Getting the Most Out of Class
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Secret 7
G
ETTING THE
M
OST
O
UT OF
C
LASS
E
leni knew she was shy, but she felt it was simply
something she would have to live with.
The problem was that her shyness was interfering with
her favorite class—geometry. Eleni envied her class-
mates who could throw up their hands during class or
hang around after class to ask Ms. Hartick a question.
The tricks Eleni relied on for her other classes were not
working. She couldn’t ask for help from a friend because
she had no friends taking geometry. She couldn’t find
answers to some questions by studying her textbook
because she didn’t understand some of the textbook’s
explanations. When Ms. Hartick was discussing a new
concept or reviewing a difficult problem, Eleni needed an
explanation on the spot.
Eleni explained her problem to her boyfriend and was
surprised by his response. “I bet other people have the
same question you do,” Alberto said. “You’d be doing
them a favor by asking your question.”
The next day, Eleni gathered her courage and raised

3. organizing ideas
4. writing down or drawing the information for future study
Steps 2, 3, and 4 may come in a different order, depending on your lis-
tening and learning styles (See Secret #5).
Listening Styles
If you learn best by hearing, you might find that taking notes while you
listen distracts you from what you are hearing. To test this, listen to a
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10 SECRETS TO ACING ANY HIGH SCHOOL TEST
talk show without taking notes; then, on another day, listen to a talk
show while taking notes. Decide which works better for you. Either
way, writing down questions that come to mind—or even key words
that will help you recall information—might be helpful.
If you learn best with images, you need to “see” what you are listening
to. Doodle or draw pictures, maps, or timelines of what the lecturer is
talking about. Use different colored markers to highlight your notes.
If you learn best by using order, you will want to feel a clear order of
events while you listen. Make lists and timelines of what the lecturer
is saying. Outline the lecture or number points in the margins.
If you learn best by doing and moving, you need the sense that you are
experiencing what is being talked about. Try different ways of doing
this. For doing, you could pretend you are a reporter for a magazine
on the subject of the lecture, and you need to take careful notes so
your readers will have an accurate understanding of the subject. For
moving, you might find that you stay focused best by writing down
every word or by gently tapping your foot to the rhythm of the lec-
turer’s speech. (Just don’t disturb others around you!)
Translating What You Hear into Useful Notes
Depending on the teaching skills of your instructor, you may need to
work harder at understanding what he or she has to say and translat-

best not to wait until the last minute to get help—your teacher may
not be available to you. This is especially important in science or
math, where each new lesson is often built upon the previous one.
If you need to meet with a teacher or an aide for extra help, try to
prepare specific questions first. You are more likely to get clear, spe-
cific answers.
To help her through her Spanish class, Laurie’s mom hired a tutor,
who is a Spanish major at a nearby college. Laurie had heard two
interesting facts about tutors:
1. Hiring a competent tutor for 25% of the course content is as good
as hiring one for 100% of the course. Why do you think this is?
Answer: If you worked with a competent tutor for the first 25% of
the course, he or she could help you understand the basic, underly-
ing concepts of the subject, for example, how to write proofs for
Algebra II. Also, any good tutor would help you organize and pri-
oritize the subject you are studying—skills you could apply to the
remaining 75% of the course.
2. A good tutor’s grades go up along with the grades of the person
being tutored. Why do you think this is?
Answer: Teaching something to someone else is one of the surest
ways to judge what you know and don’t know, what you remember
and don’t remember, and if you know how to paraphrase (restate in
your own words) what you have learned. This is why peer tutoring
programs are so successful.
STUDY BUDDIES
In any class, it is valuable to get the phone numbers of at least two of
your classmates. That way, if you get sick or miss class, you will have
fellow students to call to find out what you missed. They may let you
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10 SECRETS TO ACING ANY HIGH SCHOOL TEST

By making yourself understood, listening carefully, and working with
your learning style and that of your partner, you will get more out of
studying with a study pal. And you will have more fun, too!
You will probably feel a lot less pressure in school if you have some-
one to work with. When you work with a partner, you have someone
to bounce ideas off of, discuss things with, and ask questions of. Here’s
how a study buddy can help:
• If you are working on the same problem, one of you might know
the answer and can help the other; if neither of you knows it, you
can figure it out together.
Getting the Most Out of Class
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