Study tips

[Pompal 09.]

OK, I have ADD and I have a very poor memory.
Im having problems in my Swedish massage and advanced Anatomy class.
Ive always had a problem memorizing the diffrent techniques in modalities but its gotten to a point where Im beginning to fail my classes if I dont pick up soon.
I am on meds for my ADD and I use several study methods to help (keep extensive notes, recording device, going to other students for help and talking with the teacher at the end of class to keep me updated) but its still not enough.
On top of that my teachers are getting frustrated with me, one teacher was even raising her voice, and my learning issue gets worse the more stress Im under.
Has anyone ever been in this situation or can offer me words of advice?

 

[Maki]

I've never been diagnosed with ADD/ADHD, yet I have several members of my family that have...and by all accounts, I probably am too. They often say I might need to go get tested, but personally I'm not a fan of taking medicine. However I am more functional with mines than most.

I do know that what helps me personally is to interact with the material. I am not a good memorizer either. I either KNOW the material or I don't. Classes where we are just read to out of the book drive me nuts. It literally takes every ounce of energy that I have just to stay still in the seat, so I really don't know what the heck they read or discussed as my energy was focused on trying to be still and respectful. However, I have a wonderful A&P teacher that makes the material come alive. He teaches from slides and knows the material well enough to give examples, make jokes, make fun things to help us remember, etc. We can ask questions and get real answers (not just canned answers that were just read from the book), and we can really interact with the material which makes the difference for me in remembering it...because I know it and so I don't have to memorize it. When I get home, I will re-write my notes while incorporating things that were discussed on the tape recorder that the book might not have explained clearly (any examples that were mentioned)

Now, I do have some classes where I am just read to...which as mentioned above drive me nuts! So, while in class I've begun to go to the end of the chapter and answer the questions. Looking for the answers gives me something to do to relieve my restless energy, while at the same time I am learning the material in the book. That has been very helpful. I will also write the outlines at the beginning or end of the chapter if there are some.

Basically, the thing that works for me is (1) making the material real to me (2) and repetition through re-writing notes and answering questions at the end of the chapter (even though they weren't assigned).

 

[Olivia]

Study tips

Ive always had a problem memorizing the diffrent techniques in modalities but its gotten to a point where Im beginning to fail my classes if I dont pick up soon.
Has anyone ever been in this situation or can offer me words of advice?

As far as this part is concerned, the one thing that may help you is practice, practice, practice! When ever you have spare time, get someone on the table, practice with your fellow students, keep the book handy when you do if necessary. I don't have ADD/ADHD, but I doubt any of us remember every single move we have done in school. I still go back and check my books on things, and I have been out of school for three years! Hang in there, keep your confidence level high, and use techniques for learning that you have used in the past. Good Luck to you!

 

[KBT]

I have to agree. Practice, practice, practice and allocate more time studying.

I had to do double and triple the amount of studying in college compared to many of my counterparts, because I know I learn different. But, I will tell you I balanced it with a LOT of "fun". Sand volleyball was my "thing" back then and it gave me leave of absence from the books to free my brain for a while before getting back into the study mode.

Maybe you aren't getting enough study time or you aren't getting enough "fun". But always keep your hands on something and practice. Even if it's a friend sitting with you at IHOP. Stand behind them and palpate for a moment. Those hands need to be constantly feeling.

 

[Pompal 09.]

OK, I gotta agree with you on the practice thing. Yesterday while in class I ended up doing the arm massage for swedish 4 times in a row and by the end I was damn good.

 

[death]

how to learn handout

The following is a handout I use to teach kinesiology, but there is a section on A&P. And several of the kines methods have worked in A&P. Such as: paraphrasing the material - putting the ideas from A&P into your our words; always read the material before lecture - no matter how frustrating; rewrite lecture notes immediately after the lecture - with text open and highlighting key concepts; study often and in short time intervals; have a study partner who can explain things. One of the most important keys is determining whats important to learn and ignoring the rest.

(For many with ADD the distractions of a classroom setting make the learning difficult.)

good luck...............



Realize for many, the major hurdle to learning is fear, not intelligence, nor ability. Usually fear of failure. Fear creates anxiety around studying, leading to:
1. Procrastination - usually manifests as cramming before a test.
2. Poor study methods - usually manifests as anxiously staring at the lecture notes or textbook, re-reading or repeating the words over and over, hoping for the best.

Most of us never learned how to study or how to approach learning. Staring at pictures of muscles, or repeating the muscle names (and O, I & A) over and over will not work for this course.
· We don't massage paper, and we cannot learn muscles by repeating words, or staring at pictures.
·We learn kinesiology by doing, not so much by thinking. It is essential that you become actively involved in learning! The more that you involve your senses, the greater your ability to recall the information that you have learned.

STUDY METHODS
Summary of what you need do for this class:
(Actually, these are only the basics. You may need to do other practices more specific to your learning style)
1) Think less; do more!
2) Be familiar with that days material before class
3) Study kinesiology everyday
4) Review material from class the same day
5) Have study partner
6) Study for short time periods - then take break
7) Test yourself continuously as you study
8) Learn muscles using visual, auditory, touch and movement – all used simultaneously
9) Learn muscles through palpation – not reading
10) Learn shortening and lengthening of muscles through doing them with a partner
11) Understand how a muscle works by using a elastic band on the skeleton
12) Memorize muscles according to their Coloring Book pages
13) Must use Coloring Book and Trail Guide to the Body simultaneously as you study

Do Not:
1) Attempt to Learn by repeating names of muscles
2) Attempt to Learn by repeating O, I, A, of muscles - hoping it sticks
3) Stare at pictures of muscles – hoping it magically sinks in
4) Study muscles without BOTH the Trail Guide and Coloring Book
5) Procrastinate.
6) Cram
7)Think.
Ten year olds do the best in this class. Why? Because they like to play, to touch themselves, and they see muscles as they truly are: As simply rubber bands pulling on bones. Ten year olds get that there is nothing “to figure out”, and there’s nothing to “understand”.
As one ten year old stated to the rest of the class “You know why this is easy for me? Cause I’m not worrying about the test…. I’m not afraid”

BE FAMILIAR WITH THE MATERIAL BEFORE CLASS: Even a little time does wonders.
For kinesiology:
1) Complete coloring assignment before class. (While coloring, notice what you are coloring and say the structures out loud.)
2) Skim the Study Guide. Know what muscles are to be covered, and what I want you to know
3) Look at the muscles in the Trail Guide - say their names out loud
4)Review the bony landmarks and terms of movements we will use for that CB page
·(For A&P: Read assigned pages and look at pictures in the text)

REVIEW MATERIAL THE SAME DAY IT IS PRESENTED:
Otherwise, you will lose from memory 70% to 80% of what you heard or experienced in class!

CREATE A MENTAL FRAMEWORK FOR EACH COLORING BOOK PAGE:
Order and/or sequence makes it much easier to remember any piece of the information learned.
Use this Sequence for studying each CB plate:
1) Review bony landmarks
2) Do terms of movement for the joint they move.
3) Observe what bone(s) do all these muscles insert into?
4) What functions do all these muscles share? Remember each plate of muscles is already grouped according to function.
5) General picture identification: what muscles are posterior, anterior, lateral, medial. Very important to get visual I.D. solid before getting too specific with O, I, & A
·Visualizing a muscle means you know its actions - by simply visualize muscles pulling are like puppet strings.
6) Then and only then do you start to look at the specific O, A & I
7) Look at the relationship of the muscles on the plate to other muscles or structures. Are these muscles deep or superficial? What structures are medial, lateral, superficial or deep.
8) When using the Trail Guide to study individual muscles - always refer back to Coloring Book to remind you the group that muscle is in.

KEEP MUSCLES IN COLORING BOOK GROUPS: Muscles on the same page share, actions, functions, and attachments.
We can use grouping to memorize- for example:
1)Their shared attachments or actions
·All back muscles extend and laterally flex the spine
·All Quadriceps extend the knee
·All 4 rotator cuff muscles originate from the scapular fossa’s
2)The exceptions in each group
·All 5 adductors insert onto the posterior femur except gracilis
·All 4 rotator cuff muscles insert onto the lesser tubercle except subscapularis
· All calf muscles plantarflex except popliteus

It is much easier to remember a simple sentence describing one muscle than it is to remember details about 4 or 5 separate muscles.

WHEN LEARNING, INVOLVE ALL YOUR SENSES SIMULTANEOUSLY: VISUAL, AUDITORY & KINESTHETIC:
If we use all our channels at once, we learn quicker and retain much more of the material.
An Example:
1) While looking at a picture of the muscle. Say the name, the origins and insertions, and actions out loud.
2) Touch its origins and insertions on yourself or a partner.
3) Place an elastic band in the same location as the muscle, or draw the muscle
4) Do the action of the muscle replicating it with band.
5) Do the action while trying to palpate it on yourself or others
·So important to attempt to locate the muscle (palpate it) on yourself and others,
·Use your body - it is the very best resource or cheat sheet

USE THE SKELETON (it will be a part of the tests):
Red = origin, Blue = insertion
1) Locate the muscles origins and insertions on the skeleton
2) Place an elastic band on the O & I and simulate what the muscle does when it contracts.
3) Always look at a picture of the muscle as you simulate its action
a)Muscles simply pull like strings of a puppet, so recognizing a picture of a muscle means you know its actions!

STUDY WITH ALL 3 REQUIRED TEXTS SIMULTANEOUSLY:
1) Anatomy Coloring Book: visual ID; which functional group
2) Trail Guide to the Body: visual ID; Visual of O & I; Visual of Actions
3) Kinesiology Study Guide: O, I & A as I want you to know them; memorization tips, groups

PAY ATTENTION AS YOU COLOR:
1) Talk to yourself as you color (heading, names, actions, attachments)
2) Touch the muscles on yourself as you color
3) Contract the muscles as you color

REGULARLY PRACTICE SHORTENING & LENGTHENING, AND PALPATING
Seems obvious, but many slack off here
1) Practice with a study partner
2) Always have picture of muscle to look at as you practice
3) Verbally state to yourself or your partner exactly what you are doing (EX: “to lengthen pec minor I will elevate and retract the scapula”)

STUDY WITH A FRIEND OR A SMALL GROUP:
The activity and conversation helps to engage our senses and keep us alert.
1) Must palpate, and shorten & lengthen muscles on another student
2) Quiz each other, compare notes and predict test questions.
3) Others may have memorization tricks, word associations, etc.
4) Explain things to one another: teaching each other reinforces the material.
· As passive learners, we remember only 10% of what we read, 20% of what we hear, and 30% of what we see.
·When you teach someone else, you retain 70 % of what you teach. When you teach and demonstrate to another you retain 90% of what you say and do!

STUDY REGULARLY AND FREQUENTLY:
Everyone learn best in short spurts. The attention span of most people is 15 to 20 minutes. Small time periods are important because it helps to maintain interest and concentration. It also enhances comprehension and retention.
1) Study regularly during week - not in a single long chunk.
a) Example: You will retain more info studying the muscles 20 minutes, 6 days a week (2 hours), than if you studied the same muscles 8 hours in one day!

2) Use shorter time intervals for memorization, review, and self-testing.
a) Example: If you have 5 minutes at a time, at different points in throughout the day, then study one coloring book page for 4 minutes, test yourself for 1 minute.
b) Do memorization and review, especially details, just before you fall asleep (1-5 mins).

3) Break up a longer time periods into smaller sections.
a) Take lots of short breaks
b) Integrate physical activities as you study (or at least during breaks)
c)Mixing up activities helps one process information in a variety of ways.
d)Review by testing yourself on everything studied

Consider the following example the following 3-hour plan:
6:00-6:25 Palpate Coloring Book pages 56 & 57
6:30-6:55 Do shortening & lengthening pages 56 & 57
7:00-7:25 Draw muscles on study buddy
7:30-8:00 Reward: Watch favorite TV show
8:00-8:25 Quiz each other on Coloring book pages 50-58
8:35-9:00 Perform stretches and actions for Coloring book pages 50-58

Consider the following example the following 1-hour plan:
20 minutes – Create an outline for new information given in A&P
5 minutes - Take a break (juggling is a good thing to do. MOVE!)
15 minutes - Review information from this week, last week and last month
5 minutes - Take another break
10 minutes - Review the information from outline in the first 20 minutes
5 minutes - Take a break and get ready to start all over again, or go to a different subject

TEST YOURSELF (AND EACH OTHER):
Kinesiology: test yourself every few minutes - seriously
A & P: ask yourself questions as you read and study

1) Too many of us spend hours and hours and hours hunched over our notes and text books trying to learn and yet we spend very little time practicing the recall of the information that we have learnt.
2) So in effect we develop a very strong "IN" mental muscle yet the "OUT" muscle that we will rely on in our exanimations is hardly tested at all.
3) Spend more time demonstrating what you know than putting it in and keep adjusting and correcting until you get it right every single time.
4) The act of trying to recall also imprints the material. (note how we often remember answers to questions we miss on a test)


ADDITIONAL METHODS

HIGHLIGHT OR WRITE IN THE COLORING BOOK
1) Names of the Bony landmarks. Each coloring book page lists the bony landmarks where the muscles attach.
2) The O, I, and A’s on the blank page opposite the colored in muscles

HIGHLIGHT or UNDERLINE WORDS IN THE STUDY GUIDE that assist you in remembering key definitions or concepts.
One word brings unlocks the entire definition stored in your brain.
Examples: (underlined word connected to new word)
1) Aponeurosis: A broad sheet-like tendon bound together by fascia into a functional group.
2) Compartment: Several muscles bound together by fascia into a functional group.

MAKE or USE FLASH CARDS. (Not a substitute for first seven suggestions)
1) Making your flashcards is a superior learning technique, using purchased flash cards is not!
a) Draw bones and muscles on one side, and write the O, I, A on the other side
2) Purchased flashcards - look nicer, but this often results in students using flashcards as their main study technique - and not attempting other, more superior techniques.
a) Also results - in students NOT studying muscles according to their coloring book pages (functional groups)
b) Also results - in students memorizing words on paper and not engaging their kinesthetic channel (oh yeah – your kinesthetic channel is what you use when you massage, and oh yeah, this is a massage school……and on and on).

IN A&P and PATHOLOGY

READ FOR COMPREHENSION:
1) Slow down!! The flow of a Science book is not like the flow of a novel. A novel can be read effortlessly, smoothly and rapidly, but A & P or Pathology books cannot be. If you are reading a novel and are somewhat distracted, you can still get the idea of what it is about. When you are not concentrating on A & P you will get very little out of it, and it will seem more difficult than it really is.

2) Every word counts. Science books are usually not repetitive, so there is little chance of picking something up from reading on. Writers of Science texts believe that extra words and repeats get in the way of clarity.

3) It is best to tackle each chapter at least 3 times. The first time you should skim the chapter, noting topic sentences, words in bold print, all tables, diagrams and summary charts. This is best read before the lecture. The second reading should be in more detail, studying each area and not proceeding until each section is understood. Reread each section as of many times as necessary until you understand its meaning. Mastery can take minutes or hours or days. The last major reading is for writing down terms and definitions and important concepts.

4) Talk to yourself as you read.
a) Explain what you have read aloud and make up your own examples to better understand what you have read.
b) Rereading the material aloud, especially in your own words helps clarify the information. Hearing yourself makes a lot of difference.

5) Words and symbols of science have specific meanings. Each time you come to a new term or concept, cover up the text and see if you can express the idea aloud in your own words. Write down all the words you don't know. Emphasize words in bold type. Whenever possible write out the definitions in your own words.
a) Strive for understanding the definitions so that you can easily state them in your own words; you are more likely to remember them that way.
b) By saying it out loud and writing it, you are more like to recall it later, when needed.

6) Stop reading to study all diagrams and charts. They condense a lot of valuable information.
a) Cover up and see if you can visualize them.
b) Again describe to yourself what concepts the diagram or picture is trying to impart

7) Methods of Writing as you read.
a) During your first reading write nothing in the text.
b) Take notes from the text but write the information in your own words
c) Underline/highlight important points you've just read
d) In a later reading, call attention to important words or phrases by highlighting them (don't overdo this). Complete sentences or paragraphs should be bracketed and not underlined.
e) Write summarizing statements to yourself in the margin.
f) Make notes to yourself right in the text.
g) Note questions that you need to have clarified.

PARAPHRASE OR EXPLAIN THE MATERIAL (SO IMPORTANT!)
1) Do not repeat what you have read – rather state it in your words.
2) Understanding is needed before memorization – memorize that.
3) It is easier to remember one's own words than someone else's. Just be sure that the paraphrased information is accurate and contains the key words necessary for understanding the information
a) Good: Seeing, saying, hearing.
b) Better: Seeing, saying, hearing, writing.
c) Best: Seeing, saying, hearing, writing, paraphrasing& explaining


MNEMONICS
(nu-moniks) It's a bag of tricks and word games designed to help a person remember stuff, especially isolated, unfamiliar details--the type we have the hardest time holding onto.
Memory works by making links between information, fitting facts into mental structures and frameworks.
The basic premise for mnemonics is linking new unfamiliar information to stuff already stuck in your brain.

1) SIMPLY ATTEMPTING TO USE A MEMORY DEVICE WILL HELP GET STUFF INTO YOUR BRAIN!
2) Mnemonics relies on linking, grouping, and framing information.
3) The word or phrase used as a mnemonic should not require as much effort to remember as the items themselves. This would obviously defeat the purpose of the strategy. So, try to keep the cue words or phrases as simple as possible.
4) Use a variety of memory techniques.
5) Select memory techniques appropriate for the information, the type of test, and personal learning style

Acronym: is an invented combination of letters. Each letter is a cue to an idea you need to remember.
Examples:
Rotator Cuff Muscles "The SITS muscles"
Clockwise from top:
· Supraspinatus
· Infraspinatus
· Teres minor
· Subscapularis
Additionally: A pro baseball pitcher has injured his rotator cuff muscles. As a result, he SITS out for the rest of the game, and then gets sent to the minor leagues.
(Rotator cuff very often injured, and there’s a Teres Major muscle)

Acrostic: is an invented sentence where the first letter of each word is a cue to an idea you need to remember.

Example: Ooh, Ooh, Ooh, To, Touch, And, Feel, Very, Good, Velvet, AH.
The first letter of the 12 Cranial nerves:
Olfactory, Optic, Oculomoter, Trochlear, Trigeminal, Abducens, Facial, Vestibulocochlear, Vagus, Accessory, Hypoglossal

Example: I Like Standing
From lateral to medial - the erector spinae muscles
Iliocostalis
Longissimus
Spinalis

Ad Hoc: Makes use of limericks or poems.
Example: "Columbus sailed the ocean blue, in fourteen-hundred and ninety-two."

Image-name technique: Simply invent any relationship between an image and the name of something.
Example: For the Parietal Bones of the skull, visualize a Two Pears dangling off your head.

Verbal manipulations: Link the item with a word that has an established association with the item.
Example: "Stand on your Soles. Explosive gas":
You stand on soles of your shoes, so Soleus is for posture.
Gasoline is explosive, so Gastrocnemius is for explosive movement.

Keyword Method: Select key words from a story or a block of text that capture the overall theme or point of the material
For example, text about the two types of nerve cells might be summed up by two key words,
Neuron = impulse
Neuroglia = serve

· For A&P: The key words are those words that are necessary for understanding the term or concept. Underline or highlight these words and focus on them when studying. This reduces the amount of information to be remembered.

There are many other mnemonic devices………some are in the study guide

 

[Marie S]

Wow! That's a tough follow-up, but here goes

* Figure out your learning style. Are you visual, auditory, kinesthetic, read-write, a combo, etc? Find out how you learn best and study that way. This will make your study time MUCH more efficient!
* Study from as many different books as time allows. Netter's has great illustrated atlases of Anatomy, Neuroscience, Embryology, Physiology, and more. Try not to study from just one type of book, however; try to get as many different versions of, say, a bone or muscle or whatnot, because this will put you at an advaneforum.xxxe.
* When you get home from class, review and actually RE-WRITE your notes. Summarize them in your own words. You'll retain more. And yes, do this bit by bit, every day, so that when you get to the nite before the test, it will all be a breezy review. (DO NOT simply re-READ your notes! This does not work the same at all.)
* If you study in a group, choose carefully, keep it small, and stay on task. Don't be afraid to break off a study group that isn't working out. Your time is too valuable!
* Actually PLAN a time to study, and write it into your schedule. Follow through. And make sure to schedule in breaks at reasonable intervals. Don't study for more than 2 hours at a time. Some might not even advise studying that long.
* Study muscles in groups, such as by action or common attachment.
* DRAW PICTURES! Once I have read the material, I draw pictures of what it's trying to say...such as protein synthesis in a cell, for example, or the pathways of neural impulses through the Autonomic Nervous System. They don't have to be anything detailed, pretty, or fancy. You don't even have to be ANY good at drawing! (I'm not--at all.) Stick figures and simple shapes will do. Use colored pencils and label your drawings so you know what's what. If you can draw out a process and explain what's going on, you're golden.
* Get enough sleep, and drink enough water!
* As for ADD, I reduced mine drastically by a simple change of diet. Eating more whole grains, fruits, vegetables, and fish, and less candy, sugar, massageplanetfeine, etc, has been a GODSEND. Sugar is literally toxic to your brain. Fish, on the other hand, builds your brain up, including the neurotransmitters. Vitamin B-Complex is also good for brain function.
* I might actually re-think the meds. I managed to get myself off of mine because they simply weren't doing me any good; in fact, they were making me anxious, decreasing my appetite, and interrupting my sleep. You may need something different, or you may find, as I did, that with a dietary change, you may need none at all! (Yes, this is possible!)

Some of this stuff is what they tell Anatomy students specifically, so I thought it might be useful here.

I hope that helps! Good luck!
Hugs,
~Jyoti