Study skills & test-taking strategies: A short guide to maximizing learning while managing test anxiety
Key concept: Embrace discomfort.
Biology teaches us that muscles contract when sarcomeres shorten. This shortening occurs when muscle filaments (made of myosin and actin) slide next to each other after receiving a signal from the nervous system.
"...your muscles must be broken down before they get stronger."
During strength training, the muscle is damaged when force over-exerts the muscle fibers and causes them to tear. This muscle fiber tearing triggers an inflammatory response, leading to healing and protein synthesis. In other words, your muscles must be broken down before they get stronger.
Similarly, students must practice learning new content, studying difficult concepts, and managing stressful moments during exams. In this discussion, we will cover the importance of
- prep-work;
- attention & note-taking;
- effective study skills;
- test preparation and anxiety management;
Prep-work
A massive push right now in education is active recall. We will talk more about how you can use active recall to your advantage, but for now, recognize that prep-work is a major component of priming your brain for learning.
Just as you should stretch and warm up before exercising, previewing content before class is an extremely low-cost, high-yield method to remember content longer and more in-depth.
As the Ebbinghaus Forgetting Curve portrays, our brains do not learn passively by listening, reading, or highlighting. So here are some tips to extend your memorization timeline and maximize your information retention:
- Pre-read any lecture slides or notes, or book pages.
- Make a folder on YouTube and save any related videos to watch before or after lecture.
- Find practice problem questions in your book or online to take after class.
Also, remember to review after class, too. Again, nothing too in-depth or complicated; even if it is before another class, try your absolute best to gloss over the information immediately after class to reinforce any terms, definitions, or concepts.
The goal is to have an introductory grasp of everything before studying.
Attention & note-taking
Attention and note-taking go hand-and-hand during lectures. The more note-taking, typically, the less attention there is for listening and asking questions.
"Define [...] concepts in your own words so you can have an emotional bond with the concepts in class."
The important thing here is to be aware of what works for you. Depending on your ability to handwrite notes or type, you can pay more or less attention to the professor.
Do not write verbatim what is said during class. Define the terms and concepts in your own words so you can have an emotional bond with the ideas in class.
That said, let's look at some tips to help you take notes like a master:
- Come prepared to class (hint: pre-work).
- Recognize when to stop taking notes to listen to what is happening in class; some concepts need undivided attention.
- Utilize bullet points.
- Reorganize/revise/consolidate notes during studying.
- Determine your note-taking method and stick with it during class; time spent shuffling papers, opening word documents, or attempting new styles of note-taking wastes precious time and attention.
Effective study skills
Everyone knows about the traditional method of re-reading books and notes, recalling flashcards, and highlighting... Absolutely. Every. Single. Word.
I get it; these strategies are as old as education and are easy to do: lean against your favorite study-buddy wall at home and grind out by attempting to memorize as much as you can from your book and notes: this is what we call passive learning (i.e., passive recall, passive recognition, wrote recollection, etc.).
There is an alternative: active recall.
The basics around this newer concept are answering a simple self-assessment question regarding any topic, concept, or problem: what do I need to learn about X? In other words, you can't know what you do not already know.
Applying active recall looks like completing case studies, answering open-ended questions, and practicing prep quizzes.
There are plenty of resources online for nursing students to practice their knowledge using active recall by practicing mock case studies or answering practice-problem questions.
Moreover, concept maps can help you measure the terms and concepts you must review to succeed. Concept maps are blank pages that you fill in with as much information as you can recall, in your own words, without your notes, books, or PowerPoints.
Test preparation and anxiety management
Test preparation is a multi-faceted process that does not end with schooling or obtaining a degree. Test-prep is a microcosm of how to cope with stress, manage competing priorities, and practice becoming a better self-leader.
If you were running a business, would you fire you? Suppose your office manager consistently went over budget every month or your project manager was constantly late on deadlines with only excuses to offer in return. Would you fire them for not getting the job done?
Test prep and associated stress can go together. On the back end, you must control what you can: utilize schedules, to-do lists, timers, or distractors such as Tik Tok, Instagram, or Snapchat.
Make a schedule and plan when to study. Do not cram the night before or the day of the exam.
Do not study or look at any material before your exam. You will, most likely than not, think that you have forgotten content and worry.
During the exam: breathe. In through the nose, out through the mouth. Do not second-guess - either mark your answer or go back after completing the rest of the exam.
For tough questions: approach each answer option as a mini-question. Interrogate each response as to whether it is a true statement.
Finally, access your resources: mentors, role models, teachers, academic advisors, school therapists/coaches, friends, and professionals. Seek advice, rant if needed, and approach each exam as an opportunity to improve.
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