how did you study in school

[xbox]

what were your study habits? what worked best for you?

 

[Nebulous]

The most successful study technique I've used is the mind palace. (a.k.a. memory palace or method of loci)
I've only used it a few times, but it saved my butt each of those times.
I can still recall things I put in my mind palace for a test that was over a year ago, despite attempts at 'deleting' that info.

 

[Happy]

I wish I'd known about the method of loci when I was studying. Now I have absolutely zero use for it. I don't need to remember things anymore.

 

[Absurdity]

Like this.

(Also, why is my thread in the Science and Technology Archive? I definitely created it in School and Work back in the day.)

 

[Intolerable]

Organization is key. Method of loci is simply one such method of organizing abstract information into a non-abstract marker like location or event.

The basis of organization is allocating memories in a way that makes sense for you. Deferring knowledge to paper is a handy trick as well. Knowing what needs to remain in the mind and what can be deferred to paper helps.

For example public speakers use paper to defer broad statements which reminds them of the context stored in their head. The reason this works is that the broader picture is harder to retain in a stressful environment whereas the individual details aren't. This is because of our memory. It is very good at remembering unique bytes of information but not very good at remembering big picture information. Therefore, big picture memory is ideal for deferring to paper.

In Art history class ( probably the worst class for studying and memorization - many locations, dates and author names matter in quiz! ) I used a system of dates to associate details in a picture. Knowing for example when a particular style was introduced helps enormously when looking at a piece of Art. Then mood. In a historical era moods really told who did what. Using those two methods together of recalling names and dates really helped.

 

[xbox]

the few times where i succeeded in studying were:

-the test style was predictable. i studied the bare minimum to pass with an A
-repetition and writing helped
-tons of practice problems

as for organization, i suck bad

 

[Tannhauser]

I think organization is bad. It 1) is not sustainable and 2) has no purpose in certain endeavors.

I guess it depends on the subject. If you study law, then sure, you have to be tidy. If you study mathematics, like I did, organization is just a waste of time and energy, because the subject is exclusively about deep thinking.

 

[Happy]

Yeah it's not about organisation. It's about finding interest in the topic. Organisation is helpful, but don't we all just love the adrenaline kick from starting to study the day of the exam?

 

[WALKYRIA]

I never studied in high school( BUt I suffered probably from ADD, some sort of depression, and pathological daydreaming, pathological boredom...Etc).
Sounds stereotypical, but I nevr did that shit...
I began to study very late in life, but still I did it wrong.
Matter of fact, there seem to be an optimal way to study(in order to maximize the tests), but I still didn't find it.
Good luck to you.
Otherwise my preferred learning style tend to be holistic(in place of sequential), visuo-spatial, immersion and independent... All these styles rarely work in school of course.

 

[Silent Sage]

I only studied for vocab and map quizzes and the like when needed.
It helps to repeat the word/phrase aloud and if you can work out a pattern between then you won't get thrown off when they change the numbers on ya, but you'll be jumping around on the page. I have never tried any of the fancier methods but I've always been able to cram easily.

 

[Sloan]

As someone currently in school, I must admit that I study very rarely.
When I do, I often rely heavily upon interactive "study-games", which must combine stimulation, learning, and—preferably—some sense of competition in order for me to stay focused.

The exception tends to be when I'm personally interested in a subject, which is generally when I end up writing a quick essay for myself so that I'm able to better formulate my thoughts.

Otherwise, I tend to make connections quickly and haven't found much use for studying.
Flashcards and other "traditional" study methods have never worked for me, and I've never tried any of the fancier methods.

 

[QuickTwist]

Even when I was in higher education, I learned mostly just by doing my assignments. I just made sure to do them as best I could and ended up getting A's mostly. High school was another story. I was the kid who never did homework (at home) and still managed decent grades. Reason for this was that I would stay after school (when I wasn't in wrestling practice or meets) to do homework and would also do homework during lunch/breaks. As for algebra, I was almost always doing the assignment due that day while the teacher lectured about the new material - its a miracle I managed to pass the class let alone pass with an A. My grades tapered off senior year, getting a lot of Ds, just enough to pass.

 

[kora]

I didn't I pretended to be ill all the time so I could sit at home and read.

 

[deathvirtuoso]

Well, I didn't. I mostly bullshitted my way thru & used some common sense. I liked to play dumb when I felt like it. I didn't study at all, and ended up dropping out. Meh, I'll probably take the national exams privately next year. Don't learn from me, lmao.

 

[xbox]

one time i pressed my face against the dryer and then i ran to my mom and told her i had a fever

 

[Schattenwandler]

I don't. At least not the traditional way. I'm in 10th grade now and usually just make notes/write the notes the teacher is writing while they explain the material (multitasking). On the night before an exam I just read my notes (don't memorize,understand the concepts). The funny thing is that I helped 11th graders with their html5 homework last week (which I just learned because I was bored last year). So even though it had nothing to do with school,I now enjoy the fruits of my downtime (INTP ftw!)

 

[Black Rose]

I tried to understand the concepts in the books. I calculated that there we 9 trillion kilometers in a light year in 6th grade. I understood what a wormhole was in 5th grade. I knew atoms existed at 8 years old and that motion capture film existed and what an artificial womb was. The robots on my spaceship would raise the children once they got close enough to the planet to begin insemination.

I was mostly interested in science. I scored 95 on science. At the time I was 12 I tests 125 on IQ. Later other tests gave lower scores. There is no reason to study unless there is applicability. In stories, the consequences happen from earlier conditions. Rules help you keep variables in mind to find out numbers in the answer.
(x + y = 4, y - 1 = 2, what is x?)

The only way I study is to understand how it works. If I am too stupid to understand how it works I cry, I give up, trying it again 2 days later, cry then try one-month latter well doing other stuff in-between. I never learned photoshop or flash animation because I am not an artist, I am not visual. My ideas are too random to be useful in any school subject. Creative people have to hardest time making money from their creativity Jordan Peterson says studies find. And I am an ENFP.

one more thing
I would have gotten better grades if it were not so damn cold.

 

[Adamastor]

I didn't and I guess I would be pretty happy if I did.
When I think about why, it was because:

(1) I did not have a suitable environment for studying (I discovered this when I started living alone and made one)
(2) I felt more challenged playing online games
(3) Didn't have clear goals or a mentor or a target or something like that.

By no means I was bad at academics (at least not before university), so I had no trouble delivering all assignments, or doing university entrance exams. I did not skip classes, did assignments and so I guess I built a somewhat solid knowledge basis.

About (2) only later (as a highschool sophomore) I discovered how interesting were national math Competitions or any type of academic competition (I love competitions) and how different was doing good at these and doing good at school.

And about (3) while I had the wish to do good at these competitions, I didn't know where to begin, I didn't have any friends with a similar goal, nor a teacher to offer guidance. What I found later was that I did not look into the right places haha.

___

So, wanna level up your academics abilities?

(1) Set a goal and then define priorities about what study first.
(2) Create a routine, you need discipline (That's the hardest step and I was never successful at that)

Or in other words: Do not waste your time with pointless effort. Be efficient and smart in what you want to do, for that you gotta learn your limits and act accordingly.

 

[Ex-User (14663)]

School destroyed any modicum of self-discipline I was born with by being way too easy. Now I just rely on obsession.

 

[sushi]

if there is too many things to do, do the first 2 and ignore the rest.

 

[elliptoid]

Very badly. Skipped too many classes, drank too much alcohol. Chased the pussy around with the usual fervor and typical lack of success. Bought books and didn't read them.

I would not recommend formal academic education to 99% of individuals under age 20.

 

[Polaris]

1) I had no structure or good habits...I actually don’t remember studying. Or maybe I suppressed it. I daydreamed a lot. think I just picked up the essential during class and filled in the blanks during tests with stuff I thought sounded relevant, and...

2) it seemed to work....which is a cause for concern

That is the problem with school curricula that attempt to pass students at all levels of learning ability. I was bored shitless. I eventually ended up in a class for better performing students but hated it because the other students seemed to think they were special and I just felt like an idiot for being singled out for yet another thing that I did not deserve. I just could not understand how someone could be proud over something as trivial as having good marks. I remember very little from that time other than a giant poster of Samantha Fox on the wall above the teacher’s desk, and the maths teacher bragging about how he’d "scored" with his wife the night before. Ugh. How I came to hate maths.

In short, "school" was just a fucking joke, and it taught me a bunch of nasty little habits, and something about nasty little people.

 

[Ex-User (14663)]

the maths teacher bragging about how he’d "scored" with his wife the night before.

What a legend