FIRE BRIGADE APPROACH TO READING FOR EXAMS: A Good or Bad Idea?

Once in the university, some certain things are guaranteed; The first is constant debit alerts, the second is poor eating habits and schedules and the third is constant, steady and continuous reading or as we call it in Nigeria; “Jacking”. The third is something of varying opinions and ideas as regards how it should be done and as to the efficacy of each type of reading pattern. As a 400 level medical student, I write this from the place of knowledge and experience as I have had to adapt many patterns, schedules and strategies as to how to read, the best time to read and the efficacy of each style. Now, the reading style that has been the source of diverse opinions in the student body is that of the “Fire Brigade” approach. Some students are of the opinion that the style of reading had proven to be time saving for them and had come through for them at multiple occasions while others are of the strong opinion that the reading style is a recipe for failure.

What is my stance?

The purpose of this article is to give you a balanced view of this approach using personal experiences and explaining in detail the intricacies of this reading style and at the end of you reading, you would be able to give your judgement in the comment section about your view.

Fire Brigade Approach

First, let us consider the term itself. what is meant by a fire brigade approach? This approach is often characterized by rapidly reading through or trying to understand a large volume of information from handouts or study materials in a very short period of time. This is a typical practice few moments to exams when students try to cram key points and essential facts with the hope to remember them when the exam commences. However, bear in mind that the fore brigade approach also covers studying materials for the first time few hours or a day or a night before a test/exam date. In a typical Nigerian university setting, the typical scene of this kind of approach will be of students walking about with ,materials, muttering things repeatedly to themselves, forming mnemonics and various other memory triggers on the spot. I remember a particular experience in my set when in my second year. It was a particular course that was in particular very bulky that on the day of the exam, there was barely anyone who could boast to have completed the handouts from start to finish; Yes, I know, there will be definitely people that would finish any material no matter how bulky it is but you get my point.

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So on this particular occasion, I noticed a student kept repeating to himself the word; “Homeostasis” . I passed by and asked him, “Bro, is it the only thing you plan to write?” He replied that the reason he kept memorizing the word is that it is simple and that explaining it won’t be an issue. I agreed with him and left. The exam came and at the end of the exam, he was so elated that what he kept repeating came out only for another student to tell him that the question asked was actually on “Hemostasis” not “Homeostasis” which meant something else entirely. You could imagine his frustration and distraught. It was then I had my first grasp of the fire brigade approach and its operations.

Now, I am not going to be bias in writing this as you might argue that I cannot just use one bad experience to rule out the efficacy of fire brigade of reading as my experience cannot rule out how much this approach must have been beneficial to students. In agreement with you, Indeed this method has helped me retain some information sometimes minutes to the start of exams. In some cases, this may have been the information I may have been struggling to retain all through the night to the exam. With that being said? Will I say this approach is the best bet for a student studying routine?

The answer is “No“.

However, would I say I totally discourage the practice of this approach for all students?

The answer is still “No“

Now we are at a crossroad. Is the fire brigade approach good or bad for students?

What advantages does the fire brigade approach hold for students?

• Flexibility to Situations:

This method of reading is especially beneficial to students who are usually faced with surprise tests and exams from time to time or who have other responsibilities outside school to be able to cope with the academic demands associated with being in the university. For such students, this approach provides a flexible method to be able tonavigate and deal with pressing situations.

• Short Time Memory Boost:

The fire brigade approach of reading helps the brain to handle quick processing of information. This also helps the brain to improve it’s short term memory retention which proves invaluable for exams that require immediate recall of information. One thing about the human brain is that it quickly adapts to situations it finds itself and once it picks up the pattern of short term and rapid reading, it tends to adapt to that translating to faster assimilation in some students. This adaptability is part of the reasons why some students are likely to have a shorter reading time than others.

• Focus on Key Points:

Utilizing the fire brigade approach of studying involves identifying and concentrating on only the important parts of the given material in the aim to grasp the main idea of the topic or subject being discussed and come up with a personal method of explanation

As seemingly advantageous as this approach based on what is listed above, it is not a fool-proof methods and it contains a lot of loopholes. As a student hoping for academic success and coming out with the best possible results, this approach might just be enough to save you from seeming failure but will not be enough to separate you from the others.

What are the pitfalls of this approach?

• Poor Understanding:

Despite the fire brigade approach presenting a quick way of reading and grasping the main ideas of a subject, it only gives the reader a shallow understanding of the subject presented. When need may be, such reader will be unable to present a detailed explanation of the subject or even understand beyond the basic concepts of the given study material. This is indeed a recipe for failure especially in the Nigerian university system where marks are mostly awarded for inadeptly explaining materials, that is if you are not pouring the material back for the examiner word for word into the exam booklet especially when you belong to some departments. Imagine using your own words to answer a question from a Nigerian lecturer that says specifically to exhaustively discuss.

• Lack of Critical Thinking:

Reading via the fire brigade approach typically voids the reader of reflection, deep-thinking and analysis of the subject matter which points back to having a shallow understanding of the study material. Such student would not be able to cope in certain disciplines which deal with application of knowledge gain or in exams which deal on practical examples. This is due to the fact that the reader will lack sufficient information to have perspectives or a stance as regards subject matters.

• Increased Stress and Fatigue:

Relying on a method that requires taking in a large amount of information in a short period of time can result in a significant increase in a student’s stress level and could also cause anxiety affecting the student’s mental health and overall wellbeing.

So having considered the advantages and disadvantages of this approach, there are ways to find a balance in utilizing these methods and applying it to your study pattern is sure to make a difference. The tips on how to attain this balance is given below:

• Use the Approach Strategically:

The fire brigade approach should be used in case of deadlines or urgent situations where you might need to be grasp key concepts quickly. However, this must have been followed by a deep study of the material to have a deep understanding and for the reader to both take note of the main points of the subject of study and be aware of how to explain the concept with deep understanding.

• Have a Good Reading Schedule:

Irrespective of schedules or varying responsibilities, every student should have quality time set apart for studying. This should be a time set apart for comprehensive reading of class notes and handouts. This reduces the need for the fire brigade approach as a quick fix but instead the approach will then be used as tool to help in remembering main points during exams.

• Breaking Down Materials into Chunks:

Most students feel overwhelmed with the amount of material they are expected to cover which makes them rather scared and prefer to wait till the last minute to go over the study material using the fire brigade approach. This can be helped by dividing study materials into manageable chunks to make covering the material achievable over a given period of time.

With these strategies, students are sure to achieve a more balanced reading culture, making use of the fire brigade approach of studying effectively and achieve a healthy and well balanced student while makin waves academically.

Thank you for reading.

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