STUDY STRATEGIES
* Review it regularly: Review must be continuous if you want to gain a deep understanding of the topic. It should not be superficial and hasty. Cramming can help you remember some facts, but it won’t give you the general understanding of a subject, which you should study in your college education.
* Be systematic: You should start organizing a study schedule as early as possible at the beginning of the semester.
* Use a variety of techniques: In addition to summarizing your lecture notes, use a variety of strategies for your review. Create diagrams that show the relationship between the concepts you have studied in your subjects or form study groups with your classmates to discuss the different topics and the relationships between them to reinforce both understanding and memory.
* Use relationship to memorize: Understanding the relationships between pieces of information, such as their similarities and differences, and using their relationship to already known information is a definite advantage during the stress of an exam.
* Practice Past Exams – You should get copies of past exams as early in the review process as possible. Taking these exams within the required time limit will give you practice in applying what you have learned to specific topics and practice in exam techniques. This will also give you a good idea of the exam format, time limit, and number of questions.
* Attend lectures: Pay attention at lectures and tutorials, etc., to get relevant information for exams. For example, what topic might be expected on a test, etc.?
Emphasize the following areas in your review:
o Points emphasized in class or in the text
o Areas that the teacher has recommended for study
o Questions in study guides, previous questions and reviews at the end of textbook chapters.
STUDY CLOTHES
* Decide what to study (choose a reasonable task) and how long or how many chapters, pages, problems, etc. Set and meet the deadline.
* Do the difficult tasks first. For procrastination, start with an easy and interesting aspect of the project.
* Have special places to study. Consider lighting, temperature, and material availability.
* Study 50 minutes and then take a 10 minute break. Stretch, relax, have an energetic snack.
* If you get tired or bored, change the task/activity. Stop studying when you are no longer productive.
* Perform rough memory tasks and review, especially details, just before falling asleep.
* Study with a friend. Test each other, compare notes and predict test questions.
STUDY SKILLS
o Physical environment: choose situations that make you feel comfortable, for example, a private space in the library, in your own home or study hall in university residences.
o Plan a schedule – Use a schedule to prioritize study times and try to stick to your schedule.
o Mental activity: remember that your ability to concentrate is limited. So don’t sit for 3-4 hours straight from a page of notes. Allow an hour or so to read and take additional notes. Write or use actual exam questions from previous jobs and consider how little you know and understand
o Stop for a break- Have a coffee or take a short walk and mentally review what you have achieved. Go back to your studies.
o You will find the activity and review process helpful and help you establish a study pattern.
o Quality of study- Remember that it is not the time spent studying that matters, it is the quality of the study exercise. Develop an understanding of the material you are working on. Simply memorized information will seldom see you safely during your exams.
o Choice of material: Do not walk away from the material that you find most difficult to understand because, if you do, it will be precisely this material that will be problematic for you in the exam. Take this material first.
o Problems: If there are sections of the syllabus that you cannot understand, try to find the right teacher to help you. But try not to leave this for the day before the exam. Ask someone in the same course as you. If these strategies don’t work for you, try using a variety of different textbooks, some authors explain difficult concepts better than others.
CONCENTRATION
Concentration is the ability to direct one’s thought in any direction
Butler. We all have the ability to concentrate at some point.
Think of the time when you were engrossed in a supernovela or in a cinema -Total
concentration. But at other times your thoughts are scattered and your mind races.
one thing to another. Learn and practice concentration strategies.
Poor concentration – External causes
-Internal causes
REVISION
Proofreading is a process of reviewing previous work in preparation for the exam. It is an activity that can produce good results and reduce “examination nerves” if carefully planned and carried out systematically. Black coffee and sleepless nights just before exams rarely allow you to do your talents justice.
Towards the end of a course, a review of your completed written work and previous exams will often indicate close links between exam questions and essays, assignments, and project work. On this basis, you select your best work and use it for review. The work, which has been less successful, must contain the advice of a tutor and this can be followed up.
What reviews can do for you:
* Expands your ability to assess your own knowledge and understanding.
* Provides an opportunity to discuss this in relation to the exam requirements.
* Allow you to pass the exam and get recognition for your talents.
GUIDELINES FOR A SUCCESSFUL REVIEW
* Make sure you know well in advance the topics that will be covered in the particular exam.
* Keep copies of all course documents, projects, essay questions, assignment titles, and reading lists on file.
* Make this the basis of your review. Resist the urge to try to start your course from the beginning.
* Review the evaluated works on your own, making a selection of those with the best qualification.
* Compare your own work with the question asked in previous quizzes.
* At this stage it is vital that you have enough material to answer all possible questions.
* If you decide to expand on what you already have, look at the less successful works and see if you can improve them by careful editing, filling in gaps, correcting errors of fact or understanding.
* Reduce each piece of work to note form.
TIME MANAGEMENT
Avoid overloading.
Organize your hours to include enough time to rest, relax, sleep, eat, exercise, and socialize.
Divide study time into manageable amounts of time to avoid boredom and loss of focus. Sessions that last 20-30 minutes are the best Studying for six half-hour sessions is much more effective than studying for 3 hours straight.
Don’t leave everything to the last minute.
PRACTICE EFFECTIVE STUDY SKILLS
Have adequate study environments.
Break big tasks down into more manageable tasks.
Read to understand instead of reaching the end of the chapter.
Be prepared to ask questions as they come up during the study, rather than waiting until just before the exam.
Don’t wait until the last minute to complete your projects.
Read the syllabus as soon as you receive it and note all due dates (and milestones) on your calendar.
Be a model student.
Be attentive and participative in class and punctual, prepared and eager to learn.
BE ABLE TO BE FLEXIBLE
Unexpected events, for example illness, must be able to fit into our schedule.
Know how to rearrange your schedule when necessary (so it’s not you, it’s you).
HAVE A VISION
Don’t forget the big picture.
Why are you doing homework? Is it important to your long-term goals?
Have and follow a personal mission statement (personal and professional) Do your activities ultimately help you achieve your goals?
Know what is important to you.
(What do you value more)
Have a positive attitude.