Study Skills
Are
you struggling in a class and just haven’t found the best way to study?
Well, here are some ideas that I suggest.
(FYI: Homework Hotline is 410-529-1266.)
1.
Find your best time of the day to study.
Then try to work the most of your schedule around your study time.
All of us are busy, but if you study at
your own prime time you will find you retain more information and the
work gets done quicker.
2.
Flash cards work well for certain classes that have a great deal of
vocabulary. Make these cards as you go along, don’t wait until a few
days before the test. Test yourself
with only a few at a time and bring
these with you wherever you go. You
will be surprised how many
minutes you sit around doing nothing. When
you have mastered these,
add a few more in and work until you have added the whole set piece by
piece.
3.
For information that you simply cannot remember as easily, create an
anagram. We were taught these in
our elementary years because they
worked, so why not still use this skill. Another
option is to try to make up
a funny story
about a small chunk of information. You
will be amazed at
how much better
you can retain information.
4.
Science class requires a lot of hands on learning, so take the
time
to work with
the materials given to you. Use the whole lab time
and if possible come back on your own time to test yourself.
I cannot
stress enough how much more you will retain if you stimulate as many
senses as
possible to form a memory. The knowledge
will not stay with you if you are simply a passive participant in your lab
group. (I
suggest this for Anatomy,
Paleontology,
and Geology.)
5.
If you have a paper to write, try to tackle it as soon as possible.
Work on a rough draft, then set
aside for a few days and come back to it. Repeat
this process at
least 3 times. Your final draft
will have fewer mistakes,
and will be
more thought out. This will
definitely lead to a higher grade
than if you
write it the night before it is due.
6.
If you have a class that has a lot of practice problems in the back of
the
book, try as many as possible. This does take a lot of time,
but you will make
sure that you understand every concept
and detail within the chapter.
If you
have time, try to do the problems more than once before a test
or quiz comes
around. The more you practice, the
quicker you will be
able to answer the problems. (This
skill works well for Genetics,
Chemistry, Physics and of course Mathematics!)
7.
Always try to stay ahead of the teacher. Teachers always try to keep you
informed of future goals and events so write it down. If you stay ahead, when you go to class it will not be
the first time you have seen the material. Therefore, you will really get
more out of the lectures and labs.
8.
To get the most information out of a chapter this skill works well.
Read
the chapter
through once without trying to get details, just main points.
Don’t
take notes and don’t highlight! The
second time, read the chapter
again this time taking notes. Try
typing notes on the computer as you go
along. That way you can organize
concepts better and you will build an
outline of the
chapter that you can refer to during class.
Make note on
your chapter notes of things the teacher stressed.
These will probably
be on the test.
9.
Take the time to try to explain what you learned to someone else. You
might talk to a parent, sibling, friend, or fellow student. If you can
explain your new knowledge to someone else, then you truly own that
knowledge. If you stumble through it, take it as an early sign that there
are some gaps in your understanding. Better to fix those gaps as soon as
possible rather than suffer through an assessment.
Hopefully,
you have found a study skill that will be
useful
to you! So give it a try!
Click on the book for more helpful tips!
