When you have to study for an exam/test/final what method/s do you personally find the most effective way of studying your material?
I'm attempting to complete my 2nd year of my course [(out of 3 years), Exercise and Sports Science] and I'm yet to find a way that suits me when it comes to memorizing information :P. I didn't make this thread so I could try out new ways to help me learn my material, I'm just curious to know how people study.
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Bashiok - Blizzard Representative - 08/01/2011 -"So how many skill combinations are there now? Well taking into account 6 active skills, all the rune combinations, and 3 passives we currently expect each class to have roughly 2,285,814,795,264 different build combinations."
"Hey, I thought you'd like the witty irony of grub-on-glowie violence!"
I skim through the chapters. Then I try to do my homework, which I can't because I didn't really read anything, so I am forced to search for things in the chapters and read carefully so I understand everything. I go over homework problems and quizzes if I have any, key terms, and maybe do reviews if they aren't super long. I don't like to cram stuff at the last minute, unless whatever I need to cram is stupid obvious.
If I sit down with a boring textbook and try to read a whole chapter it never works. I zone out and the next thing I know I have been staring at one page for 30 minutes. Like last night I had to read two chapters for business law about everything dealing with contracts and take some quizzes, WOW I have never studied anything as boring than this stuff. So, I usually jump straight to the problems, but it depends on the subject matter.
Also, right before I take a test, I say to myself, " Let's beat this hoe down!"
As a professor who had to do plenty of studying along the way:
The optimal "study," routine depends on the individual, so the absolutely most effective approach is going to be yours to figure out. Having said that, without knowing where your emphasis should be (visual, auditory, etc.) a regular schedule to your academic habits is the best environment to ensure that you find your best methods and keep up with coursework. Regular repetition is certainly key.
I always recommend that students find out how long it takes them to read the requisite materials, go through the perfunctory "homework," (in the case of lecture classes like mine, this usually means spot-reading or marking passages for future essay assignments) and then tack on another 15-30mins to review what you have picked up (short-term memory) and compare that to your syllabus, which should give you an idea of what key terms and processes you are expected to know, cold. Doing this on a regular basis helps you recognize how well you are coming along.
Some suggest a minimum time be allocated to each subject, but frankly I never found that to be productive. There will be subjects and situations where you simply "get it," out of the box. Other times you will find that twice through the material you're still not processing what is on the page. The key is simply to go through it regularly, examine how much closer you are to the desired proficiency level, and if you don't get it in one format, try another.
I had a hell of a time memorizing new words in Latin back in my undergraduate days. I had a million and one paper note-cards lying around and would quiz myself three and four times a day during crunch time, but it never seemed to click. I did notice; however, that after discussing translation with classmates I actually retained more of the words. As it turned out I just needed to hear the words to really get that next level of memory going. I started reading my texts and translations aloud after that and the classes became much easier.
Perhaps that was a bit of a tangent. Anyway, I hope it helps! Best of luck with your studies.
Wow that actually helps quite a lot proletaria, thank you for that!
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Bashiok - Blizzard Representative - 08/01/2011 -"So how many skill combinations are there now? Well taking into account 6 active skills, all the rune combinations, and 3 passives we currently expect each class to have roughly 2,285,814,795,264 different build combinations."
"Hey, I thought you'd like the witty irony of grub-on-glowie violence!"
I'm a math major, and I study by working problems. I'll read the relevant chapters until I read a problem that makes me go "Wait, what?" and then I'll solve that one. Getting the answer typically involves rereading sections of the chapter and reviewing theorems, which are both important for the test. Plus most people learn best through action, and things make a lot more sense in the context of a problem than they do when read off of a page.
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I'm attempting to complete my 2nd year of my course [(out of 3 years), Exercise and Sports Science] and I'm yet to find a way that suits me when it comes to memorizing information :P. I didn't make this thread so I could try out new ways to help me learn my material, I'm just curious to know how people study.
Bashiok - Blizzard Representative - 08/01/2011 -"So how many skill combinations are there now? Well taking into account 6 active skills, all the rune combinations, and 3 passives we currently expect each class to have roughly 2,285,814,795,264 different build combinations."
"Hey, I thought you'd like the witty irony of grub-on-glowie violence!"
If I sit down with a boring textbook and try to read a whole chapter it never works. I zone out and the next thing I know I have been staring at one page for 30 minutes. Like last night I had to read two chapters for business law about everything dealing with contracts and take some quizzes, WOW I have never studied anything as boring than this stuff. So, I usually jump straight to the problems, but it depends on the subject matter.
Also, right before I take a test, I say to myself, " Let's beat this hoe down!"
The optimal "study," routine depends on the individual, so the absolutely most effective approach is going to be yours to figure out. Having said that, without knowing where your emphasis should be (visual, auditory, etc.) a regular schedule to your academic habits is the best environment to ensure that you find your best methods and keep up with coursework. Regular repetition is certainly key.
I always recommend that students find out how long it takes them to read the requisite materials, go through the perfunctory "homework," (in the case of lecture classes like mine, this usually means spot-reading or marking passages for future essay assignments) and then tack on another 15-30mins to review what you have picked up (short-term memory) and compare that to your syllabus, which should give you an idea of what key terms and processes you are expected to know, cold. Doing this on a regular basis helps you recognize how well you are coming along.
Some suggest a minimum time be allocated to each subject, but frankly I never found that to be productive. There will be subjects and situations where you simply "get it," out of the box. Other times you will find that twice through the material you're still not processing what is on the page. The key is simply to go through it regularly, examine how much closer you are to the desired proficiency level, and if you don't get it in one format, try another.
I had a hell of a time memorizing new words in Latin back in my undergraduate days. I had a million and one paper note-cards lying around and would quiz myself three and four times a day during crunch time, but it never seemed to click. I did notice; however, that after discussing translation with classmates I actually retained more of the words. As it turned out I just needed to hear the words to really get that next level of memory going. I started reading my texts and translations aloud after that and the classes became much easier.
Perhaps that was a bit of a tangent. Anyway, I hope it helps! Best of luck with your studies.
Bashiok - Blizzard Representative - 08/01/2011 -"So how many skill combinations are there now? Well taking into account 6 active skills, all the rune combinations, and 3 passives we currently expect each class to have roughly 2,285,814,795,264 different build combinations."
"Hey, I thought you'd like the witty irony of grub-on-glowie violence!"
Glad to hear it!