Rather than living in a cave with your nose in the books all day,
grab a friend from your class and study with them. Group studying helps
you to engage and process the information more deeply. Of course, it
means more than just carpooling to the library and studying with your
headphones on. Have fun with it. Play charades guessing the characters
of The Great Gatsby. Draw a picture of your modern interpretation of
the Boston Tea Party. Race to solve an algebra problem first and discuss
it afterwards. You can also divide the class topics and take turns teaching
them as creatively as you like. Sometimes the best way to learn something
is to teach it, even if you haven’t mastered it yet. Actively engaging the
information with someone else not only helps you to learn, but makes studying
more enjoyable. Just avoid turning your sessions into social hour.
Ask yourself “If I am the teacher, what would I put on the test?” You have
probably experienced a few of your teacher’s tests and quizzes by now. Learn
from them for the next test. The structure is usually the same, and teachers
have specific types of information that they want you to learn. Remember,
teachers don’t expect you to memorize every single detail, just the ones
they feel is important. It’s your job to figure out what that is. And not
everything is important. Don’t be that student who turns a stack of notes
into a highlighter coloring book. If in doubt, by all means, ask your teacher.