Study/Learning
Skills for Medical Students
Compiled by Steve
Wood, PhD UNM School of Medicine
From medical
students:
Cut Text Books
I would take my textbooks to Kinko’s after I had removed the front and back
covers. I would have them cut the binding and punch three holes in the sheets
so that I could place the pages in a three-ringed binder. I would remove only
the pages that pertained to what I was studying for a particular lecture or
week and place them in a separate (small binder) that was divided by subject. I
would leave the rest of my textbook at home. My small 3-ring binder would have
each subject for the day, the pages of text and the appropriate syllabus pages.
I would preview each lecture the night before and add what I thought I would
need for the day.
Time Your Study
My attention span is
about 50 minutes so I would set a kitchen timer for 50 minutes. I would study
my notes for that 50 minutes and take a 10-minute break. On my break, I would
get a drink, move around, get a breath of fresh air but I would do anything
except continue to sit and look at a page of notes. When I returned from my
break, my mind would be ready to focus.
http://medicinefromthetrenches.blogspot.com/2007/05/study-skills-part-ii.html
Other
Sources:
Reinforcement Techniques
These are study
skills designed to facilitate learning and to store the learned material in long
term memory banks. Frequent repetition is an example of a reinforcement
technique. Other examples are using new information to solve problems or to
answer questions, and the "see one, do one, teach one" technique used
to teach clinical skills. In the basic sciences frequent repetition and using
the information to solve problems or to answer questions are the most effective
techniques. A sequence of reinforcement might look like this:
· The evening before a class survey
the subject material to be covered the next day. Skim the text or syllabus.
Major topics, subheadings, and the first sentence of paragraphs might be read.
Charts and graphs are quickly scanned and the captions are read. Major topics
and concepts are quickly listed in the notebook used for lecture notes. The
skimming and major topics list should be done in 30 minutes. The list will form
"advance organizers" that will serve as categories or concepts around
which other information can be learned and organized. Also take about 15
minutes to look back over the work that you did after the preceding class
session.
· Attend to the lecture next day by
adding information as subtopics under the list of advance organizers. The
structure of each of the major concepts will begin to form as you carry out
this task. Do not try to write down everything. Most faculty present a
syllabus, handout, or reading assignment that will contain the details needed
to understand the topic under discussion. Take 3-4 minutes to read through your
notes immediately after the lecture.
· That evening read your notes again
and either begin to work out the content of the instructor's learning
objectives or write out three or four questions that you will answer during
that evenings study period. Again, move quickly, using the objectives or
questions to guide your study. Return to step 1 the evening prior to the next
scheduled class in each subject.
· The weekend will play an important role
in this reinforcement scheme. Study time during the weekend might be used to go
back over the weeks work, tie up loose ends, and to organize the weeks work so
that it can be easily reviewed prior to an examination.
It
is very helpful to "skim" the material to be covered before the
lecture, and to provide a list of advance organizers so that you can relate
what the lecturer says to what you already know. Active listening is an
important skill that will help you get maximum learning gain from a lecture. To
listen actively, listen for the signals the lecturer uses to stress important
information. There are seven common signals used by most lecturers to
signal important information:
· Introduction
of a topic: For example "next, I am going to discuss..."
· Words
that stress importance: For example "It is important to know that
...", "You should remember that ...", "The next exam will
cover ...".
· Definitions:
"The term adductor means ...", "Atrophy is a process that
...".
· Identification
of a list or series of steps: "The stages in the process of wound healing
are ...", "Damage to the ulnar nerve will cause the following list of
problems...".
· Writing
on the blackboard, speaking slowly and louder, body language.
· Showing
a graphic or drawing on the blackboard.
· Summarizing
or restating important points.
One
of the most powerful ways to learn is to teach other students about a
subject. One of the most efficient ways of completing the work of the medical
curriculum is to organize a committed group of three or four students that will
study, teach, and learn together.
http://medicine.utah.edu/learningresources/tools/study/index.htm
Learning
objectives
It is important
to determine what it is you want to or need to learn. Not everything is of
equal importance. Objectives help focus on the more important information. In
most cases objectives are provided by teachers. Some textbooks contain learning
objectives. Other times learning objectives may not be explicit, and you will
need to determine what is important to learn. Some suggestions on how this
might be done are:
1. Pay close attention to the
instructor's lectures, handouts, and other learning material supplied by the
instructor. Frequently instructors structure their lectures and handout
materials much like a textbook with heading and subheadings that will tell you
what is important.
2. After you identify a topic or
concept that is important, ask a series of questions about the topic or concept,
that, when fully answered, will provide essential information necessary to
understand the topic or concept.
Concept mapping
Humans learn new information best by
integrating the new information into an existing knowledge base. This is called
meaningful learning as contrasted to rote learning. Rote learning doesn't hang
around the brain very long. Concept mapping utilizes this knowledge about
learning by providing a technique by which interrelationships can be mapped or
charted. It taps into a learner's cognitive structure and externalizes what the
learner already knows while depicting relevant concepts and relationships the
learner is currently learning. A meaningful map will integrate the new
knowledge with the previous knowledge.
Highlighting and attaching questions
Many students use highlighting or underlining
techniques to emphasize information that they believe to be important. We have
seen 900 page textbooks and complete syllabuses colored yellow or pink from
cover to cover. In other words, highlighters have difficulty discerning degrees
of importance in the text of a book, lecture notes, handouts or a syllabus. A
process for increasing the efficacy of highlighting as a study skill/learning
tactic is to attach questions to the highlighted text material. When a passage
of text is highlighted, ask what question does the highlighted text answer, and
write that question in the margin of you notes or textbook.