One of my interests is in learning and study skills/methods, and I was curious as to what specific study methods you use, or have found useful. My own method has developed from reading lots of books, with a specific interest in those by Tony Buzan and his MindMapping/MMOST techniques. I've used various forms of this method for the past 10 years and they have served me very well. Here's basically what I do - What do you do?
1. Day before class: Read the chapter that we are going to be covering in class or lab. Highlight important facts and concepts.
2. During lecture/lab: take notes
3. After lecture/lab: Produce a mind-map from a combination of my class notes and the stuff I highlighted in the text book.
4. 24 hours after the class, I review the mind-map (takes about 10 minutes)
5. 48 hours after the class I review the mind-map again
6. 1 week after the class I review the mind-map
7. 2 weeks after the class I review the mind-map
8. 3 weeks after the class I review the mind-map
9. 4 weeks after the class I review the mind-map
10. I then review the mind-map at 6, 8, 12 and 16 weeks after the class
11. I then review the mind-map at 6, 8, 10, 12, 15, & 18 months after the class, even if I have finished that class and passed the exam - just to keep what I've struggled to learn IN there LOL!
12. Starting about 1 week before an exam, I review any of those mind-maps that I'm having trouble memorising.
A set schedule like this means that I'm reviewing work constantly, and so there is no cramming for exams. Also, as the mind-maps only take about 10 minutes to review each one, I can review several mind-maps in one study session, while taking a 5-min break in between. This fits in with the fact that you remember the most information at the beginning and end of a study session - so if you do one long study session, you only have two periods of high recall, whereas if you break it down into several smaller bites, then you get many more periods of high recall. I have a code for each lecture or lab of each class, and I label each mind-map with that code (i.e. 204/1JUN04 would be microbiology 204, class of 1st June 2004). I then enter that code in my planner on whatever days the map needs to be reviewed.
Works for me anyway!
Paint.