Preparing for college courses begins long before you enter a classroom
There are things that you just know. If your test was on painting your nails, fixing a motorcycle, dressing a toddler or sending a Hail Mary pass down field you would ace your exam. Unfortunately, the information you need for the course you are taking isn't relevant to you. It is relevant to your GPA, to your future and to your career. But on a psychological level, you really could care less. This is why you can read your chapter three times and it each time will be like your first. Studying lecture notes was very frustrating for me. I would get so wound up that I could read a sentence and still be incapable of repeating it back. I honestly felt I had broken my brain. I only wished I had known in my first semesters what I eventually learned later on.
Obtain a Course Syllabus a Semester Ahead
The course curriculum changes very little from semester to semester. You can easily obtain someone's course syllabus that is already taking that course and make a copy of it. Your campus library will typically have a current text book in their stock for that course. This is how I would prepare for classes I knew would be not only lecture intensive but also packed with lecture material. Some college tipsters will tell you to purchase another student's lecture notebook. I don't recommend this. You don't know how well that student takes notes or how accurate the information will be. Your safest bet is to get the course syllabus early and begin jotting down material in your free time relevant to that syllabus at least one semester ahead. You can do this for each of your classes but with your current course load its not very realistic you can do it and not cause your current course grades to suffer.
The course curriculum changes very little from semester to semester. You can easily obtain someone's course syllabus that is already taking that course and make a copy of it. Your campus library will typically have a current text book in their stock for that course. This is how I would prepare for classes I knew would be not only lecture intensive but also packed with lecture material. Some college tipsters will tell you to purchase another student's lecture notebook. I don't recommend this. You don't know how well that student takes notes or how accurate the information will be. Your safest bet is to get the course syllabus early and begin jotting down material in your free time relevant to that syllabus at least one semester ahead. You can do this for each of your classes but with your current course load its not very realistic you can do it and not cause your current course grades to suffer.
Compare the Material to What You Know
As mentioned, if the material isn't relevant to you on a personal level, it will not stay with you in the long term. It will never really grow to be knowledge. It's what people mean by having book sense but little common sense. The material must be relevant in real time for a true sense of understanding of what you are studying. Knowing the pathway of the human blood cell is a great way to visualize what is happening in the body. The way I found to make this information relevant was to imagine I was the blood cell on a road trip. I mapped out all the major landmarks along the way I would visit. I knew I had to take this trip multiple times. within the hour. I was travelling throughout all the major landmarks of the body on my exam and knew exactly where they were located and their functions. This method works for any subject. Math is especially made easier by this method. You simply have to know how the problem relates to you. Why do I need to know this? Text books can be as vague as your professors sometimes. Ask your professor to explain how the complex formula can be applied to an everyday scenario. This is all you need to know to make any math problem relevant. From predicting your power bill in kilowatt hours to understanding your gas mileage.
As mentioned, if the material isn't relevant to you on a personal level, it will not stay with you in the long term. It will never really grow to be knowledge. It's what people mean by having book sense but little common sense. The material must be relevant in real time for a true sense of understanding of what you are studying. Knowing the pathway of the human blood cell is a great way to visualize what is happening in the body. The way I found to make this information relevant was to imagine I was the blood cell on a road trip. I mapped out all the major landmarks along the way I would visit. I knew I had to take this trip multiple times. within the hour. I was travelling throughout all the major landmarks of the body on my exam and knew exactly where they were located and their functions. This method works for any subject. Math is especially made easier by this method. You simply have to know how the problem relates to you. Why do I need to know this? Text books can be as vague as your professors sometimes. Ask your professor to explain how the complex formula can be applied to an everyday scenario. This is all you need to know to make any math problem relevant. From predicting your power bill in kilowatt hours to understanding your gas mileage.
Sing your Lecture Notes.
This works especially well if you can make your notes into verses that rhyme. Compare them to your favorite songs and change the lyrics to fit your study material. Don't laugh, you'd be amazed at how fun this makes your study time especially if you have a study group helping you compose. How many pages of your lecture notes can you recite verbatim? How many songs do you know by heart? This is a very easy trick to ride throughout your semester without ever really having to understand your material. This is the reason I explained the importance of making your material relevant. Singing your notes can help you spout your material like a record but it will not give you clinical understanding unless you make the material relevant in a way you can relate.
People Association
This trick plays upon our ability to remember something about those we know even if we can't remember their names. I knew Andrew Jackson was the 7th US President because he sat behind me in class and hasn't changed a bit since 1767. Like the guy behind me, Andrew Jackson was from Tennessee and I could tell you he was no one you want to tangle with. I saw him beat up some Creek Indian Boys at Horseshoe Bend in 1814. You get the idea. Every historical figure I studied was there sitting beside me in my American Federal Government class.
This trick plays upon our ability to remember something about those we know even if we can't remember their names. I knew Andrew Jackson was the 7th US President because he sat behind me in class and hasn't changed a bit since 1767. Like the guy behind me, Andrew Jackson was from Tennessee and I could tell you he was no one you want to tangle with. I saw him beat up some Creek Indian Boys at Horseshoe Bend in 1814. You get the idea. Every historical figure I studied was there sitting beside me in my American Federal Government class.
There are a myriad of things not to do when studying so I didn't cover those. Focus on the things I mentioned and be creative in finding ways to make your study material relevant to you in real time. I wont say never cram because if you haven't studied at all, you really have no choice. But the key is to give yourself as much of a head start as possible. Even if that means an entire semester ahead of time. You'd be surprised at how quickly you begin to outpace your course load. I was sitting comfortably at a 4.2 overall GPA during my 3rd semester while humming the notes of a course I wouldn't attend until the following semester!
Previously Posted on FullofKnowlege.com
No comments:
Post a Comment