Thread: Post how you study here!

I rely almost exclusively on my keen memory and note taking skills. I write well explained notes with lots of visual aid (diagrams, graphs and such) and towards exam/test time I just find some time to read through them.

I play music like this when I do so:

Procrastinate now, study later...

When studying for the International Baccalaureate exams (a diploma thing at high school/secondary school level), I started out learning stuff that can be memorised easily. That means such things as definitions and equations. Then I just basically went through the syllabus for all the subjects, using both text books and notes I have taken before, and took brand new revision notes. I pinpointed the areas I had trouble with, and went through these again. In the later stages I avoided looking at notes from class and textbooks and wrote out what I could from memory. All in all I went through 6 notebooks making these revision notes as I really have to write stuff down or I don't absorb it. Finally, I did past papers and wrote practice essays until my scores were good. I only read through notes (without writing anything myself) right before the exam itself, as that technique just doesn't work for me on the long run.

My school was well organised though so they got us to do coursework and internally assessed stuff early so we had loads of time for revision/study.

I'm glad that's over!

A good way to study is to pretend like u teach it to somebody else. That way the information will get a lot faster in your brain, atleast works for me!

I kept my quizzes, homeworks, and tests throughout the class. I could see with my quizzes if I understood or did not understand something. By the time a test came up, I would have gone over my homeworks and quizzes and seen mistakes and been able to identify something that I did not understand.

By the time the exam came up, I would have had a few tests that I would also have been able to look at, and highlight any major issues that I did not understand, and would have to go over with the teacher.

This usually works well with a very structured and mathematical class, when you have "daily quizzes".

When you have something like "French", and you have lots of vocabulary to learn, the best way to learn that is with flash cards. It's the fastest way. You can quickly pull out the words you know, and focus on the words you don't know. Refresh your memory on the bus as you go to school.

"History" or "Art"... That's a pain. It just takes lots of reading. I spent a lot of time just reading and re-reading my book. You may want to take a highlighter and highlight important elements in the book, if you own the book.

Computer science... you have to crunch through your program until it works. This also takes lots of time. It's a lot of trial and error.

I just do it.

Without the above, it's difficult to study. And I believe this plagues the majority of people.

My biggest problem is to start and stay focused. But to solve that I usually try to motivate myself. For example if I am going to read about evolution, instead of thinking "ah boooring, I'd rather go and watch TV. Who cares about butterflies on the trees surviving because of their color blabla" xD I change my attitude to an almost too optimistic view and really try to become interested "Wow I wonder what our next step in evolution is and what that might be, what does it mean to be the fittest today?". Ok maybe bad examples but there is always some weird way of motivating yourself

My point is that motivaton is important, don't learn stuff just because you need to learn it, learn it because you can actually see what the value of knowing it means to you.

If you are still in school you can use your knowledge and associate it with different stuff and see the connection, which teachers appreciate.

Also when you are motivated and like the work you are doing, it is easier to remember as well.

Your not only getting smarter, passing the test, getting good grades but you are also having fun

As you can see I am a little too optimistic, but that helps me study so whatevs ^-^

Guess I have to learn by doing. Sit down with my lecture notes and work out each line by myself on paper, and play around with anything new. Usually takes about an hour to get fully to grips with one side of A4. I think it's impossible to learn passively; to just read something and expect to soak it up. You have to physically write it out and do stuff with it to form the connections in your brain. Hopefully by tea time I'm done with notes and I can start on questions. Again these just require playing around on paper to get some kind of intuitive feel for what's going on.

I'm all about psychology, so I've analysed dozens of studies about the most effective way to learn. I'm working atm, but I study every day since I like the subject and want to perform as best as I can when I go back to university

It's interesting to read articles like this one (btw, I totally recommend the read), and I totally relate. Some of the methods I've adopted from this and several other articles are:

- First, I give a first read and conceptualize everything. I make a sort of mental map of all the stuff I want to learn, making connections between everything. The content is at a very basic language at this point, because the goal here is to make sense of all that I am reading. Metaphors and comparisons really help you getting the information down
- After that, I start taking notes. I make small notes, and with the shortest amount of words possible (but always making the concepts crystal clear). I also make some graphs. Although learning styles aren't comproved afair, I still approve the use of more "visual" formats in order to organize ideas.
-After the notes are done, if the subject justifies, I complement the subject by viewing videos, posing a problematic about it, or simply by making question to myself. Self-talk is very useful because you're becoming more fluent in the subject by explaining it over and over, and even by answering your own questions.
- For last, I study the same thing several times in a big period of time. It's been determined that it's the most effective way to do it (because you're reinforcing the information on your memory over and over), so I during all that time, I can memorize the information much easier, and that will determine that I won't forget it right after I use it (for an exam or a talk). I also make the study as most pleasuring as possible, whether that means eating popcorns while watching a video-lecture, or by discussing a certain concept with a friend.

As a side note, more related to my psychology study, I always try to put a concept into motion, and find it's flaws, it's highlights, where it's applied. I think you get a much better understanding of the thing you study if you think outside the box. My goal is not to just study the information I'm given, but working it and turning into knowledge.

Yeah that article has the right basic idea. What it says about visualising linear algebra is something I've experienced first hand. Everybody is a talented mathematician at my uni, and nobody learned linear algebra by memorising a discrete set of isolated rules. What's important is the concept, and having some kind of analogy at hand to link it all together.

I swear, it's the only way to learn. I always say; you don't need to be particularly intelligent to do great things. You only need an IQ of a sufficient level to be able to do self-reference; to think about your own thought process, to evaluate different methods of developing skills and understanding, and your resultant performance, and work out for yourself that the above is the only way to learn. Everybody else just looks at these people with some kind of resigned envy, as if they're superhumans, with some innate ability to learn a longer list of facts than them. In reality, it's just that these people have never actually bothered to try to learn anything properly; their whole concept of what learning is is flawed, and so they see intelligence as some kind of magic, rather than simply the result of hard work.

At the moment, Anki, Anki, Anki -- though I've no deadline nor specific target for each day. I've just one goal: that everyday, I'm moving forward. That's all that matters for me. Works a charm; keeps me flowing.

Originally Posted by zoth00

I'm all about psychology, so I've analysed dozens of studies about the most effective way to learn. I'm working atm, but I study every day since I like the subject and want to perform as best as I can when I go back to university

It's interesting to read articles like this one (btw, I totally recommend the read), and I totally relate. Some of the methods I've adopted from this and several other articles are:

- First, I give a first read and conceptualize everything. I make a sort of mental map of all the stuff I want to learn, making connections between everything. The content is at a very basic language at this point, because the oal here is to make sense of all that I am reading. Metaphors and comparisons really help you getting the information down
- After that, I start taking notes. I make small notes, and with the shortest amount of words possible (but always making the concepts crystal clear). I also make some graphs. Although learning styles aren't comproved afair, I still approve the use of more "visual" formats in order to organize ideas.
-After the notes are done, if the subject justifies, I complement the subject by viewing videos, posing a problematic about it, or simply by making question to myself. Self-talk is very useful because you're becoming more fluent in the subject by explaining it over and over, and even by answering your own questions.
- For last, I study the same thing several times in a big period of time. It's been determined that it's the most effective way to do it (because you're reinforcing the information on your memory over and over), so I during all that time, I can memorize the information much easier, and that will determine that I won't forget it right after I use it (for an exam or a talk). I also make the study as most pleasuring as possible, whether that means eating popcorns while watching a video-lecture, or by discussing a certain concept with a friend.

As a side note, more related to my psychology study, I always try to put a concept into motion, and find it's flaws, it's highlights, where it's applied. I think you get a much better understanding of the thing you study if you think outside the box. My goal is not to just study the information I'm given, but working it and turning into knowledge.

Ah, interesting. One of the best examples of holistic learning (at least in terms of creating a large neural network or interconnectedness) comes from how we learn our native language, i.e., we don't look up verb conjugation nor read complex grammar rules to be able to communicate effectively. Yet we seamlessly conjugate and apply grammar rules with seemingly little conscious knowledge of 'why' and 'how'. And then there's that feeling when you understand a novel word, intuitively, without being able to verbalise its definition.

Learning language, music, and math.... they all seem to share that same element.

I find I learn more by doing, more by larger chunk sizes, more by sampling other people's work and combining it with my own or others, more by reading wide (initially) rather than deep, and more by examples than by definitions.

And guess where I have the most difficulty? In remembering absolutely pointless dates and names for citations (no interconnectedness) -- who said what and when doesn't facilitate my understanding.

In reality that analogy kind of means the exact opposite of what you wanted it to. Language, and the ability to subconsciously deduce grammatical rules, is very much thought to be an inherent, genetic ability, which children develop automatically for a specific developmental period. This is in complete contrast with reading, which will not be deduced automatically; a lot of effort must be invested to teach it by rote, at any point in a person's life.

Mmm, though obviously the ability to subconsciously deduce grammatical rules applies beyond the onset of that critical period (not sure if you were implying that's not the case). After all, take any language or system, and the brain with enough exposure at the right level of difficulty will inevitably deduce rules (patterns), e.g., a programming language.

So with music (see Suzuki Method), you can learn by reading the definitions of musical concepts (compartmentalised), and then apply them to the instrument (effortful; top-down), or you can allow your subconscious mind to deduce the patterns through sheer exposure to a variety of music (holistic), so that you eventually develop a working, intuitive understanding of the concepts (less effortful; bottom-up). To improve, it does depend on scaffolding to more difficult concepts at the right time (just like Katamari), but if done correctly it makes learning rule-based knowledge easy and mostly automatic (see Input Hypothesis).

I can only assume one could learn math this way too? I've no real experience there.

Though I guess it depends if one's primary goal is to merely describe parts of the language to another person (former approach), or to become fluent in the language and create using that language (latter approach). For instance, most people have no idea what an infinitive verb or gerund are (nor do they care), yet they comfortably use them on a frequent basis -- this could be applied to any 'language'...human, programming, music etc.

I'm not sure if this is normal, but I draw cute little pictures of cats teaching the material to other cats. I just assume that because the cats understand the material, so do I.

... heh.

If it's language, I just memorize the words and their meaning, as well as memorizing sentences and grammar changes.

Other info: I just memorize the facts I need, so I can write it down on the test later. After that I shall forget it all since you can't remember all that shit you "learn" in school.

I've always relied less on blunt memorization and more on skimming the work. Funnily enough I almost never take notes on anything, I just go over the material quickly a few times and the information just sticks. Of course, problem with me is I never study until the night before, so I probably could study a whole lot better if I wasn't such a procrastinator. xD

Well, for Spanish I usually just read everything on the study sheet, turn around, and try to recite it. Its a pretty bad way to study, but I seem to get by.

Judging by my "Straight B's report card".

Everybody hates boring textbook covers right? For most textbooks, i love the content but the covers are so incredibly boring, so heres my solution:

Below, you see my C++ textbook with a bridge on the cover(Did my pictures upload correctly?It seems like they did):
IMG_0004.jpg

Now you see the same textbook but i printed out a snow leopard and put that awesome beast on the cover! RAWRRRR! Now that makes me want to learn C++!
IMG_0006.jpg

Also, on a side note, if your having trouble memorizing things: Picture them in your head and link the ideas together, that way, if you remember one, you can remember the next because they are linked. ( this uses mnemonic techniques, research it, you'll be glad ). even if you don't link the ideas, just visualizing them makes you more aware of them and what you're reading.

Originally Posted by Weakamon

Procrastinate now, study later...

Mine is better:

Procrastinate, half-assedly look at notes for five minutes, ace test anyway.

I just open my notes or a book and study it lol there is not any wisdom to it

Originally Posted by Subjects

Now you see the same textbook but i printed out a snow leopard and put that awesome beast on the cover! RAWRRRR! Now that makes me want to learn C++!
IMG_0006.jpg

lol... The funny thing is, I have a C++ textbook with a lion on the cover.

(Found this on google images, too lazy to take a picture of my actual textbook)

When I was in school I refused to do homework or study at home because it's home not school, and I graduated with way too many credits. I just applied what I was taught by my TEACHER at SCHOOL. Now that I'm out of school, I binge study information on the internet constantly about subjects that interest me. I listen to youtube videos about said subjects while I surf the net or play internet backgammon. I study way too much information though, because my brain gets overloaded and I'll tell my sister something I just learned twice within a week and she has to remind me I already learned that and told her about it once before.