It is definitely not healthy to study for 12 hours in a day. Unfortunately, our system of education is such that most students are compelled to burn the midnight lamp in order to excel in academics.
Each human being has a definite forte, an area in which he or she excels. Do certain subjects make you feel jittery? When subjected to learning a difficult topic; do you freeze, procrastinate or try so hard that it completely frustrates you?
This article puts together a list of study tips that will help you formulate a learning strategy to imbibe the hardest concepts the easiest way!
1. Make a Preliminary Scan
Do not dive into memorizing immediately. Take a pause to visualize and reflect on the fundamental purpose of the lesson at hand. Scan through the headings and illustrations of the chapter. This will enhance the receptivity of your brain and put you in the learning mode.
2. Underline
The simplest but the most ignored study tip! Give a comprehensive read to the text before underlining. Proceed to underline the most cardinal aspects only during the second reading.
The act of underlining signifies that you are engaging your mind with only specific and vital aspects of the concept. Remember your brain can only retain a certain amount of knowledge so it’s best to attempt retaining the most important information.
3. Create Conceptual Chunks
Avoid hastening the learning procedure. Go the slow and steady way. Instead of burdening your mind with excessive matter, create chunks of knowledge that you can retrieve and build on at a later point.
4. Pause and Recall
Once you have finished reading a page or solving a problem, close your textbook and reflect on the fundamental concepts imbibed. Don’t be in a hurry to move too ahead.
Allow the concepts learnt to sink in and get deeply etched onto your brain. Passive reading without understanding is a waste of time and energy. So always recall and reflect!
5. Utilize Analogies
You may have heard of this several times but have you tried utilizing it? When you frame simple analogies while imbibing a concept, you’re actually generating a channel to connect the concept with your brain.
Concepts learnt in this manner get a deeply encoded in the brain. An example for learning the primary colors: red, orange, yellow, green, blue, indigo, and violet is ‘Richard Of York Gave Battle In Vain’.
6. Space it Out
Your brain is similar to any other muscle in the body that needs to alternate between exercise and recovery. When studying difficult subjects, space the process!
Give your brain the time to assimilate.
7. Avoid Cramming
When you cram a subject, the knowledge gained may help you fair well in today’s test but it may get swiped off tomorrow when you require it to understand the subsequent topic.
Cramming textbooks is an outdated format of study. The results are never promising. Explore the more rewarding techniques to improve your exam results.
8. Organize Your Study
This is one of the oldest, extremely motivational and the most effective study skills. Organize your study by generating a study timetable. This methodology puts forth goals and a specific time frame in which you need to achieve them.
9. Flash Cards
Using flashcards is a highly effective way of assimilating facts, data, formulas or dates. Incorporating flashcards can also make memorizing a fun process. It can save on a lot of your precious time as well.
10. Subject Yourself to Prior Testing
It may sound strange but it is true that sometimes the exam environment can make you unlearn whatever you learnt. Therefore, it may be prudent to prepare yourself for the oncoming pressure.
Test your knowledge by quizzing or speaking aloud in front of another individual. Don’t worry about the results. The more you practice, the better you will perform.
Conclusion
Whenever faced with learning difficulties, tell yourself you are not the only one. Overcoming learning challenges is a part of student life. Understanding how the human brain works will provide you the key to learning complex or difficult subjects.
Always remain positive. Focus on your individual strength to achieve goals. See what works best for you to accomplish maximum learning effectiveness.
