Active Studying

Active Studying

FUN-damentals

Active studying strategies. Each row pairs an initial learning activity with the matching review and self-test activity.

Initial Learning	Review & Self-Test
Attend class and take notes on material covered.	Revisit your notes after class and recite concepts each week. Teach the concept to someone else (in a study group, or 1-on-1) or practice reciting aloud.
Read the textbook and take notes of main ideas while reading (use any note-taking style).	Practice summarizing concepts aloud or in writing. Describe connections between the main ideas, names, dates, vocabulary, and other concepts and ideas.
Identify steps needed to solve problems in the textbook.	Work through practice problems without looking at the answer or process.
Focus some attention on the pictures, graphs, and graphics in your textbook or notes.	Redraw information from memory, or practice explaining the concept they illustrate.
Make up test questions from texts, class notes, and other sources. What would you put on the exam if you were the instructor?	Answer questions, verify answers, and relearn information if you answer incorrectly. Did you get it right? Would you get full credit?
Create a concept map or comparison chart to map out ideas, information, and concepts.	Practice talking through concepts and their relationships to one another without looking.
Fill out existing study guides or create your own study guide.	Quiz yourself on study guide information (out loud or in your head).
Make up a practice exam based on sample problems and ideas from across all course materials and chapters.	Take the practice exam in test-like conditions, analyze your results & refocus on material you missed.
Make flashcards for key concepts, names, formulas, dates etc.	Practice your flashcards until you know the information in both directions (given side A, you can recite side B, and vice versa).

Each Week

• Find connections between your textbook and the lecture/class discussion. What concepts overlap, connect, or seem most emphasized?
• Spend most of your time with the new material from that week, but also spend a bit of time revisiting prior week’s problems, concepts, or topics. Regularly revisiting these will help you establish and retain them in your long term memory.
• Mix up ideas and concepts from different chapters when you review. This approach will more closely simulate a test scenario than if you review concepts in clumps.

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