Do You Know How To Study?
We all have moments where we “study” and cram for big exams in less than a week just to get a C in the class and forget all the information “learned”. Don’t feel bad. We all have done it.
The thought of studying can be mentally exhausting because people were not taught how to study correctly or effectively. The point of studying for exams is not to memorize the material just to get an acceptable grade in the class; it’s to actually learn the material and have a foundation in that topic, for the purpose of using that foundation when needed in the future.
Studying for a class can be different; some material is more quantitative and some is more conceptual. No matter the type of material, there is a common studying principle: repetition.
99.99% of the time, people learn skills and information from repetition. Cramming for an exam in 2 days is usually not enough time to retain the class material long-term. Remember how long it took you to read or write or learn basic mathematics? It takes weeks, months, and even years to excel at it. So why should you give yourself 2 days to “learn” the class material to not really learn it?
Repetition, repetition, repetition.
It takes effort to learn and retain information, so give yourself plenty of time to study for an exam. I am not going to tell you how many days to study for or how many hours to study each day because we are all different in retaining information. I will give you a list of study habits that could potentially work for you.
- Read over the material after every class.
- Create flashcards (or use Quizlet).
- Rewrite and organize class notes.
- Do textbook or class problems.
- Study in small chunks over a longer period of time.
- Read outside articles about confusing material.
And remember, this is not a one-and-done deal. You need to put in effort everyday to effectively learn information. Repetition is key!