The content on this page is adapted from the book, Keys to Academic Success: Strategies for unlocking your educational potential so you can spend less time studying and more time learning. To purchase a digital copy of the complete book, click here.
Studying allows you to process and retain the information you have learned so that you can better apply it to exam questions and to daily occupational therapy practice. Everyone has their own preferred way to study–alone or in a group, by reading or by quizzing–but regardless of your preferred method of study, there are universal strategies you can implement to make that method more effective and efficient.
Avoid Distractions
Any study session will be more productive if you are able to avoid distractions. This may mean turning off the television, music, or even your phone, or it may mean finding a place alone and away from other people–even study mates who may view this time as social hour instead of study hour. Avoiding distractions also means avoiding distractions caused by discomfort or hunger, so make sure that you are studying in a comfortable environment and don’t skip out on meals just to get in extra study time.
Set Goals
If you are finding it difficult to get motivated to study, try setting yourself achievable goals and reward yourself once you meet those goals. Your goals could be as simple as finishing a chapter in your textbook before taking a walk, or they could be more knowledge focused such as earning a perfect score on a practice quiz before moving on to the next topic. Let your reward be something that also gives you a short break from studying, such as spending time with a friend or walking a dog.
Ask Why
When you are studying, don’t simply focus on memorizing a bunch of facts so that you can hopefully spit them all back out again during the test. Instead, when you study, take the time to ask yourself why. Why is this reflex important for development? Why does it matter if that diagnosis causes a higher heart rate? Why is this assessment tool only for children who are older than 6 years of age?
When you take the time to ask yourself why, you allow yourself to process and learn the material, rather than just memorizing it. Not only will this help you to be better prepared for application-based test questions, but it will also help you to begin applying what you are learning to real-world situations. And that, after all, is the point of learning.
Connect to Personal Experience
It can be difficult to remember new information that has little or no significance to you personally. So when you are studying new concepts and material, try to connect that content to personal experience. This technique is particularly helpful when you are learning developmental milestones or diagnoses. Think of someone you know who is at the age described and ask yourself if they are currently demonstrating the developmental milestones associated with that age. Or think of someone you know who has a particular diagnosis and consider whether they are experiencing any of the common symptoms associated with that diagnoses. By applying the content to your personal experience in this way, you will not only make it more applicable, but you will also retain it better.
Sleep
The best thing that you can do for yourself to prepare on the night before an exam is not to pull an all-nighter trying to remember every last fact or tidbit from class, but instead to take a break from studying, rest, and get a good night’s sleep. The better rested you are, the better you will be at recalling the information you have learned and applying it to the exam questions. So when your normal bedtime arrives, close the books, end the study session, and give you brain a break.