1. Develop good study habits. For example, I have my students make flash cards, mind maps, and study their class notes, etc. four days a week for 10 minutes. This saves time in the long run because if you are studying regularly you are transferring the concepts into long term memory and when you go to study for the final you will find that you already know the material.
2. I make finals for my students. Then I teach them how to do this. I use their textbooks, class notes, previously taken tests, and often the textbooks have websites with practice test. However, I think that teaching students how to write test questions and having them make problem solution guides is a better way to help students learn the concepts. Join a study group and suggest this method and you will be surprised at how affect it is. When I was a classroom teacher, I had my students work in groups to create test questions and problem solution guides. This method was so successful that I often didn't give them an actual test because they had learned the material. The students always told me that they learned more this way. Learning how to write a test question is a life long learning tool that I found my students using all the time, it became a habit. Another benefit in learning how to write test questions with multiple choice answers is that it teaches students how tests are structured and they become better test takers in general.
3. Unbeknownst to some students, many schools have a procedure for dealing with an overload of finals on the same day. If you have, say 3 finals on the same day, the school will arrange for one of the teachers to move her/his final to a different day. Find out if your school has this policy.
4. Most students begin studying for final the week before. But if you have lots of finals, you'll do better to start studying for some of them a few weeks before or better yet, if you study regularly like I suggested in #1 for all subjects the extra time will give you plenty of time to go over the material that may be more challenging. If you need to do extra reading or get a term paper done earlier this will relieve any stress. But the extra time for preparation - and the sense that you have plenty of time for all your finals - will make the added planning and effort worthwhile.
5. A major mistake - that you should avoid - is planning to spend equal time studying for each of your finals. It is better to apportion your study time unequally to your different finals. Things to ask yourself: Is this a class I'm acing already, or that is in real grade trouble? Am I pretty much guaranteed a certain grade in this class, or is the grade in the balance? What percentage of the course grade does the final count, anyway?
3. Unbeknownst to some students, many schools have a procedure for dealing with an overload of finals on the same day. If you have, say 3 finals on the same day, the school will arrange for one of the teachers to move her/his final to a different day. Find out if your school has this policy.
4. Most students begin studying for final the week before. But if you have lots of finals, you'll do better to start studying for some of them a few weeks before or better yet, if you study regularly like I suggested in #1 for all subjects the extra time will give you plenty of time to go over the material that may be more challenging. If you need to do extra reading or get a term paper done earlier this will relieve any stress. But the extra time for preparation - and the sense that you have plenty of time for all your finals - will make the added planning and effort worthwhile.
5. A major mistake - that you should avoid - is planning to spend equal time studying for each of your finals. It is better to apportion your study time unequally to your different finals. Things to ask yourself: Is this a class I'm acing already, or that is in real grade trouble? Am I pretty much guaranteed a certain grade in this class, or is the grade in the balance? What percentage of the course grade does the final count, anyway?
6. Adopt efficiency measures. The single most important thing you can do if you have more finals than any human can manage is to work efficiently. First thing, don't waste your time on things that do not really advance your preparation for the test: things like copying over your notes, doing all the reading again. Much better is to do targeted activities that get you ready for the actual problems that will appear on the final: things like writing out study questions with problem-solution guides, doing extra problems from the book, website, or handout, or marking up your notes for issues that will likely come up on the test, and many students like making flash cards, color coded mind maps, etc. Many teachers have review sessions before or after school. This is the single most efficient strategy, since teachers or TA's go over problems very similar to those the will appear on the final, in the best case, drop hints about questions that will actually appear on the exam.
7 .Set a study schedule. You won't have to decide each time when - and whether - you're gonna study if you've calendared your study schedule before exam week. And, if you set the times - and mean them - you will overcome the single biggest impediment to preparing for finals: PROCRASTINATION!
8. Avoid "interleaving". Many students divide their study sessions into parts for each subject: 30 minutes for science, 40 minutes for math, 60 minutes for English, and so on. But you'll study better - and retain the material better - if you devote the entire study session to one subject. That's because you will get less confused, and you'll build up steam, if you're working in one thing. Also (in the best case), you won't feel compelled to take a break after each subject, which will also save you time. A good rule of thumb. 45 minutes of uninterrupted study time = 1 break. 1 break = 10 minutes.
9. Turn off the media. "Nuff said.
10. Tell 'em to "cut you a break". Many students will have a much easier time studying for finals if they jettison a few commitments. If you work, tell your boss you absolutely, positively, 100 percent have to work fewer hours the week before exams and during exam week itself. Tell your parents and/or kids that you're not going to be at their beck and call during this high-pressure fortnight. And as for your church or synagogue, your sports, or clubs - well, you know what I'm going to say.
11. If you learn better working in a group, then by all means do so. Be sure to carefully choose who you are going to work with as time is a commodity not to be wasted.
If you follow these tips you will lessen your stress and of course do well on your exams.
Best of luck with your finals, and have a happy 2014!
