The teacher begins passing out the tests, and an anxious feeling begins to form… “Did I study enough for this? “How could I have studied more?” “If I had only looked over my notes one more time…” The pencil laying in your hand begins shake as the nervousness turns to you fidgeting. You write your name at the top of the paper, followed by the period number as you scan the questions laying on the test.
For most, studying is not easy. Everyone does it differently and has different results from the effort and attention they studied with. For some, little to no studying will help them achieve the grade desired, while others will spend hours leading up to the tests/exams. Other students will cram the night before or just wing it. There are numerous ways that allow studying to become more beneficial. Although, they do take time to learn.
Many students today do not know how to study and/or where to begin, as the ways they were once taught are not as applicable. “A lot of kids learn some type of study behavior when you’re in middle school” Mrs. Bush said in her podcast. “Come home, get a snack, do your homework.” Although, once a student hits high school, tests and quizzes come more frequent, and not just the homework scores make up the grade, resulting in studying becoming inevitable.
Luckily, Mrs. Bush has resources like her “Studying: Do we know how to do it???” podcast from Find Your Future with Mrs. Bush on Spotify, and her study newsletter every other month, that helps students learn about ways to study.
There are some basics when it comes to studying that many people underestimate. “How many days before the test, do you start studying?” Is a frequently asked question Mrs. Bush said. “It is important to give yourself 2 weeks in advance to study for quizzes and test.” Some might ask, “How do you start studying 2 weeks in advance?” Mrs. Bush highlights that it comes down to consistency. “Take 15-20 minutes a day to review your notes.” Mrs. Bush said. This allows for the information to sink in, so when that test comes around there is a higher chance that the information will be recalled as someone answers the questions.
When taking notes, it is important to understand that there are 5 different ways. All of which are helpful…
- The Cornell – key ideas
- The mapping – connecting ideas
- The charting – reviewing facts
- The outlining – creates review
- The sentence – bullet points
Which one is best for you though? Looking through Mrs. Bush’s monthly newsletter will allow you to go a little more in-depth into each method and help you find out which could work best for you.
Study Newsletter #1: https://secure.smore.com/n/p5wdn
Mrs. Bush’s podcast: https://open.spotify.com/show/2dRYc8Bv1arMNwBxor7M32?si=rzY0lFItSG2x5p7h4Ld5Xg
