Active Study

Rewrite study guide

Give yourself main headings and fill in the details

Give to a friend and have them quiz you

Recreate study guide from memory

Cut it up and lay it out in a new order to answer from memory

Redraw concept maps

Give yourself the structure (empty nodes) and fill in words / Give yourself words and recreate the structure

Explain why each node is connected

Redraw from memory

Cut up into pieces, mix up, and arrange in correct order, explaining as you go

Read aloud the front and back

Test yourself out loud “what is on the back of the card?”

Sort cards by which need more practice

Create a concept map/timeline/matrix from cards

Grab two cards and find a connection between them

Sort cards by categories (after answering the back out loud), then explain connections between all

52 card pick up – literally throw them in the air, then gather them as they landed, regardless of front of back up, then answer whichever way was face up

Have a friend quiz you on the cards

Answer questions

Rewrite answers

Recite answers from memory

Identify how questions could be combined and adjusted

Rewrite summaries

Condense summaries into smaller and smaller paragraphs

Explain the summaries to a friend

Identify how chapters are connected

Identify how a specific topic connects from chapter to chapter (pull the thread)

Rewrite summaries

Condense summaries into smaller and smaller paragraphs

Explain the summaries to a friend

Identify how topics are connected

Work problems with assistance from notes/textbook

Work problems without assistance

Identify challenging problems and refer to notes/textbook, use T-notes if needed

Identify how problems could be combined and rework

Work problems in a different direction (solve for something else)

Explain why you perform each step in the solution

Connect theory to practice by explaining theory/concept related to problems as you work them

How? Why? What If? questioning

Recite/rewrite the steps

Give yourself the steps out of order and put them in the correct order

List steps from memory

Explain why each step can’t be in a different place

How? Why? What If? questioning

Rewrite matrix

Give yourself a half-completed matrix and fill in the empty boxes

Recreate blank matrix from memory

Identify unique or different values in each column

Identify similar values across rows

Create “flashcards” for each answer box, mix them up, then place them in the correct spot based on the order they are in your hand

Rewrite outline

Give yourself headings and fill in details

Recreate outline from memory

Give to a friend and have them quiz you, explaining topics as you go

Add any extra information needed from other sources, text, charts, diagrams

Create outlines or summaries of notes, condensing as you go

Identify topics in notes that overlap with previous notes

Explain notes to a friend

Rewrite timeline

Give yourself the values and put them in order

Recreate timeline from memory

Explain what happens between each value (that leads to the next value)

Hopscotch – pick a starting place, then have someone tell you to go X events forward or backwards and then explain the event from memory (repeat multiple times)

Rewrite flow chart/hierarchy

Give yourself the structure and fill in the values

Recreate the flow chart/hierarchy from memory

Explain to a friend

Explain why each value is in the list

Identify values that could be argued from a different perspective

Write an argument for each side

Explain to a friend

Determine themes from class and find several examples of each

Practice writing about each theme from memory with at least 3 bullet points per theme (mini-outline)

Create several practice prompts and under timed conditions try to answer them using your practiced mini-outlines

Redraw map/diagram

Give yourself the structure and label the parts

Recreate map/diagram from memory

Explain each area/part/step 

Rewrite the answers

Answer questions without assistance

Identify questions that could be combined or adjusted and answer again

Explain answers to a friend