Study Tips:
1. Some foods aid the learning process. Foods such as milk, nuts, seeds, rice, and oats help your study efforts by releasing natural memory enhancers called CCKs (cholecystokinin) composed of tryptophan, choline, and phenylalanine. All of these chemicals enhance the neurotransmitters associated with memory.
Before studying, try a light, protein-rich meal of eggs, turkey, and fish. All of these foods release the memory enhancing chemicals. The better the connections, the more you comprehend.
Likewise, before you take a test, stick to a light snack of energy-boosting and relaxing foods. A glass of milk, a piece of fruit, or some peanuts will release various memory-boosting chemicals and help you to relax and focus on the subject at hand.
2. Learn to take great notes. A by-product of our modern culture is that we have grown accustomed to getting our information in short doses (e.g., TV news sound bites or newspaper articles styled after USA Today).
Consequently, we’ve subconsciously trained ourselves to assimilate information in neat little packages. If your notes are scrawled all over the paper, it fragments the flow of the information. Strive for clarity. Newspapers use a standard format to achieve clarity. Your notes can be much clearer through the use of proper formatting. A very effective format is called the “Cornell Method.”
Take a sheet of loose-leaf lined notebook paper and draw a line all the way down the paper about 1-2” from the left-hand edge.
Draw another line across the width of the paper about 1-2” up from the bottom.
Repeat this process on the reverse side of the page.
Look at the highly effective result. You have ample room for notes, a left hand margin for special emphasis items or inserting supplementary data from the textbook, a large area at the bottom for a brief summary, and a little rectangular space for just about anything you want.
3. Get the concept, then the details. Too often we focus on the details and don’t gather an understanding of the concept. However, if you simply memorize only dates, places, or names, you may well miss the whole point of the subject.
A key way to understand things is to put them in your own words. If you are working from a textbook, automatically summarize each paragraph in your mind.
If you are outlining text, don’t simply copy the author’s words.
Rephrase them in your own words. You remember your own thoughts and words much better than someone else’s, and subconsciously tend to associate the important details with the core concepts.
4. Ask Why? Pull apart written material paragraph by paragraph and don’t forget the captions under the illustrations.
Example: If the heading is “Stream Erosion,” flip it around to read “Why do streams erode?” Then answer the questions.
If you train your mind to think in a series of questions and answers, not only will you learn more, but it will also help to lessen test anxiety because you are used to answering questions.
5. Read for reinforcement and future needs. Even if you only have 10 minutes, put your notes or a book in your hand. Your mind is similar to a computer; you have to input data in order to have it processed. By reading, you are creating the neural connections for future retrieval. The more times you read something, the
more you reinforce the learning of ideas.
Even if you don’t fully understand something on the first pass, your mind stores much of the material for later recall.
6. Relax to learn; go into exile. Our bodies respond to an inner clock called biorhythms. Burning the midnight oil works well for some people, but not everyone.
If possible, set aside a particular place to study that is free of distractions. Shut off the television, cell phone, and pager, and exile your friends and family during your study period.
If you really are bothered by silence, try background music. Light classical music at a low volume has been shown to be particularly effective in aiding concentration. Music that evokes pleasant emotions without lyrics is highly recommended. Try just about anything by Mozart. It relaxes you.
3. Get the concept, then the details. Too often we focus on the details and don’t gather an understanding of the concept. However, if you simply memorize only dates, places, or names, you may well miss the whole point of the subject.
A key way to understand things is to put them in your own words. If you are working from a textbook, automatically summarize each paragraph in your mind.
If you are outlining text, don’t simply copy the author’s words.
Rephrase them in your own words. You remember your own thoughts and words much better than someone else’s, and subconsciously tend to associate the important details with the core concepts.
4. Ask Why? Pull apart written material paragraph by paragraph and don’t forget the captions under the illustrations.
Example: If the heading is “Stream Erosion,” flip it around to read “Why do streams erode?” Then answer the questions.
If you train your mind to think in a series of questions and answers, not only will you learn more, but it will also help to lessen test anxiety because you are used to answering questions.
5. Read for reinforcement and future needs. Even if you only have 10 minutes, put your notes or a book in your hand. Your mind is similar to a computer; you have to input data in order to have it processed. By reading, you are creating the neural connections for future retrieval. The more times you read something, the
more you reinforce the learning of ideas.
Even if you don’t fully understand something on the first pass, your mind stores much of the material for later recall.
6. Relax to learn; go into exile. Our bodies respond to an inner clock called biorhythms. Burning the midnight oil works well for some people, but not everyone.
If possible, set aside a particular place to study that is free of distractions. Shut off the television, cell phone, and pager, and exile your friends and family during your study period.
If you really are bothered by silence, try background music. Light classical music at a low volume has been shown to be particularly effective in aiding concentration. Music that evokes pleasant emotions without lyrics is highly recommended. Try just about anything by Mozart. It relaxes you.
Read More : Great Study and Testing Tips!
