Hopeful future pediatric neurologist or pediatric neurosurgeon
17 yrs/studyblr
Harry Paul from New York was born with congenital scoliosis, a curvature of the spine that forced him to endure more than a dozen operations growing up. That’s why starting in his freshman year of high school, he worked to research a new type of spinal implant that can grow along with a child so that it doesn’t have to be constantly replaced or adjusted with surgery.
See more posts like this on Tumblr
#medicine #nice!!!
september 20, 2018
“yes, we’re all going to die someday. but i have a million things to do first.”
1. Most of the times, you don’t have to. You might be thinking, okay then wtf is the point of this post? That’s a reasonable question. I would like to argue that more often than not, taking notes in the class didn’t help me that much, but sometimes, it really was useful. I didn’t realise this until one of my professors called me out on remembering a lot of the lecture despite not taking notes. I decided to do a little bit of research by myself and surprisingly, I wasn’t alone on this one. Bloomberg Business summarizes it: “The human brain, it appears, is wired to recognize when information is being documented, and to “intentionally forget” that info so as to be able to free up room for other things. The brain assumes that since the information is written down, there’s no need to remember it.” I would encourage you to actively engage with the lecture by questioning what is being taught, discussing and even experimenting. You’ll be surprised by how much your brain actually retains that way.
2. If you really have to, use the chapter outline. No one has a perfect memory, and we’re not good at everything either. So sometimes I do take notes using the chapter outline, especially in subjects I don’t get a lot. You know that one page where they outline the chapters paragraph and give it numbers? It’s been extremely useful to me. Why? Because the paragraphs are usually named after the main ideas of the subject. Let me give you an example. One of my introductory classes was Marketing. The first chapter is named Wat is Marketing? The first paragraph is The definition of marketing, the second The marketing concept and the last one The role of marketing in a corporation. So knowing the answer to these 3 paragraphs should give you a strong idea of what marketing really is. A 20-page chapter was easily summarized in only 3 paragraphs. This saves me lots of time and I’m able to identify the most important info right away.
3. Always write information that is not in the books. Most professors usually paraphrase what is in the textbooks but sometimes they come with original content. These can be additional information, examples or mnemonics. I don’t write these in great detail. Usually, one sentence at the margin of the page or on a memo would do the trick to remind me about it. Be as short as possible not to fall behind in the lecture tho!
4. Write in your own language. I get classes in Dutch but I write my notes in English. This helps me to truly understand what I’m learning and I’m able to remember faster too.
In a nutshell, you don’t have to take lots of notes. If you do, try to write the information clearly, in a few words and fast. That way, you can engage with the information that is being presented.
Anonymous asked:
optomstudies answered:
Hi there! I know this post may feel basic, but I feel like you’re struggling with basic skills like summarising a topic and writing things in your own words, so I tried my best to explain things in a step-by-step action-oriented list so that you can stand on your own ‘feet’ when you’re studying :)
1. The textbook may be boring, but you’ve still got to read it.
Unfortunately, high school and university isn’t a walk in the park :( I know, some days it’s hard, but you’ve still got to put in at least a modicum of hard work if you want to do well.
Sometimes, the studyblr community perpetuates the idea that there’s some sort of “secret” to being a straight-As, 4.0GPA, HD WAM student, but there’s only studying techniques to make things easier. You’re still going to need a basic level of motivation, discipline, time management, organisation and study in order to do well.
So even though the textbook is boring, you’re either going to have to convince yourself that the topic is interesting, or pull up your socks, buckle down, and actually read it.
2. Reading speed is a limiting factor on how fast you can take notes.
Try reading the textbook without taking any notes and time how long it takes you. That’s going to be the minimum time it takes, so if doing all the reading for 3 content heavy courses takes at least an hour or two, then reading and taking notes is going to be much more than that (roughly more than double the time), so you can’t speed it up any faster than your base reading speed.
I recommend trying speed reading techniques, but that would take a whole separate post, so I won’t go into that here.
3. Learn how to summarise a topic.
At the moment it seems like you’re struggling and not really understanding how to summarise topics, and just relying on the textbook to tell you what’s important.
To summarise something, you’ll need to write down the key points (the most important information) from something that you read in the fewest number of words reasonable. I’m sure you already knew that, but you must not be putting it into practice because of what you’re telling me in your ask.
4. Write things in your own words.
Again, once you learn how to summarise, writing it in your own words will solidify that information in your brain. Explain the topic in layman’s terms to a family member, which forces you to use your own words. If you live alone, try a stuffed toy or rubber duck.
5. Start off by annotating your class notes.
I think initially you should start off with annotating just until you learn what information is important and what’s not. Class notes usually have 80% of the important information in brief points, and the textbook colours in the rest.
6. Use the “gummy bears” method.
I know it’s elementary, but you seemed to be having trouble with discipline and boredom, so place gummy bears on every paragraph as a crutch to get yourself to finish reading everything. Once you train yourself to do things that you don’t want to do, then you won’t have to use any cheap tricks, as you’ll be disciplined enough to read pages and pages without needing constant “carrot on a stick” rewards.
Once you’ve done those, here are my masterposts for content heavy courses:
Hope that helps!!
Follow optomstudies for daily original posts and study masterposts!
Links: all originals + langblr posts + 15-part college 101 series + web directory!
After finishing my fall semester, I have decided to compile some study strategies that will hopefully help any other college students out there (especially the premeds). These tips helped me get a 4.0 at an Ivy League school.
Thanks for reading! Hope you all have a wonderful Spring semester!
You get better every time you do something difficult. Your standards of difficulty rises and you will gradually improve.
hey guys, on my instagram i asked if people wanted to see videos that motivate me studying, pushing my limits, and most important help me stop procrastinating. so here is my top 5 videos, hope you like them! (instagram: thomreads)
video number one: The ABCs of SUCCESS - Amazing Motivational Video for Students, Studying & Success in Life
video number two: Grey’s Anatomy, Cristina Yang: “Be unstoppable.”
video number three: Legally Blonde - I’ll show you how valuable Elle Woods can be!
video number four: Michaela Pratt | That’s My Girl (How To Get Away With Murder)
video number five: From FAILING STUDENT to ROCKET SCIENTIST - The Motivational Video that Will Change Your Life
bonus video: Rory’s system to study her finals (Gilmore Girls)
work hard now. stay up those extra hours studying for that test. rewrite your notes by hand. read the textbook again. go over your flash cards a second time. it is tough but nothing can beat the feeling of getting a grade you worked hard for and earned. you can do it, i believe in you.
20-05-17: almost done with exams and I couldn’t be more excited!!
Also I’m loving mind maps at the moment
