How do you study?

Question

how often do you take breaks?
what techniques do you use?
how long do you study before a test/exam?

Answer 1

Everyone learns in different ways, but here's what really helped me: Usually my teachers would give me some questions to answer on the study guide, or just some facts that we needed to know. I would write these questions down or make up my own (I would try to get in the teacher's head and think about what I would put on the test if I was the teacher), and write out lengthy answers. I would do this over and over until it became second nature to me, and by the time of the test I knew all the material, whether it was multiple choice, fill in the blank, or essay!

I did this because I found that making flashcards and saying the answers out loud wasn't working. I'm one of those people who have to write it down to remember it.

Answer 2

how often do you take breaks? Once every hour or two

what techniques do you use? Understanding what I am studying and memorization

how long do you study before a test/exam? As long as I need to feel I can get a 4.0, usually 4-5 hours

Answer 3

Breaks: every 30 - 45 minutes

Techniques: Here is a cut and past of a technique I have used since High-School. Now, I teach this to my middle school students.

SQ3R is a useful technique for fully absorbing written information. It helps you to create a good mental framework of a subject, into which you can fit facts correctly. It helps you to set study goals. It also prompts you to use the review techniques that will help to fix information in your mind.
By using SQ3R to actively read a document, you can get the maximum benefit from your reading time.

The acronym SQ3R stands for the five sequential techniques you should use to read a book:

Survey:
Survey the document: scan the contents, introduction, chapter introductions and chapter summaries to pick up a shallow overview of the text. Form an opinion of whether it will be of any help. If it does not give you the information you want, discard it.

Question:
Make a note of any questions on the subject that come to mind, or particularly interest you following your survey. Perhaps scan the document again to see if any stand out. These questions can be considered almost as study goals - understanding the answers can help you to structure the information in your own mind.

Read:
Now read the document. Read through useful sections in detail, taking care to understand all the points that are relevant. In the case of some texts this reading may be very slow. This will particularly be the case if there is a lot of dense and complicated information. While you are reading, it can help to take notes in Concept Map format.

Recall:
Once you have read appropriate sections of the document, run through it in your mind several times. Isolate the core facts or the essential processes behind the subject, and then see how other information fits around them.

Review:
Once you have run through the exercise of recalling the information, you can move on to the stage of reviewing it. This review can be by rereading the document, by expanding your notes, or by discussing the material with colleagues. A particularly effective method of reviewing information is to have to teach it to someone else!
Key points:

SQ3R is a useful technique for extracting the maximum amount of benefit from your reading time. It helps you to organize the structure of a subject in your mind. It also helps you to set study goals and to separate important information from irrelevant data.

How Long before test do I study: I encourage my students to do some sort of review for 15 minutes every night. Then begin an activety :Study-review" up to 1 week before a major test.

Answer 4

I usually start studying for a test or an exam two weeks before the exam. I usually take breaks every half hour. The first half hour of studying is usally the most crucial. I usually read the material first, I read the material at least twice. Then I make flash cards with short memos that help me learn the material. I do this throguhout the two weeks, I try not to study the day before the exam or on the exam day itself.