How to become a smarter student – Do you want to be a smart student? Or probably you are already smart but want to build more on yourself? If that is so, this article has been prepared for you.
Before we begin, you must know what a smarter student is.
Who is a Smart Student
A smart student is a student who can comprehend things quickly and has a high intellectual capacity for good understanding.
We shall examine the ways to become a smarter student herein.
How to become a smarter student
- Spend more time reading
- Attend classes regularly
- Keep track of time
- Select your friends wisely
- Get engaged in educative discussions
- Teach Others
- Learn Practically
- Do not run away from difficulties
- Take notes during classes
- Be receptive
1. Spend more time reading
If you read for thirty minutes daily before, it is time you increase by several folds. Start reading for a more extended period. The saying, “The day we stop learning, we start dying,” is no idle word in academics.
Students who appear to be smart in the world today spend more time with books.
2. Attend classes regularly
You can never tell if the lecturer will give a hint outside the content of the course material you have with you. This is one reason you should always make sure you attend classes.
Sometimes lecturers share clues on personal development with students since they have already been there. Periods like this come up, especially after all the topics for the semester have been treated, knowing that the population in class will be fewer.
3. Keep track of time
A student’s greatest mistake is failing to spend his time judiciously. Time unlike money, cannot be recovered when lost. Several philosophical theories of time can help you keep track of it. One says, “Time is like a river; the same spot cannot be touched twice.”
Never lose track of time if you want to be a smarter student. Make sure you do the right things when due.
Remember that all the years you have to spend in school are made up of time.
4. Select your friends wisely
Choose the kind of people you move with. You will learn different things from the right students if you work with the right students.
Moving with the wrong settings, on the other hand, may be failing.
One of the factors that contribute to a student’s success/failure on campus is friends.
5. Get engaged in educative discussions
Walking with the right students can contribute to your academic success in different ways, some of which you may least expect.
Educative discussions can go a long way to help improve you.
6. Teach Others
This is one of the techniques I cannot do without, and it has been helpful. Do you know that learners and teachers are learning when teaching is going on?!
Well, you can ask any student who teaches others or observe how good they are academic. Students become more brilliant when they teach others what they already know (whether little or much about).
Certain things like hearing the listener(s) point of view on the topic being taught and helping your memory retain the topic for extended periods are some of the benefits of teaching others. That is why no matter how old a good teacher gets, they still look smarter and more intelligent than/her peers – who do not teach.
Remember, you cannot do this unless you have the spirit of selflessness. Think about how it will add value to your life and the life of those you teach, not the monetary part. Do not for any reason except money as the reward for learning others unless you are employed.
Try this, and you will be back here to make an excellent comment if you do not recommend this article to others.
7. Learn practically
According to a German pedagogue, Wilhelm Froebel, who turned out to be another great teacher’s student, Johann Pestalozzi, learning should go from concrete to abstract.
You have to do this for yourself. Your level of education may not give room for your tutors to be able to do that for you, at least because we have several teaching methods. For instance, the Play-way teaching method developed by the said figure cannot (or rarely) be used at the high or University level of education.
And with such a method of teaching welcomes going from concrete to abstract.
It is easier to learn when you can relate to what is being taught. But what do you do when you do not offer courses that involve practicals?
As a student eager to become smarter, I would advise you to seek every means to help yourself associate specific topics, especially the difficult ones, with physical objects.
Continues…
In the time of Wilhelm Froebel, in a case study, said teachers should ensure students get familiarized with the sun before treating topics like the solar system. They know that other planetary bodies like Pluto are abstract for the students.
If his example does not explain well enough, I will suggest you bring every topic to your understanding by relating them to the objects that are very close to you.
In a nutshell, make sure you find means to learn from known to unknown. I think it was John Amos Comenius who developed this particular theory.
8. Do not run away from difficulties
Always remember that you are all that you have got. You must remove doubts or fear to face what you ought to do. Shying away from things, especially school activities, can negatively affect students, such as carrying over.
Keep in mind that not all students that carry over specific courses are dull. Some are intelligent but cannot afford to study well for some classes because they lack interest.
There is something you should also learn here, right away. A subject becomes hard for you immediately you:
- Lack interest in such a course; or
- You hate the lecturer in charge
All students must check these two things themselves as soon as they encounter difficulty in any course. Other factors could also contribute to this, but the two stated causes should be taken seriously.
To face difficulty, whether in offered courses or other activities in the school as a student, you must never forget that everything is for a matter of time. That challenging course may only be your cross for three years, so the moment you sit back and refuse to take knowing it upon yourself, you may have to spend extra years.
9. Take notes during classes
Smart students are known for this one thing you want to start exhibiting now. You can get a separate book for taking down points from lecturers during classes.
The human brain is not like the computer’s RAM or ROM. It cannot store too many things and begins to retrieve them when needed. This is to say that students must take down notes during classroom sessions.
10. Be receptive
When you treat listening skills, you must have seen something like this in English. But in this case, we are not talking about the ability of the ear to listen, no, not literally.
As a student who wants to become smarter, you must have a mind open to taking in new ideas which are not even in line with your previous knowledge.
One problem students have is not being ready to forgo previous knowledge. Perhaps you think you do not do this because you read what is taught with an open mind – it doesn’t end there.
Remember that being smart is not necessarily being able to pass. You might have stumbled on this article because you want to get the attributes of a good student leader.
You want to agree with the saying, “No knowledge is a waste.”
Given this, you have to be able to take in other people’s points of view on different topics. One of the significant factors that makes a person smart is the ability to learn from different dimensions.
Some students think listening to a particular set of people is unnecessary for different reasons. But you can be sure you may be missing out on many things that could help you.
With “being receptive,” I am not necessarily saying you should make friends with many people. I am not the type that makes friends. What matters is relating well to everyone and trying to know what those people know. Before you know it, you are already learning a lot.
Conclusion
I hope this article, which is deemed to be on how to become a smarter student, has helped you gain knowledge on the topic and motivated you.
Another point I want to give you under this is to know your stand. I am convinced this is one reason you may be scared of practicing this. You need not be!
Listening to others who have opinions you never want to welcome does not mean you should take to their views. You have to listen, sit back and filter all you have learned. If you discover you like anyone’s opinion, you can put it into use, and you will already be on your way to becoming a new and smarter person.
