Posted by:
Tevai
(
)
Date: September 20, 2017 04:21PM
I am sorry, Becca--I went through school feeling this way about math after trigonometry (for a lot of reasons not pertinent here). In any case, I have some understanding of what you are feeling now, and the major thing to keep in mind is...
What you are dealing with is essentially a practical problem, and there are practical ways to deal with it.
First priority is to determine if the problem is with your understanding of the material (the thinking process/"philosophy"/logic BEHIND the facts)...OR if it is with you remembering the facts/data points/important minutiae. Once you understand where your personal problem(s) are, you can then deal with them (perhaps one at a time) in a practical manner.
If your problem is the thinking process/"philosophy"/logic BEHIND the facts, then the best way to deal with this is to "teach" this subject to one or more invisible students who are sitting in front of you, motivated and with full attention, as they listen to YOUR wisdom on this subject.
Take it sentence-by-sentence, or paragraph-by-paragraph: read what you need to understand, and then "teach" this---OUT LOUD, with your own voice---to your students. YOU create the words, the examples, and the context that will allow you to teach to them what you have just read.
If you learn audially (through your ears), then be extra sure to do this OUT LOUD (because your actual student is YOU, of course).
If you learn through your eyes, then WRITE THIS OUT, in terms your STUDENTS can understand (as if you were teaching a class in distance education, or online). You can use index cards (thicker-than-paper cards in sizes like: American 3"x4", or 4"x6," etc., they come in all kinds of colors here in the US, including fluorescent colors and gentle "patterns," like clouds on a background of color)...and you can use a mix of cards, in various colors or sizes, for different things you need to learn: general principles that you need to know by heart, examples of these general principles, EXCEPTIONS from these general principles, and important added information like legal requirements or restrictions.
If you learn by touch, then create diagrams, or models (out of cotton-swabs, or cardboard, or wooden toothpicks, or pictures/diagrams/paper maps that you enhance with labels you stick on that you can write important points onto). These are your, personal, self-created, "tutorial materials" which contain the essential points of theory or legal/philosophical/financial detail that you need to know and understand.
If you need to learn important differences between different things, then be SURE to use different colors (unless you are color-blind! ;) ), with a specific color (or range of colors: a range of different shades of red or blue or green or whatever) that you assign to each of the important elements you need to keep separate in your mind.
(You can also use colors to differentiate the ideas in your provided tutorial material using colored highlighters: one standard color (red or blue or green or purple or yellow or pink, etc.) for each of the main categories you need to keep straight in your head. (The colors you assign to each category will help you remember where each of the elements you need to remember "are" in your memory.) (A "highlighter" is a colored marking pen that colors the paper underneath the print, but leaves the printing clearly visible to the reader. I don't know if highlighters are generally used in Europe, but they are very widely used here to "color-annotate" written tutorial material: textbooks, handouts, etc..)
"Bubbles" that you circle around important things (facts, exceptions, cautions, etc.) are very important because they are automatic review whenever you look at those pages of tutorial matter, as are your own notes that you write in the margins and at the top and the bottom of each page.
If any of this "pings" personal memories (a childhood birthday party or Christmas or whatever...a vacation that you once took to another country...an off-the-wall observation or insight that you spontaneously developed at an earlier time in your life, etc. that somehow, in YOUR mind, has relevance to the material you have to learn for this qualification), "bubble" the material that "pings" your memory and write in the nearest margin: the horse-cart in Andalusia, or the coffee vendor in Hamburg (or whatever). All of these connections will help you to remember, and to understand, the material you need to master now.
When you are studying, be sure to have "concentration music" in the background: generally instrumental music by Mozart, Bach, and certain of the other classic composers. (Go to www.youtube.com and search for "music for concentration" or "music for studying." Find the "concentration music" that is right for YOU, and then make sure that this kind of music is on, so you can consciously hear it in the soft background, at all times while you are studying---this really DOES help!!!)
Always make sure that your blood sugar is balanced and "up" (within the "good" parameters) when you study. Do not try to do this on coffee and easy carbs (like baked goods or candy) because you will go to lower-than-optimum blood sugar levels without even knowing it, and far sooner than you think. Balance a mini-meal, before you study, with protein, fats, and carbohydrates. Good study foods (balanced between protein, fats, and carbs) include sliced cheese, nuts and dried fruits, milk, a half-sandwich of sardines with some mayonnaise, and some dark chocolate. Green tea is also known to increase concentration and to decrease stress. Sometimes, when you need a quick snack of "easy carbs" when you studying and you are losing focus and concentration, three good-quality cookies, preferably with chocolate in them, and with milk poured over them, works well. ;)
Don't over-do the carbs or your body will quickly plunge to LOW blood sugar levels (that's why you need protein and fats, at the same time, to balance the carbs)...because low blood sugar is Enemy Number One of study focus and concentration. If you are trying to study on easy carbs (breads, chips, sugar-based candies, etc.) and coffee, this could be one of the physiological reasons you are having memory and understanding difficulties that you had not anticipated. (P.S. Good quality ice cream, in moderation, also works as an effective study aid.)
Hope this helps!!!
Edited 3 time(s). Last edit at 09/20/2017 07:07PM by Tevai.