When you're studying to start a new career path, it's important to actually learn the material. When you were in high school, there wasn't too bad a downside if you couldn't remember everything that happened in “Tom Sawyer.” But now you're taking precious time from your busy life to learn specific career skills, working toward learning new skills, or picking up a certification or degree that will help you build your future. So if your study skills are a little rusty, it's time to upgrade them. We've helped students succeed for years, so here are five VCMC study tips:
No distractions. As we noted last week, you need uninterrupted time in a quiet place. Don't have your mail, magazines, cell phone and unpaid bills sitting next to you while you're supposed to be studying. Don't have family members distracting you. Don't be hungry, and try not to be so stuffed you're nodding off into a food coma, either. Come to your study table ready to study.
Have study goals. It's not enough to say, “I'm gonna read chapter three now, 'cause that's the assignment.” Your goal is to understand the material. What is chapter three trying to teach? Take notes as you read. When you've read a section, make sure to summarize it in your notes, in your own words, to make sure you've got the ideas in your head, and to help them stay there. When you don't understand something, don't just skip over it. If it's a word, look it up in the dictionary, or in the textbook's glossary, if there is one. If it's material from an early chapter that you've sort of forgotten, go back and look it up. If you really can't figure it out, write down the question and ask your teacher or a friend next time you're in class.
Edit yourself. When you have a homework assignment, go over your work to make sure you're satisfied with your results. After you fill out a multiple-choice quiz, look over the material again to make sure your answers are right. If you've written an essay, read it again, not just to see that it makes sense and that you've explained your ideas correctly, but to make sure it answers exactly the question you were assigned. It's easy to get off the subject or forget to fully answer the original question — look at your work the way your teacher will, before your teacher looks at it.
Take breaks. Every half hour, take a quick break. Do something physical, even if it's just walking around your apartment or standing up and stretching. It's okay to check in with family, but don't get into long conversations, or watch TV, or do anything that will be so upsetting or involved that you can't return to your studies in ten minutes or less. Keeping your mind fresh will let you get the most out of your studying time.
Check your recall. When you've finished your study session, take a few minutes to sit there and think about what you learned or wrote. Do you really remember the important points? Did they all make sense? If you had to stand up in class right now and explain the material, could you? If not, take a few more minutes to look over your books or notes to try to understand the parts that are most challenging. When you think you've got a solid understanding, and good notes to review again later, call it a night.
You get your best studying done when you're fresh, so don't pull “all-nighters” where you're half-asleep most of the time, and the words on the page make no sense—don't burn yourself out! Focusing on the material, and what you want to get out of it, while making sure to take occasional breaks and to test yourself when you're done, will help you really learn — and remember — the material.
Next time: How to face an exam.
When you're studying to start a new career path, it's important to actually learn the material. When you were in high school, there wasn't too bad a downside if you couldn't remember everything that happened in “Tom Sawyer.” But now you're taking precious time from your busy life to learn specific career skills, working toward learning new skills, or picking up a certification or degree that will help you build your future. So if your study skills are a little rusty, it's time to upgrade them. We've helped students succeed for years, so here are five VCMC study tips:
