Reviewing for an examination is a task that most learners  do not particularly enjoy. Many learners feel stressed when examination day is approaching .Cramming for difficult examination a few days before the scheduled date seems  normal nowadays. While there are  learners  who have the natural intelligence to breeze through such experience, it is not always the case for many.Others  know that as long as they devote some of their time in studying their lessons daily, they are sure to remember some during the actual examinations.

              Studying may be fun for some learners . But studying for an actual examination sometimes give stress . As a result, they stay up late reviewing  and this often affects their memory. They often wake up late and feel dizzy and  report  to school with uncomfortable feeling because of  having an incomplete sleeping- hour.

                   Does studying hard produce desired results? It may be true for some, but it is not always the same for many . If that was the case, learn how to study smart in order to get  good  grades. 

                   Learning which medium is best for you is an important thing. Everyone  learns  in different style. You must know yourself , your strengths  and   your own weaknesses . Are you a  learner  who can understand and remember well when you hear, see or experience things? This will give you an idea on what methods to use in studying.

Here are some tips on studying smart and get  higher  grades :

•  Take down important notes and listen to your teacher while   he explains  the lessons.
• Read  the lessons given to you religiously to avoid cramming  or rushing .
• Ask questions to clarify  things  further.
• Also avoid disturbances during school days like chatting with some friends for so long , going out with them and playing games.You could do such activities during weekends.
• Read – Close- Recite – Open .( R – C- R- O – C  Method )

          I learned  this method when I was in Grade I when my teacher required us to memorize and recite the correct spelling of some words. We read the word, then closed our eyes and  spell out  the words then opened our eyes and compared to correct spelling of the word written  on the board.   I found it  funny and enjoyable and the same time ,effective. I did memorized the words  in a just a few minutes. I also used this method when I  memorized  difficult terms and  concepts like 4Fs ( 4 Fundamental Operations  in Math specifically “The Multiplication Facts” ). I applied the same  practice in memorizing facts in my Science subjects and Araling Panlipunan.

• Picking  up  some  clue words from what you read. Look for some clue words for you to recall the concept or term.Memorizing the whole content is very hard. It is  a head breaking activity. This method is very  effective in identification type of test.

•  Inventing acronyms is also effective in  memorizing  term or concept for an enumeration type of test.This is writing the first  letter of  word or compound term to spell a word that is easy to recall.Create something that  is useful , easy and memorable  to you .

• “ Teacher, Teacher  Game “ Pupils may have some fun while  recalling such important concept while playing with  friends . This is a game wherein pupils  play a classroom situation , imitating their teacher’s  way in teaching such lessons.

               Proper guidance and help  of  parents   is an  important factor that affects learners’  performance in school . A pupil with supportive parents usually  gets higher grades than of a pupil who gets less parents’ support in his studies. 

By: Celia M. Constante | Master Teacher I | Ipag Elem. School Mariveles District | Mariveles, Bataan