More musings on that study subject

[ninevirtues]

Hmm...

You can tell I'm thrashing a little bit. It's midterm week.

The thing is.... I did not do particularly well in my undergrad. I did the best I could, and didn't worry about getting decent grades to get into grad school. (Undergrad was so not-fun that I could not even conceive of ever going to grad school.) I stressed a lot, and I spent a lot of time studying ineffectively, and it was about seventeen different kinds of no fun.

Nope. This school is a gigantic present to myself. I carefully considered what I wanted to do, and I am changing from a career to a calling. (Not only did I get myself into this, I bought a nice suit flew across the country, spent considerable mental time prepping for an interview, and then interviewed to get into this.) I will NOT spend three years unhappy and stressed out. Time to rethink.

I am a smart cookie (and I have a variety of objective evidence to prove that) and I do well when I work (and a long history of bonuses, promotions, and good reviews proves THAT). This is just another kind of work. I need to figure out how to excel at it.

Now I have a definite motivation to be organized and prepared: One, I like to kick butt and make good grades. It makes me happy. Getting good grades means I stay in school and stress less. Two, the more efficient I am at studying, the more I can spend my time riding. Motivation!

So. Believe it or not, I have arrived in graduate school with deficient study habits. I am making a hobby of searching for good study habit suggestions on the web (got any good suggeestions? I'd love to hear them!) In the meantime...

One: Just because i've always done it that way, does not mean my usual approach will work on any given project. (Specifically, just because there's no reading for a class, and you thoroughly understand the lecture, does not mean that you don't need to study. Just because a chapter of the book is assigned, does not mean that it is readable, or worth reading, or that you will be tested on it. (I found this out the hard way.)

Two: Test time is time to show what I know. If I start preparing for the midterm early (like devote some time to reviewing for it every week) then the night before is a confidence-builder. Knowledge is like fitness: you can only acquire so much at any given time. Consistency is key.


Warning: Gross but funny stuff coming

Three: Just like with food-- What goees in looks different from what comes out. I can recite the book verbatim, but chances are the professor will ask me to apply what I have learned and ask questions that test whether I have thought about and truly integrated the material.

Now that I have thoroughly disgusted you all with that analogy, I will tell you about getting goosed by a cadaver. (Aiegh!) In the anatomy practical, the instructor set up one of the cadavers with one arm at a 90 degree angle, sticking out from the lab bench. (We had to identify a muscle under the arm.) So I look at this outstretched hand... which thankfully still has the skin on... and the skin is slightly blackened, and it's looking a little green around the fingernails. Eeeeewwww! I go around the gurney the OTHER way, by the feet, just to avoid that thing. Okay, identify the muscle under discussion (Serratus anterior, innervated by the long thoracic nerve, proximal attachment is the lateral thoracic side of the scapula, distal attachment is the 3d through 7th rib I believe, thanks for asking)... anyway, answer that quiz question and turn around to look at the next cadaver.

Can't see the muscle she's asking for... back up a bit to get a better look and... Aaaagh! I got goosed by the outstretched hand of cadaver #1.

Somewhere, up in heaven, a little old guy is probably grinning big. As for me, though, that was the single worst goosing experience of my young life. Eccch!

Comments

[kf6gpe.livejournal.com]

You make very good points.

Here at the office, we're struggling with something you say as well --- if you do what you always do, you get what you always got. (I'm told this is a slogan from AA, but I can't attest to that personally. Nonetheless, it's true.)

Sharing your undergrand experiences, I really respect what you're doing now! :)

Thanks, Ray!

[ninevirtues.livejournal.com]

:-)

(as I recall you did better in your undergrad, and you liked it more, than I ever did. Nevertheless, I'm doing it. My anatomy professor confirmed for me that yes, many people do not learn study skills until grad school and yes, a DPT involves practical knowledge that we are immediately expected to apply. So.... yes.... it's different learning.

Re: Thanks, Ray!

[kf6gpe.livejournal.com]

Except for the two quarters they kicked me out on my ass, I suppose I held my own. My issue was exactly what you're facing now: seriously learning to study, and to do so independently. That said, your background in physical training, combined with your motivation (as you realize, you're there as an explicit choice in following your calling!) puts you in very good stead.

Re: Thanks, Ray!

[ninevirtues.livejournal.com]

Well hmm, I was serious about it before, just not very knowledgeable, flexible, or efficient. (My approach: Read the material once; read it again with a highlighter; do any assigned problems; before the test, review my notes and make a "notes sheet" that summarizes what I am supposed to know.

Well, now I'm finding situations where that does not work.