Study Habits?

[Kari Suttle]

Title says it all! Study habits - what works for you, what doesn't work for you? Do you think having AS/HFA affects your studying at all? I'm doing college from home with online classes at the moment so i'm curious. My former method of simply reading the textbook and copying down important information doesn't help me at all...first of all i have an inability to write shorthand or discern what's important and what isn't so i just copy half the chapter down! Wastes a LOT of time when you have a few chapters to read, a paper to write, an assignment or two to do, plus the occassional group assignment. Now i'm testing the idea of simply answering the questions througout the chapter...but of course now i'm finding that doing ALL OF THEM takes just as much time as the old aforementioned method. Anyways bubba's mom's home so i gotta go! Tell me what you think below!

 

[Judge]

I can only say that in the course of determining my autism, I'm now wondering if I have any form of an attention deficit disorder. Learning has never been particularly easy for me. Neither was studying. Sometimes I think the only reason I got this far was pure stubbornness. One thing for sure though, I take copious notes and make some elaborate cheat sheets.

 

[Grumpy Cat]

Highlighting. (I can never have enough highlighters)

FYI: I'm still not done highlighting this yet. Next color is PINK!!!!

 

[pushpin]

Visualizing things, making connections between different things (looking for similarities, seeing things from different angles), doing many practice problems, drawing things, talking to myself as if I were both the teacher and the student (explaining concepts to myself to make sure I understand them), using anki (or another srs) for vocabulary, listening to a lot of audio and reading when it comes to languages (sometimes doing both simultaneously), rewriting concepts in my own words, again playing both teacher and student by asking myself questions and seeing if I can answer them (basically, trying to recall concepts at random times throughout the day), looking up videos or pictures to explain certain things.

 

[Kari Suttle]

I can only say that in the course of determining my autism, I'm now wondering if I have any form of an attention deficit disorder. Learning has never been particularly easy for me. Neither was studying. Sometimes I think the only reason I got this far was pure stubbornness. One thing for sure though, I take copious notes and make some elaborate cheat sheets.

Ah yeah i have my own issues with focus and concentration when it comes to studying. I can research whatever totally random topic i get into eagerly yet with school, not so much. Focus flies out the window instantaneously and i can't concentrate to save my life. I find that putting on music can help sometimes, but only sometimes. I can't read or do math and listen to music at the same time.

 

[Kari Suttle]

Highlighting. (I can never have enough highlighters)

Oddly enough i was thinking about trying highlighting earlier! I usually color code and outline my notes. Its somewhat obsessive for just note taking but if i don't it looks way too chaotic and disorganized for me to go back over them without being somewhat perplexed by all the content.

 

[Judge]

Yeah, my bright yellow highlighter is as important as my laser printer and paper! Use it all the time in highlighting numerical data pertinent to stock profiles.

 

[Kari Suttle]

Visualizing things, making connections between different things (looking for similarities, seeing things from different angles), doing many practice problems, drawing things, talking to myself as if I were both the teacher and the student (explaining concepts to myself to make sure I understand them), using anki (or another srs) for vocabulary, listening to a lot of audio and reading when it comes to languages (sometimes doing both simultaneously), rewriting concepts in my own words, again playing both teacher and student by asking myself questions and seeing if I can answer them (basically, trying to recall concepts at random times throughout the day), looking up videos or pictures to explain certain things.

I'm a very visual learner myself. I suppose i have a very photographic memory. I like the teacher-student method...a previous class of mine suggested doing that as a way to quiz yourself over the material. I quite like the idea. I don't remember a single bit of what i learned in highschool for spanish class but i remember lots from simply watching anime in japanese! And i actually remember it. Idk if its moreso cause im interested in anime or cause its audio/visual and not simply words on a paper.

 

[pushpin]

I'm a very visual learner myself. I suppose i have a very photographic memory. I like the teacher-student method...a previous class of mine suggested doing that as a way to quiz yourself over the material. I quite like the idea. I don't remember a single bit of what i learned in highschool for spanish class but i remember lots from simply watching anime in japanese! And i actually remember it. Idk if its moreso cause im interested in anime or cause its audio/visual and not simply words on a paper.

Regarding Japanese, it could be a mix of both. There is this guy who taught himself Japanese by having it around him all the time. His website is called All Japanese All the Time. He talks about how important are genuine interest and enjoyable exposure to a language.

 

[Kari Suttle]

Regarding Japanese, it could be a mix of both. There is this guy who taught himself Japanese by having it around him all the time. His website is called All Japanese All the Time. He talks about how important are genuine interest and enjoyable exposure to a language.

True that, it probably is a good mix of both. I like anime and i'm interested in it, so i'm more engaged in it and remember it easier because its enjoyable. Much moreso than a mandatory class for school. That's interesting about the guy who taught himself japanese! I've heard the same of learning any language - the best way to learn it is to immerse yourself in it completely.

 

[epath13]

I can read and try to remember as much as I want, if it happens, it happens naturaly, if it doesn't - nothing I can do. If I experience what I learn, if it involves some sort of practice then I remember it, or... my body remembers it... When I was in school I rarely studied. I mean I read books etc etc but I always felt I had some kind of block in my head, or as I used to call it "a sack of potatoes" on top of my head, or "glue inside my brain". If I needed to show my knowledge in some way, sometimes I relied on logic and sometimes I had no idea where all the information was coming from.

 

[Kari Suttle]

I can read and try to remember as much as I want, if it happens, it happens naturaly, if it doesn't - nothing I can do. If I experience what I learn, if it involves some sort of practice then I remember it, or... my body remembers it... When I was in school I rarely studied. I mean I read books etc etc but I always felt I had some kind of block in my head, or as I used to call it "a sack of potatoes" on top of my head, or "glue inside my brain". If I needed to show my knowledge in some way, sometimes I relied on logic and sometimes I had no idea where all the information was coming from.

Me too! I feel like the moment i try to study 'normally' - read a textbook and take notes - that i feel like i have some sort of mental roadblock the moment i sit down and try to study. I instantly can't focus or concentrate or truly absorb and learn what i'm trying to read and learn. Yet i can look up anything and everything about whatever i suddenly become interested in researching for the sake of a fanfic. I like writing fanfics and can be very particular about getting historical details correct.

 

[Persevero]

I discovered I can't study at home - I spend more time avoiding studying than actually doing any work. Even if I lose an hour and a half commuting, it's still more efficient for me to study at my university rather than at home.

I become a lot more patient with studying if I am listening to music I like, or better yet, if I'm with a studying partner that at least wants to take it a bit seriously.

My favorite studying method is to do exercises, even if I don't know the theory - if more knowledge is required and I don't know it by heart I make a summary in the answer. This helps me point out where I am weakest in the study material. After doing all of the hard exercises ( I skip most of the redundant ones unless I have time) I mark the ones I feel I need to read over again to make sure I memorize the procedure and the necessary formulas.

 

[Kari Suttle]

I discovered I can't study at home - I spend more time avoiding studying than actually doing any work. Even if I lose an hour and a half commuting, it's still more efficient for me to study at my university rather than at home.

I become a lot more patient with studying if I am listening to music I like, or better yet, if I'm with a studying partner that at least wants to take it a bit seriously.

My favorite studying method is to do exercises, even if I don't know the theory - if more knowledge is required and I don't know it by heart I make a summary in the answer. This helps me point out where I am weakest in the study material. After doing all of the hard exercises ( I skip most of the redundant ones unless I have time) I mark the ones I feel I need to read over again to make sure I memorize the procedure and the necessary formulas.

Yes, i find that i am most efficient when I'm at the table or at my desk and no one else is around. I can do it when if i'm at the table at bubbba's and he's watching a movie, playing, being a two year old, but i'm not my best. I'm working on a method similar to yours; i'm trying to merely answer the review questions at the end of the chapters instead of read the whole thing. Having to go back and read up to answer the questions is sufficient so far, but i'm also only on chapter one.

 

[grapesicles]

I study best if someone is helping me - not sure if I have any 'problems' which stop me studying normally or if I'm just lazy! I always did the bare minimum of revision (or pretty much none) and work at school and uni, unless it was a subject I was particularly into. There are so many distractions (especially noise) and unless there is someone there to make you do the work or discuss the topic with, it's rather impossible!

 

[Ste11aeres]

Title says it all! Study habits - what works for you, what doesn't work for you? Do you think having AS/HFA affects your studying at all? I'm doing college from home with online classes at the moment so i'm curious. My former method of simply reading the textbook and copying down important information doesn't help me at all...first of all i have an inability to write shorthand or discern what's important and what isn't so i just copy half the chapter down! Wastes a LOT of time when you have a few chapters to read, a paper to write, an assignment or two to do, plus the occassional group assignment. Now i'm testing the idea of simply answering the questions througout the chapter...but of course now i'm finding that doing ALL OF THEM takes just as much time as the old aforementioned method. Anyways bubba's mom's home so i gotta go! Tell me what you think below!

What subjects are you studying?
I find that the method of studying which works best for me varies depending on what subject the class is.

 

[Naturalist]

Highlighting. (I can never have enough highlighters)...
FYI: I'm still not done highlighting this yet. Next color is PINK!!!!

A fair number of my textbooks look like that... Someone once asked me what was the point of highlighting, if I highlighted most of the book...

I am most successful when I can make visual associations. But I never developed really effective study habits. In the Catholic school I attended grades 2-8, we had classes in "study skills" but I swear, I struggled with every "skill" they taught. I tried so hard to practice every one perfectly, and thought "this is the right way to study". It only occurred to me recently that I wasn't using strategies that worked with my style of learning! If I want to learn something I have to write about it or do something creative with the information. That helps me develop "visuals." It may be that I simply search for images of each concept, and make a collage. Obviously, this works better for some subjects than for others. But even mathematics (my hardest subject at school) is easier if it is presented with images of related applications, rather than just the formulas and equations.

 

[ZackSkylar101]

I have various learning difficulties, which means that conventional methods (the best example of reading a textbook) don't really work for me, but the reason why I am studying what I am studying at the moment is that I learnt how to come up with lots of random methods that allow me to get the stuff. So some of the things I do at the moment:

• Making PowerPoint presentations - I find this is a good way to get the key bits of information out of a textbook and put it in a way that you would need to present it if you were asked about it. It also provides a helpful revision aid and you can make lots of images for it.
• Visualisation and diagrams - Like other people here, visualisation is really important. I have a pretty good visual memory so it's helpful for studying anatomy, but also if you are able to create diagrams for lots of different concepts and memorise those then you can just copy those out in an exam and use them as triggers to get the answers for what you need. I try to develop a map of information in my head using this, which works pretty well.
• Colours - Using LOTS of colours on everything. If there is something that is a different subtype in someway, it gets a colour. Colours are helpful when it comes to the visualisation for making sure that all of the information is separate.
• Moving - I have lately learnt that movement helps me to recall information a lot easier then not moving. So doing something active while I'm trying to think about things helps (ex. imagining that an anatomical feature is in front of me and then using my heads to rotate it and break down the layers allows me to process what I am thinking about and makes the links easier).

And more things. There will always be something else. Using questions is a good method as long as you understand the base context another, but also you can adapt that into a problem-based learning style where you are given the question and then you ask yourself questions about the process and that's quite helpful for learning generally (gets you into the right mindset). But yeah, there are lots of ways to go about it. But yeah, reading textbooks just as they are is very irritating. I just realised I was almost about to put but yeah for the third time...

But yeah...studying is good

 

[SameStars]

I copied it all down by hand, and read it over and over. If I could draw it (like biology stuff), that helped me more.
I only used to highlight my own notes, and couldn't bring myself to write (either with marker or pencil) in my books.

 

[The Penguin]

For me taking notes was hard for me in class. I was able to have a note taker to help me with that. I normally prepare for a test a few days before. During test, I am aloud to have 50% more time. Without it, I wouldn't be able to finish most tests.