Reference questions

As I take my reference class this semester, I'm amazed at both how much I know and how much I don't know, just from working as a youth services librarian for a bunch of years. My first three years I worked in a library that didn't have a reference assistant - the manager and I answered most of the reference questions.
For class we have assignments of lists of questions that we need to use specific sources to find the answers. (Something's wrong with the grammar of that sentence - it doesn't quite sound right... I think it should be "for which we need to use specific sources to find the answers.) The first time I read over the list of questions, I seem to think "I have no idea." Then I read over them again, and I know where to look for some of the answers. After I read the textbook, I know where to look for more of the answers. I could probably find all of them but my usual methods are less effective than using the methods I'm learning in class. (And they take more time than what I'm learning - at least they will once I have practice with the new stuff.)
I'm looking forward to seeing how my newly-honed reference skills will affect my effectiveness in doing the chat reference each month. I can find the answers, but hope to gain speed in doing so.