Everyone has a different "learning style".(A good introduction to the topic of learning styles is Claxton & Murrell 1987.For more on different learning styles,see Keirsey Temperament and Character Web Site,William Perry's Scheme of Intellectual and Ethical Development,Holland 1966,Kolb 1984,Sternberg 1999.For an interesting discussion of some limitations of learning styles from the perspective of teaching styles,see Glenn 2009/2010.) For some online tools targeted at different learning styles,see "100 Helpful Web Tools for Every Kind of Learner".
Consequently,everyone has a different "studying style".But the way that you are studying right now might not be the best for you.How would you know?Easy:If your grades aren't what you'd like them to be,then you probably need to change how you study!
I am going to give you some suggestions on how to study efficiently.They worked for me when I was in high school,college,and graduate school.Not only that,but they worked equally well for me in humanities courses (like philosophy and literature) and in science courses (like math and computer science).But,given that everyone's learning style is different,some of my suggestions may not work for you,at least not without some individual modifications.Nevertheless,I urge you to try them.Most successful students use them (or some slight variation of them).
Please feel free to send me suggestions for studying that worked for you.I will try to include them in further versions of this guide.
School is a full-time job.And managing your time is important.
If you have a "real" job after school that you do just for fun (or for some extra spending money),or if you participate in extra-curricular activities (whether school-related or not),keep your priorities in mind:
Your education should come first!
If you must work (in order to make ends meet),you should realize the limitations that this imposes on your study time.
How much time should you devote to studying?A recent survey in the Chronicle of Higher Education suggested that students are not studying enough.So,how much is enough?If you assume that your education is a full-time job,then you should spend about 40 hours/week on it.Figure that 1 academic credit equals about 1 hour.So,if you're taking 15 credits,then you're spending about 15 hours in class.Subtracting that from 40 gives you 25 hours that you should be spending studying at home (or in the library).
You should spread that out over the week.Suppose you decide to study Sunday through Thursday evenings,taking Fridays and Saturdays off (from studying,that is).Dividing that 25 hours by those 5 days gives you 5 hours of studying per night.If you think that's too much,then plan on studying in the afternoons,too,or some of Saturday.
The above are just rules of thumb.If you're taking a 3-credit independent-study course,but you meet with your instructor only 1 hour/week,then you should add the extra 2 hours to your at-home study time.If you're working to earn some money,you should subtract your work hours from your free time,not from your study time!(If you don't want to do that,then you should consider quitting your job or reducing your course load.)
If that still seems like a lot,consider the difference between high-school courses and college courses.The typical high-school course meets every day,for about 5 hours/week.But the typical college course meets only about 3 hours/week,yet is supposed to be more intensive than its high-school counterpart.That's because in college you're expected to put more of your own time into studying.
Set yourself a grade goal.If you don't meet it,cut down on non-school activities.(If you can't,because you're working for a living,then consider dropping down to part-time schooling.)
可以参考这个网址http://www.cse.buffalo.edu/~rapaport/howtostudy.html（以上内容均摘至这个网址,还有更多内容可以自己去看）