Note: These are my studying methods that I use at home after my classes and not in school or during classes.
1. READING
For me to understand the lesson, the first thing I do is reading the book or presentations the teachers had given. This method works best when you're studying concepts. You see all the information with explanation. Textbooks are the best learning material aside from teachers. But not all of the students are fond of reading and do not see the real importance of it. Try to read at least couple of chapters everyday so you will not have to read the whole unit or worse the whole book for finals.
2. HIGHLIGHTING/ANNOTATING
After you have read a chapter, go back and look for the important information that you have to remember then highlight it. If there are things you did not understand you can search it on the Internet or ask your teacher about it and then write it on your book. Remember to only highlight things that are really significant so they will stand out when you have to recall it before the exams. Visual representations really help in providing a good understanding for a topic.
3. MAKING NOTES
If I have lots of lessons to study and they are very broad, I usually make notes to condense the lessons. I only write the summary so I can cover everything with understanding. I don't use this method in all of my subjects because this is too time-consuming. Most of the time I just put information on sticky notes then put it on my books.
4. WATCHING A VIDEO
Maybe not all the time I understand everything I have read. Khan Academy and Organic Chemistry Tutor are my go-to channels in You Tube to study Mathematics and Science. These two had helped me to get through Chemistry and Calculus as they teach better than my teachers. I also like how they show and explain the process of solving a problem. Recently, I also started watching Crash Course as it summarizes everything I've read with animations.
5. FLASHCARDS
As I don't make notes all the time, I use flashcards to retain information for longer period of time. They are also convenient as I can bring them anywhere. I both use digital and physical flashcards. Quizlet is my reliable flashcards app as I can use it both on my phone or on my laptop (I wish I have an iPad 😢). I really like the learn feature it has because it doesn't stop until the information is engraved on my brain. Making flashcards also helps you to go through your notes again making you more familiar with your lessons. Had better grades because of this method. My friends and I also enjoy when we're studying this before exams. We even fight when we get the wrong answer 😂.
6. DOING PRACTICE TESTS
I like testing my knowledge about the lessons by answering worksheets especially if it is Math or Science. I usually use worksheets from Kuta Software as they have great ones and have an answer key with solutions. I can look back to see where I was mistaken or got confused so I won't commit the same mistake on the real exam.
I also answer the activities on my books at the end of each chapter because some of my teachers get questions from those, so at least I may have a bonus point.
Another thing to test myself is writing a mind map without looking on my notes. In that way I can see what I do not know yet and work on it. I also like writing because I tend to remember what I have written repeatedly.
7. TEACHING
This is what I have been doing for the longest time that I did not notice how useful it was. At first, I was doing this while doing mind map like I mentioned above talking to myself. I get to see a logical pattern and the information are not messed up in my brain. Then, there was a time my classmates started asking me to teach them. That has been our routine before every exams during break time, me teaching them to solve Math the easier way. I don't read my notes on the day of the exam so this method is useful to recall things without looking on them.
Some of these are what I use for the longest time and the others are what I have tried for the past year. But all of these studying methods are effective for me. I hope you may try these and see how useful they are.
Good luck on your final exams! You can do well 😊.
- A student who's studying in vacation
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