Study tips

Tips & Ideas on HOW to STUDY:

Studying is a very personal thing.  What works for one person may not work for another.  Here are some ideas on how to study, some strategies.  Try these out and see what works for you.

How to make the most of your time:
***It is a natural tendency to read and review what you know rather than focusing time on what you don't know....when budgeting your study time spend time on the parts you are less confident on.
-half of writing a successful test, exam, quiz, quest etc...is confidence....build your confidence on the information
-study the harder stuff first, the stuff you feel less clear on
-25 is the magic number....studies show that people (the brain) can only really focus on something intensely for about 25 minutes....so set a goal what you will do and set a timer for 25 minutes, then take a solid break 10-15 minutes and do something completely different (rewarding) before you go back for another 25 minutes.

What notes might have to do with it:
-take great notes in class (a Harvard study found that writing things down (not typing and not taking a photo but physically writing) increases a students ability to retain information a LOT....many people find it is easier to focus on a topic (esp. if you're not super into it) if you are taking notes
-writing and re-writing helps solidify the knowledge!
-once you have a great set of notes, read these through, highlight the key parts and ASK any questions that are left open.  Review highlighted material.

How to keep the info in your brain:
-use mind maps to help manage or group or connect your ideas & information in a way that makes sense
-use acronyms (like MR. HELP) or quirky sayings to help remember the info - create mental associations
-relate the info to something in your life/world-make connections (text to self, text to world etc...)
-draw doodles that relate to information -create mental associations

Have purpose:
-if you read the text, read with a purpose (ie) to answer the questions you may have from your notes.
-think about text features and their purpose if reading
-if you are going through your notes, highlight key points (purpose, this will ensure focus and attention) then put key points into a mind map etc...
-create flashcards (this is helpful for vocab), have someone go through flash cards with you
-Rewrite notes, adding to it from your reading of the text
-Reading in the text may not need to go past a scan of the headings (how confident are you about the info?)
-Always read the introduction and conclusions to the chapter!
-have someone ask you questions about the material, if you can explain it to someone else, you should be able to confidently answer questions on a quiz/test
-read or say it out loud

For a von Bremen quest:
-USE the review sheet on the blog & go through the questions
-think about what I spent time on and see if you can guess what the questions will be from the review and what we spent time on in class
-von Bremen quest questions can be complex, break them down and match up to the value of the question....when checking through your quest ensure you answered all the PARTS of the question.
-I'm not out to trick you, I'm out to check your understanding and learning
***Don't leave anything blank, always try guessing, it may get you part marks, or at least attempt to entertain:) marking can be super boring so at least entertain me!