Are you inundated with information you have to cram for your courses within a few days? You want to get the certificate so badly, but the sheer amount of the knowledge you have to digest for it is really overwhelming. What can you do, if anything?
Actually, you can. Let’s begin with the moment you open that (dratted) text-book. Where are you? Don’t do it just anywhere. If you do it in a place where you play or rest, it will be distracting you. Find a special studying venue which will help you concentrate.
Then, how are you going to set about it? Just read? Not good enough. Why not employ the SQ3R technique – survey, question, read, recite, review? Then you will be able to grasp the salient points better.
Try to explain to yourself (or somebody else) what you have learned so far – it will show you at once what you understood and remembered and what slipped past and needs recollecting.
What you must learn can usually be grouped under two headings: concepts and facts. Concepts ought to be understood first, for if you start with facts, they will get forgotten quickly. Get the concepts in well and then lay facts over them, never do it the other way round.
Now, let’s consider how you learn. The information will be sinking in for about half an hour, then the rate of retaining it will start to decrease, so you should take a break and distract yourself with your favorite activities.
If you are stumped, and don’t know how to go on, maybe you need outside help? You surely have friends who can help you out, call them. And you can always get help with MATLAB homework online by spending just a few minutes.
Now you’ve done your bit, let’s check you. There are recognition and recollection, and you should distinguish between the two. If you’ve reached the point of recognition, you will surely remember the information – once you’ve given a hint. The thing is you may not be given a hint on the test. So you have to achieve the level of recollection.
You can do it by taking notes the right way. Re-read your notes after classes and see how well you take them and what you should change about the process to make then more legible and retentive. Then you will be able to recollect the information better.
