How do you study? Effective methods and suggestions!

studentnurseASN · Apr 25, 2019

It's normal to feel that way. Especially if you have deadlines coming up. Are you taking your courses in a community college, or university? With TEAS I would suggest getting the ATI study guide. From my experience it tells you exactly how to answer questions on the exam.

ajem27 · Apr 25, 2019

2 minutes ago, studentnurseASN said:
It's normal to feel that way. Especially if you have deadlines coming up. Are you taking your courses in a community college, or university? With TEAS I would suggest getting the ATI study guide. From my experience it tells you exactly how to answer questions on the exam.

I'm currently not enrolled in any courses, but during Fall I am taking my last 2 at a community college. I think I'm overwhelmed with the TEAS and all the content that could possibly be on it. I bought the ATI TEAS Smart Prep package, and I've been working my way through the customized study plan & modules. I just feel like it's so much information and I'm not sure how to effectively study to learn it all.

studentnurseASN · Apr 25, 2019

It is a good opportunity to get in touch with your professor to learn the material well. There are times where they will tell you what to exactly study. Making friends in class will also help. Bring a tape recorder to rewrite notes as needed.

TEAS was a lot of repetition when I took it. The math section tests middle school math. There were a lot of fractions, decimals, and mixed numbers that needed to be subtracted, added, divided, and multiplied. I would recommend using online worksheets if you need additional practice. I have also seen people use textbooks for practice problems.

Science contains more information about first semester biology 1 for bio majors. I would recommend a tutor, or a classmate majoring in biology for good review sources. It also tests on very basic chemistry such as concentration after 4 or 5 titrations.

Grammar has questions about punctuation, capitalization, and proper placement of colon, semicolon, and commas. There are a lot of online worksheets to practice from. Tutors are a good resource if you have trouble with punctuation.

Reading comprehension tests directly from short passages read. I found ATI concepts were helpful in answering most of the questions. You can also look into short high school reading passages.

nursingstudentwannabe, BSN, RN · Apr 25, 2019

I know just how you feel!! Sometimes, after I've studied for an hour or two, I feel like I've made little progress and haven't retained a thing. Then, come exam time, I'm all nervous, thinking I'm going to fail. However, when I actually see the questions, everything honestly comes back to me, and I end up doing well on the test. The brain is a funny thing. You may think you haven't memorized anything, but in reality, you have, even though you don't know it.

Also, it helps to be able to apply the info you've learned; material stayed with me when I was able to actively think about it and apply it.

A few studying tips I use: writing stuff out on paper in categories (for instance, drugs and their effects), repeating information out loud to myself (walking around while I do it helps too! ?), and making myself flashcards. Talking about it with fellow students or even family and friends helps a lot as well.

Hang in there, we'll get through it! ?

LubbDubb77, BSN, RN · Apr 30, 2019

On 4/25/2019 at 6:59 AM, ajem27 said:
I'm currently not enrolled in any courses, but during Fall I am taking my last 2 at a community college. I think I'm overwhelmed with the TEAS and all the content that could possibly be on it. I bought the ATI TEAS Smart Prep package, and I've been working my way through the customized study plan & modules. I just feel like it's so much information and I'm not sure how to effectively study to learn it all.

ATI study books are great. I took 2 weeks and read the whole book. I did tons of practice questions with rationales. I did just fine.

Studying, I like to listen to a lecture, then go back through and hand write everything. Afterwards I just re-read everything before the test.

Rionoir, ADN, RN · May 1, 2019

Active recall is still the best way to learn. I use a spaced-repetition notecard app called Anki and it has made my studying so much smoother. I recommend looking up some youtube videos on how a lot of med students use it, because they can explain it a lot better than I can type it here. All I can say though is I started studying this way exclusively this semester, and level 3 has been easier for me than level 2 was, and I say that having seen a lot of good students barely passing this semester who I know study way harder than I do, just not as efficiently.

I also use a lot of Picmonic cards, who I noticed has started advertising here. I will screen cap them and put them right into my notecards - usually I set it up so the card will show up with the answer, so I don't see it beforehand. It's been crazy effective.

There's actually research that says highlighting your book, summarizing paragraphs, etc. actually is not very efficient at all and unfortunately it seems everyone is still telling students to study that way.

abzurdity, CNA · May 1, 2019

Strongly seconding what Rionir has said—they are completely right.

It’s really unfortunate that learning how to learn isn’t prioritized in our education system. Plenty of people (scientists) have applied the scientific method to the learning process, and there are well-established methods you can use that will really help with retention, which is particularly important if you’re responsible for a lot of material, and your instructors aren’t helping to narrow your focus onto the stuff you need to study to pass your tests.

If you’ve got the time and the inclination, I’d recommend a book called Make It Stick (it’s the first google result).

If not, remember the RISE acronym: R is recall from memory. This means self-quizzing, basically. Recalling information directly from memory (with a not-too specific prompt) is far more effective than note-taking or re-reading or highlighting. Well-made flash cards require you to actively recall information, and are probably the best-known self-quizzing method (one of the only stereotypical study methods that is actually effective).

I is interleaving: this might seem counterintuitive, but learning is strengthened if you weave in different subjects/material instead of focusing on one subject at a time.

S is spaced recall—studying the same thing every day even after you’re familiar with it isn’t efficient and won’t strengthen neural pathways as much as if you wait awhile before reinforcing (there are programs like Anki flashcards built on this concept, as Rionir has already mentioned).

E is for elaboration. This means connecting new concepts into your existing mental framework/knowledge base in a practical (often visual) way.

If learning seems easy and comfortable, it’s not efficient or effective. Effortful learning results in better retention and better understanding. If you want more info on any of these concepts, Make It Stick is really a great read, and completely changed the way I study.

rnhopeful82, ASN, RN · May 2, 2019

I am going to have to say that it's best to find YOUR way of learning. Flash cards do absolutely nothing for me. Reading the book does absolutely nothing for me. I need to attend lecture and take notes. That's usually going to get me a high B at least. But then I listen to the lecture 1 more time while seeing the powerpoints and I'm maintaining an A average and I am able to retain the knowledge and info going forward. My way doesn't work for others, their way doesn't work for me and grades are all over the place regardless of the method used. So again, find out YOUR best method of studying. For the TEAS, since there were no lectures, I bought the TEAS Secret book or whatever it was (it resembles the *topic* for dummies) and used the TEAS pocket prep app on my phone and did a few questions a day. Scored a 91.3. Good luck!