First off, I'll tell any student to install Dropbox (found http://www.dropbox.com/). Med school is a terrible time to lose your hard drive and all your study notes. Its free for the first two gigabytes, and works well with any physical hard drive backup that you make, and its accessible from any computer that has Dropbox installed.
A few weeks ago I started with taking a Meyer-Briggs self-test found on this site (http://www.ttuhsc.edu/SOM/success/default.htm). I found it an interesting read, and the advice seems well-thought out (the document is 200 pages, not exactly a quick read). The author writes that learning is an active process, and considering both the short-term (mini 1 part 1 is in two weeks) and long-term testing (I need to be able to recall my first lecture in 16 months) that takes place, one needs to quickly memorize a lot of information. I'm not sure how much, but Ive heard the metaphor of trying to drink water out of a fire hydrant used a few times.
Firstly, the author distinguishes between efficient study (performing a process quickly and optimally) and effectiveness (actually accomplishing a task). ie you can read through a book for a test and try to recall all the information, or you can use a memorization technique that focuses on the main points.
To form strong memories, remember AVA. I say this, but i cant remember them all half the time.
A is for Active Learning. You need to not only read and reread, but ask questions, categorize facts, and make connections between what you learn and other things in your life.
V is for visualization. Memorizing lists of things (cells, characteristics, functions, enzymes) is brutal, inefficient and doesnt utilize most of your brain. Furthermore, you can only get about 15 minutes of list memorization before that part of your brain is toast. You need to place things you learn in a visual map, because minds tend to categorize information visually. If you've ever heard of loci memory recall, like the Memory Palace, then you know what I'm talking about.
A is for Auditory learning. You dont just need to write facts down, but you have to be able to explain what you are learning in your own words. This is another form of active recall, because you are forced to teach something in your own words. This is also a form of verifying what you learn, as you'll be able to spot errors in your thinking and also know when you know enough.
I found it difficult to put myself firmly into a number of the specific thinking types...for example, I feel like an introvert that loves talking to people. Nonetheless, I've started using the concept maps (colloquially referred to as Bubble maps) because of the benefits touted.
I initially started studying some notes last night while the disaster in my kitchen was taking place. I had planned on using post-it notes and a white board for concept mapping, but my shipment hasn't arrived on the island yet, so instead I utilized a simple pen and paper. Within the end of the 30 minute block, the page was full and had lines crossing all over the place due to lack of space. This would not be effective in the long term, as I'd still need to store the post-it notes somewhere and draw out a hard copy once I was done editing, so instead I decided to find some software that would allow me to edit on the fly, save pdf's (upload them to Dropbox!!!) and print out hardcopies
The first software I used to accomodate the Myer-Briggs study methods was bubbl.us. Simple, free and easy to use, but I found that for the amount of maps I was continually editing, Bubbl.us was slow and inefficient at cross-linking bubbles or deleting them. Being online also meant I could access both the program and all my bubble maps from any computer, but also that I need internet access. With my laptop being carried around all the time, I would have preferred a program I can install.
Since then I installed another free and open source tool called VUE (Visual Understanding Environment), released by Tufts University (found here: http://vue.tufts.edu/). It seems to be simple and have the power I was hoping for, but I'll only find out with time.
Nonetheless, making concept maps takes a hell of a lot of time...but its effective. I can actually recall almost everything I read last night. Its actually scary how much I remember, and makes me wish I had used this more in university (though, I also recognize that most topics in university don't really map as efficiently). I don't know how well this will scale up over two years, but in the short term it seems extremely effective.
Earlier, I mentioned that I was studying in 30 minute time blocks. This was after reading (or skimming through the back cover) of the Pomodoro Technique (book available here for free http://www.pomodorotechnique.com/). I've been using a kitchen timer I bought (I also use it for cooking :3 ) and while it works well, it doesnt feel fantastically accurate and doesnt ring properly if not wound for a time greater than 10 minutes. I've also installed another free software called Pomodairo (found here: http://code.google.com/p/pomodairo/), and while I haven't utilized it yet in studying, it seemed to work well in tests.
Finally, I've been working on my schedule, as time-management has always been one of my weaknesses. I've stuck to buying a schedule book for now, but before I fill it out, I've been exploring how to best spread out my studying of a specific lecture. The academic success lecture during my orientation suggested:
- 30 minutes reading a lecture the night before. With 90 slides in the first lecture alone, that leaves 20 seconds per slide. I've currently found a program called Tabata Timer (found here: http://www.beach-fitness.com/tabata/) that can be used online or even downloaded and opened in-browser, which I've configured to beep every 20 seconds for 30 minutes. I'm not sure if its technically an interval timer or a continuous countdown timer. An important personal goal of mine is to skim through each slide and form an overall big picture of whats being studied, and draw in the large trunks of the ever-growing concept map.
- 1hr : sit in during lecture. Its been recommended to not take any notes during lecture, as the slides should have all the information one needs to know (but, as I've heard from upper semester students, this is not the case for certain profs).
- 1hr - 1.5hr : review that evening and fill in any notes and make concept maps
- 1hr : making practice multiple choice questions a few days later (I'll write about using spaces repetition software like Mnemosyne and Anki in a few days to accodomate this)
- 0.5hr : material review (Im not sure what to particularly do here)
Just remember, switch up topics every hour or two. Take regular breaks and get a good nights sleep regularly, as thats when you consolidate short-term memories into the long term. Also remember to never multitask, as studies show you tend to get sub-optimal performance in each activity that you are multitasking, meaning you lost time and energy.
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