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    Tips For Studying at Home

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    Leonard Joseph Ruiz
    The document provides tips for effectively studying at home, including organizing your study space to minimize distractions, structuring your time using a to-do list and Pomodoro technique, creating virtual study groups to study with others remotely, and employing active learning, reverse learning, and spaced repetition study techniques.

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    Tips For Studying at Home

    Uploaded by

    Leonard Joseph Ruiz
    23 views3 pages
    The document provides tips for effectively studying at home, including organizing your study space to minimize distractions, structuring your time using a to-do list and Pomodoro technique, creating virtual study groups to study with others remotely, and employing active learning, reverse learning, and spaced repetition study techniques.

    Original Title

    Study Habits

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    The document provides tips for effectively studying at home, including organizing your study space to minimize distractions, structuring your time using a to-do list and Pomodoro technique, creating virtual study groups to study with others remotely, and employing active learning, reverse learning, and spaced repetition study techniques.

    Copyright:

    © All Rights Reserved
    Download as PDF, TXT or read online from Scribd
    Download as pdf or txt
    23 views3 pages

    Tips For Studying at Home

    Uploaded by

    Leonard Joseph Ruiz
    The document provides tips for effectively studying at home, including organizing your study space to minimize distractions, structuring your time using a to-do list and Pomodoro technique, creating virtual study groups to study with others remotely, and employing active learning, reverse learning, and spaced repetition study techniques.

    Copyright:

    © All Rights Reserved
    Download as PDF, TXT or read online from Scribd
    Download as pdf or txt
    of 3

    Tips for Studying at Home

    As the COVID-19 pandemic spreads exponentially schools worldwide are switching to


    online-first instruction. As such, you might be spending a lot more time than usual studying at
    home, of which one of the hardest parts is maintaining your focus. How you set up your
    workspace, structure your time, and the techniques you use to learn play a big role in effectively
    and efficiently studying at home.

    A. Organizing your study space


    Having a designated study space is a key element to successfully studying at home.
    Maintaining some separation between where you relax and where you study can help get you in
    the right mindset when the time comes for you to really focus. Deciding what to bring into your
    study space (and what to keep out) is very important. Every medical student has his or her own
    method, but many opt for a two-screen set up: you can use one for the video you’re watching
    and one for your notes, one for the 3D anatomy model you’re exploring and one for your
    reference text, etc. Of course, other tools such as a notebook and your textbook can also be
    beneficial to have in your study space. However, keep distractions to a minimum: save snacks
    or coffee for your designated break times, keep your phone in another room so you won’t be
    tempted to use it in the middle of a study block, and choose your background noise wisely.
    Block out unwanted background noise (including not-so-focused roommates) with
    noise-canceling headphones or earplugs. If the sounds of your home aren’t conducive to
    studying, you can always listen to music (without lyrics) or use an ambient noise app to simulate
    a coffee shop or your university library. Especially if you need to use your phone as a timer, for
    a virtual study group, or as the source of your ambient noise, make sure to turn off notifications,
    and if possible, place it out of sight, out of mind.

    B. Structuring your time


    Your study space is set up and your distractions are minimized… but now what? One of the
    important elements of a successful study session is not necessarily about the material you
    review or the content you copy – rather, how you manage your time makes a world of difference
    in the success of your study session. This starts with your to-do list. Before you start studying, it
    is important to have a plan for what you want to study so that you can organize your time and
    focus your efforts on the material that you need to review. Not only do you need to know what
    you want to study that day, but you should also prioritize your to-do list. If you have a specific
    exam coming up or you’ll be starting a new rotation soon, you know what is most important to
    review every day or what you need to spend more time on. Once you have your prioritized to-do
    list, how do you organize your time?

    The ​Pomodoro Technique is very popular for this reason: it focuses on accomplishing tasks by
    working in blocks of 25 minutes (“pomodoros”) with five minute breaks in between, rather than
    just going down a to-do list. Before you begin, take your to-do list and group your tasks by what
    you think can be accomplished in about 25 minutes at a time. Then start your timer and get to
    work: once you have accomplished four pomodoros, you can take a 20-30 minute break. This
    method helps you to maximize your use of time, minimize procrastination, and keep track of
    exactly what you’ve accomplished. The five minute breaks between pomodoros help refresh
    your mind and allow it to reset before starting the next block. The Pomodoro Technique has
    been adapted by many students for their studies, and many study schedules also suggest this
    technique or a version of it

    C. Virtual study groups

    Even in your dedicated study space, with your headphones on and your music or ambient noise
    playing, studying at home can get lonely sometimes. Whether you prefer to review material out
    loud with other people, or the presence of others studying motivates you to stay focused, study
    groups are a go-to for many medical students. Just because you’re at home doesn’t mean that
    you and your classmates can’t keep studying together – creating a virtual study group is one of
    the best ways to continue learning in a group, even at a distance. Many free tools (such as
    Facebook Messenger, Skype, and Google Hangouts) support group video chats. Having two
    screens in your study space setup can also be very helpful for virtual study groups, as you can
    keep your chat on one screen and your study material on the other. Are your classmates not
    available or do you not want to video chat the whole time? Try using a shared timer to keep
    yourselves on track, then check back in once the time is up.

    D. Study techniques
    Sometimes, however, your tasks won’t line up well with the fixed block schedule used in the
    Pomodoro Technique or a study group doesn’t make sense for what you need to review. There
    are dozens of other study techniques that can be used to ensure your retention of material.
    Here are a few to get you started:

    Active learning is something you can practice in a variety of study contexts. Instead of
    passively watching high-yield videos or multitasking and thus not taking in as much information
    as possible, active learning helps you give yourself direction and stay focused on the content.
    To practice active learning, you should do small self-check-ins before, during, and after you
    review. Before you start studying, establish what you’re about to learn and what you already
    know about the subject. While you’re reviewing the material, make sure you know how it fits into
    the bigger picture, that you understand what you just watched or read, and write down keywords
    you might want to use for future review. After you’ve completed your study session, ask yourself
    what you can take away from the study session and make notes of what you need to review or
    continue learning the next time you approach this topic. By practicing active learning, you not
    only give your current study session direction, but you can also reflect upon and adapt your
    study technique in the future.

    Reverse learning is a study technique recommended specifically for dedicated study, for
    example, as you’re preparing for your licensing exams.

    Unless you have a photographic memory, you likely won’t remember everything you studied on
    the first try. Regularly reviewing what you’ve learned is as important as learning it right the first
    time. There are many retention strategies out there – some people use paper or virtual
    flashcards for recall, some people use songs to help jog their memories, and some use
    mnemonics to keep information straight. But how often should you review certain topics?
    Spaced Repetition is one method. The idea behind Spaced Repetition is that, instead of
    learning as many facts as possible within a short period of time, you should review material at
    increasingly spaced intervals after learning it.

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