Being an automotive college student can be quite challenging.

One of the major differences between automotive college students and those of other fields is that not only are they spending much of their time in classrooms, they also spend a significant amount of their time working in hands-on, practical lessons.

Practical lessons can be tiring and after a long day, the thought of revising or studying theory can be quite unappealing.

So what habits can automotive college students implement in order to maximize their learning?

Here are a few:

Mentors and Buddies

First of all, students should make full use of mentors and the buddies that they have. Take a good look around you in your own classroom or groups; you’ll see that there are people who are ‘specialists’ in certain areas of your studies. Their personal interest makes them more knowledgeable about certain areas, and you as their friend can leverage that to help with your own learning.

This is the idea behind the concept of ‘study groups’, where people learn separately and then gather to share their individual knowledge with each other. Learning from a teacher or professor is great, but learning from your peers is known to be even more effective.

Writing in your diary/journal

Here’s a radical idea: After a long day of learning, instead of reading, try writing! If you’re not an avid reader, the thought of flipping through a book at night after a tiring day might seem ridiculous, but why not take the time to note down the things that you just learned through the day. By writing it down, not only do you remind yourself of the things you’ve learned, the simple act of writing it out with your own hand actually helps your mind retain the lessons that you’ve learned.

The method you choose is not as important as actually doing it; you can write it on paper, in a diary, or even typing it into a blog if you have. As long as you make it a frequent practice, it’ll serve you well by helping you remember and better understand the things you were exposed to in the day.

Goal-Setting

The act of goal-setting cannot be stressed enough. It is a part of human nature that we need goals, large and small, to keep us engaged and energized. It’s no different for you as a student! In previous articles,I’ve mentioned how you need to have long-term and medium-term goals, but for the purposes of this article let’s consider short-term goals as well.

A short-term goal is one that looks a few days or weeks into the future. What would you like to achieve by the end of this week? Or what would you like to achieve by the end of today?

Perhaps you’ll say to yourself that by the end of this week, you’d like to understand a particular topic or problem and to achieve that goal you’ll read whatever you need to read, and you’ll speak to specific friends or teachers who will help you understand it.

Short-term goals are important to keep us moving forward so that we can eventually reach our medium- and long-term goals.

Scheduling

College life is hectic, but it’s also fun and exciting especially if you have an active social life with your friends. For this reason, time management is key, and having a clear schedule is good to ensure that you do all the things you need to get done in your day. While leisure time is good to have, it’s important to ensure that it does not interfere with your studying time as well.

Once you’ve decided on the part of the day that you’ll devote to your revision or studying, you must protect that time and ensure that nothing else can interfere with it.

Visualizing

Do you like to daydream? Did you know that daydreaming can be a very good habit to help with your learning?

This is especially true for helping automotive college students to succeed because a large part of your education revolves around practical, hands-on activities. If you’re trying to learn how to fix a particular element of a motor vehicle, for example, daydream about it. Visualize yourself going through the process step-by-step. When it comes to visualizations, some people take it a step further and do it backwards, starting from the final step and then working backwards.

Conclusion

These are just some of the many tips you can find that might help you improve your learning. The most important thing to consider when trying out these things is to find the ones that work for you personally, because one size does not fit all, but it’s worth it when you find what works because then you’ll succeed in your studies!

QUICK FACTS OF TOC AUTOMOTIVE COLLEGE

TOC offers various programmes and courses such as the Diploma in Automotive Technology, Diploma in Motorsport Technology, Diploma Kemahiran Malaysia, Superbike Technician Course, Master Technician Course, Automotive Customer Service, Sijil Kemahiran Malaysia (SKM) Level 2 & 3 and other automotive short courses. There will be a new intake —check it out here!

We are one of the best automotive colleges in Malaysia that provides you with the education pathway you need to turn your dream into reality! Our diploma and certificate programme is structured to fit the needs of the industry by providing hands-on experience and solid theoretical knowledge.  

If you’d like to know more about the automotive industry or if you’re still unsure whether it would be a good fit for you, don’t hesitate to have a chat with our automotive course counsellors, who would be happy to help you out!