Do you know how many hours in a day that you actually have to yourself? A lot. You just don’t know it, because you’re either too busy procrastinating, idling, or just not doing anything.
The commute to-and-fro your house and school is a good example of free time. Sure, you’re doing something, but in between, you can actually squeeze in a study session, or two. This is especially important when you’re studying your A-levels, especially physics, which can get quite difficult without H2 physics tuition.
Below are tips that you can use to help yourself achieve higher physics scores by making the most out of your free time.
1. Use flash cards
Flash cards are one of the simplest and best ways to remember information.
Sure, they won’t motivate you in any way, nor will they help teach you how to focus. But, if you’re motivated to learn and study, there’s no better way to retain information.
The reason why flash cards are so good is because it makes use of a principle of efficient learning known as “active recall”, which has been shown to help students remember and retain information better. As you write flash cards, read them, and keep on re-reading them, you’ll be able to drill relationships between two pieces of information – the flash cards and whatever is written on them – to make it easier for you to retain knowledge.
You can even step it up a notch and use colored flash cards to help separate particular chapters.
2. Do more, listen less
This may not be something that you can do while on your daily commute, but if you have some free time, try to squeeze in a problem or two to solve.
You see, physics is a subject that’s best understood by solving the hard problems – not by listening.
Although your instructors have provided all the help and guidance in the world to make sure you understand the concepts, it is simply not enough if you just listen and not take any action. The best way to make understanding the said concepts like second nature to you is to start applying them on a day-to-day basis.
You don’t even need a pen or paper and you can just start by playing with the ideas and equations on your own. Or better yet, you can even create and solve problems in your head.
3. Organize group studies
This doesn’t necessarily refer to just physics itself, but to any subject in general.
When you discuss ideas aloud and share them with others, you help foster an environment where there’s back-and-forth communication. One person starts sharing something, another person starts sharing, and together, the group can put together insights that most of you probably didn’t (or couldn’t) think of on your own.
If you’re having difficulty solving a particular problem, solve it with your friends. Talk to them about it. Even if they don’t actively participate, nor can they contribute anything, the mere act of sharing something out loud is beneficial in on itself.
Supplementing your daily routine by making good use of your free time is the best way to get as high of a mark as possible when studying your A-levels, in particular, physics.