Study Like My Grandpa: Tips to Help You Ace Your Classes

law2mom2nurse

Everyone learns in different ways. Some people are visual learners, some are kinetic. Some people work best in study groups, some are solitary students. No matter how you learn, the key is to study like my Grandpa.

My Grandpa was a farmer and a university professor. Kind of a funny combination. When we would visit, he would take us out to the farm. One of my most vivid memories as a child is climbing in the pen with the pigs when Grandpa wasn't looking. After he retired, my Grandpa slowing started losing his memory. Eventually, he was diagnosed with a missed stroke and dementia. The diagnosis didn't really matter to our family-the result was the same either way. Grandpa slowly slipped away from us. First, he had a hard time remembering that I was in college. Then he couldn't remember my husband. Next there came the visit when he didn't know my name, but could still call me "Granddaughter." Finally, the time arrived when Grandpa didn't know me at all.

As hard as it was watching my Grandpa decline, there were funny moments too. Like the time my Grandma found Grandpa (who was also diabetic by this time) surrounded by dozens of candy wrappers. As she scolded him for eating so much sugar, he shrugged and said with a mouthful of chocolate, "What? This is my first one!"

After Grandpa had retired, he had taken up the habit of reading the newspaper from cover to cover every morning. It helped keep him up to date and, for a while, kept his mind sharp. But even as dementia took over, he kept up the habit. Every day he would start into the newspaper. Some days he would get to page B6 before he would get distracted and move on to something else. When he came back to the paper, he wouldn't remember that he was on page B6, so he would go back to the front page. The next day he might only make it to A10 before getting up for a drink. Again, when he would come back to the paper he would start at page one.

For a while, this drove my Grandma crazy. She would try and get him to start reading back where he left off. But he would insist on starting on the front page. He would spend all day reading the newspaper sometimes, and always, after every break, he would start back at the beginning.

My background is in law. My first undergrad degree was in political science and then, given that degree is not very employable, I went on to law school. I had my first baby during my last semester of law school and decided to be a stay at home mom. Now, four babies later, I have decided to make a big change and go into nursing. At first I was very nervous about the prerequisite courses. Even though I have a bachelor degree and a juris doctorate degree, science courses are very different from anything else I have studied.

Despite the difference in the subject matter, my old study skills have proven to be effective and so far my courses are going well. As I thought about my study habits and what makes them effective, I realized that I study like my Grandpa.

A good example is how I study for Anatomy and Physiology 1. I am taking a class that meets for five hours once a week. The day after class, I study everything we covered in class the day before and prepare for our weekly quiz. Then the rest of the week leading up to our next class I follow the same routine.

Just like my Grandpa, I start back at the beginning every day. Every day I have a block of about two hours of solid study time. Each time I sit down to study, I review chapter 1, then chapter 2, then chapter 3, and so on. Later in the day, if I find a few minutes to pull out my flashcards, I follow Grandpa's pattern again. I go through my cards for chapter 1, then chapter 2, then chapter 3, etc. In the evening, once my kids are in bed and I have a few more minutes to spare, I go online and use our class tools (practice quizzes, labeling exercises, videos, and more) to review. And again, I use the Grandpa method. I take a quiz to review chapter 1, then I do a labeling exercise for chapter 2, and I end with a video from chapter 3.

Using this method, I never have to cram for a test. I have been reviewing and memorizing the materiel over and over every day. The early chapters in many courses, including this one, are a foundation of knowledge for later chapters so it is very useful to review them regularly. Even if you are short on time, dedicating a few minutes to each topic helps to keep material fresh and solidify your knowledge base.

So need a new way to study? Try the Grandpa Method and ace your classes!

Study Like My Grandpa: Tips to Help You Ace Your Classes

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