How to #LearningDifficulties and #study:
- making relationships between new stuff and knowledge you already have
- interactions between knowledge
- using schemas (mental sets of knowledge)
- develop mind-sets (see relationships)

#psychologytoday #studyTip

I forgot about this post and it's where I actually got most of what I learned about doing well in school from:

https://b-uwu-ng.tumblr.com/post/121189595526/things-top-students-do-1-they-dont-always-do-all

It's pretty good

#studyTip

Study tip:

This is definitely kind of weird, and might not work for most people. But I know this works for at least two other people I know:

Cleaning (like, tidying a room) during exam time helps me organize my thoughts and my mind.

Be careful, this might just be a distraction for some people like a way to procrastinate. Judge for yourself if it works for you.

#studyTip

Some tools I find useful for studying:

- whiteboard (use examples: attempting to draw a diagram from memory over and over until I can draw the whole thing from memory; practicing calculation problems)

- clipboard or lapdesk (use example: sometimes I bring stuff around and it's comfier to put papers on my lap)

#studyTip

Study tip:

Making group chats is also beneficial for clarifying things or asking for help for homework. Most of the time multiple people are confused about the same things.

School is about learning, not gatekeeping each other from learning.

#studyTip

Study tip:

Not all teachers are good. Some assign a bunch of useless homework that is more like busywork instead of helping you learn.

Make groupchats and share answers for homework. School is supposed about education and learning after all. Save your sanity. In this unfair and cruel world, help each other and help yourself. Meaningless busywork has no value.

#studyTip

Study tip:

*This might be the most important one.*

*Take every advice with a grain of salt, not as an absolute rule.*

For example, a common advice is to do big/harder assignments first. This is actually harder for me because that makes doing homework more daunting. So making myself follow the advice harmed me instead of helped me. Instead, it turns out when I do smaller and easier assignments first, I get a work momentum going and doing harder things comes easier to me.

#studyTip

Study tip:

Keep track of what motivates/works for you.

Some examples:
- with hard classes, I calculate what grade I need on an exam/assignment/project to get the grade I need. Sometimes I realize I don't need to stress so hard to get 100% all the time, and I feel more confident and get myself to study easier.

#studyTip

Study tip:

Share your own study tips to remind yourself of what works for you. Plus, there's an added bonus of possibly helping someone else out 😉

#studyTip

Study tip:

This can be different for every person, but you may or may not be affected by where you study.

I know I am lazier at home or in my bed, so I avoid that by studying in a room with a big table like the dining room, or going to a cafe/library where other people also work so I feel not alone and motivated.

#studyTip

Study tip:

Ignore this if you've already found a perfect note-taking way for you.

But, I find the most effective for me is printing out the slides if I can and then take notes on them (or if you prefer digital, just take notes on the slides with your tablet/laptop/etc).

I don't have to rush copying important things down. I can just write comments to make things easier to understand/memorize and draw pictures or lines between ideas, etc.

#studyTip

Study tip:

Figure out what note-taking method is best for you: digital or paper.

I don't know what the merits to digital is and I won't assume, so I'll just talk about why I prefer paper.

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- finally: LOTS OF THINGS ARE LIKE A MUSCLE, you just have to train a habit or way of thinking and it gets easier the more you do it.

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#studyTip

This results in getting to fill in the gaps between ideas easier by yourself without having to actually memorize everything.

So understanding can actually make things EASIER on yourself, not just because you "should."

*If you have trouble starting this habit, then making a tangible concept map can help you practice this kind of thinking

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#studyTip

- about "make a concept map (in your head or tangible": I seldom actually make a tangible concept map. The idea is:

*understand > memorize

*This doesn't mean you ignore things that can only be memorized (like numbers and formulas). This means there's a lot of info that can be organized under umbrellas and into a web of things you already know.

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#studyTip

- depending on your major again and if your teacher pulls some test questions only found in the book, you might not have to read the book. I never do if I can help it and get As. Because I:

1. Watch a video
2. Go to a website that simplifies the material
3. Ask someone else to explain it to me (classmate, teacher, TA, library tutor, a friend, etc)

Of course, if you learn better by reading then please keep doing it.

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#studyTip

- Q: why so much slacking off (orange)?
A: we're just a biological machine and our brains need processing time to better organize and therefore retain info

- ideally study multiple days, but with some memorization-heavy majors, you might just be able to cram it by:

1. keep the different studying methods in mind while in lecture/waiting for lecture to start/sometime after lecture

2. practice this thinking enough

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#studyTip

Study tip:

You can use this bingo sheet for how to study. You don't actually have to have a bingo: if you want you can just use it as a list of inspiration for studying ideas.

Some additional related tips:

- depending on the review session (by a TA, but especially from the prof themselves), it may save ur life (it may tick off many of these boxes for you)

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#studyTip

Study tip:

You can just screenshot your class syllabi and put it in a syllabi-only folder on your phone.

This saves time from copying down due dates. Plus if you use your phone a lot, your due dates are easily accessible. You don't have to look for and pull out a planner for them.

If you want a cleaner view of only very important due dates, you can make them as events in your calendar app.

#studyTip