Attend every lecture, no exceptions. Test scores from previous
years demonstrate a strong correlation between attendance and exam scores.
Attend only your own lecture time to be certain you do not miss anything.
Skim assigned pages before coming to lecture. Jot down the main concepts
and key terms in a notebook so you can build on this foundation when the
material is covered in lecture.
Take good lecture notes. "Notes" does not mean writing down everything
verbatim. It means writing down main points, key details of examples, definitions
of important terms, and questions that occur to you.
Do not fall into the trap of writing down only what the instructor writes
down! Very often instructors explain material by using illustrations, questioning
students, or using other techniques where they do not write things down.
Some do not write anything down! Learn to take your own notes so you
become independent of the lecturer's style.
Review your notes after lecture, referring often to the text and
its diagrams.
Concentrate on the conceptual framework. Details are much easier to learn
and remember if they fit into a larger scheme that makes sense. Think
about trying to remember the images in a jigsaw puzzle. Isn't it easier if
the pieces have been put together?
Draw flowcharts and diagrams, make outlines, make up mnemonic devices,
think of new examples of concepts, explain things in your own words, explain
things forwards and backwards. If you wrap your brain around the material
in as many different ways as possible, you'll be prepared to respond correctly
to a question on the material no matter what form it may take. Simply reading
and re-reading the same words over and over will not help you understand the
material.
Study with others. Ask each other questions, explain material to each other.
If you can teach something to someone else, you really understand it.
Study often, in small doses. Never cram, procrastinate, or pull all-nighters,
which is bad for one's health as well as one's grades. You wouldn't prepare
for a race by running all night, so why would you prepare for a test by studying
all night? Success in either case depends on building up your ability over
a long period. A student who has been keeping up with and learning the
material all along should need only a short review the night before the exam.
If something is unclear to you, ASK! Ask during class, after class, in
lab, by phone, by email, or during office hours, but ASK! Write down your
questions as soon as they occur to you and get them answered as soon as possible.
Very often one topic builds on another so waiting too long can have a snowball
effect.
Quiz yourself. Use the practice questions at the end of every assigned
chapter and have your study partners make up questions.