Most people group all forms of studying together. “I’m studying for my online degree program.”
“I’m studying this fiiiiiiiiine chick in my poli sci class.” “I’m
studying to be a doctor.” You get the picture. The fact is that there
are different types of studying that you could be involved with, and
knowing the difference will help you study more effectively. Right now,
we’re going to discuss the difference between studying facts and
studying information. Ready? Go…
Studying facts will get you nowhere. It may get you through a vocab quiz for your online college courses,
but it won’t help you in the long run. That is because when you study a
fact, you don’t fully understand it. You just grasp the concept at the
surface. To truly absorb a concept in class, you have to study the
information beyond the facts.
When you start studying for your classes, you need to make sure you know
why something is the way it is. Don’t take information for granted. Ask
yourself questions about subjects know it sounds stupid. Really, I do. Nevertheless, it can help you
bring information from your short term memory to your long term memory.
That will help you in your career beyond your time in college.
If you are trying to study for a vocabulary test, apply the words you
are learning to a sentence. This isn’t always easy to do, but if you
can figure out how the words function in your daily life, you will
remember them easier in the future. Some theories say that using a word
eight times in conversation will permanently make it a part of your
vocabulary. I don’t know how true that is, but it can’t hurt to try.
If you want to push this one step further, try to look at the
components of a word that you are trying to learn. You might be able to
piece together a definition just by comparing the word to other words
you already know. I did this the first time I heard the word “suffice.” I
thought the word sounded so sophisticated (I was 15, give me a break).
After comparing it to the word sufficient, I understood what it meant
and made it a part of my vocabulary. You could do the same with the
words you learn in college.
The whole point of this article is to get you to see the difference
between studying just to study and studying to learn. College is more
than a set of classes strung together to get you a degree. It’s supposed
to be a training program for your career. You need to absorb the
information you learn accordingly. Focus on your studies and ask
questions whenever you don’t understand something. You could even – dare
I say – study more than the required materials for a class. Gasp! The
more effort you put into truly understanding the materials, the better
off you will be in the long run.
.jpg)
.jpg)
