It. Is. Finals. Week.
I like finals week. Not just because we are almost done with the term, but because I really have a sense of how much I’ve learned in the past semester. While I’m reviewing materials for various classes I get to say “yup, know that, and that…”, which feels especially good when I remember just how challenging it has been. The feeling of scrambling to make sure you’re caught up with the new material subsides a little bit. As long as you’ve been working hard all term, cumulative finals can be less stressful. It’s also possible that I am less stressed during finals week simply because I know I’ve done all I can. I can learn a couple extra things or solidify some concepts during finals week, but the hardcore studying is over. I either know it, or I don’t. I’ve refined some of my study strategies a bit, so I thought I'd talk a bit about that today. I try to work on at least three classes every day, even if one of those is just doing some flashcards. That way none of the content goes neglected for too long.
Let’s say I have a particular lecture I need to study. I want to visit that content three days in a row. The process is, start general, recall as much as possible, then add details as you learn the general concepts.
Day 1: General overview
How is the information organized? If I’m learning a large category of diseases I take a look at how it’s broken down, by location, or cell type, or pathogenesis etc. I start the hierarchy in my head so that at the very least I end day one knowing what it is I’m SUPPOSED to know eventually. I will also look at the learning objectives to guide what I need to focus on.
Day 2: Level one detail
First, I get out a blank piece of paper and write down everything I remember from day one. This usually isn’t much, sometimes it’s just a couple words or definitions. Even if I don’t know what the word means, if I remember it’s related, I write it down. Second, I take a look at my categories and go one step deeper into details. What I am NOT doing is trying to learn every little detail. If I need to learn about genetic diseases that result in enzyme deficiencies, I will learn just the deficient enzyme and the accumulated metabolite for each one. If you want to get really practical, I will read it out loud, and then close my eyes and say it out loud several times, peaking as many times as I need to until I can say the whole thing without peeking, and each time I will start by reciting the hierarchy of topics that it is nested under.
For example: If I need to learn that Tay-Sachs disease is an enzyme deficiency of hexosaminidase with a accumulation of Gm2 gangliosides, I will recite “Genetic Disease - Disorders with defective enzymes - Lysosomal storage diseases - Tay Sachs - deficiency of Hexosaminidase A - accumulation of Gm2 Gangliosides.” This way the information isn’t just loosely floating around in my brain, because everytime I say it out loud I ALSO have to say the larger concept of what it is.
Day 3: Level 2 detail
Same as day two, I get out a piece of paper and write down everything I remember from the day before. It’s not supposed to complete, it’s just the framework of what is already in your brain for you to build off of. This time, I open my reference material and put it side-by-side with all the information I’ve recalled. Then I go in with a different colored pencil and write down all the parts I missed. If I have extra time, I’ll close my reference and get out another blank piece of paper and try recalling again. For the areas that I’m having trouble recalling, I’ll recite it out loud again.
From here, I probably have other content I need to focus on and might have to abandon that subject for a couple days, but when I come back I do the same thing: get out a blank piece of paper and brain dump, get out a red pen and fill in the blanks, recite things I’m forgetting. And each time I do it, I add in a new level of detail. This way, if I’ve done it right, I at least have an idea of how all the concepts relate to one another and know at least one thing about every disease. (With the way most tests are written, knowing One Thing About Everything can be very effective). After this point, if there are important points I STILL can’t remember, I start devising mnemonics, drawing diagrams and pictures, or just finding further reading on the subject to help “flesh it out”, so to speak.
Especially where the amount of content is so heavy, it has been extremely helpful for me to start general and work my way into the details. Being on the other side of this semester is a huge confidence booster, let me tell you.
There have been other things going on besides studying, if you can believe it. A couple of weekends ago a few of us went white-water rafting in Cheat river Canyon through the WVU Adventure center. It was a fantastic experience that I highly recommend. I also went on a bike ride down the rail-trail, which is a paved urban section of the Mon River Rail Trail. I’ve also been trying to make some art regularly as some self-care. Mainly though, I’ve been enjoying the weather as it finally is improving. Since I am not from the region, I’ve been enjoying getting to see wildlife that isn’t around on the west coast like Cardinals and Groundhogs. That being said, I am outrageously excited to go home for a week and see my family and friends.
In my next post I’ll give y’all a run down of what the summer semester looks like, until then, I’ll be in the pacific northwest!
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