3 Overlooked Study Tips That You NEED to Know
Let’s be real here: learning how to study is half of the battle when it comes to school. Whether it be high school or college, or the transition in between, learning how to take in new information in different ways can be a huge challenge. Here are my 3 biggest tips on how to actually learn the material that you’re being given.
Learn the “why” behind everything.
Stop taking information at face value. Think about it this way: You’re walking through a busy city. You see hundreds of new faces as you pass through. But, if shown those same faces at the end of the day, how many would you actually remember? Probably only a couple of them, right? Now, what if you had stopped and talked to a few of those people, got to really know them? You’d be much more likely to remember them, because you learned more about them. Maybe you learned their name, where they’re from, where they’re going. Now let’s apply that idea to studying. If you take the time to understand something in more depth, you’ll be more likely to remember it. For me in nursing school, learning the pathophysiology behind disease processes was a life saver. I didn’t have to spend countless hours trying to memorize what disease caused what symptoms- I simply learned to think my way through it once I was able to understand how the body actually worked. The same goes for whatever it is that you’re studying, whether it be the theories or principles behind something, the pathophysiology, the math, etc. Understanding the reasoning and processes behind your material will not only help you learn it better, but it will help you to apply it to any test question that comes your way! Having a deeper, more meaningful understanding of the material will even help you to answer questions you’ve never seen before. For example, if you know how the human heart works, you’ll be better equipped to answer any questions regarding the heart.
Make connections to what you already know.
My college psych professor drilled this into our heads. Making connections is the best way to not only retain information, but apply it. Learning facts without connecting them to other information is pretty much pointless. This tip also kind of ties back into tip #1, because making connections will enable you to have long-term retention rather than short-term, and will help you better answer questions that you’ve never seen before. Some examples of making connections could be analogies, metaphors, and mnemonics. You could even make up a song to help you remember the information better!
Find out what kind of learner you are.
Self-awareness is KEY! There are lots of free quizzes online that can help you narrow down what kind of learner you are; visual, kinesthetic, auditory, a mix, etc. If you’re able to find out what style of learning suits you best, you’ll be able to choose how you study. Are you a visual learner? Use more pictures and graphs to help you take in the information. Auditory? Listen to study videos on the internet! Kinesthetic? Get some hands-on experience to really cement the knowledge in your head. If you’re a mix, incorporate a variety of learning styles to get the most out of it. This will not only help you learn more, but it will help you learn faster. You won’t be struggling through reading your textbook over and over when you realize that listening to it is more effective for you.
So there you have it! 3 overlooked study tips that you NEED to know in order to learn and retain information in the most efficient way possible. I hope this helps. Happy studying!
