How to Learn For School (and Life) Success Updated, Version 2.6

Unlock the secrets to becoming an expert learner with this concise yet comprehensive 30+ page ebook, designed specifically for students!

“How to Learn for School (and Life) Success” is your ultimate guide to mastering the most effective learning techniques, ensuring you excel not only in school but in every aspect of your life. By the end of this book, you’ll have a broadened knowledge base, ready to seize more opportunities and achieve greater success in school, your career, and beyond.

What You’ll Learn

This ebook serves as an invaluable learning and studying resource. It covers:

– Spaced Repetition: Discover how to retain information longer by spacing out your study sessions effectively.
– Active Recall: Learn to boost your memory and understanding by actively engaging with the material.
– Learning from Class: Master the art of taking and reviewing class notes to maximize your learning potential.
– Learning from Textbooks: Develop strategies for efficiently extracting and understanding key information from textbooks. UPDATED
– YouTube, NotebookLM & ChatGPT as Learning Aids: Leverage modern technology to enhance your learning experience. UPDATED
– Time Management and Scheduling Study Sessions: Optimize your study schedule to ensure you make the most of your time.
– Taking Breaks for Physical and Mental Health: Understand the importance of taking breaks and how they contribute to better learning.
– Key Takeaways and Action Steps: Implement actionable steps to reinforce your learning and achieve your goals.
– Recommended Learning Resources: Access a curated list of resources to further support your learning journey.

Table of Contents

Learn How to Learn For School (and Life) Success  page 4

What’s Active Recall? 5

1.1 How, What, Where and Why Active Recall Questions 6
1.2 Sources of Questions for Self Testing 7
1.3 Conclusion: Learn and Remember More Through Active Recall 7

What’s Spaced Repetition? 8

2.2 Understand First While Doing Spaced Repetition 10
2.3 Other Understanding Tips While Doing Spaced Repetition 10
2.4 Final Thoughts on Spaced Repetition 10

Study Aids for Active Recall 11

3.1 Flashcards 11
Digital flashcards 11
3.2 Mnemonics (Memory Tricks) 12
3.3 Homework Assignments 13
3.4 Study Groups 14
3.5 Incorporating Study Aids 14

Class Room Learning 15

4.1 How to Take Good Class Notes 16
4.2 Review Class Notes Immediately After Class 18

Learning from Textbooks 19

5.1 Use Textbooks as a Supplementary Resource 19
5.2 Using Non Textbook Resources 20
5.3 First Textbook Chapter Reading 20
5.4 Second Textbook Chapter Reading and Flashcards 20
5.5 Not Covered in Class Chapter Headings and End of Chapter Summary and Questions 21
5.6 Dealing With Chapter Example Problems 21

YouTube, ChatGPT, NotebookLM For Active Recall and Studying 22

6.1 YouTube 22
6.2 ChatGPT 22
6.3 Google’s NotebookLM (Microsoft Co-Pilot is Similar) 24

Time Management and Scheduling Study Sessions 25

7.1 Scheduling Learning Sessions 25
7.2 Scheduling Classes and Learning 26
7.3 Taking Breaks Between Sessions 27

Taking Care of Your Physical and Mental Health 28

Key Takeaways & Action Steps 29

THANK YOU! 33

Recommended Learning Resources 34

Example content from  How to Learn for School (and Life) Success

Last Chapter: “Key Takeaways & Action Steps”…

Note the below is not the entire Key Takeaways & Action Steps chapter, just some of it. The How to Learn for School (and Life) Success ebook goes into greater detail of many takeaways highlighted below:

1. At the latest, read class notes and any assignments on the day they were scheduled for.
2. Initially read the notes to understand the important concepts presented in them. Then convert the note headings into what, when, how and where questions, especially why type questions. Why questions because they test your understanding which helps you retain the information. 
3. If you don’t understand the class notes or an assignment after several tries, get help fast as understanding helps retaining and recalling information.  
4. For any assignments, attempt to solve them while referring to class notes and if needed, the textbook as well to learn how to solve the assignments before they are formally covered in class. That way you can use the assignments as study aids and when the class covers an assignment as a review opportunity.
5. Later, on the same day, create flashcards from the questions to do active recall:  answering flashcard questions and class note questions solely from memory, and if a course has any assignments, doing them as an active recall exercise.
6. Continue actively recalling flashcards, class note headings turned into questions and any assignments on a spaced repetition schedule. Here’s an example of a spaced repetition schedule to follow (on mobile, scroll left to see whole table):

TIP: Recommend using a flashcard app like Anki, Quizlet or iDoRecall to automate the active recall and spaced repetition process. That’s because flashcard apps automatically quiz you only on course material you are weak in, thus improving your overall learning and recall on course materials.

If you cannot obtain class notes in advance and/or attending class is mandatory, attend the class and take notes in this 2 column format (on mobile, scroll left to see whole table):  

Then immediately quickly review after each class and later in the day following points 2 to 6 above.

IMPORTANT: At the very least, convert daily new course material into flashcards and 2 column notes format on the same day they are covered in class. This is so you keep pace with the course topics and can start actively recalling this material later in the same day, if not by the next day. 

If you can’t keep up with this because you are inundated with a fire hose of daily new material to cover, then convert the new material into flashcards and into a 2 column note format on the same day and begin actively recalling the material later in the week, but certainly by the weekend at the latest….

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Sample ebook content (in video form): “Defining Active Recall and Ways to do Active Recall” discussed in greater written detail in Chapter 2 of How to Learn for School (and Life) Success