Developing Good Study
Skills
Success in a nutshell
What works for him
doesn’t work for me!
• Your learning style may not be the same as
your neighbor’s.
• What is a learning style?
– It is the way that we absorb information.
– 3 types of learning styles:
• 1. Audible
• 2. Visual
• 3. Kinesthetic
How do I know what my
learning style is?
• Take 5-7 minutes and answer the
following questions:
– My Learning Style
Advice for Auditory
Learners
•
• •
• •
• •
• •
• •
• •
Participate frequently in discussions and debates
Make speeches and presentations
Record lectures if possible instead of (or as well
as) making notes
Read text aloud
Create musical jingles and mnemonics to aid memory
Discuss your ideas verbally with someone else or a
group
Dictate to someone else while they write your ideas
down
Advice for Visual
Learners
• •
• •
• •
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
Use visual materials such as pictures, charts, and maps
Use colour to highlight texts and own notes
Take notes or use handouts; look carefully at headings
and patterns of topics
Brainstorm using illustrations, mind maps and models
Use multi-media where possible (computers; mind maps)
Study in a quiet place away from visual disturbances
Visualise information as a picture
Skim-read to get an overview before reading in detail.
Advice for Kinesthetic
Learners
• •
• •
• •
• •
• •
Take frequent study breaks
Move around to learn new things (e.g. read
while you are using an exercise bike; model in
clay to learn a new concept)
Stand up to work
Use bright colours to highlight reading
material and turn it into posters or models
Skim-read before reading in detail.
The 5 R’s of Note-Taking
• Record * Reduce * Recite * Reflect * *Review, Review,
Review!
• 1. RECORD: Take Notes in class by identifying the main
points, write down examples or math problems
• Heading
– Date
– Class/subject , Chapter #, Page #’s, etc.
• 2. REDUCE:
– after the class summarize what you have written down /
learned
– key/cue words, phrases
– Questions that you may have for the teacher
– Don’t write down everything your teacher says. Summarize!
The 5 R’s of Note-Taking
• Recite: Talk Aloud
– Review from your memory what you have
learned
– Create your own examples or memorization
techniques
• Reflect: Think it over!
– How is this relevant to what you have learned
before?
– Make connections that jog your memory!
The 5 R’s of Note-Taking
• Review the notes you took
– Before reading new material
– With friends (if that compliments your
learning style)
– Before every test (not 15 minutes
before!)
Study Tips!
• Flash Cards
– On one side, write the answer
– On the other side, write the question, concept
or cue
– Shuffle the cards. Test questions won’t always
be in the same order as your study guide.
• Benefits of flash cards
– Portable, quick, cheap, and effective
Do extra questions that
are unassigned
• Practice, Practice, Practice
• The more times you repeat the steps,
the more you will remember on your
tests
• TIP: Use the back of your book to
your advantage, not to cheat on
homework .
Working Together Makes
Everything Better
• Create study groups!
• Get a study buddy
• Talking things out helps you to see
others’ perspectives on things
• Ask your teacher for help
• Participate during class!
Making Associations
• Mnemonics is a mind memory or learning aid which helps you
associate an idea or concept with an easy to remember
construct.
• Acronyms
– Order of Operations is PEMDAS (Please Excuse My Dear Aunt
Sally)
– the vital fluids of the body:
• Peanut Butter With Bread
Phlegm, Blood, Water, and Bile Rhymes
– Columbus sailed the ocean blue in 1492
– The ill-fated wives of Henry VIII:
“Divorced, Beheaded, Died,
Divorced, Beheaded, Survived”
Examples of some good
study habits
1. When he was finished reading, Jose went back through the entire
chapter and tried to recite the answers to the questions he had
written in the margin.
2.After class, Jean reads over her lecture notes and writes the key
words and phrases on the left side of her paper.
3. When Beth’s instructor said, “In Chickering’s student development
theory there are seven stages called vectors,” Beth wrote “7 stages
(vectors)- Chickering s.d. theory.”
Rules of Studying
• Find a quiet place without
distractions.
• Set a regular time to study each day.
• Study in chunks of time. Don’t burn
out!
• Take breaks in between study
sessions (15 minutes)