STUDY TECHNIQUES FOR NON-RESIDENT STUDENTS IN MILAN

When you embark on the role of a non-resident student in Milan, setting up a thoughtful study plan can be harsh. Even more so, in light of the limited time available with a growing list of more and more things to do.

Finding your suitable study technique will certainly help you face each task in the best possible way and, ultimately, improve your academic performance.

Which study techniques to pursue for your exam

Some of the best study techniques for non-resident students in Milan are summarized hereunder. We encourage you to delve into them and try them out: they could help you complete exams within your set time period, thus allowing you to decide whether or not to accept grades at university!

Tomato technique

The tomato technique is one of the most popular and largely appreciated methods by non-resident students.

It is about planning your daily tasks and distributing study time into 25-minute intervals, a period in which you won’t have to give in to distraction. When the timer goes off, take a 5-minute break, then start studying again for another 25 minutes. Take a break of at least 15 minutes every 4 cycles.

Studying with music

Some well-known research has shown that studying while listening to music can improve both attention and memory. Other studies claim it can be distracting. What is the truth? There’s probably no absolute truth, so all you need to do is experiment with different background music to see what suits you best.

Learning by heart

Can learning by heart help improve your training?

Despite the recurring mantra focusing on “understanding the text” rather than “learning it by heart”, these two processes aren’t mutually exclusive. Indeed, a content that has been learned has not necessarily been memorized. Memorising some concepts (not the whole text, though) might enhance your performance, nonetheless.

Review lessons

Taking notes during lessons is certainly the first step to boost your study method because your mind will process notions as they are explained. In addition to that, revising notes a few hours after the lesson will help you get a first broad picture of what you’ve learned, making the next study session about that topic much easier.

Active Recall

Question-based active review is one of the most popular techniques for off-site students, who appreciate its effectiveness and simplicity. Try to arrange it alone or in a group; it will be a very dynamic approach to studying and, why not, even a fun one.

Record lessons and then listen to them again

Recording lessons and listening to them later not only is a useful technique for students who were not present in class, but also for those who, despite being there, still want to reinforce their understanding of the topics presented.

Studying with online videos

Among the most effective training methods in the era of social distancing, online videos represent an appealing solution for many students. Even now that classes have returned to an almost traditional layout, training on the web has certainly not lost its effectiveness.

Create concept maps

Making concept maps is one of the most valid and versatile ways to study, especially for those subjects and topics inherently connected to other disciplines or exams.

Teach to learn

One of the most effective ways of learning is to teach what you’ve learned to someone who knows nothing about it. This way you’ll train your brain to better store the information and reprocess it in a straightforward manner.

Spaced Repetition

Spaced Repetition, or delayed repetition, is a particular learning technique that improves long-term memorization of information by repeating it a few times over a long time, instead of many times over a short time. Many algorithms are based on it: it’s worth a try at your next exam!

Conclusions

In short, as shown above, there’s no single recommended learning technique, but many paths we recommend you try. In this way you’ll find what works best for you and get the most out of studying!