<p>I was at the library earlier today trying to study for World History and Psychology, but it wasn't really that successful. There were too many distractions and I feel like I forget things easily.</p>
<p>What kind of things do you guy do to study? How do you guys keep your focus and concentration?</p>
<p>The only way for me to study is to read the textbook or my notes. To keep focus and concentration, I usually keep some water or snacks close by and sometimes listen to music. If you feel the library is too distracting, then don’t go there. Good luck!</p>
<p>if you haven’t heard of the pomodoro method, then you should try it. it’s basically working in 25 minute intervals with a 5 minute break in between. After 4 25 minute intervals, you get a 15 minute break, and then the cycle repeats. Each 25 minute interval counts as a “pomodoro”, and you can tally up the # of pomodoros you’ve done during the day and it’s useful in tracking progress. There are plenty of pomodoro timers online.</p>
<p>^ ^
The pomodoro method seemed EXTREMELY interesting to me when I saw it earlier this year, but sadly it did not work for me. Here’s what I have done this year as a high school junior which has worked out pretty well for me:</p>
<p>So currently I am taking AP Chemistry, APUSH, and AP English III. These three are the real time consumers. I’m taking other honors classes of course but really…these are the “hard” ones. For AP Chemistry, I have an extremely laid back teacher who doesn’t even make us do anything at all in class except participate in lectures and come into class knowing what’s up. Now, here’s what I do: I read the chapter and take the notes myself. That’s it. I know it seems like a really dumb answer, but so many kids just read the chapter without taking notes, which I think is insane! I just write in my agenda, take notes from chapter 5 section 1 to section 4. and then I do it. I do the same for APUSH except I use vocab cards.</p>
<p>Now, I know this wasn’t exactly the answer you were looking for. Concentration was your main issue which I completely understand. But I think I speak for most people when I say that IT GETS EASIER WITH PRACTICE. To study, I just stay at home in my room and if my family is too loud then I’ll go to my library. Now granted, I actually love my library because the wifi is incredible and the computers are cool, but I still prefer my home because quite frankly, I don’t have to put pants on. </p>
<p>So to “study”, I would honestly suggest creating your own notes and relearning the stuff instead of “looking over” what the teacher gave you. And just to throw this out there (especially for classes like WHAP), I would search online for practice quizzes on your chapter to help you study, but only after actually learning the material. I find that the best way to actually make the most out of practice quizzes. </p>
<p>I usually make a list of the most important things I need to know for the quiz, kind of like a study guide if your teacher doesn’t give you one.</p>
<p>My number one tip is to do active studying <em>not</em> passive- aka, rewrite/solve problems/explain stuff, don’t just reread notes.
With math and science, I rewrite my notes and do practice problems. It’s really helpful to rewrite your notes bc it forces you to get it.
With history/social studies, I go through the textbook chapter and read it out loud like I’m explaining it to someone-- I paraphrase, not word for word, so I have to really understand it. Every section I summarize the key points on a sticky note. The next day I go back, read the sticky notes out loud, and explain it again.
With Spanish, I just practice everything a lot, practice writing responses, etc.
Hope that helped!</p>
<p>I like to read the chapter in the book and take active notes that cover key concepts. I also attempt the practice problems if there are any available. I usually study in my room because I can be comfortable and have snacks and water available. If it’s a little loud then I’ll use earplugs. </p>
<p>Buuuuuump</p>
<p>Lol don’t ask me because I’m the worst study-er in the world. I always get distracted by my computer and phones and such. But for me personally, I find it difficult to have my full focus on an important task if I’m listening to music, but music is fine when played at a low volume when I’m just doing an easy homework or worksheet. Also, do not go close or even tough your computer unless needed if you want to get things done. Same goes with your phone. These are my biggest struggles. Also, good time management is good. Since I am lazy at pulling my planner out and writing stuff down, I have an app on my phone called myHomeWork that I can just enter whatever homework is assigned straight into my phone. And since I have my phone around all the time, it’s super convenient. Another thing I find helpful is seeing my assignments layed out on a calendar to help me keep track of when everything is due, spread out the work load, and know what to do in advance. I have a dry erase board in my room that I have a month calendar which I lay everything out on. Also for me, starting homework early is helpful, I start my homework at around 4pm when I get home early, or right after dinner. Something might sound trivial but it actually helps is having a good light and a bright room, helps you stay awake and better for your eyes. </p>
<p>I pretend as if I’m explaining stuff to my classmates. So I look at my notes, try to explain it, then check how well I did. I only move on until I can explain most of the info without looking in my notes. I do the same thing in math, except I explain how to do practice problems. </p>
<p>The reason I like this is because I don’t have to go back and restudy material because I’ll be sure I know it. The studying is a lot more intensive and tiring, but it takes less time overall. So basically just study out loud 
</p>
<p>To keep my concentration I set a timer and try to get through a certain amount of my notes in that time period (~30 minutes). Whether I finish or not I take a five minute break. And when I say break I don’t mean starting to read a book or play a game, I mean simply getting a snack or some juice. Working against a clock makes sure that I don’t slack off while studying.</p>
<p>Edit: Dang, that smiley is ugly. -.-</p>
<p>I don’t think there is one solid way to “study”. Everyone’s brain works differently. The method of studying you need will depend on how you learn/work best, ie. visual learner, listener, etc.</p>
<p>The only thing I can tell you is how I study. But please keep in mind that I am literally the WORST study-er ever. I put the pro in procrastination. (Heck, I’m procrastinating on my chem hw right now!) </p>
<p>First, I put away all distractions. No phone. No TV. No music (but if that helps you, then listen to music). If I ever wanna go to the extremes, I’ll go to my browser settings and block all websites that could distract me. Then I start off with a game. YES, A GAME. Any educational/brain game. Usually it would be game about the actual subject I’m studying. Other times, it’s just a general brain boosting game; I like Lumosity. It might not actually boost my IQ, but I get the feeling that I’m doing something (this is one of those psychological tricks to get your mind thinking it’s doing something productive). Then I do a warm-up. Example: a warm-up for studying for SAT for me is the Official SAT Question of the Day.
I then make a to-do list of concepts I need to comprehend. I will conquer these through videos, PRACTICE, homework questions, more videos, PRACTICE, and interactive activities. If you can study by simply reading a review book, then by all means do that. The only kind of review books I can stand reading are the Crash Course by REA. This is because they are in simple, bullet-format; you can power read through them in a day. You should also try Schmoop. They’re study guides that are written by people who’ve just graduated college, so they have a sense of humor and dumb everything down because they understand that studying can be a pain. Schmoop also has practice tests that are extremely helpful. When I absolutely must read a textbook, I read out loud to forcibly make my brain read. </p>
<p>To stay focused: remember that no one is perfect. One way or another, I think we are all bound to procrastinate. Don’t slap yourself for doing so. Instead, EMBRACE IT. Simply acknowledge the fact that you’re distracted and get back to work. There’s no point to wasting 10 minutes scolding yourself. You’ll. just. be. wasting. more. time. Also, if you’re going to procrastinate, procrastinate healthily, like researching about college. (Or maybe that’s just me.) Keep water and a small snack, I like fruit gummies, around at all times. </p>
<p>Sorry for the extremely long post. Bottom line is, find the method of studying that works best for you. Try out all of the suggestions- who knows, maybe one will click with you! </p>
<p>In math I always try to solve my homework problems completely on my own at first rather than looking at the textbook or my notes. Paying close attention to my homework is often enough for me to do well on tests, but not all of my classes have assigned homework. If I have no idea where to begin because I wasn’t paying attention in class or something, I usually go look up video lectures on YouTube. When I was studying for my linear algebra final I read half the textbook (the parts we learned in class) out loud to myself and it ended up being absurdly effective even though it was time-consuming. (Reading out loud is important because it prevents me from zoning out.) </p>
<p>I’m supposed to test out of Spanish III at some point this year, so I’ve been studying for/procrastinating on that all year. I found websites with conjugation exercises and made vocabulary flashcards on Quizlet. When you’re studying vocabulary in a foreign language, you should primarily focus on your skills in translating English into the foreign language, because the other way around is easier and if you study the more difficult way you’ll end up being able to do both. </p>
<p>In general, it helps me a lot to see the same thing in more than one place. A lot of things I learned in school never really clicked with me until I saw them in later classes or heard about them on TV or something. You’re not going to get a very good idea of the big picture if you’re only reading one book or watching one lecture or listening to your one teacher, because different resources have different emphases.</p>
<p>I will read out loud now when studying @halcyonheather, very good tip !</p>
<p>Seriously loving some of the suggestions here. There’s some really unique ones that I will definitely try out, since I have so many upcoming tests. :D</p>
<p>What I do is pretty standard: I complete the review, if given, trying not to use my notes or the textbook. I then systematically go through all my quizzes for that unit, specifically focusing on the concepts for the questions I missed, making sure I understand why I missed the question (especially if it’s something like math or chemistry). Then, I go through teacher notes. After, depending on the subject, I do practice problems (for math and science) or I read through the textbook again, writing a one sentence summary for each section, because writing things helps me retain them (for things like history). </p>
<p>I mean, it’s worked ok for me, but I’m definitely going to try out some of the suggestions above. =)</p>
<p>Buuump…</p>
<p>I suggest making a chart if you have powerpoints to study off of and online quizzes pertaining to the subject matter. I went from a C+ to A+ in adv bio by doing exactly that. Also, re-reading the textbook and take exellent class notes is great. If a teacher can meet with you about stuff you aren’t clear about, that helps unless they don’t explain much </p>
<p>Anyone else got something to add…?</p>
<p>For AP Physics reviewing online quizzes and practice problems help a lot. A lot of the same problems pop up just with slight differences and data but still the same concepts and ways of solving the problem. I usually review free response problems and multiple choice questions from college board since they have the solutions also. Doing extra odd numbered problems also help.</p>
<p>BUMP…</p>