Preferred studying method?

[Lbelle]

As the title suggests, what is your preferred studying method?

[0ni0n]

study what?

[Lbelle]

For school I guess. Studying for an exam, or for a paper, that kind of thing.

[Kaisha]

Pure silence with good lighting in the room and a comfy seat to slouch in as I read and memorize shit via the "Read once, try to recite it back" routine.

[Shiroikage]

I can learn virtually anything by just reading. Pulled off 90s in a couple of calculus courses just by reading a solutions manual.

I always like to explain things to people or talk about them because it's a great way to confirm you actually understand the material.

[Correction]

Ask a BG mod to ban you for a week. It's worked for others!

[Linliel]

I chose "Other" because it depends what sort of thing it is. Of course read any texts that are part of the course. Read over your lecture notes, too. Make summary study notes to reinforce the information in your brain closer to the exam.

But if it's an essay-based subject, write practise essays. If it's a maths type course, do practise problems. If it's a goddamn thesis, write the goddamn thesis. (I'm having trouble with this last one, as you can tell ^^;; )

[Blarg]

For math stuff I actually have to do the stuff but for everything else I just look at my notes. I may use flashcards if there are a lot of definitions but normally I understand most of the content after reading through he notes about 2 times and writing down the key points or things I don't yet know on a different piece of paper and then I will read that paper over until I get it. Never had to pull all nighters or spent too much time with the non math stuff this way.

[_chuchu]

If on campus, any library except but the new library on University because that shit is crowded and often too noisy. If the kitchen gets closed off, sometimes I'll go to that cafeteria next to BK for breakfast and then leave in the afternoon to class and/or the exam for the day. I would sit next to a wall so I can plug my laptop in and watch certain lectures over because there are those professors that like to ask random shit from lecture >_>

[Jefe]

Depends, for Engineering/Math I study an hour a day. Then practice different problems. I always listen to music while I practice. Also, I dump notes, PDF books in my PSP and check them omw to the uni or whenever I have free time.

For other courses such as English that I have to write a big research paper... I think about my thesis while doing w/e, then construct my intro and get a visual schemata in my head. I then look for my sources to support my ideas; lastly I put everything together and just type it.

Oh and I can't study for shit @ the library, I usually fall asleep. Too quiet for my taste.

Edit: Forgot about the lavatory, good place to read <_<

[_chuchu]

I also normally use flash cards

[LinktheDeme]

aderall

[Pun]

I usually blast my stereo while I study; I just read/re-read the textbook.

[Zimbabwe Justice]

I don't usually need to study, since I generally learn it the first time and it sticks in my head. I learn best by actually doing the work.

[Conrad]

I'm pretty good at remembering stuff from lecture, even though I do the crossword in class 95% of the time. If I _must_ study, I usually read the required reading and go over my notes.

[Metah]

Reading the material over again, doing any practice questions that may be available. Unless they're too long, then fuck that.

[Colm]

Depends what I'm studying for: Quizzes, I'll do the assigned practice problems. Midterms and finals, I'll do old exams. Professors have a tendency to repeat the same general kind of problem over and over again. At least, in engineering they do.

[0ni0n]

One best way to find out whether you know the stuff is to explain it. If you can, you have learned it.

[Lbelle]

I try to think of and remember as many pnuemonic (sp) devices as possible

[Talus]

I use a few different things:

1) I have a dry-erase board to make tables/diagrams from memory, like what hormones are tropic, what their effect is, target, and hypo/hyper problems associated with it; I just covered the cardiovascular system so I'd diagram the flow of blood through the heart in the pulmonary and systemic circuits, that kind of thing.

2) I always read the book, without fail, before the material is lectured on, that way if I have a question about something, I can ask without being confused later. The first time I read a chapter I basically just read straight through, the second time I type notes.

3) I use study groups when possible, especially in anatomy & physiology.

4) I also use this program CueCard, which is basically flash cards for your computer, you make the cards, you can attach images/movies/sounds, etc., and it has a "study" mode where it shuffles (and can repeat) all the cards you made, and a quiz mode where you see each card once, and it scores you out of a % for how many you got right.

5) The last thing I do is try to relate what I'm learning to someone else, even if I'm sure they don't understand. When I was taking cell biology, I told my three year nephew about cells like "You know how a book has pages?"
"Yeah!"
"Well, like a book has pages, everything is made of cells. Do you understand?"
"Umm.. no!"

For me, it's just recalling it and trying to explain it to someone else in my own words that finally cements it into memory (and I usually bounce the things I've learned off my sisters and brother in law, not my 3 year old nephew).