Individualized Study Tips

[student005]

i've seen a lot of questions/discussion about how to study in nursing school and requests for helpful learning tips. at the beginning of our nursing program, our instructors invited an education specialist to come and talk to us about study skills, goal setting, test-taking strategies and learning styles. they were very helpful so i thought i'd share some of the highlights.

the key to determining the most effective way to study is understanding your learning style. we completed the barsch learning style inventory. it tells you if you're more of a visual, auditory, tactile or kinesthetic learner. you can find out what your learning style is by taking the quiz online at: http://ww2.nscc.edu/gerth_d/aaa0000000/barsch_inventory.htm

here are specific tips for each learning type:

visual - take lecture notes and mark in color; underline, highlight or circle important information; compare your notes to others'; draw pictures in notes to illustrate ideas; use a variety of colored pens, highlights, note cards, etc.; use annotation to reinforce learning from reading; study pictures, graphs, diagrams, charts and outlines in your text; rewrite or redraw things from memory; make and use flashcards (use color)

auditory - study with a friend and talk things out; use a small tape recorder to speak your notes or summations; reduce lecture notes to main ideas and details, then record them to listen to; read your text out loud or into a tape recorder; sit in the front of the class; participate in classroom discussion; create musical jingles or mneumonics to remember things; explain ideas to other people

tactile/kinesthetic - study in a lab where you can get hands-on experience; use models to study; draw charts or diagrams of relationships; use a straight edge as a guide when reading to help you focus; use bright colors in notes; trace letters/words to remember facts and learn spelling; edit and rewrite notes on the computer; move while trying to learn (walk around, knead a stress ball); study with a friend or group; try listening to non-distracting music

the speaker provided a lot more information on this and other subjects, but this post is getting long and i need to get after some reading. =) this was very helpful to me. let me know if any of you other soon-to-be-nurses find it useful! if you do, i'll try to get some more info from the seminar posted.

[bodi]

can anyone give me stragedies on taking the pax exam for nursing it would be greatly appreciated.

[That Guy, BSN, RN, EMT-B]

I'm a total kinesthetic learner and all our department told us to do was adapt and learn a new strategy. Kind like giving people like me a big middle finger. I have found that moving around and listening to instrumental music really helps my studying which is part that i see there. Always good to see