Studying Conceptual Courses
Have you ever took a class and no matter how great you took amazing notes and studied hard, days before, you still didn’t get the grade you wanted? Well there could be many reasons to this, but the one I’m focusing on is conceptual learning classes. A conceptual class is a class unlike math or history where you can memorize formulas and dates, you need to REALLY UNDERSTAND IT. Such as social sciences classes eg. Psychology and Sociology. Now I wasn’t aware of this issue until midway this semester. I’m taking psychology, so we started learning the memory topic. I thought I just wasn’t smart enough but that isn’t it. The problem was the way I was studying.Â
YOU CANNOT JUST MEMORIZE THE DEFINITIONS.
That is the most important rule. Okay so now how do we do this? Well a little backstory. In order to consolidate ( making short term memory into long term) There are two things:
Maintenance Rehearsal - process of repetitively verbalizing or thinking about information to either extend the usual 15-20 second duration of short-term memory or transfer the rehearsed information to long term.
This is what most people try to do, constantly memorizing the definitions and notes. WHEN STUDYING CONCEPTUAL THIS DOES NOT WORK.
Now, there isÂ
Elaborative Rehearsal - Rehearsal that involves thinking about how new information relates to information already stored in long-term memory, results in greater recall and recognition of stored information.
Elaborative rehearsal is a more effective way of encoding new information because it involves a deeper level of cognitive processing. It produces more stable long-term memories and more accessible long term memories(easier to retrieve)
DING DING DING. This is the winner, because what it is saying is, it’s better to relate things as opposed to just memorizing. So you need to PERSONALIZE IT.Â
Okay so bla bla bla, let’s get to the real good stuff. The Strategies! These are some tips that can help you :-)Â
Define the definition in your own words aka paraphrase it
Think of your own examples that relate to the concept
Relate the information to yourself
Draw illustrations that show the interconnection, doesn’t have to be artwork but get the idea in your brain. Diagrams or stick figures are OK!
Ask questions about the concept to yourself and try and answer them
Mind Maps, although i haven’t tried it myself i hear it works efficiently
Outlining (what is the main point, secondary point, what terms go under these points ?)
Acronyms, ( this helps when there are numbers or weird theory names etc, when it comes to numbers I try to remember them as a date eg, the Wechsler Intelligence Scales are measured in 11 subtests, 6 verbal and 5 performance , I think of it as 11/06/2005 )
So there you have it, I personally now use the method of thinking of my own examples, defining it in my own words, acronyms and illustrating. The classes are hard but I improved on my last exam. Oh! I also made my own study sheet with the examples and my paraphrasing.
Warning : paraphrasing is personal but you should also remember the definition incase it’s a question on the exam!
I hope this is helpful to those who need it! This is my first time writing a post like this. I plan on making printables when I get more free time and more tips posts. I would appreciate constructive criticism and if you loved this or it helped you please let me know too! <33Â
