#active studying

(disclaimer: this worked for me. It may not work for you, and that’s okay! Keep trying, you can do it!)

Continuous exposure to chemistry: One of the biggest things that helped me in chemistry was the continuous exposure I had beforehand. I had plenty of books that I read about chemistry, watched documentaries, had an interactive book about all the elements, e.t.c. Continuous exposure allows you to retain a lot more information beforehand, and it is different from studying. Studying is BORING, continuous exposure and learning IS NOT. Allow yourself to have fun while learning chem!

Watch videos about things you don’t understand and apply them yourself: The most challenging thing in chemistry was probably equations. You should probably watch videos to learn this. There are tons of videos out on YouTube, Khan Academy and more. Not only should you watch these videos but try to follow along and apply them into questions. If, like Khan Academy, there are ways you can do a little quiz or test yourself, be sure to do that! It helps a lot.

Ask for help from peers: This, 100%, is a great way to learn. If I was feeling sluggish or tired, I would ask for help from peers, and write down what they said. I would also take pictures of their notes and learn from that as well, later on. It helps a lot to learn from someone just like you, so you can understand better.

Active studying: I think this is a very common tip, but it is so important!! You may have a textbook or something to follow on in classes, so here’s what to do: read the textbook chapters and summarize them in your own way. It helps so much. Writing about each section or chapter allows you to take that information, and write it in a different way while still having the most important parts. DO NOT highlight or read. That is passive studying, and trust me, it does not help. Write down, summarize, do a mind map but do NOT highlight or read. It’s okay to do that for help but it really isn’t the best way to handle a concept and info-heavy class like chemistry.

Interactive, do-it-yourself studying: I heard a lot of classes just have a teacher who drones on and on and most students just have to write the stuff down, a test about every 2 weeks and move on. That is a terrible way to learn. If you are not doing well on tests or anything, this is probably why. This is a chance to use other resources for interactive learning, like videos. Something I used to do was watch experiments on YouTube, which helped me a LOT to learn about chemistry, chemical experiments and more. If you have online resources which help in interactive learning, go ahead and do that. I would not pay attention in my physics class because this is what the class was like, but I would go back home and write everything I remembered, and learn from the web.

Revision tips: I think a great way to learn is to start from a blank page. Use that blank page to start writing everything you know about a topic, formulas, diagrams, e.t.c. Why is this such an effective studying style? Because in a test, you have a blank page. You don't have mind maps, your pretty studying notes or anything else. This helps you in tests so much because then you are skilled in pouring all that information onto the blank test page. After you finish, go ahead and look back on your notes: What are you missing? What doesn’t make sense? Now you can focus on what you don’t know, are confused about, and start honing on those spots.

Learn from tests: As soon as you get your test back, let's say you get a C. Instead of staring in shock, LOOK at the test. What did the teacher mark? What notes did they write? You can write short notes on a sticky note, and problems that you didn’t understand. Then, go back to your notes and figure out why you got that question wrong. Is it because you didn’t focus on this topic much? Silly mistake? Go ahead and write the answer and try the question again on a separate piece of paper. After that, go back and strengthen those spots so you don’t make that mistake again.

Lots of people I know passively study all the time, then wonder why they don’t remember much. Passive studying includes rereading, rewriting everything, and highlighting everything. I see many people making ‘pretty notes’ but spending all their time reading it or forgetting about them after all that effort. Here are some ways to flip that mentality around.  

Pt. 1: Before studying

When you get new material in class or for reading assignments, don’t pick up your highlighter and turn the pages green. Instead, start off with a question in mind. What do I want to learn? What do I want to accomplish when I finish? Find the goal and purpose before you begin, then start highlighting and annotating material that answers your question. By doing this, you’ll be more alert and you’ll also analyze information better.

When analyzing the information, try to recognize similarities, connections, and differences. Take note of those in whatever way you want. After, use a post-it note or write in the margin (if possible) a quick summary. Try to aim to have your summary no more than a paragraph, depending on how dense the content you covered is.

Pt. 2 When studying

Use flashcards when memorizing names, dates, and formulas.

Don’t multitask!

Create an ongoing practice test with concepts you learned in the day and use it as review material. Format the questions like a teacher would.

Use different memorization techniques. (pst… post coming)

Organize your information so you can compare and contrast.

Space out your studying! (Here’s a post I made that might help)

Find practice problems.

If you’re quiet all the time when studying, there’s a chance that you’re passively studying and not actively. This is because active studying is rarely quiet.

Pt. 3 After studying

For math or any subject where the concepts build off each other, I find it beneficial to continue studying it every so often after the unit is over. This way I keep a stronger foundation to continue building off of.

Best of luck! Keep reading if you’re up for a lil sort-of related content :)

I’ve noticed that within the studyblr community there seems to be a focus on note-taking and making notes look nice. This isn’t bad at all and you need to take notes so you have a record of the information you have been taught but outside of that they don’t really help with learning information. Re-reading your notes isn’t an effective way to learn information and assess your knowledge. It is far better to use active studying techniques.

Active studying techniques are study methods that have you engaging with the information your learning constantly. Examples of this are making study guides, doing practice questions, making and using flashcards, spacing out your study so that the information can be stored in your long term memory, and summarising information in your own words (simplify it down where possible).

Out of all these methods I’ve listed above I feel as though doing lots of practice questions is the best way to go and quizzing yourself with flashcards. This is because your assessing your memory and understanding of what you’ve learnt. If you’re assessed with tests and exams in your class isn’t the best way to prepare for those to test yourself before that? 

For classes that are assessed based on essays its good to practice writing essays and showing them to your teacher whenever possible. This is specifically regarding in-class test essays.