B. Test taking: Try to learn how to anticipate or guestimate potential test questions and answers. This does not mean asking your teacher “What’s going to be on the test?”—which might not get you much useful information and will probably only annoy your teacher. Instead, take note of what is emphasized during lecture: What is repeated or discussed with enthusiasm or anecdotes? Often, topics that the teacher finds interesting enough to spend more time discussing will appear on the test.
Try to get a sense of the teacher’s style in terms of potential questions. “How?” you ask. Many times what a teacher discusses in lecture are the answers to questions they have researched, so try to rephrase lecture answers into questions, similar to TV’s Jeopardy.
Here’s another tip: The better you get at note taking, the better you will get at anticipating possible questions on exams because repeated mentions will appear in your notebook. I often would visualize my teacher’s asking questions during lecture so that I would be better prepared for what they might ask me during a test.
Also, I cannot emphasize enough the benefit of asking questions. You will NOT look stupid. Asking a thoughtful question not only allows you to get the specific answer, but it also forces you to think through what is unclear to you (and often to your classmates as well). This is why they won’t think you are stupid—often quite the contrary. I still have associates thank me for the questions that I asked at conferences and meetings, because it forces everyone to think and clarifies difficult points for everyone. Asking a question is also interactive, and most people under 45 learn things better and retain more information in an interactive setting.
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