Study methods
Purpleflipflops
Posts: 563 Member
I was just wondering.... I know there are many ways of learning, and I thought we could swap secrets.
Me? I am a total Note Card fanatic. Seriously. Sometimes I write them out, but a lot of the time I make them on my computer, then print them out. (I take all my notes on my computer, so it is so much easier to just copy and paste them.)
Me? I am a total Note Card fanatic. Seriously. Sometimes I write them out, but a lot of the time I make them on my computer, then print them out. (I take all my notes on my computer, so it is so much easier to just copy and paste them.)
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i use study blue. it's notecards but online and can be accessed on your phone and any computer! i normally don't use notecards because i lose them lol so having them online really helps with vocab. and terms for psychology!
check it out! you can type notes on here too!
http://www.studyblue.com/0 -
Study groups!
They're super helpful for me since I'm not really studying a "note card friendly" subject (I'm in nursing school). Plus, its nice to get out, socialize, and know you're not the only one struggling with a concept (or, conversely, you can feel super smart if no one else gets it).0 -
I think it really depends on the subject you're studying. For most of my classes, reading the textbook and taking notes as I read is the most helpful. For organic chemistry and any language classes, notecards are the best for me.
I happen to hate study groups though; Maybe they just don't work as well for science classes, but I feel like I always just end up teaching the material to a bunch of underprepared students or feeling lost if I haven't finished studying myself.0 -
I think it really depends on the subject you're studying. For most of my classes, reading the textbook and taking notes as I read is the most helpful. For organic chemistry and any language classes, notecards are the best for me.
I happen to hate study groups though; Maybe they just don't work as well for science classes, but I feel like I always just end up teaching the material to a bunch of underprepared students or feeling lost if I haven't finished studying myself.
I totally agree. I think the only reason study groups work so well for my subject is because my local nursing program is super intense and competitive to get into, so once you're in you're more motivated to do well, compared to a program with no entry requirements and doesn't have 200+ students vying for each spot.0 -
i use study blue. it's notecards but online and can be accessed on your phone and any computer! i normally don't use notecards because i lose them lol so having them online really helps with vocab. and terms for psychology! check it out! you can type notes on here too!
http://www.studyblue.com/
This ^^ I am a psych major so yes flashcards become very handy. I use another online flashcard site. It helps because I have access to other useful flashcards such as helpful terminology to help prepare for the GRE.
Also, I take my laptop, so I take notes via laptop, pre-read chapters prior to class and take notes, and fill in my notes post class. Helps me alot!
If a professor does not provide a study guide, I create my own after class.
And I have a 7-10 day rule for studying. And since finals is coming up fairly quickly, I have this 1 month rule! Prepare for finals very early! Good luck everyone 0 -
Engineer here, laptop in class for me is just futile. There's no way I can keep up the writing of those formulae on a keyboard, when it takes less than half the time to correctly just draw them on paper. And with most my classes, the easiest thing to do for the sake of learning is read, analyze, do problems, repeat. Yeah, kind of straight forward, but most of the classes are math-heavy, so conventional study methods work well with them.0
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i use study blue. it's notecards but online and can be accessed on your phone and any computer! i normally don't use notecards because i lose them lol so having them online really helps with vocab. and terms for psychology! check it out! you can type notes on here too!
http://www.studyblue.com/
WOW this is cool, thanks for sharing! I've been using old-school flashcards, but this will save me time. :-)
I am not a great studyer, all I do is re-read things and sometimes I do practice exams if I can find them online. If I know that the professor loves to do multiple choice exams full of key terms, that's when I rely on flashcard studying. Otherwise, it's a bunch of reading the books and my notes, over and over. Usually I'm able to get a decent grade, but I'm still terrified of multiple choice exams. I'd rather have a good essay exam!0 -
Really depends on the subject. I'm in med school and subjects are really different from one another... for anatomy I just read the book/lecture notes made annotations and learnt from group study sessions....
biochemistry i drew out all the crazy cycles and wrote out short notes on A4 papers
pharmacology---> tables and flash cards !!!! strictly!!!
microbiology-> tables and flash cards!!!!!
physiology/pathology---> I used to take A2 paper and summarize in a sheet and then read that over and over again...
medicine / surgery---> I combined with my patho/physio notes on the A2 papers. I keep it brief and hope to remember the minute details i read on the book
specialty subjects (psych, paeds, ob/gyn/ gen prac/ ent/ opth/ derm) ---> same method as before
to be honest the best learning method is ---> PRACTICE! if you are in medical school BUY exam books, case study books, practice mcqs etc!! I don't know if this will be of any relevance to others!0 -
I'm not in anything fancy like a lot of you guys but my biggest thing is rewriting notes, reading the notes over and over, study groups, simply showing up to class everyday, and repeatedly doing math problems. I'm a fanatic for study guides. I eat those up like candy. :bigsmile:0
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I'm all about reading or skimming and highlighting as I go through. This makes me pay attention (cause I totally space out when reading for three hours). After that I do the questions at the end of each chapter. Then I go onto the study websites and do all the quizzes and tests to see where I'm at. Then I do flashcards, crosswords, and watch animations. After that I look up other school or book websites and use their resources. This worked awesome in all of my science classes.
If the teacher does powerpoint, I download those and read them before a test to brush up. A lot of my teachers make study guides that I use as much as possible too.
I do online flashcards for certain classes. I use: www.proprofs.com/flashcards/ in some of my classes that are vocabulary heavy. It lets you set it up as a table so that I can just black out one half and go down the list really fast and check. You can also print them out or do them as normal flashcards. A lot of other people post their flashcards of the same topics, so you can try those out too.
Study groups don't work for me, I get too distracted. Sometimes it's good after everyone has studied if their are any questions, but other than that I usually study alone in my room or the library.0 -
I'm in sociology and criminology and find the best method for me is just to read the textbook, and jot down the key points/summarize concepts on my laptop and then read that when I study. And I also read any lecture slides before my exams =]
The same thing for my psych minor classes. But for my computer science minor... I don't really have to study the material, just have to know it and do the assignments throughout the semester :drinker:0 -
I don't care much for study groups but I do have a study partner and this has worked out well for me. I also use flashcards0
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i use study blue. it's notecards but online and can be accessed on your phone and any computer! i normally don't use notecards because i lose them lol so having them online really helps with vocab. and terms for psychology! check it out! you can type notes on here too!
http://www.studyblue.com/
I am in love! Thank you for saying this. I've been looking for something like it. I don't think it will help much with diagrams but everything else. I'm ready for next semester now, bring it!0 -
I think it really depends on the subject you're studying. For most of my classes, reading the textbook and taking notes as I read is the most helpful. For organic chemistry and any language classes, notecards are the best for me.
I happen to hate study groups though; Maybe they just don't work as well for science classes, but I feel like I always just end up teaching the material to a bunch of underprepared students or feeling lost if I haven't finished studying myself.
I also agree with this ^^^0 -
As others have said, different methods work for different subjects. For most all subjects, reading the material (or working problems) until I feel as though I have grasped the concepts, and then explaining it to someone else helps to usually seal the principles in my brain. If no one is available, talking about the information to myself works as well. It may make you sound crazy, especially if your roommate walks in while you are studying! haha! But, it proves how well you really know something if you are able to explain it to someone else!0
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I "learn by doing" as much as possible. I
flashcards, Quizlet (study site like studyblue but fun), groups/partner work, and practice work as applicable. 0 -
Study Blue is great for sharing notecards, and is cool because if you go to a big school or are in a large class (intro biology for example), you can usually find your exact professor and a lot of resources (OLD TESTS HECK YESS!) to help study.
If I'm making my own notecards, which is rare, I prefer quizlet.com . It's less annoying than study blue, since study blue always wants you to buy a membership. You can play games on quizlet using your cards, too.
I like taking notes on my computer in the preview application on my mac. I can highlight furiously and make big, red, "THIS WILL BE ON THE TEST" boxes around content.0 -
If I'm making my own notecards, which is rare, I prefer quizlet.com . It's less annoying than study blue, since study blue always wants you to buy a membership. You can play games on quizlet using your cards, too.
Exactly! I make them all the time. As I mentioned, I learn better when I can "do" and discuss the material, so that helps a lot.
You mention different styles appropriate for different subjects. How can a learner like me tackle history, which is hard to touch?0 -
I'm studying Clinical Laboratory Technology and Biomanufacturing, and my life revolves around flashcards. I use FlashcardMachine, which is both an app and a free website. I think the app costs a few bucks, but it was totally worth it. I can make flashcards on my desktop, tablet, or laptop and share them with my study group, who can edit or add cards to the deck. It's really useful when you have a study group together.0
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I use:
- Anki cards (spaced repetition flash cards) for things I have to memorize -- terminology, dates, etc.
- Regular handwritten notes, sometimes on printed Powerpoint notes
- Occasionally, sketch notes (do an image search for some really good ones) and mind maps or outlines for liberal arts classes. Sketching really helps me understand and remember concepts.
- Youtube videos or applicable documentaries. Or I'll join a Coursera class in the same subject and watch the lectures.
I've tried Cornell notes before too, but I got lazy and never wrote out questions after class.
I'm trying to use less paper now and next semester will probably type or write out most of my notes on my iPad.0
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