Life as a student can sometimes be a full-time juggling act between endless classes, extracurricular activities, and maintaining a healthy dose of your social life. Especially after a long day at school, the thought of studying or revising might seem pretty exhausting.
Aside from deliberately memorising formulas and concepts, how can you add value to the time spent while studying? Here are six ways for you to not just study hard, but study smart!
Know your working style
You are unique, and you know yourself best. There’s no one-size-fits-all method when it comes to studying. It’s essential to get in tune with your mind to understand what works best for you. Before you do so, here are the three primary learning styles: visual, auditory and tactile. Depending on you, some people might learn best with more than one style, whereas others learn best by sticking with one.
When you’re more well-versed with the way you study, you’re able to understand your own needs better and enhance your learning experience!
Know your weaknesses
If you’re struggling to comprehend a particular Physics concept or formula fully, don’t fret! See if you can find any way to apply that specific concept or formula in a real-life setting. Another method is by compiling different questions of that topic for you to practise.
If all of the above still does not help, then don’t hesitate to look out for Physics tuition to enrol yourself in. With tuition, you’ll have the luxury of directly engaging with your tutor without having to split his or her attention with your classmates!
Make revising a habit
The last thing you want to do is to leave your revisions to the last minute. Cramming everything not only overwhelms you but leaves you feeling insecure about the outcomes of your paper. Make no excuses! You might still be in the early stages of the term, but there’s always an examination or test that you’ll eventually have to prepare for.
Revisions are the most effective way to test if you fully grasp the material of what you’re learning. Incorporating revisions in your daily routine is an essential step to make the most out of your time spent in school and tuition.
Discipline yourself
Instead of merely working on Physics problems during your JC physics tuition sessions, the best way to make full use of your time is by clarifying the issues you face while working on your Physics questions. Set aside some time to work on your Physics assessments other than your homework so you’d expose yourself to a broader range of questions.
If you encounter any problems in your assessments that you can’t find the solutions to, then you can run it through your tutor.
Normalise self-directed learning
Normalise self-directed learning
When you’re self-studying, you’re training your mind to be more alert and conditioning it to tackle any complex Physics questions. Self-directed learning creates meaningful learning experiences for yourself that lasts beyond simply regurgitating out memorised answers.
Its benefits lasts beyond the classroom, as it helps promote the development of your self-confidence, initiative and many other attributes.
Consider informal science learning
Informal science learning – generally interpreted as any science learning that takes place outside of schools – is how you can expose yourself to the world around you. As Physics is the study of matter, energy and their interactions, we can find Physics everywhere around us from the kitchen to the zoo.
By observing the mechanics of things, you can train your mind to reiterate and reapply what you’ve just learned from your textbooks.
Conclusion
Studying does not have to be about rote learning or being confined indoors. It’s also about taking the time to understand how yourself and what works for you.