tdunks Posted December 31, 2011 Report Share Posted December 31, 2011 Now that we have reached the end of a semester (and for many of us the first semester of university) many of us are not exactly the happiest about our grades. The two main reasons, at least for me, were a lack of work ethic and not knowing how to study effectively. I found myself wasting much of my study time because I would re read notes, or just read the textbook or re-watching lectures. Most of these seem like horribly inefficient ways to study, especially when studying to get 90's so I am looking for some new ideas. So my question to all you members of pm101 is: how do you study? what works the best and is the most time efficient for you? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Clever Posted December 31, 2011 Report Share Posted December 31, 2011 Text book is great if you don't understand the material. If you can go over all the little things in your head when you're reading your notes, then you're all set. That's really all you need! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
frozenarbitor Posted December 31, 2011 Report Share Posted December 31, 2011 My study style changes from time to time and from course to course. However, I find the general principle in doing reasonably well in a course (especially upper level) is to try to understand the concepts rather than plain memorization even if the course is memorization based (for example, when learning about anatomy, knowing the meaning of the latin names of specific muscles such as Latissimus dorsi will help with memorization). To gain better understanding, you need to see the big picture. I start my review (midterm or final) with the course outline and try to see the logic in the way they structured the course and to get an overview of the major concepts. I then browse through my notes without committing anything to memory (sometimes I make an outline on a loose leaf while browsing through my notes). This will further break down the concepts within each lecture listed in the course outline. Once I have the big picture in mind, I rewrite all my notes over again on loose leafs in different wording if possible (most remain the same wording) to commit the details to memory. This is especially helpful for MC exams asking for details. Once I've rewrote everything (which takes most of my review time), I go over everything topic by topic without reading my notes first by writing down things I can recall on the subject following the list of concepts I first made at the beginning of my review. After I'm done with each topic, I will go back to the notes to circle out the things I missed in red pen. Last step of my review is to go over the red circles and areas I predict that will highly likely be tested on the exam. This method covers things systematically and has worked very well for me in the past two years. The disadvantage of this way of studying is that it takes a lot of time. Sometimes you are forced to do without rewriting the notes but rather just reading over the notes you first took in class for a second time. There are other methods that I also use from time to time such as flashcards, mnemonics, group study sessions, and summary tables. You can certainly try this for one of your courses next year and see how well it works. Keep in mind that what works for one may not work for another. I also pull all-nighters for most of my exams. This certainly does not work for everyone and is not what I would recommend to you. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
a1b1 Posted December 31, 2011 Report Share Posted December 31, 2011 Now that we have reached the end of a semester (and for many of us the first semester of university) many of us are not exactly the happiest about our grades. The two main reasons, at least for me, were a lack of work ethic and not knowing how to study effectively. I found myself wasting much of my study time because I would re read notes, or just read the textbook or re-watching lectures. Most of these seem like horribly inefficient ways to study, especially when studying to get 90's so I am looking for some new ideas. So my question to all you members of pm101 is: how do you study? what works the best and is the most time efficient for you? The first month and a half of the semester I would read the teachers power points, read the book, make my own notes from a combination of powerpoint + book and then study my notes from there. This proved to be ineffective for two reasons. 1. When making my own notes I would sometimes make mistakes, and some of the teachers would ask questions on exam which were along the lines of what word from the teachers note goes into this sentence. The problem however was that I had not memorized the sentenced, I had memorized my own re-made version of said sentence. Had I just memorized the teachers notes I would of gotten the question right. 2. It consumed too much time, I would be awake till 4 AM making my own notes and studying them, at which point I would be tired and start making copying mistakes, also the lack of sleep would affect me the next day. After a couple of exams, I realized no one else was doing this and they were doing much better than I was with less work. So instead I started to just read the power points and notes supplied by the teachers. Ultimately, I ended up doing as good or better (in most cases), then i was doing with my previous technique. Next semester I am definitely just going to focus on studying the teachers notes. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
psychoswim Posted December 31, 2011 Report Share Posted December 31, 2011 Studying methods vary for everyone, you have to find the ones that work for you. I almost never make extra notes on top of course packs and ppt slides we already have. Sometimes if I go to class (not that often) or when I'm reading the notes I'll add some keywords in the margins to help me remember or understand. Then I re-read my notes once in the same week we learn the material, and again when exams grow near. You don't realize you're learning the material but it has already started building up so that when I do my last study pass a few days before my exams I already know most of it. I have very few textbooks.. for this semester I used an anatomy atlas because my memory is semi-photographic now it seems, and that was pretty much it. If I don't understand something then I'll look it up on the web to be sure. I'll echo what frozenarbitor already said - find the logic in the material. Every subject has some sort of logic even if it's not jumping out at you right away. Knowing where a muscle is helps you to know what it does and what nerve innervates it. Knowing what a part of the digestive track does helps you to know what type of cells in contains, and so on. Also.. may sound stupid but I live on my highlighters wrt studying. Some courses I really have a color code (say anatomy), others I use yellow as a base but another color for more important stuff, or material I tend to forget so it jumps out at me when quickly reviewing. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
medhopeful64 Posted December 31, 2011 Report Share Posted December 31, 2011 Now that we have reached the end of a semester (and for many of us the first semester of university) many of us are not exactly the happiest about our grades. The two main reasons, at least for me, were a lack of work ethic and not knowing how to study effectively. I found myself wasting much of my study time because I would re read notes, or just read the textbook or re-watching lectures. Most of these seem like horribly inefficient ways to study, especially when studying to get 90's so I am looking for some new ideas. So my question to all you members of pm101 is: how do you study? what works the best and is the most time efficient for you? Like most others have pointed out, what works for one person may not work for you. I almost always read textbook + make notes because I can't really study from point form lecture notes (unless its straightforward). This however takes a fair bit of time, and if I am short on time I have to skip the note-taking and just sort of read the supporting textbook sections for the slides. This does not work well for cumulative finals for me however, because much of that textbook reading never got committed to long term memory, it was just cramming. A cumulative final affects how much time I spend making notes because if I just have to know it for one test, there isn't much need to make detailed notes that I will never refer to again. They are very helpful for cumulative courses however as its quicker than rereading textbook. It also varies from course to course. For psych courses, I like to just take notes in my textbook using sticky notes so I don't destroy the book, then re-read bold definitions and my sticky notes I've put in the margins before the test. For bio, I often need to read textbook and makes notes on separate paper. You should try going to your school's learning commons or whatever it is you have, they might have some helpful tips for you. Finally, try talking to older students who've taken the course before - ask them what the prof's questions are like, how they studied for the exams, etc. That's one of the best pieces of advice I can give to a first year - make friends with upper years in your program. Good luck next semester! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tdunks Posted December 31, 2011 Author Report Share Posted December 31, 2011 The main problem I have with just reading/re-reading the ppt notes/textbook is that it is easy to skim rather than read, and feel that you know it all because it comes back to memory very easily when re-reading the same words but not so well when reading the questions on the test. Also for the memorizing general concepts I do that very well but, atleast at UofT, they seem to like testing the most random, irrelevant knowledge that was part of the "testable" material e.g on a psych test a random thing about spider venom that was the caption of a picture. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
drkwhy Posted January 1, 2012 Report Share Posted January 1, 2012 The main problem I have with just reading/re-reading the ppt notes/textbook is that it is easy to skim rather than read, and feel that you know it all because it comes back to memory very easily when re-reading the same words but not so well when reading the questions on the test. Also for the memorizing general concepts I do that very well but, atleast at UofT, they seem to like testing the most random, irrelevant knowledge that was part of the "testable" material e.g on a psych test a random thing about spider venom that was the caption of a picture. You're quite observant. When you reread notes you tend to 'know' it then since you have the material in front of you and you're just rereading it. I suggest trying to figure out some active way of studying. As you're progressing throughout semester, try to write questions or just key words on all the material. For example, if you're learning about chemistry, to make sure you understand the concepts you can write: Thermodynamics is... Enthalpy is ... work is... and the eqn for work done ... the difference between molarity, molality, ..., is... The simmons smith rxn is ... (and draw out the rxn) Aldon condensation rxn is ... (same) Then quiz yourself when you're bored or before you have a test. Just try experimenting and you'll see what works for you. Go through material and pretend like you're making the test and which concepts you could relate or which material seems more important and how you can test students. The point is do something active instead of passive. For some courses that are dependent on memorizing the material, the stuff the test may seem like it's a waste of time but that's their way of distinguishing between the 90s, 80s, 70s etc. It really is stupid. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
nitellubv Posted January 1, 2012 Report Share Posted January 1, 2012 Study and prepare for your midterms like they're your finals. If you do well on them, you will secure those marks, gaining confidence. Also, acing the midterms is great preparation for the final as you'll know the early material very well. This helps tremendously when you are in a course that has material that builds upon itself. Do your assignments and understand what you're doing. Get help if you don't understand. If the lab reports aren't worth very much, don't waste too much effort on them as they can consume lots of time. Put your effort into the tests! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
frozenarbitor Posted January 2, 2012 Report Share Posted January 2, 2012 Study and prepare for your midterms like they're your finals. If you do well on them, you will secure those marks, gaining confidence. Also, acing the midterms is great preparation for the final as you'll know the early material very well. This helps tremendously when you are in a course that has material that builds upon itself. Do your assignments and understand what you're doing. Get help if you don't understand. If the lab reports aren't worth very much, don't waste too much effort on them as they can consume lots of time. Put your effort into the tests! Solid advice here. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Robin Hood Posted January 2, 2012 Report Share Posted January 2, 2012 The tips given were for courses like Biology. What about Math/Physics? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bored Posted January 2, 2012 Report Share Posted January 2, 2012 The tips given were for courses like Biology. What about Math/Physics? practice like no tmr Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
nitellubv Posted January 2, 2012 Report Share Posted January 2, 2012 The tips given were for courses like Biology. What about Math/Physics? (this is regarding the more basic math courses such as calculus, differential equations, linear algebra, etc) Usually a math textbook will have an accompanying student solutions manual for the odd numbered problems. If you're looking for mastery, do as many of the odd numbered problems as you can. For example, when learning integration in a first year calculus course, you'll want to start right at question #1 of the integration section. It may be easy at first, but keep going. Eventually you'll reach a question that may be difficult or have a slight trick. KEEP TRYING. Doing problems that are out of your comfort zone is when you actually learn, but you'll have to gradually build your skills. Refer to definitions and theorems in the textbook if needed. If you are completely stuck, try looking in the solutions manual for the beginning of the author's method to get started. As soon as you complete a question, check your answer using the solutions manual. This instant feedback is very valuable. It's similar to an athlete learning from a trainer or a student learning from an experienced tutor; knowing what you are doing right and wrong immediately after doing it is a superb, efficient way to learn. The goal is to achieve intuition on how to solve problems confidently - this comes through experience and seeing many different possible situations. If you are in a proof-based course such as Abstract Algebra (group/ring theory), Real Analysis, Topology, etc, you will want to do as many proofs as you can. Unfortunately, there will usually be no solutions manual for these courses or if they do exist, they will not help very much. You must DO proofs YOURSELF and you must truly understand what you are doing. Don't be afraid of wasting paper and don't give up. Crafting a proof is a very logically demanding task but when you gain mathematical maturity, you will find that it's an art. Mathematics is not a spectator sport. You must do math to learn math. Make mistakes when you can (i.e. during practice) and learn from them. Put your time in and you will be rewarded. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
psychoswim Posted January 2, 2012 Report Share Posted January 2, 2012 The tips given were for courses like Biology. What about Math/Physics? Math and physics are the easiest I think... practice, practice and more practice does the trick (obviously once you actually understand what you're doing rather than just plugging in formulas). Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
<abstract> Posted January 2, 2012 Report Share Posted January 2, 2012 The tips given were for courses like Biology. What about Math/Physics? Practice makes perfect! However, if you are like me you get incredibly bored doing the same questions over and over. It is important to practice smartly. Do the problems that will most likely be on the final/ midterm then do the other stuff. When I do the assignments, I count that as studying but be sure to really focus and don't rely on your friends to do the questions and just copy them. Try to do the practice midterm/final on your own a couple of days before the actual midterm/final because in my experience about 80% of the time there will be very similar questions on the final. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
lolelol Posted January 3, 2012 Report Share Posted January 3, 2012 The tips given were for courses like Biology. What about Math/Physics? Get yourself a white board + markers, and practice like there's no tomorrow as somone already said. I particularly like the white board because any mistake can be erased quickly by a swipe of your finger, and you don't lose your train of thought. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Recommended Posts
Archived
This topic is now archived and is closed to further replies.