3 Effective Studying Techniques for Students

Are you a student finding it hard to focus on your studies while the sword of domiciles is hanging over your head in the form of exams and tests? 

Well, we are here to help. In this article, you will learn about some of the incredible tips to study most effectively. 

But before we dive into the tips, it is important to understand why learning is difficult. Is your course too complicated to understand? Are you easily distracted by other things? Or is it the pressure you have built in your mind around studies?

Here is the thing. Learning has to be a fun process. If you can’t indulge yourself in anything you are learning, it tees you off. Also, learning something requires practice and repetition. If you expect that you will waste your time the whole year and sit the night before the exam to learn everything in a go, then it not going to happen anyway. Therefore, you have to figure out a way to make yourself habitual and make it a smooth journey for yourself. 

Plan Your Studies

You must plan for your learning before the academic year starts because when you identify your goals and set deadlines, you can motivate yourself to achieve them. Plus, these deadlines push you to get going without getting distracted. According to a report in the journal CBE, students who spent more time studying as well as planning had higher scores than others. 

There is no stringent studying technique but there are many you can choose from- which better fits your learning style. However, you must ensure that the learning style you choose should be an active studying method and go beyond passive approaches of listening and reading. For example, most students today leverage technology to optimize their learning process. 

For example, they use educational applications and software that offer a gamified learning approach to studies. There are daily quizzes and drills to complete to keep tapping their memory. If you are one of the students who is into games and quizzes should consider using the applications. However, to run these applications, you need the internet. For all your educational endeavors, we would recommend Optimum. It offers the best internet deals at cost-effective rates, and the nationwide hotspot availability ensures your connectivity at all times. Spanish customers may browse through the website to find Optimum ofertas de internet

Here are some of the incredible learning methods you can choose from: 

  1. SQER Method

SQ3R stands for Survey, Question, Read, Recite, and Review, which are the five steps that will help you learn more efficiently.  This is a reading comprehension technique that is very useful for remembering facts and figures. 

The first step is a survey in which you will start skimming the chapters one by one. During this process, you will take notes and highlight important facts and information. 

The next step is Questioning. In this step, you will create questions of your own around the content of the chapters. The questions can be broad like what did you learn from the chapter, or specific about information that you came across. 

Then, it is time to read. This has to be a session where you go through chapters with sheer focus. When reading the chapter, find answers to the questions you just formulated. 

The second R in the SQ3R method refers to Recite in which you have to summarize all that you studied in your own words. Here, you will recall the important point and answer the questions. 

Lastly, it is time to review the learning material and understand it completely. You may test yourself and re-read the sections if you don’t fully remember important facts. 

  1. Leitner System

The next approach to learning is the Leitner System which is based on a concept called spaced repetition. By using this approach, students can remember complex and difficult-to-remember concepts instead of wasting time on repeating information they already know. In this approach, you can make flashcards of the information and allocate three boxes. One box is for daily review, the next box is for every-other-day review, and the third one is for weekly review. Initially, you will keep all the information you need to remember in the first box for daily review. The information you get a grasp on will move to the second box, and then the third one respectively. In this way, reviewing them in specific intervals can help you focus on learning and remembering all the information.  

  1. PQ4R Method

PQ4R stands for Preview, Question, Read, Reflect, Recite, and Review, which is a memorization technique. 

The first step in this method is Preview in which you will have to get an idea of the content you are reading. You may go through headings and subheadings. Like SQ3R, the next step involves formulating questions. These questions could be regarding your understanding of the subject, like what you already know about the topic.

The next step is reading whereby you read one section at a time and find answers to the questions.  Then, you will reflect on your learning and whether you have gotten all the information or not. If not, you will go back and re-read the section. In the second last step, you will summarize the information. You may speak it out or write on a paper. Lastly, you will go over the subject once again and answer the questions that have not been answered yet. 

Concluding Remarks

All the students having difficulty remembering important information can use any of the three methods mentioned above and ace their exams!