How To Study
Rules
One
- When you feel that you are not learning efficiently, take a break so you don’t reinforce a negative behavior.
- The break is to provide positive reinforcement
- Most students can study for 20 - 30 minutes before losing concentration
- Do something that you like and tell yourself that it is a treat for studying well
Two
- Create a study or use a “study lamp”
- But don’t use it during a break
- Can be plugged into a smart outlet to provide a timing function
Three
- You remember or learn best when you intend to learn the material.
- Physical activity after studying has been shown to improve recall of recently learned material.
Four
- Trying to learn any material that is meaningless is a very difficult task.
Five
- Discover the meaning of what you are studying.
Six
- Always engage in deeper processing
- Try to think how to apply or use the new concept. Ask yourself, when or where would the concept have value? Or, have you seen the application of similar concepts? The more you think about the deeper implications of the material; the more likely it will make sense, and you will remember it.
Seven
- Try to use a mnemonic device to memorize facts.
- Acronyms (coined words)
- scuba (Self-Contained, Underwater, Breathing, Apparatus)
- Acrostics (coined phrases)
- In fourteen-hundred and ninety-two, Columbus sailed the ocean blue
- righty tighty, left loosey
- Interacting images
- Alcohol has 7 calores. There are seven letters in the word alcohol or a favorite call drink: Seagram’s Seven with Seven-Up
Eight
- Always SQ4R your study material.
- Survey, Question, Read, Record, Recite, Review.
- Competent note takers write only the key points, facts, definitions, or concepts.
Nine
- Elaborate on your notes as soon as possible. Ideally, right after the class/studying ends
Ten
- Be certain that you can recall what you have underlined, and you are not simply recognizing it.
Eleven
- Attend class/study regularly
Twelve
Thirteen