Study skills and study tips needed

Do you know how you learn best? Do you learn more hands on? Do you learn better if you can discuss it with someone? For me, what got me through prerequisites and now through the last semester of nursing school was knowing how I learned. I had a lot of the same problems that you seem to be having.

I eventually began making out note cards and would study them because AP to me was mostly memorization. I also got a a write on wipe off board when I was having to learn about blood clotting steps, and drawing out on it a skeleton and labeling. I also at the time had a 7 yr dau that would act as model for me and I would point to the places on her body with the stuff. I also found if I could teach it I retained alot more information. My family learned alot more about the body and its functions than they ever really wanted to :chuckle

Another thing that I would suggest would be a study group. Not too many people b/c that causes chaos. We would meet before class a couple of days a week and then on Sunday's before a test. Part of our study group has now been together for 4 years and it's been really nice to have the support through nursing school.

I also found the study guides that you can get with the books to be quite helpful especially the Psych. ones. Hang in there, you can make it through with alot of prayers and perseverance!! Hope some of these suggestions work for you!!

Good Luck-

Grinnurse

I have been in you shoes. actually do they feel tight cuz i may still be in them!!! here is what I do. I take all of my lecture (thank you to my teacher because she types them out for us) notes and make questions out of them. then i have a friend who goes through the chapter in the book and does the same thing and then we share all the questions. i like this better than writing out note cards. I also use a notecard program on the computer for flashcards for pharm i find it easier to use. I also set a timer or alarm clock for 30 minutes when it goes off then i do something else for 15 mintues then back at it. seems to help. good luck!

Excellent suggestions Grinnurse! You have to find the style that suites you!

I have to use all that you do; it also depends on the material I am learning. It helps to focus quietly for 50 minutes, take a 10 minute break, back for 50, off for 10. I do this for the really dry stuff.

The stuff I am interested in - hours can pass and I don't even know it.:chuckle

I find small study groups useful as a review - if everyone has prepared - as a method for bringing the material from my brain back out. Yes, I learned it, it is there, but putting it back in an understandable format is another thing. Study groups are good for this part of the learning.

My kiddos, too, know way too much about A&P, chem, etc. since all is discussed at dinner. I use them for demos/practice, too. ("Run, here comes Mom w/ the stethescope.") Probably doesn't help (haha) that dh is a vet/college prof.

Try to find what works for you. What about a headset w/ soft music to shut out distractions? I would definitely study away from home so you can't start doing the chores. Have a defined study place where you do nothing but study. Make study cards. Try writing instead of typing. (muscle memory.) Hope some of these ideas help.

SJ

ive been there. sometimes when exams come, i just sleep because im so drained up. the best thing is just study it a week before the exam. overnight study wont work

When I start daydreaming, I read the material out loud. It really helps me to focus.

I'm subscribing to this thread! You all have such great ideas! Most of my friends and family are long out of college and don't have any advice for me!

Take a look at the "Harvard Mental Health Letter" V21, No9, March 2005. Go to the back where they have question and answer. The question in this isssue is "Does sleep enhance learning and memory? Is there a price to pay for cutting down on the hours you sleep?"

Interesting long answer. Here is a quote from a small part of the answer "...Experiments suggest that the sleeping brain works harder on the things that were most difficult for it to learn when awake. The more complex the task, the greater the opportunity for gains..."

One thing I did intuitively for a long time is to review my notes before I go to sleep. Especially the stuff I have problems with That seemed to help me the next day.

I sometimes use the Supermemo software for selected stuff. It is sort of a electronic versiion of flash card except it keeps track of which question you have problems with. The questions you have problem with, it will flashes those more often. I can do that manually, just not as convient.

-Dan

Hi! I can relate!

Here are some things I used that worked for me.

I used index cards to write down small things I needed to memorize, like dosage equations, conversions, ect.

For bones and things of that sort to memorize, I found a website and printed out pictures and then had people quiz me over them.

For test material, I made quizzes for myself and then narrowed the info down so I could re-quiz myself and concentrate my study efforts on what I didn't know.

I made audio tapes of myself reading the things that the quizzes helped narrow down to the things I needed to work on most and I listened to them and talked along with them while driving to and from school and also at home.

I memorized some things as a song...singing that "1 gram = 15 grains = 1000 mg...one kg = 2.2lbs = 1000 grams" worked really well for that type of stuff for me.

I used my own made up acronyms and ones that were already known to help me remember things.

That is all I can remember right now. I think the main thing, like others said, is to find out how you learn best. If I remember right, during the first week of school for us the instructors had us take some type of quiz to help us see how we learned best. Oh, they also did a test the first day about reading directions ....that crazy test that right there in the directions says clearly to read the entire test through before proceeding. I failed that one! The test had funny things to do....write your name with a circle around it, stand up and flap your arms like a chicken. Had I bothered to read the directions and read the entire test through before proceeding, the last thing on the test said something to the effect of 'now that you have read through the test, turn it over, put your pencil down, and watch how many people didn't read the directions'. :) LOL It was definitely a lesson learned...the hard way! Best wishes to you!

Warning kinda long BUT EFFECTIVE:rotfl: :

I can add to these great tips. As a tutor at my school, I find that MANY students don't know how to study, its not like its taught in school. So the most problems I find is that its not that the information is hard, its that they really haven't found the most effective way to study.

Heres my tips that I told all my students that I have tutored:

1. Find out how you learn. The way you learn is going to be the way you will most effectively study. For example, are you a visual learner? Do you learn more from seeing outlines, pictures, videos, etc.? If so, then you might want to organize your notes to relate to any outlines, dittos, pictures in text, etc. So what you do is find your notes that pertain to the subject like i.e. cardio system, get your notes on that and find your dittos or pictures on that. Then number your notes on the top page with the corresponding number on your ditto. Like note 1, for ditto 1, etc. That way you are looking at your notes and referencing your ditto, picture, careplan, etc to that note.

Are you an audio learner? Then tape your lectures and correspond them with your notes. As you read your notes listen to your lecture (yes you can read and listen at the same time). You may have missed what the professor has said so add on to your notes in a DIFFERENT COLOR PEN! That way you know blue is for notes written in class, red is for notes you listened on the tape.

2. Time Management. This is important, you can not change the time but you can have time work for you. You should have a calender that tells you when a test is, and what its on, and due dates of assignments/projects. Activities and events in and OUT OF SCHOOL that way you can prepare your time around b'days, parties, special events. Most people just have a school calendar and a seperate LIFE calendar. You should merge them together because you can not predict that a party or event is coming up and then forget that the next day you have a TEST! Theres no excuse for not studying for that test just because you forgot about that soccer practice with your kids, or a dinner date with friends. So many people forget that. Have a booklet you take to school and write assignments and projects, take that book home and TRANSFER it to your calendar. Mark off when everything is done.

You should study for 50 minutes, and rest for 10, 50/10. Do that until you are sick of studying, I mean REALLY SICK OF STUDYING. If you know that you are reading a book but can't tell yourself what exactly you read STOP STUDYING! Your not helping yourself you are just wasting time. Take that time to watch your favorite show, hang out with your kids, exercise or eat. Don't even think about school while your having your 'offtime' just refresh yourself and relax. Then when you feel more rested and better, pick up that book and study. Trust me, you will remember what you read this time!

3. Study Area. This has got to be THE most important besides note organization. Have a place to study, don't just take your textbook out and binder and just plop down in the middle of the living room. How is that going to help you study when your toddler is running around, or your S.O is watching t.v., or the phones ringing right in your ear! Have a place that is ORGANIZED, and is quiet. It can be your bedroom, extra room, even your GARAGE or BASEMENT, it doesn't matter as long as it has a desk or a niche for you to study! If possible DO NOT SHARE this space with someone else, there notes, papers, crap LOL, can get mixed up with yours. I can not tell you how some of the people I've tutored brought there 5th grades fraction papers or projects to school instead of the stuff they needed help on. If you don't study well when its absolutely quiet have a radio near by, and play music you know you won't sing too but enjoy, on LOW.

4. When to Study. This really applies to yourself and your family situation. If you know the only time you can study is soon after you come from school because everything is fresh in your head, or you have 1 1/2-2 hrs before the kids come home do so. Or if its late at night and everything at home is more quiet and your more relaxed then do that too. Heck if you have a late class and you woke up early and have 3-4 hrs before school to study do that too (I personally don't recommend it before a test if your cramming but if its just regular study time do so, any study is better then no study).

THE BEST TIME that I have found for myself and for the people I've tutored that drastically improved their grades is before bedtime. Know you might think huh, study before you go to bed, why do that??? Well I'll tell you why, but promise me if you do this don't wait until the last minute when your sleepy or if your the type of person who never knows when they are tired to fall asleep to study, reading 1 page and falling asleep is NOT STUDYING and its definately not helping you. But if you know you usually sleep around 10, 11, 1, 3, 4 LOL, study 3 hrs (depends on the classes/class on time frame) before you know you'll be tired. If you are going to study in bed DO NOT lay down ANYTIME you study, you will fall asleep! Study sitting up. Before bedtime is THE BEST time to study nmenics. I know of this personally and from the people I've tutored that you can remember better because you WILL be thinking about that nmenic or subject when you sleep! This helps you in fact. For a test its even better, because of your dreaming of the subject or nmenic you will be so prepared for the test. I've had people tell me that they've dreamt of filling out the body's systems or remembering math problems. It's really amazing.

5. Flash cards. These tools are very important and work well with two people. Using flash cards is the time when you want a study buddy, if both of you can do flash cards you can compare them and remember each others.

Use different colors for different systems, areas, subjects, they can be different pens, or the cards themselves.

*I REALLY believe that notes should not be shared unless you weren't there or the other person wasn't there but do not give up your NOTES or take someones else! Why give up something because someone wasn't paying attention or because they slept in, that's not helping you in fact its not helping them! They are not paying your tuition, or really care about what you get in class, so please do not share notes it may sound mean but helping someone just lets them know that they have you as a crutch to lean on. They will abuse you at the end DO NOT FALL FOR THAT!*

Well thats the tips I have, I have more if you need any but for now I find this kinda long and you may too :rotfl: . So if you have any questions regarding studying, or anything in that fact PM me. I am soon deploying because I have been activated but after a month will have my laptop with me in the middle east. So I can answer questions then, or it may take awhile.

Hope I helped someone out there in LA LA Land :chuckle

Those are all excellent. I forgot about my calendar. I also have a write on/wipe off calendar that I use for just what Cherish suggested. I use one color for school, one color for my dau. , and another color for my son. I was not what you would consider organized before NS. I can also attest to the studying before you sleep thing too! Especially with a test. The night before the test I get all my notes/lecture handouts and put them together and then about an hour before I go to bed I sit and review. If there is any one particular thing that I am having trouble with, I leave it for last and really review thoroughly over it and then I shut the light out, always say a prayer for direction from God and for my study group, and I fall asleep with that on my mind. The next morning, when I wake up, I tend to remember what I went over the night before.

Another thing that I did last semester before the test, I would call someone in my study group and we would discuss it one more time. Then I felt that I had done all that I could do to prepare for the test. After 2nd semester NS I quit looking at my notes right before the test unless there were levels that I needed to remember and I don't stand around and talk to others about the test prior to it either. This can really lead to confusion.

TTFN

Dear mom12,

It sounds to me that you need to relax first...Just take a few minutes and lay down, close your eyes take some deep breaths and try to think about only one thing just for a moment...It sounds crazy but I've done this relaxation technique many times and it has done wonders for me...Also you need to make sure that you don't cram when you study...Focus only on a few concepts at once per night until you've studied everything you needed to then go back and refresh your memory on these items before the big test, it will be a lot less stressful...This is how I can study the best..The key is studying gradually, no one has the ability to sit down and study 10 chapters worth of information in one night and completely focus only on that...It's just too much information at one time and it is easy to forget what you've studied because you haven't adjusted your brain...

Lastly, also stay confident and believe in yourself...If you really want to do well you WILL... Good Luck!! I hope my advice will help you!!!

~Glrer21