:o :( I have ad/hd and need to know what medicine you can take and any other aids you use when studying as well. It would be very helpful for me since I got only a C on my last exam. :( :o

I'm not going to vote because I think the best study method depends on the situation. Let me make a few comments:

* note taking
Although one may not have a choice, I don't think ADDers are usually very good at taking notes (not just attentionally, but determining important information as well). I think with this one, you have to determine whether or not the class is going to be focused on the recall of detailed information. For courses that focus on the overall "gist" of something, those that focus on opinionated essays, etc, I think the focus should be more on class participation (asking questions, etc.) than note taking.

* reading textbook
It depends on the textbook. Again, this may be your last resort. Be thankful that the textbook isn't temporal like a lecture.

* summarizing readings
If you need to read a text book, this is a good strategy to do so. You also may want to find alternate sources of information (the Internet, other books) if you are going to go this route.

* listening to the lecture
Again, it depends. If the lecture is focused on questioning, meaning, and active debate, then you may miss the big picture if you take notes as opposed to purely listening.

The best method for studying will depend on the type of course. More than one method will probably be needed to be effective. In general:

Math courses, math-oriented sciences: doing the homework!
History, certain sciences (detail oriented): a combination of taking notes and last minute cramming.
Sociology, Philosophy, etc (not so detail oriented): listening to the lecture, actively participating, and last minute cramming.

Personally I dont like any of the choices. I study best by listening to music, and reading and re-writing the info I am studying.

This is more of a learning style question...the answers will differ wildly. I have to write or do something with the information in order to learn it. Others may learn by listening, still others just by reading...you have to figure out what particular modality you best function in, and go with that. Personally, I write the lecture notes as the professor lectures, then study by typing them up from my notes, in bullet/outline format for quick information indexing...

Hey averity!

I'm with KMiller. I think researching various ways to study is a good idea, but not every study method works for everyone. It has so much to do with learning style.

Here is a thread I started on how people study. It's a nice conglomerate of study methods.
http://www.addforums.com/forums/showthread.php?t=12764

This is a good site:
http://www.coping.org/studyskills/use.htm

It discusses learning styles and has a quiz to see what learning style(s) you are.

This is a great site - you can take a free test and it also gives you study tips for your learning style.
http://www.ldpride.net/learningstyles.MI.htm

Me, I have to do various things while studying. The best way I learn is kinesthetic - by doing. Writing notes helps me a lot.

I like to print out the lecture notes from my profs' websites and then annotate during class. They like powerpoint, so it makes life easier...

thanks livinginchaos! After a little reading of those links you showed, I understand the learning process. Or, at least, the process makes much more sense. I badly needed that. Thanks again for that little refresher.

I have reason to believe, that my most prevalent intelligence is the Intrapersonal. Followed by everything else. The bodily kinesthetic was a close second, tied was everything else.

I've just heard and read about a new learning style called SQ3R

S: scan the selected text to get the main points of what your going to be reading.

Q: question make questions to help you anylize the readings.

3R's
Read Read the material
Recite a summary of the material just read
Re-read if necessary

Please try it and give some comments on how it works for you.

Thanks again. Ah, I broke even on the learning style quiz. 10 points for all three learning styles. Visual, auditory, and Tactile.

Professors who put PowerPoint lecture notes online earn my eternal gratitude. These classes, I actually have a chance in!

The only thing that works for me is copying these notes pretty much verbatim, by hand, slowly. It's the only way for detailed information to make "tracks" in my mind. Listening doesn't do it. Reading doesn't do it. Taking notes in class doesn't do it. Copying notes on my own, in a quiet environment, does work. It's time consuming as h***, but the results are worth it.

i picked taking notes, i usually like to write all over my text books, just whatever information comes to me, associations i make, ideas, questions, etc, and then, when i look back at it, i usually find my little scribbles mean i can absorbe the whole page without actually rereading it.

BUT, the absolute BEST way to study for me, is to get a group of people from the class together and talk about stuff.. and even better(and other people tend to like it too!) i find that i just like to talk, and when i start talking, i realize i knew way more than i thought i did, just from the lecture and skimming readings! the more i talk, the more i know! other people like it, because it helps them see new sides of the material they had not considered.

anyway, just a thought.