Study methods are the processes you use when learning new material in a class. Every student uses some method to study their assignments. Research shows that some of these methods work and some don't. What you need are methods shown to work.
You need good materials for study in order to make progress. Some are:
Let's start with a smorgasbord of different ways of studying.
The list above is not random; I have arranged in order of worst to best methods. Those at the beginning of the list are least effective and those at the end are best.
You start the study process with effective management of your time. Time is a commodity which, when wasted, cannot be recovered. You must use it wisely. Example: I taught 1311 at SMU-in-Taos in the 1990s. In one of those summers there was a girl in the class who was quite amazing. I learned from one of her friends that if you saw her relaxing and playing you knew she had ALL of her studying done. She was regarded by her friends as an awesome time manager. She would go out and enjoy herself only after all assignments were done, all studying completed, and she was ready for classes the next day. If you are one of those that plays all afternoon and then realizes "I've gotta go study," you have it backwards. There's a risk you'll play too long, leave insufficient time for study, and then..... you know the result. How many times have you been up past midnight trying to finish preparing for classes the next day? If this happens a lot, you are procrastinating, putting off schoolwork so you can play more. You are also probably aware that it doesn't work very well. Good time management is the beginning of effective study.
You pack so much input into a short period that you don't build the connections as well as happens in the methods that work better. It becomes an exercise in memorization of details instead of deeper concepts.
Research indicated that many undergrads do this to excess, highlighting practically everything. The highlighting/underlining focusses you narrowly on the individual items while not pointing you to the relations/connections between them. This may actually reduce your ability to infer and interpret from the items. You may miss the higher level concepts. The method might be useful if used to generate self-tests of the concepts.
The research did not show that this method produced enduring results.
The authors said that 84% of undergrads do this. Research is not clear on its results. Does the effect dependend on your existing knowledge level? The second reading can be helpful, with value decreasing with each following iteration.
Lots of ways to do it. Do you collect the main concepts/ideas of the section. Do you list important items? Write your understanding of the section?
Here you create explanations for what you are studying at the moment. Understand what each piece of the text offers. How does it relate to the larger picture? Don't just paraphrase - create a real explanation.
This technique is known as "Elaborative Interrogation." As you read along in your book and notes you will encounter places where you ask "Why is this like it is?" Write down the question, then use what you have read to answer it. Then check your answer. Works best for factual data.
Where you are doing problem-solving (like math), mix up the type of problems you practice on. Don't do a block of the same type of problem followed by a block of another type, etc..
The researchers call this Distributed Practice. It is the opposite of "cramming," which isnown to be rather ineffective. Read the assigned portion of the text along with the web notes before class. After class reread the book and review your notes.
This is simply making up practice tests. Also - using Cornell notes - write questions and key words in the designated spaces. Use these to make practice tests. If several of you study together, have each one make up a practice test. Also - be sure to use the little practice tests I prepared for you.