Imagine completing a semester’s worth of lessons, exams, assignments, and projects in a fraction of the time it would normally take. Seems like a pipe dream, right? But accelerated courses make it all possible.
A lot of new career builders and college students are opting for accelerated courses online due to their convenience and flexibility. A typical accelerated class can last for 4 to 8 weeks as opposed to the traditional semester-long course.
This type of learning is designed to provide students with the same level of education in a shorter amount of time, making it possible to graduate or advance their careers quickly. But with the condensed timeframe and increased workload, it can be a challenge to keep up with the flow of information, deadlines, and expectations.
Before you become a master in your field, you need to be able to learn quickly and effectively, especially in an accelerated course. Here are some simple yet useful tips to help you absorb more information in less time.
Create a Solid Study Schedule
Laying out a comprehensive study plan is the best way to stay on top of your coursework. Based on the course outline, make a realistic schedule of when and how you will study for each topic and stick to it as closely as possible.
Since you’re working in a compressed time frame, time blocking is one of the most effective scheduling strategies to make the most of your time. It involves assigning specific blocks of time for each topic over a few days instead of cramming the entire workload into a few hours.
Time blocking allows you to make use of every minute you have while ensuring that you don’t get stuck on a single topic or project for too long. This way, you can make steady progress and complete the course on time.
Block out Distractions
No matter how solid your study schedule is, distractions can easily derail your progress. And we all know where most distractions come from – our digital devices.
So before starting your study session, set up a distraction-free environment where you can focus on the task at hand without any interruptions. It may be necessary to keep your gadgets on silent, turn off social media notifications, and close any open tabs, so you won’t be tempted to check them throughout the day.
If you find yourself getting off track too often, use an app blocker to limit your access to certain websites or apps while you’re studying. Taking advantage of noise-canceling headphones or even white noise apps can also help you focus better by blocking out any distracting background noise.
Break Down Challenging Concepts
The biggest struggle in taking accelerated courses is the amount of information and material that needs to be processed in a limited time. To make sense of it all, break down complex topics into smaller comprehensible ideas to speed up the learning process.
For example, you may encounter topics like clustering, classification, and regression algorithms in a data science course. Instead of trying to understand them all at once, start with the basics of each algorithm as well as its features and limitations. Once you’re familiar with each, you can create visual aids like a flowchart or table that highlights their similarities and differences.
Follow the 80/20 Principle
Most of the time, less is better. The 80/20 principle (also known as the Pareto Principle) states that 80% of the results come from 20% of the effort. In an accelerated course, it’s crucial to focus your attention on the most important topics and leave out small details that aren’t as helpful in learning the concepts.
To do this, identify the core concepts in your syllabus that are essential for mastering a particular skill set and prioritize them over interesting but insignificant topics. Doing this will help you stay organized and focused without getting overwhelmed by excessive amounts of information in a short amount of time.
Use Active Recall Strategies
Rather than passively reading through notes or textbooks or even highlighting important points, try actively recalling information to help your brain remember it better.
Active recall involves challenging yourself by asking questions and answering them aloud or writing them down in a notebook. This strategy helps you identify weak points so you can focus on those areas to improve your understanding more efficiently than just reading through notes alone.
To do this, you can use flashcards or answer practice tests to test yourself regularly and check how well you remember various facts, concepts, and theories that are important for mastering the subject matter.
Take Regular Breaks
You may be tempted to push through long study sessions so you can finish the course quickly, but this is actually counterproductive. Scheduling short breaks between study sessions is just as important as studying itself.
Just like how sleep recharges our mind and body, taking a few minutes here and there is essential to help your brain process and store the information that you have just learned while making space for new material.
Try taking 5 to 10 minutes off every hour or two to stretch, walk outside, grab a snack, or take a quick nap – whatever helps to reset your mind and stay productive for the next few hours of studying.
Practice Self-Explanation
What’s a better way to learn than to explain the concepts out loud?
Self-explanation is an effective learning technique that involves reading through a material and explaining concepts in your own words as if you were giving a lecture on the topic. It may seem weird at first, but it’s a great way to force your brain to process information in an organized manner, leading to better comprehension and retention.
This method helps reinforce the knowledge acquired by encouraging active reflection on what you’re learning. Moreover, it trains you to think of the concepts more critically while helping you structure your thoughts better when it comes to exam preparation.
Final Thoughts
While it’s true that accelerated courses demand more effort, they can be a great way to acquire knowledge in less amount of time. Applying effective study strategies and techniques like those outlined above can help you get the best out of your accelerated class and get ahead in your career.
Don’t let the speed of learning discourage you from taking an accelerated course. Sometimes, the challenge of completing a course in such a short time frame can be just what you need to push yourself and excel.
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