Motivation and study techniques for chemistry?

[neenah]

So... I AM REALLY STRUGGLING TO LIKE CHEMISTRY.

Okay, so basically all throughout high school chemistry was one of my favourite subjects but now, in year 12, I am struggling to find motivation to study for it. I keep putting it off and this has caused so many topics and things to accumulate that now I'm struggling to catch up which puts me off even more.

What are some of the best ways to study chemistry? Like, what actually works to stick it in your head and not look at a question and panic? Thanks!

[ziaxadon]

Hey Neenah,
I totally understand where you are coming from. Chemistry is definitely a challenging subject and many people are put off by this. If you lack motivation to study for it, you could possibly use a different method and mindset to approach the subject. Instead of thinking "I have to do well for chemistry because its vce" maybe try telling your self that "learning chemistry will broaden my understand of the world around me." The pressures of VCE is often a massive distraction for a student to really enjoy the subject that they are undertaking. By having a different perspective and goals for a subject, it may help increase your enjoyment, thus making you more motivated to study for it.

With study technique, I would recommend really trying to understand the concepts rather than rote learning them. Mindlessly reading and highlighting a book can be time consuming, ineffective and very mundane. Chemistry is a subject that also requires visualization of phenomenon and concepts. Although a textbook is helpful to an extent, it is limited in its presentation of diagrams or concepts. I recommend watching chemistry videos on youtube, khanacademy etc as videos often contain animations which is far more effective than a textbook for representing visual concepts. Watching video is also a new method of study which can be more interesting than textbook reading.

Don't worry too much about your current predicament. I'm sure everyone has been there at some stage including me on many occasions. I hope this helps and best of luck for the year!!!

[Bri MT]

- if you are struggling to find the motivation to study something start small. Maybe that's watching an educational video on it, or completing 5 multiple choice questions, or actively reading over your notes
- look for links between what you are learning now in chemistry and what you have previously learnt, as well as real life experiences
- make a progress plan. how are you going to catch up? What position do you want to be in this time next week?
- if you don't understand a concept, after looking at your resources, ask
- if you do understand a concept, teach it to someone (you could do this to a person, writing a post on here, or 'teaching' an animate object) & do practice questions for it

remember there are lots of online resources to help for chem - just make sure you know what's appllicable to the study design and not.

[shardy7]

 I am a VCE Chemistry teacher and I have made a website for the current course. This site contains a summary of each topic, links to useful websites, links to videos and links to quizzes. You may find something on this site to motivate you. Site address http://chemistryvce.weebly.com/
Good luck!