How to learn effectively?

 Ambitious high school students, but also students, ask themselves this question. After all, effective learning is the key to further education and a better future. Exams, tests, and quizzes give sleepless nights, but let's not forget that when leaving the walls of the school and academy, a young person will face a reality that is not a bed of roses. For this purpose, it is worth considering what effective learning is and how to learn so that the knowledge we acquire will really serve us in the future.

When we talk about effective learning, we certainly mean long-term results. After all, learning is not just about mindlessly memorizing as much material as possible, the usefulness of which will run out as soon as we pass the test. Every high school student should know that effective learning is not only knowledge but also the ability to see the connections between particular issues and use this skill in practice, i.e. in creative problem-solving. It is often said that school teaches standard thinking and destroys children's curiosity and creativity. It's hard to disagree, so when approaching science, let's change the way of thinking from: I have to get at least a C to: I want to learn, it may come in handy someday. And in fact, extensive knowledge allows you to get to know the world, because it gives insight in many areas of life. It is up to the student how they want to profile their knowledge according to their own interests. Mathematics teaches logical thinking. Geography can be treated as an introduction to later reflections on human life in society, and society in the environment. Knowledge of culture will be useful in appreciating the role of literary and film resources in Poland, Europe, and the world.

Taking notes is the easiest way to study effectively. It is worth noting, however, that it is not about notes composed on a computer (although they can also be an interesting study aid), but about notes made in a notebook. The human mind absorbs the material better; memorizes it when manually copying content from a book to a technical school, high school, or trade school. Why? Using a traditional pen and paper, we are more attentive, and better focused, what's more, the hand remembers the movement, so we remember the information we learned faster. On the test, we are able to recreate our thoughts as freely as we allowed them to flow as we wrote our handwritten notes. Handwritten notes have an undeniable advantage, and at the same time an advantage over notes written using a keyboard, that they allow you to arrange the space in any way you want. If we've ever drawn in the margins while listening to a lesson or lecture, we've certainly found that while we were absorbed in the art of doodling, we surprisingly remembered a lot of things. One of my favorite fast-learning techniques is mind mapping. The idea is to include as much information as possible using as few words as possible enriched with pictures. For example, the sentence photosynthesis is the production of food by a plant using light, we can write it with one word and a simple picture. The word photosynthesis and a drawing of a leaf, sun, fork and knife next to it. Definitions can be about much more abstract concepts, and drawings can be symbolic.

Once we have a certain amount of knowledge, it is worth testing ourselves. A great way to organize knowledge, repeat, supplement and correct it is to teach others and discuss. To this end, let's think about gathering a few people we can rely on and in whose company we feel good to discuss the content together before the exam. This way not only allows knowledge to solidify, verify and supplement it, but also teaches discussion useful at later stages of life - at university and at work. The purpose of learning is to gain knowledge, but we should never forget about polishing soft skills. The ability to speak, actively listen and argue is a great training conducive to effective learning and personality development.