Practice makes improvement!
- Improvement is realistic and achievable, while perfection is an illusion.
- Perfection is a myth and is an unachievable goal.
Studying, Best Practices
- Studying: what students do vs. what works (and why)
- How to study effectively by Paul Penn
- Forget cramming, ditch the highlighter, and stop passively rereading.
- The psychology of learning offers better tactics.
- Memory is fundamentally reconstructive, as opposed to reproductive.
- When studying, it’s not what you think you know that matters, but rather what you can prove you know.
- The benefits of retrieval practice are not simply limited to facts; they also extend to concepts and the transfer of knowledge from one domain to another.
Multitasking
Better Focus and Efficient Studying When Not Multitasking / Multi-Focusing
- The Scourge of Multitasking with Ben Day [.NET Rocks, show #1355]
- You can’t multitask! Carl and Richard talk about the myth and scourge of multitasking, which has been proven again and again to not actually work.
- Multitasking: Switching costs (Subtle “switching” costs cut efficiency, raise risk.) [American Psychological Association (apa.org)]
- Cognitive Switching Penalty (PersonalMBA.com)
- Deep Work: How to Focus and Resist Distractions (Ep. 100) | College Info Geek
- Multitasking: When to Do It, When (And How) to Avoid It [College Info Geek]
- The WORST Study Habit for Software Developers – This applies to anyone studying technical subjects
- Being ‘Indistractable’ Will Be the Skill of the Future: How the difference between traction and distraction could transform your productivity (NirAndFar.com)
Additional Resources
- You Only Need to Make 1 Small Change to Learn Any New Skill Twice As Fast, Johns Hopkins Research Proves: Not only will you learn a lot faster, practicing will also be lot more fun. By Jeff Haden
- Cisco Exam Preparation – Studying for Results
- How to Study Effectively: 8 Advanced Tips – College Info Geek
- Strategies For Remembering Everything You Learn
- Science-Backed Study Tips to Ace a Test
- How to Ace Calculus: The Art of Doing Well in Technical Courses
- Deep Work: How to Focus and Resist Distractions (Ep. 100) | College Info Geek
- 10 Steps to Earning Awesome Grades (While Studying Less) by College Info Geek
- BetterExplained: Learn Right, Not Rote
- Flash Cards
- Cram.com Flashcards (Search: CCNA)
- Quizlet.com Flash Cards: CCNA
- Anki Flash Cards – is a program which makes remembering things easy. Because it’s a lot more efficient than traditional study methods, you can either greatly decrease your time spent studying, or greatly increase the amount you learn. Shared Decks for CCNA and Linux
- How to Learn Anything… Fast – Josh Kaufman
- Cisco Learning Network
- Skills You Need – Helping You Develop Life Skills
- The Science of How To Practice a Skill Effectively by Saga Briggs
- Cornell Note-taking System
- Record: During the lecture, use the note-taking column to record the lecture using telegraphic sentences.
- Questions: As soon after class as possible, formulate questions based on the notes in the right-hand column. Writing questions helps to clarify meanings, reveal relationships, establish continuity, and strengthen memory. Also, the writing of questions sets up a perfect stage for exam-studying later.
- Recite: Cover the note-taking column with a sheet of paper. Then, looking at the questions or cue-words in the question and cue column only, say aloud, in your own words, the answers to the questions, facts, or ideas indicated by the cue-words.
- Reflect: Reflect on the material by asking yourself questions, for example: “What’s the significance of these facts? What principle are they based on? How can I apply them? How do they fit in with what I already know? What’s beyond them?
- Review: Spend at least ten minutes every week reviewing all your previous notes. If you do, you’ll retain a great deal for current use, as well as, for the exam.