Study smarter

These are nice tips. I've been trying to figure out a better way to study pathophysiology. Each week our teacher gives a 50-70 page powerpoint, which mostly comes from the textbook. At first, I was handwriting the power point because that helped me retain it, but with 70 slides, that was inefficient. The past two tests I've just been highlighting what he mentioned in his powerpoint in the textbook, and I've just done okay on the tests. I didn't do as well as I'd hoped, so I'm not sure how I should be studying to learn this stuff.

Interesting article. I just had this discussion with someone. In nursing school (100 years ago), people gave me a hard time because it looked like I never took notes. I noticed that during the lectures, everyone's head was bent over, the instructor was talking, and everyone was scribbling madly in their notebooks. Although some things require strict memorization, I've always operated under the premise that if you can understand something, you will learn it/know it. In other words, rather than trying to memorize everything that is being presented in A & P class for example, I really sat back and listened to the instructor. If I didn't understand something I would ask a question. By listening and clarifying anything unclear, I felt that I gained an understanding of things and therefore, learned them. Does this make sense? Understanding is the key to learning and retention, not memorization.

I think I'm going to invest in a voice recorder so I can listen to the instructor and relisten later.