Study w/ Me — Becaziam

Sep 23

Sep 23 Study w/ Me

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Getting good grades will absolutely depend on your effort, study habits, and ability to retain the information. However, there are important aspects of your immediate environment that also play a role in the ability to study effectively. Over time, I have learned to adapt and change my approach to studying in order to get the grades I wanted. Here are a few tips to consider:

Your Study Environment

Studying itself is hard work, and being in the right mindset is crucial to studying effectively. Distractions in the environment, noises, and other personal issues can take away from concentration. So, will be essential to prioritize, plan ahead, and create a comfortable environment conducive to learning and concentration. In fact, there is a science behind effective learning spaces. Make your study environment a reflection of yourself. And, make it comfy! My strategy is to minimize as many distractions as possible especially when reading dry material. I forced myself to put my phone out of sight for 2 hour chucks during my study sessions. I always set a timer so I can hear, but don’t allow calls to go through.

When studying elsewhere: To minimize noise in public places try noise cancelling headphones. There are various price points and brands, but Sony is my favorite. I also had to ask people for more privacy and to be mindful of my study schedule. This included my family and friends. Lastly I took a tip from one of my professors by trying natural sunlight to help boost serotonin and stimulate the brain. There are many natural lighting lamps available on amazon here. Research finds that serotonin is associated with elevating mood and focus!

Make Learning Interactive

There are different types of learning styles and strategies. You may be a kinesthetic, visual, linguistic or auditory learner. Regardless of your learning preference, make sure to use a combination to better absorb information. It is important to read text slowly, but reading alone doesn’t help retain information. Immerse yourself into the subject, and engage in the material. Consider re-writing your notes (use color!), drawing diagrams, using mnemonics, and making flashcards to help improve memorization. There are many apps you can use, but I found making my own quality flashcards by hand was the best study method for me. I’ve also found many benefits in quizzing myself with fill in the blank and multiple choice practice tests. But don’t forget to take breaks.

Hope this helps.

Sources:

Allan J. Rossman, Larry Lesser. (2020) Interview With Larry Lesser. Journal of Statistics Education 28:1, pages 109-119.

Jafari, M. J., Khosrowabadi, R., Khodakarim, S., & Mohammadian, F. (2019). The Effect of Noise Exposure on Cognitive Performance and Brain Activity Patterns. Open access Macedonian journal of medical sciences, 7(17), 2924–2931. https://doi.org/10.3889/oamjms.2019.742

Jenkins, T. A., Nguyen, J. C., Polglaze, K. E., & Bertrand, P. P. (2016). Influence of Tryptophan and Serotonin on Mood and Cognition with a Possible Role of the Gut-Brain Axis. Nutrients, 8(1), 56. https://doi.org/10.3390/nu8010056

Kiewra, Kenneth A. “A Review of Note-Taking: The Encoding-Storage Paradigm and Beyond,” Educational Psychology Review 1, no. 2 (1989), 147-172.

Piolat, A., Olive, T., & Kellogg R.T. (2004). Cognitive effort of note taking. Applied Cognitive Psychology, 18, 1-22.