Failing to find study/ revision techniques that work

cantdecide

I don't mean this thread to be a whinge. I know all students have advantages and disadvantages but I'm finding a few key disadvantages almost insurmountable. I have lots of time I can put into study but it seems to do me no good. I read tons of tips online and nothing seems to work for me.

In a nutshell, despite all kinds off efforts, I'm geologically slow at studying and revision (I mean it would take me an entire weekend to cover a 50 page chapter on business concepts and I still won't be able to answer exam questions in a meaningful way) and I have major problems retaining, recalling and linking important topics and concepts- I just end up covering the material in a linear way and can't see the material in 3D. Hell, I'm not able to write quickly without it turning into a scribble.

I'm in my 30's, I did poorly in the leaving cert (I made no effort) and I haven't studied before I started this course. I work full time (the hours are awkward and the job is mind numbing which impacts studying during the week). I'm in second year of a level 6 distance course in business procurement and getting ready for exams nearly killed me last year and I got middle of the road results. I'm simply trying and failing to learn to study bulk material.

We have eight tutorials between September and March and there is just one final exam in May over the course of a week which is a lot of jeopardy in my mind. There is a 2000w essay in each module, all of which were due in January. The reality of the course structure is that we've all spent the time up to January exclusively focused on the assignments and we're only now switching over to cover the core material and start thinking about exam prep. A couple of the tutors expect us to be practically exam ready for the chapter we will be covering and even after putting in a whole weekend, I'm still struggling to recall and link topics in class.

The concepts and material we're covering is pretty rudimentary. We did an accountancy module last year and a stats module this year which I don't find a challenge. I'm really just starting to believe that I'm either just slow or my brain just doesn't work in a way conducive to assimilating the volumes of material we have to contend with. For my lackluster marks last year I was completely burnt out and I feel as if I'm heading that way again this year. I have no life outside of work and study at the moment and I seem to have a perma-headache from my efforts.

Any thoughts or advice would be appreciated.

Speedwell

Open University, eh? Me too. Adult learners (30+) seem to do a lot better when a person is teaching. I taught software to engineers in a corporate setting for 10 years, and the younger ones were fine with "tutorial and go", and the older ones had to have more handholding. The oldest ones, the company sat as near to me as possible so I could check on them and they could see me pass by to ask questions. When I was a piano teacher, my adult students did better on two lessons a week and my child students on one. The fact is, most older students learn better with one-on-one, in-person, immediate-feedback, "learn then teach" methodology. I so wish I had a friend taking the same classes to come sit with me. This "go study and we'll tell you if you're screwing it up" drives me bananas. Try, please try, to find someone to think the study material over with, even if it has to be over Skype.

Tom Dunne

Tell me about your learning techniques, in detail.

How do you try to learn?

(I'm a little bit older than you, also a student and I'm involved in both learning and teaching)

cantdecide

Speedwell wrote: »

This "go study and we'll tell you if you're screwing it up" drives me bananas. Try, please try, to find someone to think the study material over with, even if it has to be over Skype.

I agree. It's frustrating. I'm so slow that trial and error is extra punishing- lots and lots of time goes up in smoke before you realise you're not on the right track so you stick doing the thing that works badly just because it kinda works.

Unfortunately, I keep suggesting people meet up or Skype or whatever but there appears to be no takers. It just seems peculiar to our year that no groups have formed and everyone is flying solo. Our class is only about 12 people and a lot of people are from elsewhere in the province so it's a tall order.

Tom Dunne wrote: »

Tell me about your learning techniques, in detail.

How do you try to learn?

(I'm a little bit older than you, also a student and I'm involved in both learning and teaching)

Hi TD. I'm glad you're coming to my rescue again

Okay; detail...

For each module, our course material is broken into a text book of about 300 pages of approximately 6-8 chapters and it's all business principles, concepts and models. Not difficult stuff at all, very common sense stuff but there's just lots of it and it often recurs in different different modules. Each chapter ends with a few dozen sample questions.

The materials came in PDF form so I printed everything single sided so I have a page of text on my left. I read the text and highlight key words and phrases from the text [sorting the wheat from the chaff is a very time consuming exercise given my comprehension difficulties].

I then transcribe these key notes/ phrases to the blank page on the right hand side so I have it parsed [I've been assured that the exercise of writing it in itself helps memorise it].

I re-read the parsed version of the chapter and I'm certain that I still understand everything. It's not difficult to understand.

I look at the sample questions and try to answer them and that's when the floundering starts. I can easily give direct answers to direct questions such as 'name the five steps of this or that'. Where the wheels come off for me is when the question requires you to meld the whole chapter and use combinations of principles or elements to form and opinion. You know the types of questions that end with "Discuss.". That's when I just blank. I really believe that at this point I just haven't fully assimilated the material and I struggle to link different principles together.

It's at this stage I realise that I could start pulling the whole thing apart again and start analysing what principles can link together. This is also the time that my inner voice starts chastising me for spending far too much time at this already. I start to think about experiment in some mind mapping or some index card writing but that's when the stress really kicks in and I start thinking about all the other chapters in all the other modules and how covering them all is impossible. That's when I start thinking about moving abroad and changing my name.

Tom Dunne

I can't help but feel you are being really hard on yourself.

Do you actually have comprehension issues, or do you feel you have comprehension issues?

Even a cursory glance at your posts suggests you are well able to articulate yourself, so I would imagine that if you got your technique right, discussing topics would not be so difficult for you.

If what was suggested by me an others in the other thread aren't working for you, I can offer you something that is, well, a bit left of field.

A reflective journal can help you become more aware of the issues you are facing, with the hope that once you raise your awareness, you can work on them. You can also see the positives, what worked with hope that you can repeat whatever it is you did, again. All it involves is writing a note after each session reviewing that note before you start the next session. A little 'fluffy', I admit, but it is quite effective.

To take that one step further, educational psychology has lots to say on learning. One particular aspect I believe may be of interest to you is the whole area of SRL and SDL (Self Regulated Learning and Self Directed Learning). The good thing about these concepts are that they are proven to work and, most importantly, a person can be taught them to make them a better learner.

While it might distract you from your regular learning for a while, if all else is failing you, the diversion might be worth a look.