Teach me how to study!

I don't take notes for my exams, I just read the book several times until it goes in my head. And yes, I do procrastinate a lot. Maybe it's my brain's way of telling me that trying to revise all day doesn't really work. But yeah, my technique seems helpful. And learn keywords from key points. And importantly, understand what you're reading - don't just memorise, get a handle on it because for other subjects, they'll ask questions that may force you to think outside the box, and for that, you need a great grasp of the topic in hand. For maths, it's just practice, practice and more practice. Do as much work as you can, work, work - if you need help, ask someone. Try to apply your knowledge because there are also tricky mathematical problems out there.

 

For a math based course? UHM... when I study for math-based classes ('specially exams), I found that rewriting important formulas and key terms helps. If need be, write them all down on an index card and bring it with you to look at before the test.

Hope this helps. ^_^

 

In the UK where I am, our formalae are already given to us at the front of the exam. If that's not the case in the US, you'd do well to learn it and know it well.

 

*Bangs head several times on desk* Lol, I took Calculus BC AP this past year..... there are no formulas. Our teacher made it clear for us to memorize nothing... which actually worked! Ok, so my AP teacher is like legendary... pretty much everyone gets a 5, getting a 4 is like getting an F. And if you know AP tests.... those aren't easy. Anyways, his approach to it was making us learn the way to do everything. How to approach a problem. That way, if you ever got a problem you have never seen before, you can at least attempt it... and almost always get it right. He also made the class much harder than AP standard so that helped...

anyways, the only way to study math is really by doing it. I know you said it didn't help but don't just do problems which you know you can do, go outside your comfort zone and do some ridiculous problem. Don't do sample tests - they probably contain things you have no problem doing. Work on the topics you are most weakest at and really do critical problems.

SO if you are doing calculus based math, work in some physics questions. Calculus was invented to help explain physics so use it in its intended way. That will help you pair the abstract methods of math to a real application. If your doing statistical math, pair that with another application (sorry, I don't take stats.... like my calc teacher says, its for the math majors, physics majors can do anything without a class xD).

But just work on those problems. Sitting there looking at formulas and key terms and problems already done for you isn't going to help you understand the math. With the standards that my teacher expected from my class, I really found real understanding of math - unlike anything I've previously experienced. Its like synapses start connecting and you pair wonderful topics together to get what you want.

 

I hate flash cards and such, and telling myself to "just do it" when it comes to studying math, but I find it most helpful when I take a sample problem as reference and write down the steps in WORDS so that I can understand the process and do it myself on another problem.

 

YAY! To be honest, physics can really help you get a real understanding of calculus and how to manipulate it. At my school, pretty much everyone in Calc BC and multivar calc was in a physics class... they just go together...

 

*facedesks realizing I only did this for geometry* I'm such an idiot! XD Didn't realize this was calculus... forget everything I just said. XD
I'm going to take your advice... I have calculus this year, so I'mma gonna do what you said. XD *bows to your superior advice*

 

You can implement all the creative bs you want, but it will be useless if you don't do practice problems and study old exams. I seriously doubt a math class would have a lack of practice problems. Make sure you record the problems given in lecture as those usually appear on exams.

You claim that the practice problems weren't like the ones on the test. Well if you master the practice problems, and therefore the concepts that go with them, you can apply those concepts better for the test problems.

 

Your idea actually wasnt bad and can relate to many other subjects when studying.

Heres a tip: When we try to study and stuff various information in our brains that are very similar(Like in Maths, Sciences, And Languages) we are bound to forget and/or get a few things mixed up from time to time. A good way to get over this is to center of minds on memorizing not the information, but the image. A neat trick is to take a piece of paper and neatly and spaciously write down any complicated notes that we dont think we will remember. Then for a few minutes before the test just stare at it. Dont think about the problems or the logical............ just stare O_O.

In this way, our minds will be able to remember the image of the piece of paper rather than the information. Thus once you recieve you your test you will be able to automaticly recreate our piece of paper completely, as if drawing a picture and Voila. Normally our minds will analyze information when we are studying into various piece, but in this method we force our minds to remember all of the information together.

Hope it helps .

 

For maths related fields that you need to study in order to do a test, just remember that there are very very few math problems that can be solved by hand, and therefore tested in an exam.

Look at your text book and eliminate the types of equations and solution methods that require a complicated computer algorithm to solve. For the remaining ones, summarize the type of questions that you can be asked, and the stereotypical solution-method for each.

Typically on an exam 2 types of questions will be given, the first being something that will be very obvious as to what type of problem it is. Since you've now summarized the stereotypical solution methods, you will get through this easily.

The second type is the harder one which will question you in a way that you won't immediately know what category of equations you are solving, in fact, you have to creatively re-write the problem statement into the stereotypical form of one of the category of problems. Being able to see through the mess and arrive at the proper classification of problems comes with experience. To handle this type of questions successfully, do lots and lots of practice problems to the point where it becomes muscle memory.

 

^^ This! So much this! I haven't taken a math course since taking AP Calc BC senior year, but this pretty much sums of my opinion on the topic of studying for math. Like SunSparks said, learning how to approach a problem is definitely an important thing to know. I would recommend looking at the notes for the class and trying to recognize how to identify what signifies what needs to be done for the problem. Just memorizing something like a formula isn't necessarily helpful because it does not really mean you know how to use it. When I studied, I did a few practice problems on material that I was okay with, just to keep the information fresh, but I mostly focused on the material that I knew made no sense to me and that I was not the strongest on.

Random side note: My AP Calc BC teacher was the exact same way! He was by the far the most intelligent teacher in the school, to the point where he would actually get paid by Texas Instrument to find problems with their calculator programs. He kept records of who received 5's on the AP tests out of how many students he had each year and pretty much all his students would always get 5's. Like you said, the AP exams are difficult, so such a feat is pretty amazing. I still have no idea how I pulled off a 5 myself, I was completely expecting like a 2

 

Lol, you probably knew you were going to get a 5... I was so relaxed when taking the test that I felt guilty after taking it... we had to take the test in the same room as the AB students (it was a large auditorium setting) and I was just looking around seeing them hurry to finish... I thought it was funny...

 

I've been having the same problem this past year. I feel like I should study for my tests since, you know, they only count 20-30% of my grade, but when it comes to mathematics based courses (which all of mine basically are), I draw a blank on how to prepare. In my experience, I had to place a little bit of faith in that I got the necessary practice when I did my homework. Practice really is the only way to do well in quantitative courses, so cramming doesn't work all that well, as I've found out by bombing a couple tests (which were dropped, thank God).

That said, find the hardest problems you were assigned and do them. And don't just do them, know how they work. Don't move on until you understand them. Heck, it's not the worst idea in the world to commit them to memory if you are able/have the time to. The hardest problems often involve synthesis of several concepts, so by doing one hard problem, you're practicing several concepts in depth, and seeing how this is a favorite testing technique of most teachers/professors, you're effectively doing a practice test. Whereas if you did easy problems at the beginning of each homework section, you're wasting time going over the obvious.

It's a continual process for me learning how to study for these types of courses. I may be very happy with my grades at the moment, but I'm still trying to improve my techniques so I can go into tests confident.

 

I think this guy is pretty great. But everyone learns differently.
The first video explains a scheduled way of studying, and the second one provides the Feynman method, of which I think everyone should do.

Finish Work Faster by Copying How Olympic Athletes Train - YouTube

Learn Faster with The Feynman Technique - YouTube

 

yay physics to be honest, calc teachers love physics so definitely is good to practice with it. also, its too bad but you should be proud to say that you got it with no help! like what some people have said before - there are only so many problems they can give... eventually, there will be repeats. also, some math professors are more concentrated on theory... which is what seems to be true about my math professor this fall... these are the worst - stay away unless your a math majors... they are the pickiest people and it makes everything more complicated than it needs to be... but what can you do except your very best

 

Best way to retain something is to teach it to someone else. Find someone who is somewhat familiar with the content and explain the key concepts and formulas to them. Explain your notes. Give a mini lesson. You might pair up with a classmate or form a study group. If you can articulate the ideas to others you are ready.

Also practice practice practice.