Study Tips for Students
The media below contains the opinion of an individual student and therefore does not represent or speak to the values of Vestavia Hills High School and Vestavia Hills City Schools.
Have you ever felt overwhelmed with schoolwork with no idea how to study? I mean, seriously, have you ever been told how to study? It's not just some natural instinct, right? Shouldn’t we be taught this in school?
If you relate to the first four sentences, then you are in luck, because we are going to figure this out together. In this issue (hopefully), you will learn a strategy or idea that you can put into practice in your day-to-day school environment. So without further ado, let us jump into a world of interesting ideas about studying.
Triage
This isn’t a word you hear very often, but I think it is very important when it comes to time, not just in studying, but in life. But what does this word mean? The most common place triage will be spoken is within an emergency department. According to Merriam-Webster, the hospital definition of Triage (Tre-azh) is defined as "the sorting of and allocation of treatment to patients, and especially battle and disaster victims, according to a system of priorities designed to maximize the number of survivors." Unlike many things in life, getting treated in an ER is not on a “first come, first served” basis. Doctors and nurses treat patients with the highest severity of need first, then move along to others. For a more applied usage, Triage derives from the French word trier , which means to sort, separate, or select. This strategy is most useful when done before studying even begins. When you feel overwhelmed, I would challenge you to sketch out your more important tasks to complete, followed by less important tasks. When thinking statistically, the closer the due date, the more important; the higher the effect on your grade, the more important. Doing this helps alleviate mental load while establishing a simple plan. Contrary to popular belief, smart students are not predisposed to understand concepts; they are the ones who can establish strategies to learn them. So, in short → Complete the tasks with the highest severity of need first, then move on to easier tasks.
Attraction
A couple of months ago, I saw an online video of a student studying until the ice in a bowl melted around a soda can. Once the ice melted, the student was free to pull his ice-cold drink out of the bowl. This strategy reminded me of a tip in a book I read – “Atomic Habits”. James Clear, the author, claimed that the more “attractive” the habit is, the less friction is associated with it. The same is true for studying. Within this tip, he had many interesting strategies. One I remember was called “habit bundling”. He recommends pairing something you want to do with something you need to do. For example, if you want to eat a tasty snack, pair it with the assignment you need to complete. If you don't like studying, think of this like mixing a cup of sugar with a cup of bitter coffee; hopefully it will even out.
The Common Thing
We’re humans. Our moods change, our motivation depletes, and our attention dissolves. Sometimes, life feels easy. Other times, life feels complicated. In short, we have a tendency to be extremely volatile in many areas of our lives. One of my favorite Theologians, Oswald Chambers, mentions in “My Utmost for His Highest” doing the common thing, the common round. No one wants to do the dishes on a bad day. No one wants to write a paper when they're burnt out. No one wants to study for vocab when they could just watch TV. But showing up on the ordinary days is the same as showing out on the best days. Make a deal with yourself → Make bad days better by putting in a little more effort.
Quote: "A genius is the man who can do the average thing when everyone else around him is losing his mind” - Napoleon
Distractions
We live in a world of distractions. Companies make money from distractions; grocery stores make money when we drift to the chips at the end of the register; car dealerships make money when people look at a Jeep as they pass; fast food chains make more when we salivate at the cookies in front of the cashier. All of these things amplify indulgence, impulsiveness, and fast thinking. It's not our fault; it's our environment. If I could, I would want to be able to dismiss my environment to focus on the things that matter. Unfortunately, that would be pretty hard. To make things easier, altering your environment works just as well with less effort. When applying this to studying, there are many ways to alter your environment. I would recommend leaving your phone on silent at the bare minimum to reduce external noise. And unless you're listening to music, I would recommend leaving it outside of your room. Here's something I have trouble with: I have an instinct to wander off to random YouTube videos or other sites while I’m studying. I mean seriously, I just watched a YouTube video about electric eels for fun. What I should do to fix this problem is to only have essential tabs open while I am studying, with restrictions on what I can open; it could solve my issue of getting distracted by random topics. Now ask yourself… What's the change I can make to my environment to better improve my behavior? Or... think about what I am doing vs. what I should be doing.
If you are really looking to cancel out distractions, I’ve seen that Deep Work : By Cal Newport is on the top of lists for “books about studying”.
What's Your Why?
Intrinsic motivation is one of the most overlooked aspects of an efficient student. Students who have an intrinsic will to achieve will most likely look at work as beneficial, while students who have an external motivation ( ie., my brother is smart, so I guess I have to be) will look at it as a chore. They feel external pressures: my parents don't want to pay a billion dollars for college. My parents want me to get good grades. My entire family line went to a selective college, so I will most likely view school as burdensome. If you have a goal in mind, whether that's becoming a doctor, lawyer, salesman, business owner, or handyman, pursue it. If you don't have a goal in mind, that's okay too! Some of these sorts of people may ask, what am I doing this schoolwork for? (That's a great question– never hesitate to ask yourself the significance of actions being performed). And for high school students, those questions are tricky. Maybe you won’t need to factor a quadratic in your job, or analyze a paragraph, or remember the periodic table, but what you will need to do is have critical thinking skills. Algebra is included in high school to show students that sometimes you have to use what you know to find what you don't know; History is included so students don't repeat the past, and English is studied so students can understand what affects actions, behaviors, and tone of language in real life. Aside from the importance of learning, not having a goal can deprive students of motivation too. To cure this problem, I would recommend talking to a trusted adult in your life ( ie., counselor, parent, or a family friend).
Discomfort
Let’s be real… studying is not enjoyable when it comes to cramming in hard topics. Your brain feels like it's wrestling with itself, your chest gets tight, and your muscles get tense. It gets hard. But just know that discomfort is actually good for learning. When your brain is overloaded cognitively, it starts to send messages to yourself that it needs to have a reward or gratification. When you're studying, however, you are practicing delayed gratification, or resisting a smaller reward to gain a bigger reward in the future. Your brain might not like delayed gratification, but you will after you see its effects. So remember, if you feel uncomfortable while studying, just remember that it's your brain telling you, “ I’m learning something new; it's hard.” Additionally, don't forget to give yourself a rest every few minutes or so to give your brain a break; it deserves it.
Quote: “Neurons that wire together, fire together.”
Actual Tips
I realize that I got carried away with the idea part, so here are three actual strategies to learn.
Active Recall
It is what it sounds like. Read or study information you know for about 15 minutes , then close the computer and write down everything you know. Look back at the notes and then study the things you could not remember, then repeat!
See it, Do it, Teach it
This is the epitome of learning. If you have time, try teaching how to do a math problem to your parents or a friend.
Mnemonics/Imagery
Some things in school are not very applicable to the real world. (i.e it would be easier to learn how a president gets elected than the unit circle) So I would recommend using imagery or sounds to remember. For example: In Chemistry last year, I remembered a CATion was “PAWSITIVE” and an ANion was A- NEGATIVE -ION
Fun Fact: World memory champions are not geniuses; they just use really good strategies to win the competitions.
DISCLAIMER
On a scale of easier said than done, I would rate this topic 11/10. When I read “self - help” books or articles, I assume the author has it all figured out. That idea kind of deprives me of motivation. Or when I watch a beginner's video on a topic that's difficult to master, my brain says, “ You'll never get there”. So just so you know… I am NOT an expert on this topic, and I am NOT a strict follower of any of these ideas – (My brain just likes to think of ideas of topics and form them into a structured format such as this article). But hopefully, we can all transition from “say-ers” to “do-ers” so we can practice certain strategies and adjust our behaviors accordingly. Also, please note that many ideas on here are subject to change, bias, and personal experience.
I hope you enjoyed this issue on Study Tips/ Ideas; see you for the next issue!
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