THE BEST WAY TO STUDY

1. THE BEST WAY TO STUDY • For studying technique try SQ3R, which stands for Survey, Question, Read, Review and Re-read. When approaching a chapter in the book first read the front page and survey the topics. Then go through the chapter reading ONLY the headings but not the rest of the text. As you are surveying ask yourself one question per heading. So if the section heading says "Action Potentials" ask yourself something like "what is an action potential?" or maybe "how is one created?" or maybe "what is it used for?" Research has shown that when someone asks a question and then learns the answer that she is far more likely to remember the answer. If you just read the chapter end to end you may forget a lot of the main points but if you ask yourself a question then you will remember the answers, just like when you ask a question in class. Taking an interest turns your brain on into an active learning state and it will help you a lot. After surveying and questioning then you go back and read all of the chapter, the first R. As you read the chapter you will get the answers to your questions. After reading and getting all of the answers review (2nd R) the answers to make sure you remember them. In other words, go back and check the headings again, remember what your question was and then see if you can recall the answer without looking. For those questions that you cannot recall the answer you go back and reread (3rd R) that particular section again. If you can recall the answer the first time then no need to reread that particular section because you already know it. Using the SQ3R method will make your studying more efficient and more effective.