Do you ever feel like your study habits aren’t the best? Do you ever wonder what you should be doing to improve your grades and test scores? Many students realize that their study habits from high school are ineffective in college. This is understandable, given how different college is from high school. Professors are less directly active, classes are larger, tests are more important, reading is more intense, and classes are much more demanding. That doesn’t mean something is wrong with you; it simply means you need to improve your study skills. Fortunately, there are a number of active, practical research methods that have been shown to work in college classes.

This blog post contains a number of useful study tips. By incorporating these suggestions into your daily study schedule, you will be able to learn course material more quickly and effectively. Experiment with them to see which ones work best for you.

Reading is not the same as learning.

Reading and re-reading texts or notes isn’t the same as actually participating in the content. It’s as easy as going through your notes again. It is not studying to simply ‘do’ the readings for class. Rereading causes rapid forgetting.

Making links to lectures, forming examples, and controlling your own learning are all part of active participation, which entails making sense from text. Highlighting or underlining text, re-reading, or rote memorization are not examples of active learning. These exercises may help you stay focused on the job, but they aren’t considered active studying techniques and are only marginally linked to better learning.

Understand the Study Cycle

Frank Christ’s Study Cycle separates the various aspects of studying: previewing, attending class, reviewing, studying, and double-checking your understanding. Despite the fact that each step appears to be self-evident at first glance, students frequently try to cut corners and miss out on valuable learning opportunities. You might skip a reading before class because the professor will cover the same material in class; however, you will be missing out on an important opportunity to learn in different modes (reading and listening) and to benefit from the repetition and distributed practice that both reading ahead and attending class will provide. Understanding the significance of each stage of this cycle will help you avoid missing out on valuable learning opportunities.

 

It’s a good idea to space things out.

Distributed practice—spacing out the studying over many short periods of time over several days and weeks—is one of the most effective learning techniques. Working on each class for a short period of time every day is the most successful method. The average amount of time you spend learning will be the same (or less) than one or two marathon library sessions, but you will retain much more information over time, which will help you get an A on the final. What matters is how you spend your research time, not how much time you spend studying. Long research sessions trigger a loss of focus, which leads to a loss of learning and retention.

You’ll need leverage over your schedule if you want to research for long periods of time over several days or weeks. Maintaining a daily to-do list will assist you in scheduling routine productive studying sessions for each semester. Every day, try to do something for each class. You should not have more tasks on your list than you can reasonably complete in a day. Be precise and practical about how long you expect to spend on each task.

For example, instead of doing all of your math problems an hour before class, you might do a few each day. In history, you can consciously review your class notes for 15-20 minutes per day. As a result, your studying time will remain the same, but instead of preparing for one class at a time, you will prepare for all of your classes in short stretches. This will help you with concentration, staying on top of your work, and remembering facts.

Apart from helping you understand the content more thoroughly, spacing out your work also helps you avoid procrastination. Rather than having to deal with the dreaded project for four hours on Monday, you can deal with it in 30-minute increments during the week. Working on a dreaded project for a shorter, more regular period of time is more likely to be beneficial and less likely to be postponed for the last minute. Finally, if you need to memorize material for class (names, dates, formulas), it is preferable to make flashcards for this material and revisit it during the day rather than doing so all at once.

It’s beneficial to be intense.

There isn’t a one-size-fits-all approach to learning. If you study hard, you will be able to do more. Intensive study sessions are brief and allow you to complete tasks with minimal effort. Shorter, more intensive research sessions are more successful than longer sessions.

In reality, dividing research time into several sessions is one of the most effective study strategies. Intensive research sessions will last anywhere from 30 to 45 minutes and involve constructive learning techniques.

You are much more likely to maintain your focus and retain the details if you intend to quiz yourself on the course material for 45 minutes and then take a break.

Silence isn’t always a good thing.

Decide where you study best. It’s possible that the quietness of a library isn’t the best option for you. It’s important to think about what kind of noise atmosphere is right for you. You may find that having some background noise helps you focus. Although some people find listening to classical music while learning to be beneficial, others find it to be highly distracting.

Remember that active studying is rarely quiet because it often necessitates speaking the material aloud.

Problems are on your side.

For technical classes, solving and resolving problems is crucial (e.g., math, economics). Be able to clarify how the problems are solved and how they function.

In technical classes, solving problems is typically more critical than reading the text. Write down in detail the practice issues that the professor demonstrates in class. Make notes on each move and ask questions if you get stuck.

Multitasking should be reconsidered.

Multitasking, according to a large body of evidence, does not increase productivity and, in reality, has a negative impact on outcomes.

By eliminating distractions, you will be able to focus more on your studies. Don’t use your computer if you don’t use it for homework. Use apps to help you set limits on how much time you will spend at different social media platforms during the day. Switch off your phone. Reward yourself for your hard work with a social media break (but make sure you time it!).

Adapt your settings

Find a few different places to study on and off-campus, and switch up your room if it is no longer working for you.

You should be able to study in a variety of locations around campus. That way, you’ll be able to find the ideal study spot no matter where you are. After a while, you might find that your study spot has become too comfortable and is no longer a good study spot, so it’s time to move on!

 Increase Your Productivity With the Pomodoro Method! Read more here 🙂