Greetings all,
Is there a forum section here at AAC thats covers effective study techniques or study methods for specific subject matter?
I searched alot of old forums but have not come across any. I really want to know or learn good study techniques or habits and obviously I am not willing to pay money to someone to teach me these techniques. Everywhere I go on the internet tells me sign up now and put in my credit card information for just $200 you can get all the information you need to unlock your mind to effective study techniques and memory palace tips. Well I live in South Africa and $200 can feed me for the entire month or more.
Thank you in advance.

 

Hello,

What are you looking for?
The NEETS series is a good start for learning eletronics:
http://www.phy.davidson.edu/instrumentation/NEETS.htm
The EDUCYPEDIA has a lot of pages with links to universities and manufacturers information pages:
http://educypedia.karadimov.info/electronics/electronicaopening.htm
And learnersTV has a lot of colleges of universities to watch:
http://learnerstv.com/Free-Engineering-video-lecture-courses.htm

Bertus

 

Just about my whole experience in school followed the same model. First you are introduced to a concept, usually by the teacher or lecturer but also just by reading. Then you work problems or answer questions related to that new concept. Your work is evaluated so you can resolve any deficiencies in your understanding of the new concept. Move on to the next topic. Some fields, probably most, benefit from hands-on lab work to complement the book work. See it, learn it, do it. Exercise, eat, rest, repeat.

I'm suspicious of any "tricks" more detailed than that. People are different and will gravitate to different techniques that suit them best.

 

Hello,

What are you looking for?
The NEETS series is a good start for learning eletronics:
http://www.phy.davidson.edu/instrumentation/NEETS.htm
The EDUCYPEDIA has a lot of pages with links to universities and manufacturers information pages:
http://educypedia.karadimov.info/electronics/electronicaopening.htm
And learnersTV has a lot of colleges of universities to watch:
http://learnerstv.com/Free-Engineering-video-lecture-courses.htm

Bertus

Hi Bertus,
Thank you. I am sorry for not specifying one what subjects I need the study techniques on. I like to know methods I will go about studying more theory subjects and what is the duration of my study session? some people say study for 1 hour rest for 10mins and then some say study for 30mins rest for 5mins. Which is the right approach? I did complete my BTECH but it seems I am forgetting stuff that I learnt 2-3 months ago. I want to help others with my knowledge that I acquired not just forget it!
I require study techniques on how to study effectively on programming topics (e.g. C, Java, C#, PHP, etc).
I also require some good study techniques on how to study electronic topics and mathematics and computer networking.
I want to remember what I study not forget them after a while. I know we learn from repetition but there must be more simple ways.
I want to teach others who are at high/primary school these techniques so it will help them in the future.
thank you again.

 

@naickej4

Speed reading is helpful
Learning how to extract exam questions from your reading material
Improving your retention of material
Note taking

Speed reading at first glance doesn't look like it is beneficial. The reality is one never stops learning. The amount of material one reads rises annually. Time does not change, there are still 1440 minutes per day. If your a 300 word per minute reader, that is the equivalent of 18000 words per hour or 46 pages of a 5.5 x 8.5 inch book. If you read 1800 wpm, you'd finish those 46 pages in 10 minutes. Since repetition increases retention, you could read those pages three times and still save 50% of the time you would have taken as a 300 wpm reader.

As you read the material, think of the potential questions you could be ask. If your book states the objectives you should learn by the end of the chapter, those objectives can be many questions. Even the title of the chapter would give you the start on a series of questions.

One can improve their retention by reviewing their copious notes. If possible record the lectures. Then you don't have to write down every word spoken by the professor, you can concentrate on what is being said, the visual aids the professor is using, and the salient points of the lecture. When reviewing your notes, if a point is cloudy, break out your recording and relive that portion of the lecture.

Other review techniques include recording your notes to audio or video for playback while your doing other things, like laundry, commuting, or whatever other chores you can do safely while reviewing.

In 1981, two instructors did a serious review of why so many student did poorly in a class. They discovered that while they were demonstrating and lecturing, alot of students heads were down as they were writing frantically to capture every word spoken. They were NOT paying attention to the how the instructor was presenting the material, the graphics, the instructors gestures, and the questions asked by fellow students. They were engrossed in the capture of everything, a herculean task. These two instructors decide to make a student guide that had the drawings and salient points so the students could "pay attention" and not attempting the herculean task of capturing every spoken word. The response was, as expected, a higher percentage were successful in their first attempts on tests. I told my wife this story, and she passed it onto one of her professors. The professor had an epiphany and decided to adopt the student guide concept for his class. My wife also recorded her classes. Needless to say, she four pointed her classes. I converted the cassette to mp3 so she could listen to it at her computer, and it was easier to skip to a "timed" section in a lecture rather than a index counter with no cross reference.

There are many ways to improve yourself.

Two of my favorite quotes about tests are from a member, either from here or over at ETO, Steve B.

It is more than a measure of knowledge, just as a sports game is more than a measure of skill. It is a competition, whether we want to acknowledge it, or not. A test measures your knowledge, you confidence, your preparedness and your mental state at the time. In addition, it measures your ranking among your peers.
---- Steve B, New England, USA

Yes, I'm a good test taker. Life is a test. My job is a test. My marriage is a test. My kids test me every day! Every engineering problem I have faced and will ever face is a test. It is fortunate that I'm a good test taker, because that ability is one of the many things that makes me a winner; hence, it is one of the many reasons you should want to hire me.
---- Steve B, New England, USA

Good luck in your future endeavors.

 

@naickej4

Speed reading is helpful
Learning how to extract exam questions from your reading material
Improving your retention of material
Note taking

Speed reading at first glance doesn't look like it is beneficial. The reality is one never stops learning. The amount of material one reads rises annually. Time does not change, there are still 1440 minutes per day. If your a 300 word per minute reader, that is the equivalent of 18000 words per hour or 46 pages of a 5.5 x 8.5 inch book. If you read 1800 wpm, you'd finish those 46 pages in 10 minutes. Since repetition increases retention, you could read those pages three times and still save 50% of the time you would have taken as a 300 wpm reader.

As you read the material, think of the potential questions you could be ask. If your book states the objectives you should learn by the end of the chapter, those objectives can be many questions. Even the title of the chapter would give you the start on a series of questions.

One can improve their retention by reviewing their copious notes. If possible record the lectures. Then you don't have to write down every word spoken by the professor, you can concentrate on what is being said, the visual aids the professor is using, and the salient points of the lecture. When reviewing your notes, if a point is cloudy, break out your recording and relive that portion of the lecture.

Other review techniques include recording your notes to audio or video for playback while your doing other things, like laundry, commuting, or whatever other chores you can do safely while reviewing.

In 1981, two instructors did a serious review of why so many student did poorly in a class. They discovered that while they were demonstrating and lecturing, alot of students heads were down as they were writing frantically to capture every word spoken. They were NOT paying attention to the how the instructor was presenting the material, the graphics, the instructors gestures, and the questions asked by fellow students. They were engrossed in the capture of everything, a herculean task. These two instructors decide to make a student guide that had the drawings and salient points so the students could "pay attention" and not attempting the herculean task of capturing every spoken word. The response was, as expected, a higher percentage were successful in their first attempts on tests. I told my wife this story, and she passed it onto one of her professors. The professor had an epiphany and decided to adopt the student guide concept for his class. My wife also recorded her classes. Needless to say, she four pointed her classes. I converted the cassette to mp3 so she could listen to it at her computer, and it was easier to skip to a "timed" section in a lecture rather than a index counter with no cross reference.

There are many ways to improve yourself.

Two of my favorite quotes about tests are from a member, either from here or over at ETO, Steve B.





Good luck in your future endeavors.

@JoeJester,
Hi Sir. I can double like you reply if it was possible.I remember my English teacher at school told us to do speed reading but I did not think it will work. I am going to try speed reading now, this was something that I was looking for a proven technique that works!
I will try to also record myself.
Those quotes from Steve B are very wise statements.
Thank you for this.
I will try this out and post my improvements on this thread, if it works for me or not.

 

Adderall works good, but it is highly addictive. I take Modafinil, a generic for Provigil it helps me stay focused and does not have proven addictive properties.

 

Adderall works good, but it is highly addictive. I take Modafinil, a generic for Provigil it helps me stay focused and does not have proven addictive properties.

Hi, Adderall is a ADD/ADHD drug. I have non of these symptoms, also I am not willing pay money for drugs. or study techniques I just need study techniques and proven methods and testimonies that they work.
This speed reading really works and I am happy I asked this question.
thank you.

 

Hi, Adderall is a ADD/ADHD drug. I have non of these symptoms, also I am not willing pay money for drugs. or study techniques I just need study techniques and proven methods and testimonies that they work.
This speed reading really works and I am happy I asked this question.
thank you.

I'm glad it works for you. I've also tried speed reading and found it worked for a few pages but after a short time I lose my train of thought. I read to my kids and ask them questions which they never can answer. This forces me to recite the answer. I may have been reading between the lines a little and applying to myself. But I did not mean illegally obtaining the prescriptions. Good luck

 

On the topic of speed reading, the course I took, started with a reading and comprehension test and ended with a reading and comprehension test. I was a basic 300 wpm, 10th grade comprehension. The ending test I was 1500 wpm 16+ grade comprehension.

Grade levels were U.S. grade levels.

on edit ....

Using kindle on my tablet, or phone, I rarely spend more than a couple of seconds per page.

Hint ... to bust through that 300 wpm barrier, you must train yourself NOT to state or or mentally mouth the words.

Attached is a speed reading course similar to the one I took and some other textbook reading hints.

 

Hi

I'm glad it works for you. I've also tried speed reading and found it worked for a few pages but after a short time I lose my train of thought. I read to my kids and ask them questions which they never can answer. This forces me to recite the answer. I may have been reading between the lines a little and applying to myself. But I did not mean illegally obtaining the prescriptions. Good luck

Hi, No problem thank you for that. I also try to act like I am in front of an audience and teach them. It works for me but not very effective since It takes time.
thank you.

 

On the topic of speed reading, the course I took, started with a reading and comprehension test and ended with a reading and comprehension test. I was a basic 300 wpm, 10th grade comprehension. The ending test I was 1500 wpm 16+ grade comprehension.

Hi Sir, please teach me or show me how to do this and where to find information on this. I want to be like the guy from the movie called good will hunting where he reads the books so easy and remember them. Obviously its not very possible to do that but I know its partially possible
thank you.

 

On the topic of speed reading, the course I took, started with a reading and comprehension test and ended with a reading and comprehension test. I was a basic 300 wpm, 10th grade comprehension. The ending test I was 1500 wpm 16+ grade comprehension.

Grade levels were U.S. grade levels.

Using kindle on my tablet, or phone, I rarely spend more than a couple of seconds per page.

Hint ... to bust through that 300 wpm barrier, you must train yourself NOT to state or or mentally mouth the words.

Hi Sir, Ok cool I do that at times where I say the words. Do you remember most of what you read after a while? Since this is high speed.
thank you

 

On the topic of speed reading, the course I took, started with a reading and comprehension test and ended with a reading and comprehension test. I was a basic 300 wpm, 10th grade comprehension. The ending test I was 1500 wpm 16+ grade comprehension.

Grade levels were U.S. grade levels.

on edit ....

Using kindle on my tablet, or phone, I rarely spend more than a couple of seconds per page.

Hint ... to bust through that 300 wpm barrier, you must train yourself NOT to state or or mentally mouth the words.

Attached is a speed reading course similar to the one I took and some other textbook reading hints.

Hi Sir,
thank you very much this is what I wanted.
much thanks.

 

Do you remember most of what you read after a while?

Retention

From the navy manual for instructors ...
Retention, with respect to sensory learning, is open to many interpretations and opinions. It has been estimated that people retain only 10 percent of what they read, 20 percent of what they hear, and 30 percent of what they see. When those senses are combined, however, retention takes a dramatic leap forward. Those same estimates tell us that when someone hears and sees, retention jumps to 50 percent. That makes a great argument for incorporating appropriate audiovisual media into your teaching. By asking proper questions to augment sight and sound to stimulate thinking, you can push student retention close to the 70 percent level. Requiring students to use all of their senses in skill training along with procedural steps and principles can increase their retention to as much as 90 percent. That implies a fair degree of mastery learning.

Also here is a graph whose attributed source has not been verified, "a 1960s study by the National Training Laboratories Institute for Applied Behavioral Science". I have not seen the source document anywhere, yet this graph has been cited many times. Portions of it compare favorably with what was in the Navy's Manual for Instructors that I first read in 1979. Other here can comment on what their empirical data shows on the levels.



Teach others could be "teaching self", by emulating what a teacher does, preparing notes and multi-media notes sufficient to teach someone. Creating an emotional psychological event exceeds 90 percent. That is best demonstrated by your mother's actions during your attempts to stick your hand on a hot stove or other heat sources as a child.

 

The very best study technique, is to teach. When you learn a new principle........teach it to someone else. When it's you that has to answer questions....you will become aware of what you know and what you don't know.

This is how to measure you knowledge.

Your final grade should be base on how well you can teach an 8th grader.

 

There is one thing to remember, everybody learns differently and there are three basic areas of memory. one is visual.One is verbal and one is Kinesthetic. The latter is defined as learning by repetition or how one lears to ride a bike.

Something really has to be fixed early in development to have proficiency in all three. How do you do asking directions to someplace when driving in a car and your lost? Easy to remember? How about pictures?
Then there are was to remember the sine, cos and tangent functions.

What it turned out for me, was I could not memorize. So when I read material I created flash cards of what I thought would be good questions with the answer on the other side. I used this every waking minute just about.
After finding the technique, I graduate with a 4.0 GPA.

A doctor I went to said he could totally visualize an entire page fro his text books. I need repetition.

One of the most effective techniques that was used in a class was a part open, part closed-book test in a thermodynamics class. Concepts were closed book and done first. Then you turned that part in and did the rest of the exam open book.

Surprisingly, a lot of math was memorizing.

Speed reading helps, but I think you need a real course. It can seem overwhelming.

If you really want to annoy your pupils, you..

Without warning say "Take out a sheet of paper". So, you have an immediate quiz, exchange papers and correct and go over the problem. Before that class is even over, he might say "Take out a sheet of paper"...
You learn that you have to read the material. Your reading assignment MUST be completed.

If you want to annoy them more, then spit out their rank in class every week. You now know how your doing in respect to the rest of the class.

If you have Labs. you have a team that does their work, but the other teams have to turn in their DATA to everyone else. They need to incorporate other's data in their reports.

 

A story on remembering ....

A friend of mine took a course I designed a few months after I transferred out of the instructor billet. We discussed the final practical exam 10 years after the course. There were 10 problems in the system and you had one hour to get it back to operational status. He remembered the ten problems, but I seem to recall he didn't get the exact order of the repair without coaching. On the out of repair order, I would stop him and state you couldn't have repaired that portion yet. We both laughed that he remembered it.

In that course, we had lectures, labs, practice operating and troubleshooting, system block diagrams color coded by the student. It was intense enough to create a physiological event. I wanted them to have the confidence necessary to do the job. They did.

 

When i trained someone to do a job, I found that one of two ways worked:

1) Concepts - so they can make changes on their own
2) Recipes
3) Both

Some people want to know why, other's don't care.

These sorts of tasks were how to operate a piece of equipment that required a recipe.

I fixed lab equipment I knew little about, by asking questions to a skilled operator.

 

I had an unusual technique that won't work for everybody. I have a very visual memory. My major wad math.

I would take copious notes. They would be very genetic when discussing concepts; very detailed when solving problems.

My study habits were to "skim" the notes and book the night before.

Then, during the exam, I could visualize the appropriate page and have the solution.