In this slide presentation, I’ll cover four common study techniques, tell you whether they are effective and explain how to get the most out of them so your study time is focused and useful.

1. How To Get
CAPM®Certification
UsingFourStudy
Techniques
For Certified Associate in Project Management (CAPM)®

2. If you’ve arrived here it’s because you are probably
looking for the best study techniques for the CAPM®
Exam. You’re in luck! We support thousands of
students to successfully pass their Project
Management Institute (PMI)® exams, and we know
exactly what techniques work.
In this article, I’ll cover four common study
techniques, tell you whether they are effective and
explain how to get the most out of them so your study
time is focused and useful.

3. TECHNIQUE 1
Reading, Highlighting and
Underlining the Guide
Many of us will be used to this study
technique: go through a text, read it
(sometimes aloud) and highlight or underline
the portions that we want to draw special
attention to for later.

4. Is It Effective?
Not really. Research published by the Association for Psychological
Science shows that although people use this technique, highlighting
and underlining isn’t an effective way to learn. In fact, it might stop
you learning effectively because it focuses your mind to specific facts
and not the bigger picture concepts.
However, reading by itself is a good technique to get started so do take
the time to read through the A Guide to the Project Management Body
of Knowledge (PMBOK® Guide).

5. HowToMakeThisCAPM®StudyTechnique
MoreEffective?
Don’t simply read. Try to read actively, asking yourself
questions as you go through sections of the PMBOK® Guide.
How does this relate to your work? Why is it relevant to the job
of a project manager? What notes can you take that will help
you remember this concept?
Read alternative books as well. There are lots of study guides
that will help you for your CAPM Exam prep and make the
concepts ‘real’.

6. TECHNIQUE 2
Many of us will be used to this study
technique: go through a text, read it
(sometimes aloud) and highlight or underline
the portions that we want to draw special
attention to for later.
Listen to The PM PrepCast™
(for CAPM®)

7. Is It Effective?
Yes! The research also shows that spreading out your study sessions is far
more effective than cramming. The PM Prepcast (for CAPM) is a great
way to plan your exam prep over time, spacing out your learning
sessions. When your study tools are already broken down into digestible,
flexible chunks it’s far easier to master the concepts and build on what
you have already learned.
The PM Prepcast (for CAPM) also includes real-world examples, which
students say are crucial to being able to understand the concepts. The
more you can grasp how the ideas are used in the workplace, the easier it
is to recall that information in the exam.

8. TECHNIQUE 3
Writing your own notes is another common study
technique that you probably learned at school. You
can create your own flashcards.
Taking notes is the act of write down important
information while reading the material to be
learned. This is another technique many of us
learned while in school.
Taking Notes on the Guide

9. Is It Effective?
Yes, if you do it effectively. Simply copying out the PMBOK®
Guide isn’t going to add any value to your understanding of
the key concepts.
Taking notes can be time-consuming so use your time
wisely. Concentrate on areas where you know you need to
review the principles and take notes in your own words, or
make a mind-map, instead of copying.

10. HowToMakeThisCAPM®StudyTechnique
MoreEffective?
#1: Create Your Own Flashcards
Take your notes in a way that allows you to hide key terms and definitions by either folding
the page over or covering it with another sheet. Then you can test yourself and your ability to
recall important concepts and what they mean.
It’s easy to do this if you structure your notes in two columns. In one column, write the name of
the term or concept. In the other, write the definition or the key piece of information you want
to remember.
This technique works best when you use loose leaf paper which you can organize into a binder.
Notebooks are good for keeping all your notes together, and they are highly portable if you
study on the go, but they don’t lend themselves as well for making flashcards like this.
Here are two ways to make taking notes more effective as a study technique for CAPM®:

11. HowToMakeThisCAPM®StudyTechnique
MoreEffective?
#2: Use a Brain DumpA brain dump is where you write down everything you know about
a topic. Once you’ve read a section of the PMBOK® Guide, start a fresh piece of paper or a
new page in your notebook and write down everything you can remember about that
concept. You can do this as a list, a mind-map or whatever format helps you remember
most clearly.
Then check back to make sure that you included everything important. The more often
you do this kind of note taking, the easier you will find it to recall information during
the exam.
This technique makes note taking far more effective because you are filtering
information and recalling it in a way that works with your own learning preferences.

12. TECHNIQUE 4
There are a lot of ways to use practice test questions
in your preparation for the CAPM® Exam. You can
work through questions that relate to the topic you
have just studied, or as a way to identify where you
might want to focus again when you come back to
review a topic. Or you could take a full length three
hour, one hundred and fifty question CAPM practice
exam.
Taking Notes on the Guide

13. Practicing exam taking techniques is just as important
as ensuring you have a full grasp on the concepts and
ideas behind project management. It’s probably been
some time since you sat in an exam room and worked
solidly on something in stressful conditions for three
hours. As well as giving you confidence that you know
your material, practice exams also give you confidence
that you can pace yourself, get through the questions
and are well prepared for what the actual exam
situation is going to be like.
If you are looking for a CAPM Exam practice test that is
close to the CAPM Exam, look into using the CAPM
Exam Simulator.

14. Is It Effective?
Yes! Testing yourself as you go through the material, through using
flashcards or the questions at the end of a chapter in a prep book are a
good way to improve your skills. You’re learning how the questions
are phrased and what sort of answers you are likely to see.
However, the best way to make this a really effective study technique
is to take a full-length practice CAPM Exam under timed conditions,
so you get used to the pressure of the clock counting down!

15. Conclusion: CAPM® Study Techniques
You’re a busy person so you want to spend time on study techniques that are
proven to be effective. While some of your choices are going to be down to your
personal best ways of working (like whether you take notes as a mind-map or a
list) there are definitely some study techniques that outperform others.
Focus on taking effective notes, using CAPM study tools to support your
learning and spreading your study sessions out over time. Use the PMBOK®
Guide and practice answering test questions to prepare yourself for the real
thing. Finally, take advantage of the knowledge others have gained from their
study experience by visiting online forums.

16. Try The PM PrepCast for CAPM®
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