How to be a better student: 10 effective tips

The study process can be a tedious process for many people. Not all of us learn in the same way.

In this article we will review a list of tips on how to be a better student, which can be very useful if you feel that you are not performing enough.

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Tips on how to be a better student

In the following lines you will find advice and recommendations on how to study better, making the most of your resources and the time you have available.

1. Find your way of learning

The most important thing is to know what is your most efficient way of learning. Not all of us learn things in the same way, some of us are more visual, others more auditory, some of us have good retention, others not so much... What we must do is test in which way we better understand the concepts to work on, using several options and staying with the better. Depending on it, we will base our study plan on that characteristic.

For example, if we realize that we learn best by drawing diagrams and seeing illustrated images about some theme, then it is that we have a tendency to the visual, and we must take advantage of said trend. We can then design a study plan based on mental maps, concept maps, etc. Elements where the content arrives through some significant visual stimulus.

If you are more auditory, do the same with voice recordings, or look for videos where they explain the subject you need to learn (also applies to visual learning).

After you have that information regarding your way of being, it will be easier for you to know how to be a good student, and you can start designing your study plan in a better way.

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2. Choose a quiet place to study

For the learning process to occur properly, the ideal will always be to do the process in a place where we don't have too many interruptions, in addition to making sure that it is tidy, in order to avoid the feeling of anxiety that messy places and places with too many stimuli tend to generate.

3. take breaks

The importance of taking breaks during study days is crucial for knowledge to be internalized in our minds. The new information that you are supplying to your brain takes time to put itself in place, so to speak.

Therefore, the ideal is that if you have proposed a study schedule of 2 hours a day, you take a 15-minute break in the middle of the day in which you close your eyes and relax. The ideal is to rest about 10 minutes every 45 minutes.

4. Take advantage of positive stimuli

In addition to the stimulus represented by passing the exams, it has been proven that if we reward ourselves for studying, the process will be more efficient.

It is about making a daily study schedule, and at the end of the day rewarding ourselves with something meaningful to us; It could be a sweet, do some activity that gives us pleasure, watch a movie, listen to music, etc.

5. Summarize the information

Many times it happens that we feel overwhelmed by the vastness of the topics we must study, but it turns out that there are study methods with which the information is summarized efficiently, in order to optimize the content of our learning.

This can be achieved after a first complete reading of the topic, beginning to underline what is most relevant to your evaluation. And making schemes with it. So that for the second reading you only have to review what you have underlined and written in these "concept maps". You should always make sure you know exactly what topics are going for your evaluation.

6. attend classes

This method is basically the sum of several methods; The first is to locate yourself in a strategic place in the room, where you can attend well to the teacher's instructions. Secondly, avoid being distracted by the environment during class hours, and finally make sure to take the necessary notes so that you can later use them during your study day in home. And, of course, ask all the questions you have.

This is one of the easiest tips on how to be a better student to follow, since it is based on spontaneity and a willingness to learn.

7. Take control of your subjects

Do not allow your subjects to dominate you, be the one to dominate them. This is one of the most important keys of a good student. You can do this by having a copy of your class schedule in a conspicuous place in your room, so that you can look at it daily and familiarize yourself with your academic load. And also, make sure to write down all the pending tasks in the agenda so as not to be left behind in the study of the subjects.

This will serve as a guide to know which are the subjects to which you should devote extra attention.

8. surround yourself with good students

To be a good student, you must worry about weaving quality social relationships with people who are in tune with you. By surrounding yourself with responsible people, you are giving yourself a source of inspiration and an example that will motivate you more. Of course, it is not a question of copying, but of exposing oneself to an environment in which the fact of studying is valued.

9. Get in the habit of reviewing in spaced repetition

A few days after having studied a part of the syllabus for the first time, review it again. Then, let a slightly longer period pass, and go over again. Once you've done it, let even more time pass than last time, and go over it again. This way of studying is called spaced repetition, and is the best way to memorize efficiently.

10. Sleep well

Sleeping the right hours is necessary so that the information you have learned is well consolidated in your memory system.

Bibliographic references:

• Andrade-Lotero, L.A. (2012) Cognitive load theory, multimedia design and learning: a state of the art Magis. International Journal of Research in Education, 5(10): pp. 75 - 92.
• Hernandez, f. (1990). Learning to learn. Methods and Study Techniques for students of E.G.B.- B.U.P.- F.P. Murcia: Editorial Distributor Group.
• Maquet, P., et al. (2000). Experience-dependent changes in cerebral activation during human REM sleep. Nature neuroscience, 3(8), 831-836.
• Sarah, S. J. (2000). Retrieval and reconsolidation: towards a neurobiology of remembering. Learning & Memory, 7(2), 73-84.