The following writing is an assignment I had to do for university, which I wanted to share on my blog, for my own reference and also hopefully this may help you create or adjust your own study plan (if you're currently studying). :)
What is my goal?
I have one simple goal that can be written in just 3 words:
No more cramming.
From now and onwards, I intend to discontinue my old revision techniques that were absolutely inefficient, anxiety-provoking, stressful, unhealthy-amounts-of-caffeine-fuelled, temperamental and unsustainable.
It will require major changes in my study habits that have been built over the past few years of my life. The rocky start in Term 1, despite getting a decent result in the exam, was a wake-up call for me to change my study patterns - especially now that I'm doing medicine, a relatively intense course.
After spending some time researching on various revision techniques that are efficient and reasonable for me (i.e. it won't require me to stay up cramming until 4 am the night before an exam again - half-awake, half-trembling from all the coffee I inhaled), I came up with this study plan for Term 2 - incorporating two evidence-based, scientifically-proven revision techniques called "active recall" and "spaced repetition".
So, what is the plan?
Essentially, there are 4 steps, or 'layers', in the plan. As I was making this, I had the 2 key revision techniques mentioned above in mind which focuses on one element: REPETITION
● LAYER 1 - IN-DEPTH NOTES
Make a 'fully complete' set of notes for each lecture containing all the content and details needed for the units in the term - using lecture slides as my main resource. The two apps I will use to make the notes are Quizlet and GoodNotes.
[ Timescale for layers 1 & 2: Flexible for this term - 'trial and error' period ]
PSA: Please do not sit in this posture for too long like my dumb bum is doing in this picture or else your body will ache. A lot. (Learned this the hard way, heh...)
● LAYER 2 - MODERATE NOTES + PRACTICE TESTING
This layer has 2 'sub-layers' - both utilises a principle of efficient learning called active recall.
↳ Make a new set of ’simple’ notes: Make mind maps and/or handwritten notes for each lecture or topic purely from memory first. Then fill in missing gaps of information by using the notes made in level 1. I will use the GoodNotes app for this.
↳ Practice testing: Do quizzes available on {my university’s internal website}, questions in the unit workbooks and practice questions available in other resources (e.g. PathCAL).
● LAYER 3 - BRIEF REPETITION
At this point, I should have learned the majority of Term 2’s content by now. So for this layer, I will read through all my notes, do quizzes and practice questions again and skim through the unit workbooks.
[ Timescale: 2 days per unit (8 days in total) ]
● LAYER 4 - CONSOLIDATION
Consolidate what I already know e.g. jot down key topics for each unit and discuss with colleagues. Most importantly, no more looking at notes and workbooks. I should believe in myself that I’ve prepared well, and there’s no need to look at the notes again one day before the exam.
[ Timescale: 1 day before the exam ]
Tracking progress
● Google Sheets
↳ To track which lectures I’ve made notes for and the number of times I went over each subject
● Pomodoro timer report
↳ This shows how much time I’ve put into each unit/task everyday. The pomodoro timer I use is called ‘Be Focused’ that is available on iOS and Mac - it’s so easy to use, and I highly recommend it for anyone with Apple devices.
References / Thank you
● Ali Abdaal (A junior doctor graduated from University of Cambridge Medical School, and a YouTuber) - His videos introduced me into the concepts of "active recall" and "spaced repetition".
● Miss Varz (A student in Oxford University, and a YouTuber) - She shared similar study techniques as Ali but in a more fun, simple and easygoing way.
↳ Link: Her video that heavily inspired my study plan
A huge thank you to these two intelligent, incredibly amazing people that sparked the idea for this revision plan that I personalised for my own circumstances. Also, a grand thank you to Google (I like to call it "Uncle Google" for being the all-knowing search engine for when I needed some additional information.)
With love,
Nana
P.S. I changed the comments from Disqus to the default Squarespace comments today so all the previous comments on my past blog posts are not displayed. It’s fine though. Fresh start, right?