A friend recently asked for some tips on memorizing. So here’s a short video with ten tips from the pre-Dirk Naves archive! Watch on Vimeo here.
And here’s another post with ten study techniques that also touched on memorizing.
This comes a bit late for some students’ mid-semester exams, but Sue Shellenbarger’s Wall Street Journal article offers a number of tips on the best way to study. I’ve summarized eight of them and then added two of my own (# 9 & 10).
1. Testing yourself repeatedly before an exam teaches the brain to retrieve and apply knowledge from memory. The method is more effective than re-reading a textbook.
2. Review the toughest material right before going to bed the night before the test. That approach makes it easier to recall the material later.
3. Don’t wake up earlier than usual to study; this could interfere with the rapid-eye-movement sleep that aids memory. (All-nighters impair memory and reasoning for up to 4 days).
4. Eat breakfast the day of a big test. High-carb, high-fiber, slow-digesting foods like oatmeal are best.
5. What you eat a week in advance matters, too. Students who ate a regular balanced diet that included fruit and veg did better than those who ate a high-fat, low-carb diet that was heavy on meat, eggs, cheese, and cream. The brain requires a constant supply of energy and “has only a limited backup battery.”
6. While many teens insist they study better while listening to music or texting their friends, research shows the opposite: Information reviewed amid distractions is less likely to be recalled later.
7. Reducing “novelty and stress on the day of the exam” can prevent choking under pressure. If you are taking the exam in an unfamiliar place, visit the room in advance.
8. If you’re still feeling anxious about an exam, set aside 10 minutes beforehand to write down your worries. Expressing one’s worries in writing, unburdens the brain.
Here’s 9 & 10 from me.
9. Short and frequent is better than long and rare. It is better to study your four or five subjects every day for shorter times than to study one subject each day for the full day. By the time you go back to what you studied four or five days previously, most of what you learned will have gone.
10. Repeat, repeat, repeat. I know it’s really boring but it’s also really effective. When I ask struggling Hebrew students about their study habits, they will usually say, “Well, I study 2-3 hours every day. The first thing I tell them to do is to shorten their study time. Once they’ve started breathing again, I explain the strategy using the following diagram:
(I can’t remember where I picked this up, but it works for all subjects, and especially for language study).
8am: Study the subject first thing in the morning for 45-60 minutes maximum. As soon as you end that period, your mind immediately starts losing data at a frighteningly rapid rate. Imagine where this graph ends up by the end of the day (feel familiar?)
11am: Re-study the same material again, although this time it should only take you 20-30 minutes. Notice that the knowledge level is higher than the the first period (and reached faster), and that the data loss rate has a shallower gradient (it takes longer to forget what you’ve learned).
4pm: Re-study same material again, this time for 10-15 minutes. Knowledge peak is even higher and gradient of loss even shallower. (In between these study times, you can be studying other subjects using the same method.)
9pm: Just before bed, review the material one more time for about 5-10 mins. Note peak and gradient (appealing, isn’t it!). Compare where you are now with where you would be if you only studied the subject for one long period. Where would that red line be? Preachers, imagine what this could do for your eye-contact!
And if you want to seal it for good, do a quick 5-minute review first thing the next morning before studying new material. That will really set the mental concrete.
Yesterday I linked to a Lifehacker article that compiled the top ten responses to the question: What do you wish you’d known when you were at College? Most of the top 10 answers were also applicable to Christian students.
However, I then asked you for ideas to help compile a top 10 list that would be especially relevant for Christian students. Here’s your suggestions, together with my own.
Books
1. Read Thriving at College by Alex Chediak. Every church should have a crate of these to give away to their students.
2. Get addicted to the holy habits of daily Bible reading (thanks Se7en), and prayer. Whatever else you study, make the Word of God your #1 priority. And whoever else you speak to, speak to your Maker, Sustainer, Guide, and Guard. As Pete said, you need the Lord’s help to “flee temptations.”
Relationships
3. Seize the immense opportunity to form friendships and speak the gospel to those friends. Ryan commented: “The time in college is far and away the most fertile ground for relational evangelism.” (see Ryan’s letter to new students here.) Pete advised students to consider a College Campus ministry to encourage you and train you in this.
4. Mix with older people. The vibrancy of multiple young people on a campus can make older people seem very boring. However, mixing with wise and experienced older people, especially senior citizens, can teach you more than any college. And, believe it or not, they can also learn from you.
5. Keep in regular contact with your parents (and your brothers and sisters). Many young people go to college, plunge themselves into exciting new relationships, and almost completely cut themselves off from their families – sometimes unthinkingly, but sometimes deliberately. Not wise. Make sure that you are in at least weekly contact with your parents and share your life with them.
6. Don’t major in dating, and don’t make marriage your ultimate goal. If God means you to marry, then you don’t have to spend every waking and sleeping moment thinking and dreaming about it. He’ll arrange the marriage. Be patient. Don’t experiment.
Church
7. Set yourself a deadline to choose and settle down in a local church. To spend a few weeks or even a couple months looking for the best church is fine. But insist to yourself that you choose by the end of the first semester and then stay there. And don’t choose a church based on dating potential.
8. Serve your local church. Don’t just be a taker; be a giver too. Ask what service you can offer to your church. And don’t think yourself above the mundane and unseen service roles.
9. Find a mentor. Maybe ask the pastor or one of the elders to meet with you regularly to keep you accountable and to encourage your spiritual growth and development. Work through a book together, perhaps something like Note to Self by Joe Thorn.
Rest
10. Keep the Lord’s Day holy. You will be very tempted by all the student activities offered on Sundays. You will also be tempted to study your subjects, write your papers, and prepare for exams on Sunday afternoon and evening. But your body and mind need to rest. Research has shown that students who take a full day off studies each week do better than those who work and study seven days a week. If you keep Sunday free for worship, fellowship, Christian service, reading good books, etc., you are laying a foundation for College and life success. Get organized for Monday on Saturday, trust the Lord to honor your honoring of His day, and begin to look forward to a day each week when you can leave your studies behind with a good conscience. You’ll find it liberating!
81 million Americans went back to school this week. 17.5 million of them are in post-secondary education, and most of them are already feeling that the summer was last century. The first assignment is already due, the first demerits have already been handed out, the exercise program is already growing fat, and 6am already feels like 3am. Does it need to be like this? Am I managing myself and my time in the best way? Am I going to look back on this time with deep regret?
Maybe you need to read What do you wish you’d known when you were at college? in which Lifehacker compiles its top ten of reader responses to this question. In summary:
Focus on Academics
1. Go to class.
2. Go to office hours.
Work on Discovering Your Calling or Developing Career Skills
3. Do internships.
4. Learn job-relevant skills.
Mind Your Finances
5. Go for the free money.
6. Avoid debt.
Get Social
7. It’s not what you know, it’s who you know.
Make the Most of This Unique Time
8. Don’t be in a rush to get out early.
9. Get involved with a club or association.
10. Study abroad.
Although there are some helpful tips for everyone here, it’s obviously not a distinctively Christian list. For example, I doubt #10 would be a good choice for most young Christians. So, what would a Christian list look like? As a Christian, what do you wish you’d known in college?
I’ll compile your answers, add some of my own, and post the result tomorrow.
PS: And while we’re on the subject of avoiding regrets in school or college, here’s 10 Privacy Tips for the Connected Student.
When I was part-time lecturer in the Free Church Seminary in Inverness, I put together an online Hebrew course for distance learners. It has 50 grammar lesson videos, and 40 vocabulary videos that use a mixture of word-plays, graphics, and sounds to make Hebrew vocab a bit more interesting and memorable.
The introductory page is here with the videos accessed via the tabs along the top.I’ve always been intrigued by mind-mapping. I’ve used mind-maps to learn and to teach. However, I had never been completely satisfied with any of the various software versions I tried. They were usually too complicated, too time-consuming, and too buggy. But, I think I’ve found Mind-map paradise with Popplet. I love the simple, clean design, and especially the ability to share. Here’s a Popplet I put together for the content of God’s Technology.
First thing you should do is click on the bottom right hand corner to make the map full screen (you’ll need Flash). You can zoom in and out using the control at the top of the map. Drag the image around by clicking and dragging. Click on the videos to play them.
What can Seminary professors learn from this amazing teacher?
© 2011 David P. Murray. All Rights Reserved.