Getting back on the bandwagon of learning.

[HayleyMarie]

Its been about 6 years since I've been in school and I have totally forgot how to study, and actually absorb information in books. And well now I'm doing a course through correspondants and I have no idea where to even start.

Anyone have any tips for me to get back into the swing of things?

So far I've been doing a lot of writing things down, because just reading it off paper does not cut it for me. I have to write it out.

 

[Renee750il]

No tips, I'm terrible when it comes to having a method of studying . . .

but . . . CONGRATS! You'll get it figured out and do well.

 

[Lyzelle]

I guess it really depends on you and how you learn things, even different types of things. I need a lot of visual and interactive work with science, but history is easy peasy. Math is the worst, but mostly I just follow directions, try not to get ahead of myself, and take a LOT of precautions since I have dyscalculia. My mind does a lot of weird things with numbers.

So, yeah. I guess wait it out until your first week, sit down and try to recite it all to figure out what you know and start figuring out what works for you. If you have to write it out, then write it out. No one learns the same way.

 

[Doberluv]

Hey, that's great that you're diving back in. I think it will come to you as you go along. I don't really have any advice because everyone learns a little differently. What kind of class (s) are you taking? Best of luck to you!

 

[CaliTerp07]

What kind of class are you taking? Without knowing the specifics, the best thing to do generally is to take notes the first time you read through something (like you're doing). Read over all your notes when you're done, highlighting the most important parts.

Later that day (or the next day), copy the notes over a second time. If anything is unclear, go back and clarify. Try to put things into your own words so that you truly internalize the material, rather than just memorizing sentences.

Graphic organizers are awesome. If you can ever turn things into a table, a venn diagram, a flow chart, etc, it makes the info much easier to study and retain later.

Are you familiar with cornell notes? They are commonly used with kids who have trouble studying. You take notes down the right hand side of the page, and on the left hand side (or even in the margin) you write questions that would be answered by the notes on the right. So then when you go back to study, you just look at the questions on the left, and try to answer them. If you get stuck, you look at your notes on the right.

 

[HayleyMarie]

Sorry guys for the late reply. I am taking Optometrist assistant courses. I am thing I am slowly getting back into the swing of it ha ha. Lots of writing stuff out and answering questions, there is just so much reading. yesh!

 

[olliethemutt]

Note cards! Lots of them!

 

[Fran101]

A great agenda.
My personal favorite
http://www.uncalendar.com/index.jsp
Lots of space for every day, and each week is a double page spread.
Learn to write things down and put EVERY THING from your syllabus in there (I also use it as my personal agenda so it just kind of becomes the catch every-thing)

1. Learn how/where you study best. At home? At the library? Day time? Night-time? Total silence? Music?

2. Make the time. I have at least one hour of MANDATORY study time every day. Even if you don't have HW do..it's a good habit to get into. One hour, in your study zone, to just work. This is especially good for procrastinators. If you only study when you need to or when you have work..you will procrastinate, you will forget..

3. Sleep. Get at least 6 hours of it. Aim for 8. Morning classes suck sometimes but they suck a lot more when you are barely there

4. Learn how to study. Well, more importantly, learn how YOU study. Notecards/quizzes? writing things down? speaking them a loud? Try different ways..

For me, It's all about writing things down. Over and over if necessary. I take all my notes, make a hand-written study guide from that, then make note-cards with questions/answers to quiz myself

5. Worship the syllabus. Remember it. Love it. Learn the office hours, write down test days, when HW is due, when there will be quizzes.

6. Look up your prof. on ratemyprof or similar websites.. find the dirt on what they like/dislike

7. Participate. Smile, raise your hand, sit in the first two rows. Do the reading before the class so you know what is going to be discussed