College Survival Guide: Test Prep Weapons
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Preparing for tests, presentations and public speaking engagements can be daunting. It is often stressful because important outcomes are at stake and you may not be 100% confident in your ability to prepare properly. Worrying about deadlines may stress you out. To get ready for tests faster, with better results and less stress, streamline your study system with these secret weapons.
Using your strongest sensory pathways to study and prepare speeds up learning and memory retention. Here are some examples of how it works:
Visual and Auditory Learners: Read your notes and key points aloud. Trade notes with classmates and have a discussion.
Kinesthetic and Visual Learners: Look over your visual material while doing something kinesthetic like walking, squeezing a ball, pacing, or eating. Use flash cards.
Auditory and Kinesthetic Learners: Talk to yourself, silently or aloud, about the key points as you engage in kinesthetic activities. Do a “walk and talk” with a friend.
The following neuroscience strategies work for nearly all learners. Use these in conjunction with the sensory methods above for extraordinary accelerated learning and memory results.
Relax: “Alpha state” is when your brain waves slow down and you are in a relaxed state. When you want to absorb and remember important information quickly, review it right before you doze off or right after you wake up. Use your two strongest sensory pathways to review the key learning points.
Music: Classical music containing high frequency violins vibrates the cerebral cortex. This effect creates an ideal brain state to input information into memory. Music with about 60 beats per second is ideal as it matches the natural rhythm of your heart. Listen to composers like Mozart and Vivaldi.
Smell: Scent has an instantaneous effect on your brain state. Peppermint perks you up when you are tired or zoned out. Lavender helps calm you down if you feel anxious and stressed out. Flavored gum, essential oils and aromatherapy are ways to incorporate these scents into your learning experiences.
Taste: Taste also has an immediate impact on brain chemistry. Associate learning a specific subject with a specific taste, like chocolate chip cookies, green tea or a “jelly belly” flavor. Recreating the taste, or even the mere thought of it, will retrieve the memory of what you learned.
You can achieve super powers to live the life of your dreams. All it takes is self-awareness of your brain potential and understanding of how you’re wired for super performance.
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Its really very tough to survive in harsh situations.
Yes, it’s challenging to navigate life when you are not properly equiped to learn, make decisions and solve problems. It’s also challenging if you are in an environment frought with fear and people in the “henny penny”” state. Practical neuroscience, education, positive mental attitude and mentally healthy friends help make the life journey directional, pleasant and fullfilling.
Stephen Hager
President
The Hadron Group
Creators of brain based human development products since 1992
http://www.brainpathways.net