The Learning Process

 Note-Taking:

    Note-taking is something I struggle a bit with as I'm an easily distracted person. May that distraction be due to a notification on my phone, the sound of a car horn going off outside, or general conversations going on around me—I always find myself distracted. But, I find that once I'm outside (especially on campus) that despite the noise, I can still focus; which I think may be because I can focus on one noise, the wind, and ground myself in the present. Which helps a lot with the strategies provided in the textbook, specifically previewing the information I want to remember. I'm not great with flash cards and find that they've never helped me much, looking back over notes has always helped. It's also something I've used for a French class I had back in high school, a skill that saved me from failing many tests (though don't ask me to remember anything, I lost it all after we switched teachers). I'll definitely continue to use this method of remembering my notes in future exams, though I don't know when just yet because most of my classes are open note.

Studying:

    Studying is something I struggle with even more than note-taking, especially when I'm not interested in the subject. My brain just doesn't want to focus on it and I have a hard time focusing on things for a long time since I think I can just do it later (even though I know I won't and will just procrastinate until the last minute). The text though, has cleared up some things for me and provided me information that can help me work around those habits though. I tend to attempt to study in the afternoon, when I'm tired and in the mood to play video games or read something on my phone, but in the morning I'm more eager to learn and distract my brain with something that makes it work. Studying in the morning would also turn off more of my internal and external distractions because not a lot of people will be awake and I will be just tired enough to not be thinking too much, but I will be able to focus enough on the subject at hand.

Test-Taking:

    Most of the test-taking strategies that are referenced are ones that I have used throughout high school (to varying degrees of success I will admit) and will continue to use throughout college. My notes are always organized so I will always be able to flip open to the page that a test is specifically focused on and be able to search for the correct answer (if its an open note test) and I make sure to maintain this organization. Alongside this, I tend to make sure to review the notes before the test day and of the test day (though I need to get better at reviewing notes before the test day). Scanning the test and leaving questions for later is something I always make sure to do, mainly on subjects that I don't enjoy because I know I will rush through it instead of reading over the question and seeing if I possibly remember the information. But most importantly, I always bring water so I don't find myself getting tired during the test.