Only a month into the second semester of school, students may be slowly losing their motivation with doing their classwork. Tests may be taking place and students may not have the motivation to study for them. 

In classes, teachers provide the material to study for tests or upcoming assignments, but they do not cover how to study. Because of this, students may be unsure of what an effective way of studying is.

“My go-to way of studying is taking notes and then making a Quizlet so I can use that to test myself on the material,” senior Ella Boeke said. 

Studying is about making sure students remember the material, not just going over it. Quizlet has many beneficial games and features, like matching or spelling, that may be used to help students learn the material so they understand it.

A student’s learning environment also plays an important role for students trying to learn or study material. A quiet and relaxing space is preferred by many students as to how they learn.

“Get some water and a couple [of] snacks, [and] depending on my location I may play some piano music,” senior Ashley Garrard said. 

Trying to study and learn all of the material the night before is not effective and may cause more harm than good. Taking breaks is beneficial and allows the mind to take a rest and remember the information better. Learning in sections allows students to give all of their attention to one part.

“If students are studying from home they should do it incrementally, learn in small parts, take a break, and then come back to it because you can only learn so much at a period of time,” math teacher Brendan Dowling said. “Cramming the night before, not asking questions when there’s review time, [and] not being consistent with your attendance all are factors that may impact your grade

For material that students don’t understand, getting help from peers and teachers can help. There are multiple options for students to get a better understanding. For example, students can go to Raider Aid if they can not meet with their teacher.  

When students use different techniques for note-taking for new topics, students become fully engaged in the material when they look at it at home.

“Handwritten notes help me memorize everything better,” Boeke said. “Don’t just use a pencil, use colors.”

Students that show effort tend to have better grades than those who do not. Putting in the time and effort can make a big difference for a student’s grades on tests. 

“The most beneficial way of learning is [by] being an active learner, writing stuff down, saying material out loud, coming up with helpful acronyms that you associate with different content,” Dowling said.

Grades should be taken into account because they may affect students’ futures. Colleges take grades into consideration, and that can cause harm or good. Students should strive to finish off strong this semester and prepare for the upcoming years of education, and that starts with studying.