Upcoming tests? We can help!
This page is full of advice from current and former students on proper studying, study hacks, easing your nerves, and more!
Study Methods!
Not sure where to start? Do you find that "studying doesn't work" for you? Let us help you!
Lets start with general study methods:
Lets start with general study methods:
- Flash cards (these are great for definitions, short answer questions, and memorizing facts.)
- Sticky notes (using sticky notes in your reading can help you organize thoughts, and keep little notes to yourself!)
- Highlighting (a classic, just don't over highlight! Only highlight the really important things like names, numbers, details)
- Rewriting notes (by rewriting your notes, you are still absorbing the information! Pro tip: write in blue pen, the brain remembers blue ink better!)
- Going over old tests (this is always a great way to see where you made mistakes so you can learn form them! These are great for exam preparation)
- Doing practice questions (by doing practice questions, you are applying the skills you have learned over and over again! This will help you in the long run)
- Read notes out loud (the University of Waterloo found that you are more likely to remember the information if you read it out loud, or listen to someone or yourself read the information!)
- Record yourself reading notes and listen to them (this way you can listen to them in the car, walking, or whatever you're doing)
- Mind maps (for the visual learners, mind maps are a great way to break down the information by section. You can make it as complex, colourful, or simplistic as you'd like! Poser boards work great for full subject mind maps!)
Study Tips!
We've broken down some study methods for you, now lets get to the good stuff... the tips and tricks we have picked up along the way.
- Write in blue pen (and use different shades of blue for that matter), the brain remembers it better!
- Shut down your phone while you study!
- Use mind maps to connect all of the concepts!
- Take small breaks in between! Split up your studying time by 20 minute blocks with a five minute break between each, but do not use your phone on these breaks. Taking a walk outside helps you absorb he information better!
- Don't stay up all night, it is not possible to learn an entire subject or unit in one night.
- Chew a kind of gum you don't usually chew while studying. Chew this same flavour of gum when you're taking the test/exam. This can help you to jog your memory!
- Try studying in a new environment like a library or cafe!
- Don't study what you know, study what you don't know.
- Hand write your notes rather than typing them.
- Quiz yourself and write down the questions you got wrong. Then you have a list of things you don't fully understand. You can devote more time to these concepts.
Nervous? We've all been there!
Getting a little nervous, stressed, or even anxious about an upcoming evaluation or final exam is completely normal! We can't avoid these situations in life, but we can learn how to cope with these feelings to make the situation a little easier. Good news, we have some "expert" advice on how to reduce these nerves!
- Ask for help from your teachers, parents, and friends! If you are worried because you feel you don't understand the material the best thing to do is ask someone who understands the content.
- Be prepared! This one is pretty obvious yet it must be said. Being prepared is the BEST way to reduce the nerves. Be confident in the material AND your ability.
- Speaking of confidence... have you heard of power poses? Stay with us here. Amy Cuddy composed a study through Harvard University on the way our own body language impacts our minds. In other words, by holding a powerful stance, we can make ourselves feel more powerful. Don't believe us? See for yourself.
- When approaching the test/exam/evaluation, expect the best. It's easy to think of the "what ifs" but this will only bring you down.
- In other words, block these bad thoughts. You are going to do the best you can and that is good enough.
- Be forgiving of mistakes. Nobody is perfect, and mistakes are proof that you are learning!
- Breathe!!!
- Check out our coping strategies page under "give and get help". Find what works for you.