This blog may offer insight to some managers or business professionals who struggle with passing exams, learning content for a class or absorbing any material in general. If you’re intimidated about taking a Community Associations Institute test because the other students in your class look like they are fresh out of college, fear not! You can boost your confidence by developing your study skills!

Make the Knowledge Your Own

I learned these tips through tutoring kids, college students, and older adults and by applying them to my own studies. They don’t suggest cheating or hacking the exam. Instead, you can hone your skills by deliberately practicing these methods. Over time, they may influence the way you absorb information, becoming second nature. The goal is to make the knowledge your own. Once that happens, taking the test is easy!

• Define: First off, rote memorization of definitions isn’t as effective as you might think. Many people will mindlessly recite words from their textbook without ever understanding what they mean. This doesn’t have much benefit without understanding their significance. Think of the definition as a jumping off point from which you can understand the basic idea. Then you have a foundation that allows you to dive deeper and fully grasp the concept.
• Rephrase: When you come across a new concept, rephrase it in your own words as if teaching it to a child. This will clarify the fundamental elements of the concept. It might help you communicate concisely with clients in the future. No one at work will ask you to define “special assessment,” but you’d better be able to explain the concept and its impact to a homeowner!
• Use a Lifeline: If rephrasing the concept doesn’t come easily, it may help to seek a trusted friend or mentor. This could be a boss with more experience, a business partner with expertise in the field, or a colleague who can help you identify resources. Your answers won’t always be black and white. Sometimes the response you get requires you to think critically, ask additional questions, or do further research. It might spur three new questions! Though it may sound like a lot of work, it’s worth it when a tough concept finally clicks.
• Make It Real: Once you have a decent grasp of the concept, start making connections. Apply the concept to something you experience at work, hear at a CAI conference or read in an engineering report. Strive to integrate this practice into your daily work life instead of restricting it to your study time. When a situation arises at work, connect it back to the coursework you recently studied. This practice will help ingrain the concept so that it’s readily accessible when you need it in real life.

Now that CAI’s test schedule allows you to take tests electronically up to 30 days after the class, you can take advantage of applying new concepts to your daily work routine. Instead of waiting until the last minute to study the course content, think about it while it’s still fresh in your head. There’s no reason to compartmentalize your learning time to the two hours of studying you do every week. When you apply the concepts and make connections to the forty hours of work you do every week, not only do you benefit but so does your employer, who may have paid for the class. When applied correctly, it helps you do your job better.

Conquering Test Anxiety

You might understand and apply concepts effortlessly but still suffer from test anxiety. Here are a few strategies to help get the answers from your head onto the computer screen when it’s time to take the test.

• Create Your Own Questions: When reviewing material for tests, immediately check your understanding by asking yourself what a good test question would be. Then make sure you can answer it, looking back at your notes if necessary. As you practice this exercise, you should become more accustomed to recalling information, better preparing you for test time.
• Mnemonic Devices: A memorization technique such as a song or an acrostic can help your brain encode information and help with information retrieval. Here’s the acrostic that I mentally use to recall all the Great Lakes:

Huron
Ontario
Michigan
Erie
Superior

• Summarize: There’s nothing wrong with the summaries at the end of each chapter, but it isn’t your own! A summary that you develop will force you to rephrase everything so that it makes sense to you. You can say it out loud or write it down.

Making Education Work for You

Preparing for and passing all the courses in the CAI catalog won’t help you become a better manager if you forget everything the day after the test. Reinforce what you’ve learned in the classroom with everything you do on a daily basis at work. Chat with other managers about concepts that you want to explore. If they go off on a tangent, soak it in and consider expanding on what you’ve learned. Curiosity about a specific topic may blossom into a new passion or become your niche within the field.

CAI’s PMDP courses will help you grow as a professional. Focusing on this broader perspective can help motivate you to master the material.

P.S. If standardized test taking still makes you anxious, remember— you only need a 70% to pass! Don’t worry. You got this!

I’m happy to welcome Chantu Chea, CMCA, AMS, as my first T-Rex guest blogger. Chantu has been editing and collaborating with me on the blog for quite a while now.  She deserves a lot of credit for the quality of the writing and Association Bridge work product in general. About a year ago, I realized her title of “Associate” really wasn’t cutting it. She is now our “Creative Collaborator & Resident Contrarian.” After tutoring a nervous M-100 student to help her pass the course exam and then acing her own M-205 test (a perfect 100!), it was clear she could help managers prepare for exams and face down test anxiety. It was time for Chantu and me to switch places.  I hope you enjoyed reading her blog as much as I did.