Alana & Neona - All Things Possible

Note Taking

Take notes to Understand, not to Memorize!

If you transcribe your notes as if you are trying to memorize them, it will be slow. It will take lots of time. If you transcribe your notes to understand them -- as in presentation form -- you will begin to memorize naturally. Transcribe as you go along. Don't try to transcribe from memory. Let your notes capture all of the important points, and make sure that you throw some diagrams in there.

How To Be An Honor Student

You need to learn how to review quickly and efficiently.
You need to strive to see the material at least 4 times with an average of 6 times for a lecture being ideal.
And you need to seek help on anything that you don't understand. That's the key to it all.

Lessons from a Top Student

I want to talk about the top student in our class. He scored close to 100% in both Anatomy and Biochemistry. His methods were almost perfect when it came to studying.

Within time, other students realized that he really knew what he was doing. Soon, they began to follow him. When he changed study places, they changed to where he was studying. While he was studying, they sat next to him. They followed him like chickens attached to a rooster. You'll notice that humans exhibit a remarkable herd instinct. Medical school is no different. When the true alpha-student emerges, many students will follow that student in an amazingly subservient way.

What made him the top student in the class and how did he became that way? Here is what he did.

Preview: He read the chapter before every lecture or unit, taking notes and diagramming things.
Lecture: He then went to lecture making sure to take perfect notes.
Study Session: Afterward, he reviewed the lecture for that night. Within the next two days, he would go see the professor about anything that he was unclear on. He would see the professors at least 3 times a week in both Anatomy and Biochemistry. Also, he made his own notes being careful to draw out and diagram everything. He also wrote down any questions that he had on a separate sheet of paper. He would then go into the professor's office with those questions.
Review1: He always reviewed what he covered the previous day.
Review2: He always reviewed what he covered for the week on that weekend..
Review 3: He always did a master review on the day before the test.

Overall, he made sure that he seen the material at least 4 or 5 times before the test. Some material he seen 7 or 8 times.

The method worked amazingly. He was the top student in the class overall for the first semester. The students who attempted to sponge off him never tried to figure out what he was doing. They simply thought that by staying around him they would become a top student also.

The difference between an honor's student and a high passing student is (1) Understanding the material and (2) Seeing it over and over again

http://www.valuemd.com/medical-university-americas-mua-nevis/41542-study-methods.html

Getting Psyched...

After every study session, tell yourself you are going to pass this exam. Likewise, offer yourself rewards for studying. Give yourself something to look forward to after studying and after the exam, so you can feel as if you have accomplished something. Often the time you spend doing this is just as important as the studying itself. Here are a few tips to help keep your energy level high during test preparation:

Schedule your study sessions before pleasant times of the day, like mealtimes or a favorite activity or television program.
Have a set time schedule for studying so that you can tell yourself, "just one more hour," and there seems to be an end to the studying sessions.
Study during times of high energy. If you are a morning person, study early. If you are an evening person, study in the evening. This works well, as you can reward yourself with going out afterwards.
When studying, have a snack on hand. Keeping your blood sugar high can help you stay alert and concentrate.
Plan something special after your exam. Whether you pass or fail, the ordeal of the preparation and experience of the exam is worth a break. Make it a special occasion with friends. Make sure you give yourself a higher reward for actually finishing the exam than you did for studying.
Don't worry about the outcome of the exam after you take it, there's nothing you can do about it now. If you did the best you could, you have nothing to worry about!

Dos and Don'ts of Dealing with Test Anxiety

Don't cram for an exam. The amount you learn won't be worth the stress.
Don't think of yourself or the test in a negative sense.
Don't stay up late studying the night before. You need the sleep. Begin studying a week in advance if possible.
Don't spend time with classmates who generate stress for you on test day.
Don't take those last few moments before the test for last minute cramming. Try to relax and spend that time reading the newspaper or some other distraction.
Do remind yourself that the test is only a test.
Do focus on integrating details into main ideas.
Do reward yourself after the test with food or a movie or some other treat.
Do something relaxing the last hour before the test.
Do tell yourself that you will do your best on the test, and that will be enough!

Mnemonic devices to improve memory

Mnemonics (the initial “m” is silent) are clues of any kind that help us remember something, usually by causing us to associate the information we want to remember with a visual image, a sentence, or a word.

Common types of mnemonic devices include:

Visual images - a microphone to remember the name “Mike,” a rose for “Rosie.” Use positive, pleasant images, because the brain often blocks out unpleasant ones, and make them vivid, colorful, and three-dimensional — they’ll be easier to remember.
Sentences in which the first letter of each word is part of or represents the initial of what you want to remember. Millions of musicians, for example, first memorized the lines of the treble staff with the sentence “Every good boy does fine” (or “deserves favor”), representing the notes E, G, B, D, and F. Medical students often learn groups of nerves, bones, and other anatomical features using nonsense sentences.
Acronyms, which are initials that creates pronounceable words. The spaces between the lines on the treble staff, for example, are F, A, C, and E: FACE.
Rhymes and alliteration: remember learning “30 days hath September, April, June, and November”? A hefty guy named Robert can be remembered as “Big Bob” and a smiley co-worker as “Perky Pat” (though it might be best to keep such names to yourself).
Jokes or even off-color associations using facts, figures, and names you need to recall, because funny or peculiar things are easier to remember than mundane images.
“Chunking” information; that is, arranging a long list in smaller units or categories that are easier to remember. If you can reel off your Social Security number without looking at it, that’s probably because it’s arranged in groups of 3, 2, and 4 digits, not a string of 9.
“Method of loci”: This is an ancient and effective way of remembering a lot of material, such as a speech. You associate each part of what you have to remember with a landmark in a route you know well, such as your commute to work.