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Studying is an art that requires long hours of practice and dedication. There are no magical solutions to studying. Study techniques need to be adapted to meet the needs and preferences of the individual. Students need to experiment with different techniques and find the best means to accomplish learning and understanding the material. The following guidelines hopefully will be of some benefit in designing your study habits.
1. Selection and preparation of the proper study environment.
Some students require absolute quite while others need some background noise. Listening to classical music at low volume levels has been beneficial in improving the concentration focus of some students. Which ever may be the case, you need to create an atmosphere that channels your concentration on the material to be covered.
Proper lighting and a comfortable body position are a necessary requirement. No one can concentrate if they are uncomfortable. Some students prefer sitting at a desk or table while others study better in a more relaxed sitting. Chose whichever suits your style but do not become so comfortable that you fall asleep.
Before you begin make sure you have all the necessary materials and supplies. Constantly getting up retrieving books, paper, pencils, etc. is very disruptive to your concentration efforts. Have everything organized before you begin and you will be able to accomplish a lot more.
Attempt to reduce your distractions to a minimum. You should try to plan ahead and block your study times. Try and establish a schedule very early in the course to allow for one to two hour blocks of time each day devoted to studying. It is difficult to maintain good concentration if you have to stop to wash or dry the clothes or perform other housework etc. Interruptions from family members can also be a tremendous distraction. Try and schedule your study sessions when you would be least interrupted.
2. Preread all material
You should always read the material before you go to class. Always stay atleast one day ahead of the material covered in lecture. This way you will be familiar with the terminology and have questions that you can ask if the lecture did not clarify a particular concept.
Many students find it beneficial to always read with a pencil in their hand. This way you can outline the material in your textbook for quick review later. The key to this is outlining. Do not attempt to rewrite your textbook because the authors probably can do a better job of that than you. Making a brief outline of the chapter reduces the amount of re-reading you will have to do. If you can look at your outline and the concepts fall into place then you do not have to waste time re-reading sections you already understand.
Many students use a highlighter on their textbook. In doing this that assumes you are going to re-read that section. You probably would come out better by outlining. When you outline you are using more of your senses in your study efforts. Sometimes reading the material out loud even helps because you are involving even more senses.
3. Take note in lecture.
You should always take notes in lecture. Note taking is also an art that requires considerable practice. Do not attempt to write ever word the instructor says. If you do, then you will not be listening to anything the instructor is saying and you will miss out on the presentation of the concept. Never write complete sentences. Take notes in an outline manner. Make up your own short hand and abbreviations. Most of all you want to be able to listen to the instructor while you are taking notes. Often the instructor will approach a concept differently than the way it is in your textbook. Having several different approaches sometimes help in understanding a difficult concept.
Some student try and follow the lecture by making marks or highlighting their textbook. Once again this requires re-reading that section and taking notes is probably more beneficial. Also some students tape lectures ,when allowed, but this does not substitute for listening or taking notes.
4. Review your notes after lecture
During your study session after lecture that day, you should review your notes. With the lecture still fresh in your mind you can fill in any gaps that may be there. You can also translate your short hand or abbreviations to produce a more coherent flow to the concepts covered. If you taped the lecture you may want to listen to it as you are going back over your notes. Sometimes it it beneficial to condense your outline of the textbook and lecture notes into a even shorter version. This makes a great study review for just before the exam.
5. Double time weekends
When the weekend rolls around you should double your study efforts. Cover all the material you went over the last week. You should use the weekend to prepare as is you were going to have the exam on monday. This helps you keep up with the material so it does not pile up on you. You can not cram for a science exam. You may get away with cramming for a english or history exam but it will not work for a science exam. You have to learn the material as you go along. May of the concepts build on each other. Often what you learn in the first week of the course carries through all the way to the end of the course. That means you have to remember what you covered from the first to the last day. With Anatomy and Physiology you also have to remember what you learned in the first course to be successful in the second course. Cramming puts things into short term memory and three days after the test all of the information is gone.
6. Study Groups
Some students find forming a study group is helpful. Your study group should be limited to four or five at the most. Too many people and it becomes a gossip session instead of a study session. The big advantage to a study group is that it allows students to give back information as well as take in information. To often students get locked in to only receiving information and find it difficult to give information. When you are tested over the material you have to give information not receive information. Interactions within a study group help prepare you to give information. Also by interacting with fellow students you will be able to see how they approach learning concepts and you can learn from each other. But remember study groups are for study purposes not for gripping about the the instructor.
Hopefully the above suggestions and guidelines will be useful in developing good study habits. Remember the instructor can not put the information into your head. You have to do that. The instructor can only direct and motive. You are the one that has to learn and understand. Spend time ever day studying and never let the material pile up on you. Spending eight hours cramming the night before a test can never replace spending two hours daily fours days before the test. There is also a big difference between reading the material and studying the material. You can read a section twenty times but that does not mean you have actual studied that section. Memorizing and understanding a concepts are also two different things. Just because you memorize something does not mean you understand it. Be careful of just memorizing material because most good instructors test from a conceptual understanding of the material.
Good luck in your endeavors and remember to experiment if one way is not working by trying something else. The development of good study habits requires a tremendous effort on your part. In the end the rewards are usually worth the effort. Please let me know if any of these suggestions were of help.
