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Psychological Tips for Effective Studying
STUDY STRATEGIES * Revise regularly- Revision should be continuous if you are to gain a deep understanding of the subject. It should not be superficial and rushed. Cramming might help you remember a few facts but it will not give you the overall understanding of a subject, which you should be studying for in your University Education. * Be systematic- You should begin organizing a study schedule as soon as possible in the start of the semester * Use varied techniques- besides making summaries of your lecture notes, use varying strategies for your revision. Draw up schemes showing the relationship between the concepts you have studied in your subjects or form study groups with your fellow students to discuss the different topics and the relationships between them to reinforce both understanding and recall. * Use relationship to memorize- Understanding the relationships between pieces of information, such as their similarities and differences, and using their relationship to information already known is a definite advantage during stress of an examination. * Practice previous exam papers- You should obtain copies of previous exam papers as early as possible in the revision process. Doing these exams in the required time limit will give you practice in applying what you have learnt to specific topics and practice in examination techniques. This will also give you a good idea of the format, time limit and the number of questions in the examination. * Attend lectures- Pay attention in lectures and tutorials and so on for information relevant to exams. For example what topic might be expected in a test etc? Stress the following areas in your revision: ? Points emphasized in class or in the text ? Areas the Professor has advised for study ? Questions in study guides, past questions and reviews at the end of textbook chapters. STUDY HABITS * Decide what to study (choose a reasonable task) and how long or how many chapters, pages, problems, etc. Set and stick to deadline. * Do difficult tasks first. For procrastination, start with an easy interesting aspect of the project. * Have special places to study. Take into consideration, lighting, temperature, and availability of materials. * Study 50 minutes and then take a 10 minutes break. Stretch, relax, have energy snack. * If you get tired or bored, switch task/activity. Stop studying when you are no longer being productive. * Do rough memory tasks and review, especially detail, just before you fall asleep. * Study with a friend. Quiz each other compare notes and predicted test questions. STUDY SKILLS o Physical environment- Choose situations, which make you feel comfortable, for example a particular space in the library, in your own home or study room in halls of residence. o Plan a time table- Use a time schedule to prioritise study times and try to stick to your schedule. o Mental activity- Remember that your concentration span is limited. So do not sit for 3-4 hours at a time starting at one page of notes. Wait for an hour or so reading and making extra notes. Draft out or use real exam questions from past papers and consider how little you know and understand o Stop to take a break- Have a coffee or short walk and mentally review what you have achieved. Return to your studies. o You will find that the process of activity and review will be useful and will help you to set a pattern of study. o Quality of study- Remember that it is not time itself spent on studying which matters, it is the quality of the exercise of studying. Develop an understanding of the material you are working on. Information simply committed to memory will rarely see you safely through your exams. o Choice of material- Don't shy away from material which you find most difficult to understand because if you do it will be precisely this material which will be problematic for you in the exam. Take this material first. o Problems- If there are sections of the syllabus, which you cannot understand, try to find the appropriate lecturer to help you. But try not to leave this until the day before the exam. Ask someone on the same course as you. If these strategies don't work for you try using a variety of different textbooks, some authors explain difficult concepts better than others. CONCENTRATION Concentration is the ability to direct one's thinking in whatever direction one would intend. We all have the ability to concentrate sometimes. Think of the time when you were engrossed in super novel or in a cinema -Total concentration. But at other times your thoughts are scattered and you mind races from one thing to another. Learn and practice concentration strategies. Poor concentration- External causes -Internal causes REVISION Revision is a process of looking over past work as preparation for examination. It is an activity which can produce good results and reduce 'exam nerves' if it is carefully planned and carried out in a systematic way. Black coffee and sleepless nights just before your exams rarely allow you to do justice to your talents. Towards end of a course, a review of your completed written work and of past examination papers will often indicate the existence of close links between exam questions and essays, assignments and project work. On this basis, you select your own best work and use it for revision. Work, which has been less successful, should contain advice from a tutor and this can be followed up. What revisions can do for you: * Extends your ability to assess your own knowledge and understanding. * Provides an opportunity to analyze this in relation to the requirements of the examination. * Enable you to pass examination and gain recognition for your talents. GUIDELINES FOR SUCCESSFUL REVISION * Make sure you know well in advance the topics to be covered in the particular exam. * Keep copies of all course documents, projects, essay questions, title of assignments and reading list on file. * Make this the basis of your revision. Resist the temptation to try to start your course all over again from the beginning. * Review your own the assessed work, making a selection of that with the best grade. * Compare your own work with the question asked as past question papers. * At this stage it is vital that you will have enough material to answer all the likely questions. * If you decide on to expand what you have already got, look at less successful papers and see if you can improve them by careful editing, filling in gaps, correcting errors of fact or understanding. * Reduce each piece of work to note form. TIME MANAGEMENT Avoid overload. Organize your hours to include ample time for rest, relaxation, sleep, eating, exercising and socializing. Break the study time into manageable amounts of time to avoid boredom and loss of concentration. Sessions lasting 20-30 minutes are the best Studying for six half hour sessions is much more effective than studying for 3 straight hours. Don't put everything off until the last minute. PRACTICE EFFECTIVE STUDY TECHNIQUES Have appropriate study environments. Split large task into more manageable tasks. Read for comprehension rather than get to the end of the chapter. Be prepared to ask questions as they come up during study, rather than waiting until just before and exam. Don't wait until the last minute to complete your projects. Read the syllabus as soon as you get it and note all due dates( and milestone times) on your calendar. Be a model student. Be attentive and participative in the class and punctual, prepared and eager to learn. BE ABLE TO BE FLEXIBILE The unexpected happenings, e.g. Sickness, need to be able to fit into our schedule. Know how to rearrange your schedule when necessary (so that it doesn't manage you, but you manage it). HAVE A VISION Don't forget the big picture. Why are you doing the task? Is it important for your long-term goals? Have and follow a personal mission statement (personal and career) Are your activities ultimately helping you to achieve your goals. Know what is important to you. (What do you value most) Have a positive attitude. Dr. Hari S.Chandran, M.Phil (Psy), Ph.D, PGDPC is working as Cons. Psychologist, Department of Deaddiction & Mental Health, St. Gregorios Mission Hospital, Parumala. Kerala, drhari7@hotmail.com
Psychology - Google News |
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Alternative Medicine Cult De-Programming? The following good work from a person engaged in trying to free people from cultish programming is far better than most. It demonstrates the person is aware of mind control techniques employed in influencing people. Having said that I will now try to show how this piece is in fact an evidence of SPIN or influence that the person engaged in doing it might not even personally realize. For example Catholic exorcists are taught incantations and rituals to use that they may not or usually will not understand either the derivation or history thereof. A Case for Multiple Intelligences Based Classroom Instruction Although many high school age students tend to think and learn in nontraditional ways, American schools still base their instruction primarily on the verbal-linguistic and logical-mathematical intelligences. As a result, many students who are not strong in these traditional intelligences develop poor attitudes toward school and their academic achievement suffers. Panic Attacks: Effective Ways to Cope Jill is a 21 y/o college student who used to do well until about a few months ago when she started to experience "weird" attacks almost daily. She described her experience as "horrible." When she has the attack, she feels that she's about to die or develop a stroke. Time Out of Mind Let us first consider the role of time in our lives, then let us consider that role in terms of mental illness. Buddhists and Hindus, among others, propose that time does not actually exist. The Western world, however, with its dependence on clocks and deadlines, scoffs at such a notion, relying upon sayings such as "Time is money" and "Time is of the essence." A Jungian Approach to Mental Illness All of us suffer from some form of emotional distress at some stage. Some forms of distress can last longer than they should and may significantly impair our everyday functioning. If this persists, we may be suffering from a mental illness or mental disorder (like depression, or anxiety). We can better understand this by comparing a mental illness such as depression, with a case of the flu it pervades our daily life with painful symptoms. The Essence of Being Human What does it mean to be Human? Well if you reflect on your thoughts and behaviors and those of the individuals around you on this planet since the beginning of our existence here I think you will likely come to the conclusion that to wear the label Human is not exactly endearing or desirable. Kids and Lifebooks: Tips for Social Workers Every child who is adopted from foster care deserves a clear, detailed record of his or her life prior to adoption. While a foster child is waiting for a forever family, a lifebook can help her to make sense of the past and prepare to go forward. Animal Cruelty: The Key to Serial Minds What makes a common person a Serial Killer? According to research, serial killers exhibit what is known as the 'Triad of Warning Signs in Childhood.'1 Insighting Human Behavior thru Gravity Wave Simulations of the Moon Every police officer will tell you that when there is a full moon, the natives are restless and it will be a long night, with lots of arrests and paperwork? This is a known fact one which cannot be dismissed so easily after such basic observations. An evolutionary theorist would say this is because on moonlit nights our ancient ancestors went on night hunts or that the Sabertooth tigers came to hunt us? Some say these things date back to our Tree Shrew ancestry, all of which Darwin might agree is plausible. Other more spiritual folks might say it is a special time, which brings out human emotion and spirits? Sounds cool to me. I could go for that one? Whatever the case is Lunar Cycles and full moons cause or help along Earth Shift movements of Tectonic plates, coincide with ocean wave actions and indeed cause the behavior shift of many life forms on the Planet's surface. Could this be from an interaction of gravity waves between Earth and Moon? If so does it affect the resonance of mother Earth's 7.89 Hz or heartbeat? On Dis-ease We are all terminally ill. It is a matter of time before we all die. Aging and death remain almost as mysterious as ever. We feel awed and uncomfortable when we contemplate these twin afflictions. Indeed, the very word denoting illness contains its own best definition: dis-ease. A mental component of lack of well being must exist SUBJECTIVELY. The person must FEEL bad, must experience discomfiture for his condition to qualify as a disease. To this extent, we are justified in classifying all diseases as "spiritual" or "mental". What is Narcissism? A pattern of traits and behaviours which signify infatuation and obsession with one's self to the exclusion of all others and the egotistic and ruthless pursuit of one's gratification, dominance and ambition. Split Personality - A Myth or a Reality? Introduction Birds in the Room Alter Sleep Patterns of Humans Birds have always been considered good pets of modern day humans. It seems our living in close proximity may have given us a closer bond than we know. There are many reports, which have been collected of birds having a psychic connection with their owners. Others poo poo the idea as utter non-sense, but the studies done scientifically seem to prove that there are connections between humans and birds with regards to the normal and natural telepathy abilities of both species. Intuition I. The Three Intuitions Short Story: The Next Level of Humanity "Hey Mac, have you ever been thinking of someone and then-bang! - The telephone rings and it's them on the phone?" Animal to Animal Telepathy There has been much study on Telepathy in the animal kingdom. Many have experienced telepathy from human to human. Some have experienced telepathy from pets, both sending and even on rare occasion receiving. There are so many studies that show it is not coincidence or explainable by probability. In fact the statistics are so strong that after reading only a few studies and pitting that against your own observations in your ego-centric life experience that any normal human would have to agree. Metaphors of the Mind (Part I) The brain (and, by implication, the Mind) has been compared to the latest technological innovation in every generation. The computer metaphor is now in vogue. Computer hardware metaphors were replaced by software metaphors and, lately, by (neuronal) network metaphors. Such attempts to understand by comparison are common in every field of human knowledge. Architects and mathematicians have lately come up with the structural concept of "tensegrity" to explain the phenomenon of life. The tendency of humans to see patterns and structures everywhere (even where there are none) is well documented and probably has its survival value added. Morality As A Mental State INTRODUCTION Creating A Winning Mindset Do you know anyone who always wins? Sure you know that person, everything just works out for them. They go into business and they are an instant success. They enter the dating scene and their phone rings off the hook. If they were in the Olympics, you just know they wouldn't settle for anything less than the gold. It seems as though they always win. Precognition or Circadian Rhythm? The bodies natural clock or circadian rhythm seems to have sensors through the brain and body. It is a perfect set of clocks, which regulate our bodies and sync to our minds. It is so incredible that some have spent entire careers trying to unlock natures secret. Some believe this is part of God's creation, other believe it is the work of a millions and millions of years of evolution. Still others have mystic explanations for it, while they debate with others who say it is all part of a planned design.
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