Fun-day in Coaching Class

#178

Back in 11th and 12th grades, I used to attend classes for IIT coaching. One fine day, one of my professors was in a 'gyaan' mood rather than a subject-teaching mood. So he told us the following tidbits which I've summarized, useful even to this day:

1. Assume the following graph with 'Performance' on the y-axis and 'Hours of study' on the x-axis
1. It'll form Maxwell's curve or what we call 'bell curve' because of its shape
2. You can only productively study for 20 minutes at a stretch
3. After that, when taking a break, do creative stuff rather than cognitive activities
4. You'll be better rejuvenated when you come back
2. Assume time to be a jug of water and the time spent on each sub-topic as a cup 
1. E.g. Physics:
1. Mechanics
2. Optics
3. Electromagnetism
4. Fluid mechanics
2. 4 glasses, one of each of the above
3. Don't fill them one by one
4. Instead, fill 1/4th of all - cover basics of each topic
5. Then, fill 1/2 of all - dive one level deeper into each topic
6. And so on
3. Brain oxygen levels compared to activity chosen:
1. Study - mind drained of oxygen - 😕
2. TV - increases oxygen drain - 😞
3. Creative stuff - increases oxygen supply - 🙂
4. Physical activity - booster for oxygen - 😄
4. Mode of test taking at home
1. Looking at answers is a waste since it won't help you think
2. Create exam atmosphere at home
3. Solve within the set time frame
4. Analyze every test:
1. Create a table with: 
1. Question number
2. Whether you got it right or wrong
3. Reason: lack of time, silly mistake, did not understand question, lack of confidence
2. Compare results with next test
3. Try to reduce silly mistakes
5. In any test, spend the first 10 minutes on what you will attempt at all. This will help save time.