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Pat P. · 11-30-2006, 07:45 PM

Sorry to hear that. But you have to remember, it's just a test.

I had my share of tests in the past (I am on the final stages of my doctorate), so I can give some tips that had served me well:

1) Separate each study session in small pieces, with their own goals. Instead of trying to swalow half a book in one day, set a goal based in sections of chapters. Usually, these are about ten pages that you can study in half hour. Then you stop, maybe stretch your back, and continue with the next section.

As you progress and get more confidence, you may increase the lenght of each session, but remember that if you are starting to fell overwhelmed by the task, reduce the size of it.

2) Write a 2 to 3 pages summary of the material you are studying. The idea is that you do it on your own words, and only on the key ideas. If you are studying from a textbook, use the table of contents as a reference to organize your summary. Start with the material you are working now and work your way backwards time permiting (do not start in chapter 1 if you are currently on chapter 10).

You may also consider doing a mind map of the material. This is more relational than a book (which is usually presented in a linear manner), so it can help you discover relations inside the topics you are studying.

3) Solve some problems for your Calculus and Statistics courses. By this I mean, pick some simple problems you already have solutions (examples done in class) and solve them by yourself. Then, pick harder ones and solve them also. As you go, your confindence with the subjects will increase. Math is a subject that you learn by doing rather than just reading.

4) If you own a tape recorder, or better, an mp3 player that has a build-in recorder, try making some "tapes" based on your summaries (or the ones included at the end of the chapters of the textbooks you are studying). Later, you can listen to them while doing other activities, like doing exercise, walking around the campus, preparing some food, etc..

A nice by-product of this process is that you will start a small library of the material you have studied, and that you can use in the future to refresh the material in very little time.

Pat.

11-30-2006, 07:45 PM	#12 (permalink)
Pat P. Member Join Date: Nov 2006 Location: Indiana, USA Posts: 45	Some ideas to make more of your study Sorry to hear that. But you have to remember, it's just a test. I had my share of tests in the past (I am on the final stages of my doctorate), so I can give some tips that had served me well: 1) Separate each study session in small pieces, with their own goals. Instead of trying to swalow half a book in one day, set a goal based in sections of chapters. Usually, these are about ten pages that you can study in half hour. Then you stop, maybe stretch your back, and continue with the next section. As you progress and get more confidence, you may increase the lenght of each session, but remember that if you are starting to fell overwhelmed by the task, reduce the size of it. 2) Write a 2 to 3 pages summary of the material you are studying. The idea is that you do it on your own words, and only on the key ideas. If you are studying from a textbook, use the table of contents as a reference to organize your summary. Start with the material you are working now and work your way backwards time permiting (do not start in chapter 1 if you are currently on chapter 10). You may also consider doing a mind map of the material. This is more relational than a book (which is usually presented in a linear manner), so it can help you discover relations inside the topics you are studying. 3) Solve some problems for your Calculus and Statistics courses. By this I mean, pick some simple problems you already have solutions (examples done in class) and solve them by yourself. Then, pick harder ones and solve them also. As you go, your confindence with the subjects will increase. Math is a subject that you learn by doing rather than just reading. 4) If you own a tape recorder, or better, an mp3 player that has a build-in recorder, try making some "tapes" based on your summaries (or the ones included at the end of the chapters of the textbooks you are studying). Later, you can listen to them while doing other activities, like doing exercise, walking around the campus, preparing some food, etc.. A nice by-product of this process is that you will start a small library of the material you have studied, and that you can use in the future to refresh the material in very little time. Pat.