Studying for STEM

Being in class and alert is the key to being able to concentrate and focus on the important information being given by teachers. It is very easy to lose track of what is going on in class when you: are falling asleep, are fighting boredom, let your mind drift to other topics during class, pay attention to your phone during class, or get caught up in an off-topic conversation with classmates.

I prefer T-system note-taking system because this method makes me organize my notes in a structured form, helping me save a lot of time for further reviewing and editing. However, I always use the outline method, which is the most intuitive and simplest.

The most important note-taking tips outlined are; watch what your instructor does and write it down, write keywords your instructor says and write why those words might be important, including what your instructor draws and label the drawings in your notes, and listen to the tone of your instructor’s voice for emphasis. This often indicates the big, key concepts. Circle/underline any emphasized information. Keep yourself organized by using a 3-ring binder. This way you can swap out or insert pages. You can use a separate binder for each class to stay really organized. Make a section in your binder for class notes, returned papers, quizzes, lab materials, handouts, etc. This way, all your course information will be readily available whenever you need it.

Pre-reading is important because it makes you feel confident with the class material, and it makes you get ready for new material.

A helpful terminology tip is to highlight words in your notes by circling them, underlining them, writing them darkly, writing them in a different color, writing them sideways, putting them in the margin, using all capital letters, use a highlighter.

I can self-test using my own notes or the headings in my textbook chapters to create a list of major topics. I will go through my list item by item and try to write down what I know about each. The descriptions should include terms and general information, as well as both written and drawn descriptions. Also, by solving problem sets, sample quizzes, and tests.

Notes can be created at home like a study guide, finding textbook websites, alternative websites, flashcards, instructor PowerPoint files, recommended books, CDs/DVDs, and audio recordings of the class.

Studying with others is active—when students study together, they don’t just sit and read together in silence. Another reason is that students end up talking out loud when they study together. If a student has to explain a concept to another student, they will speak it aloud (usually in their own words).

Test-taking strategies I found helpful are joining a study group, explaining concepts to others, quizzing your peers, using flashcards, practicing writing essays, and testing yourself.

A test-taking tip that surprised me was joining a study group because when I was in high school, I was not good at philosophy, and for the final, I decided to study in a group, and one afternoon I learned the whole semester class, so I took the test the next morning, and I felt so happy because it was the first time I could answer the whole test, knowing all the answers of each question. So, it still surprised me how studying in a group can teach you more.