The power of tools

As a child growing up, Superman was my favourite superhero. However as I transitioned into adulthood, I began to appreciate Batman a lot more. Batman is a lot more relatable. Firstly, he is not from another planet and he is as human as your average Joe. What makes him special is the gadgets or tools that he has at his disposal. Tools in the hands of a skilled tradesman can accomplish feats that at first seemed humanly impossible.

For the purpose of this article we will define a tool as an extension of one’s self – a way of doing things – that makes a given task that much easier than when attempted by brute force. The great thing about tools is that if wisely utilized they can help to propel a student from the realm of average to above average.

In the world of academics there are many tools that can be utilized to improve your results. This blog post will highlight just a few, but as you go through your academic journey you may invent some of your own that may serve you well.

Flash cards and Mnemonics are tools that can help you to remember information. Flash cards may be purchased at any pharmacy. They are small rectangular cards on which you may write questions on one side and the answers to those questions on the other. You may also write the definition of key term on them. The main advantage of flash cards is that they are small and therefore can be used for repeated revision in any environment. By repeatedly studying information on the cards, key terms and definitions can be put to memory on the go. Without them, the only way to remember material is by reading notes in your notebook or studying from the text.

On the other hand, mnemonics are powerful tools for remembering long strings of information. ‘A mnemonic device, or memory device, is any learning technique that aids information retention or retrieval in the human memory’ (Wikipedia). Usually it consists of a story where the first letter in each word of the story is significant. Over twenty years ago as a chemistry student I had to memorize the first twenty elements of the periodic table. I still am able to recall them today. The mnemonic I used is as follows: “he (H) hit (He) lilly (Li) because (Be) betty(B) could (C) not (N) of (O) fought (F) neil (Ne). Now (Na) make (Mg) allan (Al) see (Si) pedro (P)slip (S) clumsily (Cl) and (Ar) kill (K) claud (Ca)”. Mnemonics are powerful tools that use our brain’s natural ability to remember information that is associated with something meaningful.

There are also tools that are not as tangible. One such tool is organization. Being organized is a tool that can help you to be more efficient, thereby freeing up more time for you to study. For example, ensuring that you write notes for each subject in a single notebook will give you easy access to all the content related to that subject. Also, having a folder or file jacket for each subject will enable you to have a space for your personal notes when studying or revising. The disorganized student on the other hand will waste a lot of time looking through several notebooks to find information on a given topic and his or her lack of structure will add a lot of stress as he or she attempts to revise for a given subject.

Finally just having a system or routine in place for meeting your academic goals will save you a lot of time and make the studying process more productive and efficient. For more information on study systems see my blog series on the ‘efficient study routine system.’ Find the first post in the series here.