really good one to get into the habit of! I’m sure you’re all well aware of the rush of information being shovelled into your brains as you’re frantically taking down notes before the teacher changes the slide. As someone who loves having a tidy and clean workspace, I want my notes book to look the same as well. However, in class, you’re usually having to compromise the aesthetic value of notetaking for information to make sure you don’t miss out on anything (or vice versa)! So I like to use my computer or a spare book to messily write notes down in class to make sure I get all the information I need. This document or book does not exist to look pretty or make you feel inspired by its beautiful typography or its highlighted headings, but rather as a source of the information you learnt in class. The way I use this to revise is by retyping/rewriting these notes in a document/notebook at home where I have the time and energy to put effort into the aesthetics of my notetaking. When you’re retyping/rewriting notes from your class, you’re revisiting content that you earlier may have just had to briefly look over in order to not miss anything. Looking at a tidy and beautiful display of notes not only can help you visually learn a lot better, but it motivates you to keep learning. But just keep in mind that the appearance of notes does not equate to the quality of note taking and personally should not be valued over retaining information. Making pretty notes is fun but it can shift into procrastination if you let it overtake your ability to retain and revise the information!
Two) Cue cards and flash cards! All throughout high school, cue cards and flash cards were my absolute favourite form of revision! And many of you probably use it now as it’s such a popular way to test yourself and emulate the conditions of an exam or test. The difference I find between cue cards and flash cards is that cue cards provide the information in short summaries whilst flash cards prompt the information on one side, and show the answer on the other, hence testing you. Personally, I like to write down my content onto physical cue cards and test myself. That way, I’m also taking the time to revise the content when I’m writing them down onto the cards! If writing them down isn’t your thing (it can be pretty tedious, especially if there’s a lot of information!), there are plenty of online options to type your information out. Studyblue, Quizlet and making them yourself on Word or Pages are all great alternatives to writing down each bit of content! Before I move onto the next idea, I have two helpful tips in regards to cue/flashcards that may be beneficial when writing/typing them up. The first is to try and pace out your time between studying/homework so you can write up cue/flashcards throughout the year. Take it from me, it’s not a great idea to leave all the content to the last week to type up into cue card form. So, it’s a pretty good idea to gradually keep up with cue/flash card making throughout the year. Also, it’s always a wise idea to keep your cue/flash cards after a test/exam has been completed in case you need to revisit them later!
Three) Unusual reminders! Now this one probably isn’t quite as common or widely used, but it will help you remember information that you’re struggling to retain! I wouldn’t recommend using this tip for all of your information because it's rather suited for content that you’re repeatedly having trouble remembering. In the days or weeks leading up to a test or exam, it's a good idea to write down the content in short, summarised points on individual cards/paper and leave them in places/objects that you use regularly. For example, if you’re having trouble remembering a definition, you could write it down on a small piece of paper and tuck it into your shoes, socks, toothbrush holder, toilet door, wallet etc. Using this strategy will force your mind to view content more regularly (without staring at a book mindlessly) and it will often come to the natural conclusion of retaining that information out of the regularity of your habits!
Four) 5-minute rush! This next one is a good strategy you can do on your own, or with a study group! Create a few main topics that encompass all of the information you’ve learnt for a specific subject and give yourself 5 minutes to write down all of the information you can remember related to that topic on a piece of paper or a computer (but no cheating with notes because it defeats the purpose of the exercise!). After 5 minutes, it’s a good idea to compare and correct the information you wrote down to see the accuracy of your results. This is a good exercise to test your knowledge in time-sensitive conditions. However, if you don’t get all the information you aimed for, don’t be disheartened! Treat it as a learning opportunity to grow and learn more information!
Five) Glass and Mirror learning! This next one is fairly similar to tip three and four as it lends itself to some of the same approaches. However, I use this as a content revision technique because it requires a large surface for you to expand your ideas and knowledge on! What you’ll need for this strategy are some windows or mirrors (that aren’t super valuable, sentimental or dangerous for you to access!) and some window chalk! For those of you unaware of what window chalk is, it usually comes in marker-like tubes and will usually read something like ‘applicable to non-porous surfaces’ on the labelling. But again, probably just read the packaging for whether it is safe on your glass and mirror surface at home. I like using these markers on my long mirrors in my bedroom because they take up a large portion of my room and force me to read them. I find this as a good method a revising content because not only am I writing the information down (a great tool for revision), but I am placing that information in an area where I will regularly view it as opposed to a notebook where you can only view the information if you physically search it up. This strategy is great because the information is always at your disposal in plain sight for when you’re ready to do some light revision!
Six) Podcasts! I got this next tip off of one of my teachers when I was in year nine and it’s honestly a really good tip. At the end of each class when you get home at night, it’s a good idea to read over the notes you learnt in class today and record yourself reading it. Once you’ve done this, you can export it into an mp3 file and import it onto apps such as Spotify for your own personal listening! This is a really great method of revision when you’re in situations where it may not be ideal to whack out the books and start working. If you’re on the train or the bus to school, this is a really great way to revisit content learnt in the class prior so that you give yourself a mental refresher for the class ahead! It’s also a good way to get your mind focused for the day ahead (It’s okay, I sometimes have trouble getting my head into the working grind in the mornings too!) It’s a really great strategy all-round but you may just have to get over the obstacle of hearing your own voice in your ear whilst you get to school!
And that’s all for now folks! I hope you guys can perhaps find at least one thing useful in the above tips and that maybe you want to apply to your next study session! I understand not all of these tips will apply to everyone and that’s cool, but I find when studying something that’s not exactly stimulating, it’s nice to switch up your study method and shift your practice in accordance to the demands of what you are and/or having trouble with learning!
Sorry for the lack of upload as well guys! Just started University this week so uploads may be a tad sporadic from now on, but I’ve got some great ideas and posts coming out soon that have been planned for you all to look forward to!
kt xo
