Study Methods

synseq

What method do you use to study? I personally use the SQ3R method for studying I find it to be quite effective and research also shows it to be highly effective for memory retention and comprehension. I'm sure everyone here knows about it but I thought I'd post it anyway for the benefit for those studying for upcoming certifications.

Step 1. "S"= Survey. Before you actually read a chapter, or go over a particular section of notes, take five minutes to survey the material. Briefly check headings and subheadings in order to understand the author's organizational pattern of ideas to be discussed. Scan all visual material. Read introductory and summary paragraphs. This preview will enable you to anticipate what the chapter is about.


Step 2. "Q"= Question. Create interest in the material by asking: What are the main points of the chapter? As you read, keep the question in mind and figure out the most important points. It gives you a clearly defined purpose for reading, and helps you maintain interest in the material.


Step 3. "R"= Read. Read the chapter actively for meaning. Go through the paragraph before underlining, then underline key words and phrases to help you recall the main points. Be selective, you don't want to highlight non-important points or miss anything that can help your comprehension. Summarize main concepts in your own words in the margins. The more active you are in the reading process, the more you will retain.


Step 4. "R"= Recite. After every few pages, close your book and recite aloud the main points to the questions you posed in step 2. Try to recall basic details as to the author's intent by putting them in your own words. Verify your answer by checking the text. If you can't remember the text, read through it again. If you don't get it now, you won't remember it for a test. Take as much time as you need to answer your questions. Don't be frustrated, this takes more time but the information will be clearer in your mind.


Step 5. "R"= Review Finally, review the chapter every so often to fix the material in your mind. Keep rereading your margin notes and underlinings. Verbalize the sequence of main ideas and supporting facts to aid retention. Numerous reviews are a lot more effective than one cramming session the night before an exam. Review once right after you've finished reading and then every couple of days. The SQ3R is time consuming at first, expect it to take ten to fifteen percent longer to read a given chapter when you first begin. Research indicates a 70% increase in retention after two months of using the system and, eventually, a reduction in time spent preparing for exams.

Don't forget to take study breaks. Taking a 5-15 minute study break every hour or so is more beneficial than not taking one at all. It gives yourself a chance to absorb the material instead of going on from one subject to the next without a break like some drone.

Roguetadhg

I didn't know there was a formal method of studying. My method of studying changes, evolves. I used to be highlighter happy (ICND2)

Now...

1) I read once: Highlight the main points of the section.. whether - what words could create a bullet point that summarizes the whole section. Easier to skim later. I write "ex" next to the paragraph that either represents: Examples, Filler, or otherwise not generally 'that' important in the scheme of the section.

I read section by section, instead of pages, or chapters.

2) I write down the notes on paper. I've learned to write two ways with my dominate hand, as well as developing to be ambidextrous and write with my Left hand. Good heavens.

I draw examples of what's being explained. It made a few things easier to understand that I thought I knew, but misunderstood - Smurf Attacks, for example:



- If I can't make out what was trying to be conveyed by the highlighted section, or if it's still foggy, I'll re-read the section. I'll go back over it with a different perspective as "How was I foggy?" and try to answer "What did I miss in this section that made what I highlighted unclear?"

3) I use OneNote to write down any additional notes that the author put in the book that's important. Ie: "Remember this" for my Security+ studies. I then go back over the highlighted points, and type them up in OneNote.

- Again, If I can't make out what was trying to be conveyed by the highlighted section, or if it's still foggy, I'll re-read the section. I'll go back over it with a different perspective as "How was I foggy?" and try to answer "What did I miss in this section that made what I highlighted unclear?" I will usually write in the pages, at this point.

4) Look over the notes I have for the chapter.
5) I take the chapter tests. I run the answers through my mind. Instead of immediately going after the "Correct" one, I go through each answer oppositely - "Why is this answer not correct?" I don't accept the answer "Because it isn't" :P


It's differently when there's labs. But Security+ doesn't have any labs. Honestly "Because it doesn't have any labs" isn't an excuse, I just don't want to lab as labbing would mean I'll probably end up fired - which is to mean I'm too poor/lazy to do the type of networking sim I want to do: Virtual Boxing + GNS3 + Wiresharks/Nmap.

For tests that I lab:

1) I lab once. I do this to get familiar with what I've just did. This is my familiarize step.
2) I read the chapter. I see the commands I've done, and I get to understand why the commands were typed as they were.
- I study the text like I did above with the non-lab tests

3) I go through a lab that has the commands I'm learning. I try to stay away from "advanced" lab topics that aren't yet discussed.
4) If there's no more sections - I'll lab again, all of the labs. Else, if there's more sections left, I'll go back to Step 2.

5) Chapter tests, like the non-lab tests.
6) Write out commands.

It's difficult to do Step 1, without doing research prior to. Mostly because I haven't read the chapter, I don't know what to expect other than "EIGRP" or "OSPF" or ... If I don't have a lab book, I try to stay away from labbing prior to any reading.

It takes a lot of time to study a lab chapter. I try to mix in the chapter with labs as much as possible.

FloOz

nice study method! ive never heard of it but will definitely give it a try. as for my study habits i usually put on my noise cancelling headphones and read a few pages (while taking notes/highlighting) then review my notes and the past few pages. this varies depending on the difficulty of the chapter and how well i am focused in on the subject.

and if i am watching training videos i usually pause about every 2-3 minutes to take notes on what i just learned.

synseq

It's funny you should mention DoS attacks specifically tcp syn. When I was still in high school over 10 years ago I wrote a tcp syn denial of service program for linux utilizing C and asm. It was brutal, quick, and efficient. Very popular too. When you are at that age I guess being able to drop internet providers or any nuisance you might find on irc or whatever seems cool but it doesn't take long to realize it's lame. Now we refer to those people as packet kiddies which is an accurate description lol..

Roguetadhg

lol. I've 'dabbled' with the art of hacking, but it wasn't something that interested me. There's only so much fun one can have while raining death and destruction on a SimCity. But the art of building, now that's a better flavor.

Packet/script kiddies. But there's definitely talent out there, thems the dangerous ones. Security+ is a good study, even if not for the test.

NetworkVeteran

OP wrote:

Review once right after you've finished reading and then every couple of days. The SQ3R is time consuming at first, expect it to take ten to fifteen percent longer to read a given chapter when you first begin. Research indicates a 70% increase in retention after two months of using the system and, eventually, a reduction in time spent preparing for exams.

This can be greatly improved upon with spaced repetition. First, reviewing even all the technical notes I've amassed over the past few months takes over eight hours. Second, there's no need to review facts every two days. We're better at remembering things than that, so that many repetitions is a waste. I am a strong believer in technical review as it's a shame to lose the knowledge we work so hard to collect. The job market for someone with a certification who remembers little of its material is almost worse than being uncertified.

Roguetadhg

We are good at remembering, but after about 4 days the information (for myself, atleast) starts to fade away. Mostly the smaller detailed points. But it takes a good while longer for the major information to fade away.

I haven't touched switching in a long time, but I still remember STP is for redunant links for switches. Ask me RSTP+, and I come up with a blank. I now it's there (I used it in this example) and I know it's related, I just can't remember 'how' it is.

synseq

You also have to keep in mind everyone learns things differently. For instance some people learn better with visuals such as diagrams, pictures, etc. where as others benefit more by listening to the material on audio cds or having someone explain the material like in a classroom setting. I've always believed experience is the best teacher in concert with reading and taking notes. That is what works for me anyway but like I said everyone is different. What I like to do is read the material, take notes, and then apply some hands-on approach to utilize the knowledge I went over. To take it one step further I try and teach what I have learned to someone else and that combination seems to work very well.

synseq

Roguetadhg wrote: »

lol. I've 'dabbled' with the art of hacking, but it wasn't something that interested me. There's only so much fun one can have while raining death and destruction on a SimCity. But the art of building, now that's a better flavor.

Packet/script kiddies. But there's definitely talent out there, thems the dangerous ones. Security+ is a good study, even if not for the test.

Yeah. I used to do that all the time back in the day. Old school stuff... wuftpd, alp, etc. I remember using bannerscan to scan a range of ip addresses, identify the ones that were cisco routers and had the default login and password. Back in those days you could assemble one massive list of routers many of which had the vulnerability of allowing you to send multiple icmp packets combine that with smurf and well you could do some damage lol.. I'm very interested in the security side of the Cisco certifications.

NetworkVeteran

Roguetadhg wrote: »

We are good at remembering, but after about 4 days the information (for myself, atleast) starts to fade away. Mostly the smaller detailed points. But it takes a good while longer for the major information to fade away.

Space repetition is like the science of how memories fade away. The first time you see something, you may need it reinforced it a day, or two, or three. But the space between the first repetition and the second can be longer, and the space between the second repetition and the third can be longer still. At some point, the necessary repetitions become insanely long--like how long you remember to ride a bike, or that 2+2 or 2 x 2 = 4, or that "red" = "rojo". Worth trying.

emerald_octane

I use mind maps.

Roguetadhg

NetworkVeteran: Will try to research that a little later. When I wake up.
emerald_octane: Mind Maps?

sthompson86

I have a simple routine that works for me.

1. Read Book Chapter
2. Watch CBT etc video that coincides with Chapter
3. Do labs that coincide with chapter.
4. Go back through and make paper notes

I then repeat the above process all over again, but with a different book. For instance, I will use Cisco Press first then on the second round use Sybex.

Once I have done used up all my study material I then go back and start "sharpening the arrow" as I call it by doing practice tests/labs to make sure I have all my concepts down cold.

This has been my method with all my certs.

I have tried to use Onenote like Rougetadhg, but I find I do not really ever go back to digital notes.

emerald_octane

Yes mind maps. Someone will probably have a better explanation but it's pretty much the same as any linear note taking format except you can see the concepts in relation to other similar topics and you can see them all at once or only one at a time depending on whether you're studying or reviewing. For my CISSP studies (CISSP map attatched below for one of the 10 domains) given the sheer amount of information that needs to be learned from different souces, mapping it out was the only way for me to get a clear understanding. Once everything is mapped out and you understand what you absolutely must know (as indicated by your maps) you can begin to make relationships to the overall topic.

However for knowledge capture as they say writing it down is one of the best ways to learn anything so I may create flash cards or just write down what's on my notes over and over. For the CISSP I created over 500 flash cards by hand.

Roguetadhg

i've heard that CISSP is a 3 inches deep and a mile wide, but links everything you've learned previously.

That picture is too small to even look at :P

emerald_octane

sorry i'd post the full reso version but the resulting image is over a meg and I dont think i can upload.

Roguetadhg

Can you email it to me? I'd like to see the mind map. I'm always looking for better ways to study

I'll send you a pm

NetworkVeteran

Trees (which minds maps seem to rely on) are a good way to structure your data when you learn each topic from one source only. For example, if you're reading a book on Multicast, and Chapter 12 is about MVPNs, you may store the information in a tree like so--

Multicast Book
---Chapter 12: MVPNs

And if your teacher is giving you a quiz on MVPNs, it's easy to review!

Trees do carry a major limitation. A fact can only have one parent. Consider--

1. Do MVPNs (Multicast VPNs implemented using MPLS) belong under Multicast or MPLS?
2. Where do you store Standard vs Vendor-specific knowledge? Having a node for each and every vendor under each and every topic quickly leads to a messy tree!

Tagging is the solution. This is why search engines like Google overcame online directory services, and why hierarchical databases fell out of favor with the rise of relational databases.

I have MVPN facts tagged like so--

Fact#1: blah blah blah
tags: MVPN Juniper

If I need to confgure an MVPN using Juniper gear I might cram--

MVPN + Standard (to review the concepts)
MVPN + Juniper (to review Juniper-specific quirks and commands)


[EDIT: To avoid any confusion, whether you organize your facts using trees or tagging, and whether you review at fixed or spaced-repetition intervals, are separate questions.]

Cerebro

Mind maps are good, but I could never get the hang of using them consistently. Google "ccna mind map", for examples. Tony Buzan is where I first learn't about them, his books on memory and speed reading are good stuff.

Roguetadhg

So basicly it's just "indexing" the information, like the Index of the book? Except it's all centered around a topic, with the next layer as the next branch, which splits off.

synseq

I use Personal Brain 6 Professional to make what you might call a mind map to study. It's sort of like a digital brain. You can make main ideas, subjects that come off those main ideas, and for each one you can fill out detailed information. Not my favorite study tool but it is a cool program.