I’m not saying you’re lazy but you’re human and you wear out quickly.
1. Take good notes the first time around. I see some people say rewriting them is a good way to memorize but let’s be honest, you’re not going to do that. Instead bite the bullet and do what you can the first time so you can read them later. It’s also just more time efficient. And don’t ask other people for notes, they’re not you and notes need to be personal to be effective. So don’t skip class too much.
2. You don’t need 100 different highlighters to be successful (but you can if you want). The key is keeping it succinct. Write down what your teacher says and find it later in the book. Read those passages a couple of times in your head and out loud to yourself to commit the info to memory. Honestly just highlight the key words so that when you see it on the test, the info connected to it floods back.
3. Use your phone to organize your shit. You always have it with you. God knows you ain’t gonna buy multi colored sticky notes and a $30 planner. And you might forget your textbooks and planner but not your phone.
4. Make a reasonable to do list you KNOW deep in your soul you can commit to. It’s a better motivator to see stuff get done than to see stuff not get done.
5. Try to get stuff done before noon. That’s my best advice. Early rise and early done makes you feel accomplished even if all you’ve done is read a few pages. This is probably the best time management advice I ever received in my life.
6. Don’t cram but if you have to get up and walk around to keep yourself energized.
7. Try to find a way to keep calm. You’re most likely not the type to plan every aspect down to the molecule or the type to be on top of everything. Things go awry, that’s just life. Find a way to fix your perspective on setbacks and failures so that it doesn’t ruin your future vision. This is personal so I can’t help you too much there.
You can’t expect to get the best out of yourself if you don’t nourish your body properly. Adding these foods to your diet will benefit your study and lifestyle in general, trust me
HEALTHY OILSolive oil, avocado oil, peanut oil etc. — Healthy oils are high in antioxidants such as vitamin E and they boost your memory. FISH sardines, salmon etc. — Fish is rich in omega-3 fatty acids, which improve memory and focusing! COFFEE — Caffeine wakes you up but don’t overdo it: 60 ml per day (the equivalent of two espresso) or less is enough to keep you alert, too much caffeine causes insomnia and anxiety and we don’t want that. Don’t like coffee? Try applesinstead! EGGS — A source of energy, they contain proteins and choline (also called “memory vitamin”… the name speaks for itself!) CHERRIES — By adding cherries into your diet, you’ll get better sleep, since they’re high in melatonin BANANAS — I’m not kidding when I say I eat a banana a day. They contain magnesium, potassium, folic acid, vitamin B6 and more. What are you waiting for? Go eat a banana, your brain will thank you! NUTS & SEEDSwalnuts, almonds, pistachios, sunflower seeds etc. — Their nutrients reduce stress, boost memory and help your cognitive functions in general DARK CHOCOLATE — Contains antioxidants, magnesium and flavonoids. It stimulates blood to flow to your brain and lowers blood pressure AVOCADO — Avocadoes are filled with healthy fats, magnesium and lots of vitamin E. it regulates blood pressure and improves blood flowing resulting in general brain developement and stress to decrease. BERRIESblueberries, strawberries, acai berries — another food that should never miss in your diet: being high in antioxidants and flavonoids, berries actually do improve your memory and focusing a lot! LEAFY GREENSlettuce, spinach, kale etc. — these are loaded with magnesium, vitamins, iron… force yourself to eat at least one serving per day (but if you can eat more, then go for it!) BROCCOLI & ASPARAGUS — these guys are full of folic acid (1 cup = 2/3 of your daily value). Be sure to have your daily dose of folic acid, as it helps relieve stress and depression. ORANGES — full of vitamin C which is good for your immune system and also helps relieving stress OATS — oats will boost your serotonin levels, consequently boosting your mood. i personally recommend whole-grains TEA — green tea is good for focusing and stress relief, but you know what’s even better? black tea!
tips
1. eating colorful is the easiest way to a more healthy diet (same-color foods often share same nutrients) 2. if you’re a picky eater, try disguising tastes with seasonings, spices (and everything nice) or by combining them with foods you like 3. drink water!!! at least 1 L per day!! carrying a bottle of water wherever you go is the trick! 4. plan ahead + prep your meals!! thereby you will avoid that unpleasant “i don’t know what to eat” situation (which often leads to eating junk food :// ) 5. make your grocery list before going to the supermarket!!! pros: less time wasted, won’t get distracted by other things you don’t need to buy, know ahead how much $$ you’re gonna spend 6. ALWAYS check the expiration date of products you buy + know when to consume your fruits&veggies
RECIPES
Tbh, when it comes to study snacks im a very lazy person (plus in my world time is money and i hate wasting precious study time) so i usually eat rather simple dishes. Then, what do i prep when i feel more creative?
FRUIT SALAD (easiest snack ever tbh everyone can do this no matter how bad u are at cooking)
all you need is
love
fruit of your choice
(optional) cocoa powder / cinnamon / lemon juice
what u gonna do now
wash the fruit, peel it (if needed) and then slice it
put everything in a bowl and it’s good to go
BUT if you want, you can add cocoa powder, cinnamon or lemon juice for extra flavor. use your creativity, (almost) anything can work!
i love fruit salads bc they’re healthy, easy + quick to make (not to mention super delicious)!!here you can see one i made w/ strawberries and cocoa powder
FRUIT PARFAIT (another easy option, but a more creative one *sunglasses emoji*)
all you need is
fruit (u don’t say)
oat bran
yogurt
what u gonna do now
wash, peel and slice the fruit
grab a tall glass/mug/whatever and make the first layer with fruit
then add the yogurt for the second layer
third layer is going to be the oat bran
depending on the height of the glass/mug, you may go on w/ the layers
this is optional but you can add toppings if you want to make it look even cuter (and yummier)
what i like about this big bad boy here is that it’s SO fulfilling!!
BAKED PUMPKIN SEEDS (for my savory lovers out there)
all you need is
pumpkin seeds
thats it. thats all u need
what u gonna do now
take a pan and cover it with baking paper
place the seeds on the paper and cook in the oven for 20 mins at 200°C
done!! B)
super simple, isn’t it? and guess what? they actually taste like popcorn!! no lie!!!
BAKED ZUCCHINIS
all you need is
zucchinis!
lemon juice
pepper
what u gonna do now
wash and slice the zucchinis french fry style
put them in a bowl, add lemon juice + pepper and mix all well together
cover a pan with a sheet of baking paper and place the seasoned slices
cook in the oven for 20-30 mins at 200°C, flipping them over when they’re half done
now you have a more healthy and tasty version of french fries to eat while studying!
(on a side note: you can’t even imagine how painful typing ‘zucchinis’ was to me)
OATMEAL BANANA COOKIES (my fave!!)
all you need is
oatmeals
a banana
cinnamon or cocoa powder
what u gonna do
peel and slice the banana
smash the banana w/ a fork in a bowl, then add the oatmeals + cinnamon/cocoa powder and mix
cover the pan w/ your trusted baking paper. using a spoon, place the mixture on the paper forming little circular shapes (they don’t have to be perfect)
cook in the oven for 20 mins at 200°C (remember to flip them over at the 10mins mark)
let them cool off for 30-40 mins and they’re ready to eat!
these take quite a bit but you can prep them before starting to study, then you do your revision/practice while you wait for them to cool off and finally you can take a break + enjoy them!
Use recall. After you read a page, look away and recall the main ideas. Highlight very little, and never highlight anything you haven’t put in your mind first by recalling. Try recalling main ideas when you are walking to class or in a different room from where you originally learned it. An ability to recall—to generate the ideas from inside yourself—is one of the key indicators of good learning.
Test yourself. On everything. All the time. Flash cards are your friend.
Chunk your problems. Chunking is understanding and practicing with a problem solution so that it can all come to mind in a flash. After you solve a problem, rehearse it. Make sure you can solve it cold—every step. Pretend it’s a song and learn to play it over and over again in your mind, so the information combines into one smooth chunk you can pull up whenever you want.
Space your repetition. Spread out your learning in any subject a little every day, just like an athlete. Your brain is like a muscle—it can handle only a limited amount of exercise on one subject at a time.
Alternate different problem-solving techniques during your practice. Never practice too long at any one session using only one problem-solving technique—after a while, you are just mimicking what you did on the previous problem. Mix it up and work on different types of problems. This teaches you both how and when to use a technique. (Books generally are not set up this way, so you’ll need to do this on your own.) After every assignment and test, go over your errors, make sure you understand why you made them, and then rework your solutions. To study most effectively, handwrite (don’t type) a problem on one side of a flash card and the solution on the other. (Handwriting builds stronger neural structures in memory than typing.) You might also photograph the card if you want to load it into a study app on your smartphone. Quiz yourself randomly on different types of problems. Another way to do this is to randomly flip through your book, pick out a problem, and see whether you can solve it cold.
Take breaks. It is common to be unable to solve problems or figure out concepts in math or science the first time you encounter them. This is why a little study every day is much better than a lot of studying all at once. When you get frustrated with a math or science problem, take a break so that another part of your mind can take over and work in the background.
Use explanatory questioning and simple analogies. Whenever you are struggling with a concept, think to yourself, How can I explain this so that a ten-year-old could understand it? Using an analogy really helps, like saying that the flow of electricity is like the flow of water. Don’t just think your explanation—say it out loud or put it in writing. The additional effort of speaking and writing allows you to more deeply encode (that is, convert into neural memory structures) what you are learning.
Focus. Turn off all interrupting beeps and alarms on your phone and computer, and then turn on a timer for twenty-five minutes. Focus intently for those twenty-five minutes and try to work as diligently as you can. After the timer goes off, give yourself a small, fun reward. A few of these sessions in a day can really move your studies forward. Try to set up times and places where studying—not glancing at your computer or phone—is just something you naturally do.
Eat your frogs first. Do the hardest thing earliest in the day, when you are fresh.
Make a mental contrast. Imagine where you’ve come from and contrast that with the dream of where your studies will take you. Post a picture or words in your workspace to remind you of your dream. Look at that when you find your motivation lagging. This work will pay off both for you and those you love!
10 Rules of Bad Studying
Avoid these techniques—they can waste your time even while they fool you into thinking you’re learning!
Passive rereading—sitting passively and running your eyes back over a page. Unless you can prove that the material is moving into your brain by recalling the main ideas without looking at the page, rereading is a waste of time.
Letting highlights overwhelm you. Highlighting your text can fool your mind into thinking you are putting something in your brain, when all you’re really doing is moving your hand. A little highlighting here and there is okay—sometimes it can be helpful in flagging important points. But if you are using highlighting as a memory tool, make sure that what you mark is also going into your brain.
Merely glancing at a problem’s solution and thinking you know how to do it. This is one of the worst errors students make while studying. You need to be able to solve a problem step-by-step, without looking at the solution.
Waiting until the last minute to study. Would you cram at the last minute if you were practicing for a track meet? Your brain is like a muscle—it can handle only a limited amount of exercise on one subject at a time.
Repeatedly solving problems of the same type that you already know how to solve. If you just sit around solving similar problems during your practice, you’re not actually preparing for a test—it’s like preparing for a big basketball game by just practicing your dribbling.
Letting study sessions with friends turn into chat sessions. Checking your problem solving with friends, and quizzing one another on what you know, can make learning more enjoyable, expose flaws in your thinking, and deepen your learning. But if your joint study sessions turn to fun before the work is done, you’re wasting your time and should find another study group.
Neglecting to read the textbook before you start working problems. Would you dive into a pool before you knew how to swim? The textbook is your swimming instructor—it guides you toward the answers. You will flounder and waste your time if you don’t bother to read it. Before you begin to read, however, take a quick glance over the chapter or section to get a sense of what it’s about.
Not checking with your instructors or classmates to clear up points of confusion. Professors are used to lost students coming in for guidance—it’s our job to help you. The students we worry about are the ones who don’t come in. Don’t be one of those students.
Thinking you can learn deeply when you are being constantly distracted. Every tiny pull toward an instant message or conversation means you have less brain power to devote to learning. Every tug of interrupted attention pulls out tiny neural roots before they can grow.
Not getting enough sleep. Your brain pieces together problem-solving techniques when you sleep, and it also practices and repeats whatever you put in mind before you go to sleep. Prolonged fatigue allows toxins to build up in the brain that disrupt the neural connections you need to think quickly and well. If you don’t get a good sleep before a test, NOTHING ELSE YOU HAVE DONE WILL MATTER.
Memorising history can be hard so try to do this a few weeks prior to your test, exam or final :)
Try making flashcards on the topic. Write the major date(s) on the front and write the event/person that was significant to it on the back
Make a timeline of major events and highlight significant things that caused major changes
Make a mind map of key dates and times, try to mix and match colours for better memorisation of dates. It always helps me because I’m a visual learner :)
History has a lot of source analysis, you may want to find primary sources (such as diary entries, photographs or newspapers) and analyse them. Ask your teachers to check them for you, they can always point you in the right direction if you need help.
You may want to begin making notes of the facts and try watching some online videos, like Crash Course, to help you get an even better understanding of your topic
If you feel confident with your knowledge, try testing yourself with past papers. Past papers are really good because once you do them, you can get an idea of what types of questions might be in your test/exam. This way, you’ll be able to do the hard questions that sometimes stop people from getting full marks.
Compare your notes with your classmates, sometimes you may find that you might have missed some important information so it always helps to double-check, you won’t believe how many times this has helped me :)
Try to write an essay on the topic. Include the major dates, times and significant events. Ask yourself WHY the event happened and WHAT happened as an aftermath. Always write this in third person perspective.
The day before your test or exam, go over your notes and outlines. Rewrite the notes that you have difficulty memorising and repeat them to yourself aloud.
I always teach someone else what I’ve learnt, try repeating all the points and dates to yourself in the mirror
Remember, history has a lot of memorisation involved in it. If you feel as if you’re going through your notes and you’re not registering anything, it might be time to take a break. This has happened to me many times because I tried to cram all the information in; and on the test day, I didn’t remember anything so remember: breaks are really important. Take a walk, check social media or just drink some water. Don’t try to memorise everything in one day, it won’t work unless you have a photographic memory. (I tried and failed miserably)
Hopefully these tips will help you, I really hope you ace all your tests :D
Imagine being locked inside an empty room. Pretty boring, right? Not much to do. Now, imagine that the only thing in there with you is a textbook for language learning. A Danish textbook, perhaps. Now you have something to do! Something that can entertain you (at least until you get too bored and goes back to staring at those empty walls). With language learning as your only means of entertainment, you’d be a master in Danish in no time.
But that’s pretty unrealistic? you might think - and it is! This is an exaggerated example, but I think you get the idea, which is that:
By creating an environment with minimum distractions, you can focus on what’s important to you. Whether it being finishing art projects, working out, knitting, photographing, building a 1:1 scale lego-version of the death star, or, as this article is focusing on, learning a language.
If you are sitting in your room reading this I encourage you to take a look around. How many unfinished books, games or projects of any sort do you have lying around? Probably a lot. Unless you, unlike me, are super disciplined and finish anything you start - good job! Anyways, how many times have you been in the middle of doing something productive and suddenly your roommate sends you a funny video and now you find yourself on an one-hour YouTube binge. Or perhaps you thought to yourself “oh yeah, I should probably finish this soon… but look at this awesome new game I’d rather want to play!”. I know for a fact that this had happened to me a dozen of times. And to be honest, it can be stressful sometimes. So, how do we solve this issue?
With minimalism, of course.
But what is minimalism? you ask me.
Minimalism can be different for many people. For some, it’s about owning only bare essentials like Fumio Sasaki, the author of the book Goodbye Things. For others, it’s about living in a space with only things that makes you happy, or, as Marie Kondo would say it, things that “sparks joy!” And that could be less than a hundred things or more than a thousand things. Heck, for some people it’s only about being emotionally detached from material possessions.
Personally, I’ve been trying to minimize my possessions by selling and donating things that doesn’t make me happy and is just serving as clutter. I’ve also started being more mindful of what I’m buying. Asking myself questions like: do I really need it, what will I be using it for and do I own something similar that I need to take care of or put to use first? With this mindset, I’ve minimized the clutter that would otherwise stop me from focusing on what is important to me. It even helped me be more environmentally friendly! I have not perfected my surroundings, nor will I probably ever get there, but I am doing my best and it is helping me focus.
With this article, I encourage you to be more aware of what you are surrounding yourself with. Now, I’m not telling you to get rid of your things, but simply try and be more aware, which in turn will hopefully help you focus on your goals and stay on track with learning those tricky foreign words and grammar rules! Perhaps you too can adopt the word minimalism and make it your own.
If you are sold on the idea of implementing minimalism to your life, here’s a few tips on how to get started:
Clean your room and put everything back to their designated spots.
If some of your things have no designated spot, give them one.
If you can’t give some of your things a designated spot, read the two next points on this list.
Sell or donate things you haven’t touched in a long time.
Sell or donate things you never used or never will use again.
Good luck and happy studying!
If you want to learn more about minimalism, here’s some material that had helped me:
(FYI these are not sponsored. Just my own humble opinion)
Everyone has their own quirks. And you know what those are for you better than anyone else. And when it comes down to me, I have a few things I do.
Don’t take notes in class. Well, not unless it’s completely necessary, like an equation with some key example that I can use for further reference. The reason why this works for me is that I see lectures like a conversation with my professor. If you’re in a conversation with your friend, you’re not going to type or write everything down. Instead, you try to follow what your friend is saying, right? You’re not going to remember everything, but you’re gonna remember the key aspects that make the story. I used to take notes in class but I noticed that I focused too much on taking notes instead of the actual content.
Take notes a day or two after your class. This will force you to recall what your professor said. According to a psychologist, Jeffrey Karpicke, simply practising and recalling the material, students learn far more and at a much deeper level by recalling than using any other approach. First I like to write what I remember down on a page. After, I start reading the textbook and make notes at the margins of other examples or anecdotes the professor used. If I paid attention, all these things will pop up into my mind. Just trust your brain on this one, you’ll be surprised by how much you actually remember. (I certainly was!) And then I take these 2 notes and make my final notes on the subject.
Get your pets and talk to them (Or yourself). After I am done with the notes, I like to wait a day or two before I go back to them. I often open the book on the index page, where you see the chapter’s title, paragraph and sub-paragraphs and use this as a shortcut page to my presentation. I stand up before a whiteboard. I make sure Burger (my cute-ass doggo) and Mr Fantastic (my grumpy cat) are on my bed. I take a deep breath and I start explaining the concepts to them. The idea here is to recall and make sure you put the concepts into your own words. What do you remember? What is it about? Can you explain this with an example? What are the practical uses of said concept? Most importantly, use that whiteboard. It’ll make you feel like a professor and that you know your shit. Once I start talking, I’ll realise what information I truly don’t know. Then I’ll pick up my final notes and go through them and see if I talked about everything. After I’m done with my talk, Burger looks at me like “Shirou, where’s ma food?” and Mr Fantastic is fast asleep or looking at me like she truly can’t be bothered.
So experiment! See what works for you and what doesn’t. Not sure where to start? Then I truly recommend you to check the free online course on Coursera “Learning how to learn”. It truly helped me to lay a basis of getting my shit together.
In my previous post, I talked about how my laptop is basically my lifesaver. The fact it comes with a stylus makes it so much better. With it, I can highlight and take notes on PDFs but I can also take handwritten notes and even draw. Which for me, is what truly makes the difference, as I feel more comfortable taking handwritten notes.
Why digital notes? You don’t have to worry about forgetting a notebook, running out of pages or ink. You can go back and delete whatever mistake you have made without making a mess and it is very flexible. You can organize your notes whichever way you find convenient. Some apps even let you search your handwriting, which is something I didn’t know I needed. How many times have you tried looking for something in your notes and taken basically an eternity to find it? With digital notes, that is no longer a problem. Taking notes by hand helps you remember better than just typing. So taking the benefits of handwriting and the organizational benefits of going digital, you’ll have one of the most effective weapons at your disposal.
study in shorter intervals and take breaks (ie, 40 minutes studying and 20 minutes break)
during your break don’t watch tv or surf the internet. get outside if you can and go for a walk. or at least listen to some instrumental music and walk around your hall. or meditate or do some art. anything that doesn’t require super directed attention. this allows your attention to be replenished. it’s like a muscle and you gotta give it time to rest. tv doesn’t allow for that.
relate the information to yourself and your life. creating visual images will improve your memory.
when studying, take notes by hand and put them in your own words. generating material yourself will encode the material better in your brain, and you’ll remember it better
don’t just reread, rehearse! quiz yourself on the materials. if you use a visual image “memory palace” technique, walk yourself through it. you’re likely to remember information you’ve tested yourself on better.
organizing information into groups that make sense create more connections in your brain and allow you to remember things better. the more meaningful connections you make, the better.
make sure the last thing you do before bed is study. no phone, no netflix. your brain will process what you’ve just done while you sleep and this improve recall.
If you’re struggling to get through something particularly challenging, come up with a reward that you’ll give yourself when you finish the task. It can give you the extra motivation you need to keep pushing on.
this post is really late, but i thought a post about rec letters could be really helpful for future classes !!!
why are rec letters important?
they allow colleges to receive a more in-depth academic profile of you than a transcript or GPA
teachers can directly communicate with a college to advocate for you
these letters are written from a more objective standpoint than your own portrayal of yourself in your application
how do i decide who should write my rec letters?
first, look at your college’s specific requirements for a recommendation letter
this will be found on the college’s undergraduate applications website
ex: some colleges want a one counselor rec and one teacher rec, some want three recs with two teachers and an out-of-school source, etc. you just have to make sure to look
most colleges want two letters of recommendation by two different teachers
should be teachers from your junior/senior years, or one who has taught you for multiple years
i personally would recommend one math/science teacher and one humanities teacher
pick a teacher…
whose class you got a good grade in
whose class you genuinely enjoyed
who knows you on a personal level
who will be able to write a personal, customized letter, not just a generic one. colleges will be able to tell if they actually know you and appreciate you as a student based on their language
who you worked with outside the classroom or in an extracurricular setting (bonus, not required)
when should i ask a teacher for a rec letter?
as soon as possible
seriously, these teachers will be swamped with requests for rec letters. the sooner you ask them the sooner yours will be done and the better it will be
ask your teachers during…
the end of junior year
the summer in between junior and senior year
very early in the fall of senior year
how do i ask a teacher for a rec letter?
there are two ways to ask:
e-mail
pros: you have a digital record of asking them and it’s easier to trade information
cons: the request could easily get lost
in-person
pros: the request is more personal and the teacher is more willing to help when seeing an actual person
cons: you can’t keep reminding them or pestering them, otherwise your teacher will be annoyed
i personally would ask in-person, and then use emails to exchange information or send reminders
once your teacher has accepted your request, send them the following soon after:
a list of colleges they need to send these letters to
any of the colleges’ guidelines or requirements for rec letters
due dates for the rec letters
a résumé (this is just nice for the teacher to have)
any things you want them to explicitly mention in your letter (ex: if you worked really hard on a twenty-page research paper for that class)
anything else they ask for
❔❕okay, now what?
congrats! you just secured yourself some kickass rec letters
continue to gently remind your teacher until the letters are sent, and send more information if they need it
don’t pester or overdo it
your teachers will send their letters to your colleges
if any problems arise, the teacher will fix it (this year my biology teacher accidentally sent the wrong document so she called all the schools to let them know and she was able to reupload my letter)
BREATHE. SMILE. RELAX.
i hope this post is helpful! if you have more questions about rec letters or the college process in general, message me !!!
whenever you read a paragraph with new content, close the book/look away and ask yourself: “what have i just learned?” explaining the concept to yourself right away and asking follow-up questions will change the way you retain new material forever. trust me.
okay so fish and i (august) have been gaining quite a few new followers over here, so i figure it’s about the right time to say something i’ve been thinking about for quite a while: whether productivity, studyblr’s key concept, is helpful or objectively harmful depends on how we define it. what is “productive” looks different for everyone and varies based on any given day. sometimes, to be productive is to get up, take a shower, and go for a walk at some point in the day. sometimes, to be productive is to get up at 6 and focus on blocks of studying all day. but unless we acknowledge and support the first possibility and those like it, we are creating a community that is objectively inaccessible and sells a lifestyle both unachievable and potentially unhealthy for many. when you discuss “productivity”, consider what you mean, and whether you’re falling into the capitalist trap that defines success based only on achievement within predominant systems around you, or whether your understanding of success includes personal levels of effort and self-maintenance; self love before external ideas of ‘triumph’.
Psychology divides the learning and memory creation process into three important stages
Encoding - initial learning of information
Storage - retaining of information in long-term memory
Retrieval - access and use of encoded and stored information
Strategies for different stages of the memory process
Encoding - initial exposure to stimulus
▫️ Elaborative encoding
▪️ A mnemonic that relates to-be-remembered information to previously existing memories and knowledge
▪️ If you are unable to answer “How?” or “Why?” then that could be a potential gap in your knowledge
▫️ Semantic encoding
▪️ The process of giving meaning to a piece of information employing techniques such as chunking, mnemonics, and memory palaces
▪️ The meaning of something (a word, phrase, picture, event, whatever) is encoded as opposed to the sound or vision of it
▪️ Semantic encoding results in better long-term retention of information when compared with strategies such as rote memorization
▫️ Dual coding
▪️ This is the idea of using different types of stimuli to help learners encode information in their brains more effectively. For example, visual and verbal
Storage- maintaining information on long-term memory
▫️ Chunking
▫️ Mnemonics
▫️ Sleeping
Retrieval - access and utilization of information that has been encoded and stored
▫️ essential for acquiring knowledge and understanding
▫️ active
The strength of focused thinking lies in its ability to analyze and solve problems in a sequential manner
diffuse thinking
▪️ general, broad and conceptual thinking
▪️ creates connections and links
▪️ essential for consolidation of memory
▪️ passive
Rather than being focused on a defined path, diffuse thinking allows your subconscious to make unexpected connections between disparate ideas
The trick is not to choose between the two approaches, but rather to cycle between focused and diffuse thinking for the most significant impact
Want to learn an unfamiliar and challenging concept ❓ Study it with focused thinking, then let your brain shift into diffuse thinking. The combination will allow your conscious brain to investigate the idea while your subconscious mind forms new links and connections to embed it into your memory and thinking
Listen carefully. Even if you feel that you are not an auditory learner, try your best to listen carefully and attentively. For example, a teacher may emphasize important information or add information from his experience that you will not read anywhere
Read curiously. If you try to learn what you are curious about, chances are you will remember what you read much more easily and quickly. So look for interest in everything. You never know what will be helpful to you in the future
Think critically. The sharing of different opinions, theories, or queries can help you develop deeper critical thinking around subjects. Read my post about ‘critical thinking’
Note-taking actively. Think actively, make connections. Don’t just write notes for you to have them. Instead, write notes consciously, adding illustrations, diagrams, and information from different sources
Remember regularly. Review your notes, index cards, mind maps time to time. Make a plan for when to repeat each topic. Practice makes permanent
Reflect personally. You should ensure that you reflect on what you are learning. How does it relate to you? How can it help you in your future profession?
Explain verbally. One of the best ways to establish whether or not you have grasped what you have just studied is to explain it to someone
Hello sweeties! Now that I’m in uni, I’m more aware of the money I spend not only on materials, handouts, but also on textbooks. Since I’m in my second year, I’ve learned a lot of things (sometimes the hard way) on saving some money so here they are ♥
Discounts: So of course this is my first tip. I had no idea but a lot of textbooks are more expensive when you buy them on campus, probably bc you want to get it over with and think it’s easier BUT there’s this website (the trivago of books) that can help you compare prices. Long story short, check various places before giving your money.
Used textbooks: Apparently Amazon and Ebay not only sell new things but used too lol. Check if they have the ones you need (on your syllabus) or maybe you could find some that complement your courses.
Check with teachers: Before you do anything, check your institution’s library to see if you can rent or talk with your teachers and see if they have the book you need laying around. Even if they don’t, ask them for the chapters you’ll be using.
Scanning/Photocopying: So this brings me to my next point. I hate reading on the computer, so for me photocopies are the best way to save on books to be honest. Asking our teacher what chapters we’d need through the weeks helped us so much.
Older students: Talk to people. Seriously. An older studentis most likely to have the textbooks you need. I’m the worst person when asking for things I need but I’ve honestly learned I need to OPEN MY DAMN MOUTH sometimes. Now there are some books I won’t need again that I could gladly lend to a student!
Share books with friends: If you are a group worker, and you’ll need it to study out of class, a good way to save is by sharing with a friend or splitting the money between a group.
