First Year Astronomy Course Study Methods. ( Jayanne English 2007)
There are many different study methods. PQRST is my favourite. It is suitable for studying from books, articles, etc. I've adapted the instructions to suit a lecture situation and present them below.

The Learning Assistance Centre also offers very useful workshops: http://www.umanitoba.ca/student/resource/learning/study%20skills%20workshops.shtml. These include "Taking Useful Class Notes", "How to Prepare for Exams", and "From Learning to Memory".

The PQRST Study Method

1. Preview:
   For each chapter or topic, before coming to class, read the textbook's introduction (i.e. the paragraphs before the first topic heading), titles of the chapter's sections, the summary, look up the key terms in the glossary, all of the figure captions and examine the figures. Also take 10 minutes to review your lecture notes from the previous class. The preview step will familiarize you with concepts and definitions.
   
   
2. Question:
   Before coming to class, create questions to guide your learning. These questions can be about items that interested you or ideas that you wish to discuss. You can ask yourself, if you were giving a test what sort of question would you put on it. Also you could read (but not yet answer) the "Questions" section at the end of every chapter. This step will help you determine which information is relevant in the material you will read in the text and hear about in class.
   
   
3. Read:
   Attend the lecture and take notes of what the instructor says, not just of what the instructor writes down. Read your lecture notes and then, using the subject index to find the material, read up on the topics in the text that the instructor touches upon in the lecture. Or read the whole chapter, if most of it is covered by the instructor. Also read up on topics that the instructor recommends.
   
   
4. State:
   After reading your lecture notes and, supplementing this with your textbook reading, make your own point form notes on a topic. One way to do this is to pretend you are giving a lecture to someone like yourself. You should state the information in your own words. This step is best done soon after one class and before the next class, because knowledge in astronomy builds on previously learned information. These notes should be sufficiently clear that they can be used as study notes for tests. This step usually takes as long as the "Read" step. It will help you determine what material you understand and what material you need to study some more.
   
   
5. Turn Back:
   For the material that you didn't understand the first time you read about it. That is, turn back and review your notes and the textbook again. Do not do this for everything; just for the material that was difficult to comprehend the first time. Remember that the instructor has office hours so that you can ask for her help with this material. When you understand the material, add notes on this difficult material to your study notes created in the step above.