Nine ways to make first class
#9 - Take Extensive Notes
Probably the most tedious of our top 9,
maintaining a consistent habit of taking good
notes is hard to do. In our present world, many
students find it difficult to maintain their focus
long enough to record the information given out
during lectures. The advantage being that when
time comes to write a quiz/test/exam, you'll be
glad you have that pile of notes to review and
refresh your brain with. Taking good notes is an
act of learning in itself. This small but potent act
goes a long way to creating the foundation for a
quintessential and unparalleled understanding of
the material being covered.
An excellent method is also to scribble down
everything that seems useful in some manner,
almost as if you were transcribing the lecture.
Later, transfer and rewrite the notes into an
understandable form in another notebook. This
will cement the information into your mind,
moving the material from your short term
memory into your long term. Time and again, we
seem to understand a lecture when it is
delivered. Unfortunately though, a week later or
two we seem to lose almost every point that was
made. Note taking is one of the best ways to
consolidate short term memory into long term.
#8 - Obtain Old Exams Question papers and
Assignments from your senior colleagues to
procure a satisfactory idea of what subject
matter the instructors are most likely to test you
on.
They are even more useful because you can
attempt the exam/assignment as a check of
knowledge, identifying weak areas that you must
take into further consideration or re-study. Last
semester, I was studying gluconeogenesis in
Medical Biochemistry and a senior colleague of
mine happened to pass by. He appeared
interested and proceeded to supply me a couple
of past questions. One was “Gluconeogenesis is
not necessarily the reversal of Glycolysis.
Explain”. Propitiously, in my end of semester
examination, it was asked exactly as I was given
in Number 2. It was worth 10 marks.
One common tactic many students use for
science laboratory classes is to find a graded
laboratory notebook from a previous year.
Laboratory work is notoriously difficult with
respect to time limitation and what is expected
from a student’s lab report. Having a format to
follow along with is a phenomenal help. Knowing
where to avoid mistakes is fundamental as well.
2012
#7 - Begin Studying For Tests and Exams EARLY
Between academics and your social life, time is
not something you will have in ample quantity
throughout your stay in University. One cardinal
act you should always make time for is studying
early for exams. There's nothing worse than
leaving all of the studying for the night before an
important test or exam. The stress causes you to
panic and you won't perform as well as you
normally would if you had studied early enough.
Studying a little bit during the semester will not
only make you better prepared but will also
remove most stress you'd have if you leave your
studying for the last minute.
Early exam studying allows a student to identify
weak spots in their understanding and to
prioritize their studying accordingly. Just imagine
studying until the early morning of the day of your
exam only to find you've completely ignored a
section that you have little or no understanding in.
Don't let that happen
#6 - Use Your Time Wisely in between classes
as well as before and after school. There are
many opportunities to sneak in some studying or
homework that many students either don't realize
or just don't use. I've known people who would
study on the keke during the ride to and from
school. I've also known people that would
combine the time waiting for a lecture to begin
with their study time!
Just bring your notes and instead of pinging or
chatting endlessly with friends. You get a workout
for your body and for your brain! Always keep
your notes handy and use any spare time for
simple review to make sure you're on top of the
material. All of those small moments you fill with
studying will really add up to a solid
understanding. You'll discover that you will
require less studying when exam time arrives.
That's huge.
#5 - Get Your Questions Resolved
Information in your field of study is cumulative
and the last stuff you learned will be instrumental
in understanding the next stuff! So anytime you
don't understand something or have a question
about the subject matter, get your question
answered as soon as you can. Whether by asking
during class, after class, or by asking a fellow
student - do it. You need to stay on top of the
subject matter in order to be ready for the next
stuff that's coming. Don't let the holes in your
understanding be knowledge pits for the future!
#4 - Get To Know Some of Your Classmates
This one can be extremely demanding for many
people these days. Meeting people is becoming
increasingly difficult in a world of social stigmas
and fears of disapproval. I'm not going to tell you
how to meet people. But when you do, the
benefits will become apparent. Having someone
to lean on for notes from a lecture that you
missed, being able to bounce questions and ideas
off of somebody, and most importantly having
someone to check your assignment answers with
before you hand it in, are all spectacular reasons
to swallow your nerves and start saying "Hi! My
name is...." to the people in your class...and don't
have too many female friends (winks).
#3 - Explore Other Class Resources
Many class outlines will have "optional" reading
listed along with the required textbook. This is
often a HUGE opportunity for easy marks and
guaranteed success in the particular class.
Lecturers are humans just like me and you. Their
job is to relay the required material and then test
you on it. If they're using the required textbook
as reference for the learning part, where do you
think they're going to get the material for the
testing part? If you say "the required textbook",
you're probably wrong! Lecturers will often take
exam or test questions out of their favorite
textbooks, resulting in quality assessments from
a trusted source. Those favorite textbooks are
often listed as optional reading material on the
course outline. Also don't forget the mighty
Internet. Use Wikipedia and Google as well to find
extra (often better!) resources on whatever it is
that you're struggling with.
2- Pre-Read Lecture Material
One night I was bored. Very bored. I grabbed a
textbook for a class whose lecture I had the next
morning and I began reading from the point we
stopped at in the previous lecture. It was difficult
to understand and took a lot of focus to push
through it but the next day in class while listening
to the teacher, it crystallized in my mind and was
easy from then on. It had the added benefit of
being committed to my long term memory giving
me a better understanding of the material. It
makes sense if you think about it. I was
essentially learning the material twice. First,
alone. Secondly, with the help of an expert. These
combined into a solid understanding that I still
possess to this day.
I suggest that you do this for every class. Also,
you may use this technique for anything that you
deem to be very difficult or abstract. That way
you'll have a great head start on understanding
and mastering the hard stuff, leaving plenty of
time for filling in the gaps with the easy stuff!
#1 - Go To Class!
While going to class sounds too simple to be a
primary concern, this is one of the most effective
study habit. Going to class not only keeps you
disciplined and focused on what you're at this
University to do - it allows you to absorb the
subject matter simply by sitting through the
lectures. If you're an auditory learner, this is
tremendous because listening to the explanation
in the lectures will create an understanding that
should be convenient enough to pass the class in
itself!
If you're a visual learner then watching the notes
being written on the board or reading through the
slides (if available in your university) during the
presentation will give you the necessary
understanding to pass the class.
Going to class also ensures you have the latest
news on assignments, tests, quizzes, and exams
straight from your lecturer’s mouth. You don't
want to be that student that shows up for class
once a week only to find there's a scheduled test
on that day!
You can make it. See you at the top
Source
www.nairaland.com/934777/9-ways-make-first-class
No comments:
Post a Comment