Learning How To
Learn Better:
Study Strategies
& Techniques
How Do I Prepare Better?
• Step 1: Know how you best learn.
• Step 2: Evaluate what you’re doing.
• Step 3: “Play” to your strengths.
• Step 4: Develop a plan of action.
• Step 5: Carry out that plan.
• Step 6: Decide what worked (or didn’t).
• Step 7: Adjust and begin at step 2 again.
How Do I Study?
There are many different
effective ways to study. You
need to build a pool of
strategies that work for you
that you can use in various
learning situations.
What is “learning” anyway?
It involves:
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Getting information into your brain
Thinking about your experiences
Remembering
Expressing your thoughts and feelings
Making sense of the world around
Adapting to new situations
What is “learning” anyway?
When learning takes place you:
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Increase your understanding of material
See patterns and connections
Acquire skills
Develop your ability to think critically
Extend your knowledge beyond former limits
Create new products (tangible and intangible)
How Do I Study?
Let’s start a list of strategies
that you can draw from
that is based
on the learning styles
we discussed earlier.
Learning Styles
Visual
Social
Physical
Aural
Verbal
Solitary
Logical
Strategies & Techniques for
VISUAL LEARNERS
• Use pictures, graphs,
charts, diagrams
• Use mind maps to plan
essays and summarize
notes or texts
• Use symbols, underlining,
to emphasize key
concepts
• Use color to distinguish
things from each other
• Skim materials before
lectures
• During lectures make
“mental pictures” of what
is said
• Pay close attention to all
visual aids used
• Practice a system of
note-taking
• Ask for and use any
available visual resources
• Enhance memory by
“translating” images into
words
Strategies & Techniques for
VISUAL LEARNERS
• Study paraphrased notes
– not the textbook
• Watch a movie in
Spanish with the subtitles
on
• “Illustrate” your notes with
images and graphs
• Draw “comic strips”
Strategies & Techniques for
SOCIAL LEARNERS
• Contribute your ideas to
group discussion
• Respond to what other
say
• Help each other clarify,
expand, understand
• Be responsible and
prepared when you have
committed to being part
of a study group
• Set up goals; who will do
what and by when?
• Engage in active listening
(listening so that you can
rephrase what has been
said, even if you do not
agree with it)
• Stay focused on the
subject at hand
Strategies & Techniques for
PHYSICAL LEARNERS
• Use your finger to point at
things as you read
• Stop and physically write
out notes as you go along
(summarizing small
sections)
• Draw diagrams or charts
• Take breaks and get up
and move
• Use your body (gestures,
movements) as you study
• Get up and walk around
the room as you study
(carry notes, books, etc.)
• Hold something in your
hand that you can
manipulate while you
study (stress ball, etc.)
• Tap to a rhythm as you
study
• Eat, drink, chew gum
while studying
Strategies & Techniques for
PHYSICAL LEARNERS
• Type or rewrite your
notes
• “Write” words with your
body
• “Illustrate” your notes with
images and graphs
• Draw “comic strips”
• Use a yo-yo or toss a ball
while you study
Strategies & Techniques for
AURAL LEARNERS
• Listen to movies, songs,
TV shows about the topic
• Have a debate with
someone
• Make an audio tape of
your notes and listen to it
• Create jingles or chants
to help with memorization
– the crazier the better
• State “problems” and
“solutions” out loud
• Say words in syllables
• Make up rhymes to
remember dates, etc.
• Study with a partner and
discuss topics
• To learn a sequence,
write it out first and then
say it out loud
• Use mnemonic devices
Strategies & Techniques for
VERBAL LEARNERS
• Read notes aloud
• Hear yourself talk
• Verbally interpret charts,
graphs, images
• Talk to yourself as you
read; ask questions to
guide your focus and then
answer them
• Summarize sections of
chapters in your own
words
• Generate a list of “study
questions” as you go
• Create songs, rhymes,
jingles as memory aids
• Read and discuss topics
with classmates
Strategies & Techniques for
LOGICAL LEARNERS
• Look for organizational
patterns of chapters,
processes, topics
• Develop an outline by
using context clues (titles,
etc) and fill in details as
you read
• Make notes of key points
at the end of each section
of a chapter
• Know the specifics about
what you should be able
to do
Exploring Strategies
• How would each type of learner react in
these situations?
– Learning to ride a bike
– Learning a new software program
– Learning to play a new game
– Learning algebra
Exploring Your Strategies
1.
Think about the last time you learned something really well. How
did you study? What, specifically, did you do?
2.
Think about the last time you did not learn something well
enough. How did you study then?
3.
What “style” did each of those sets of learning strategies primarily
belong to?
4.
Based on your learning style profile (graph), explain what impact
your chosen strategies might have had on your learning.
5.
Think of a class that you’ve struggled in. Decide which type of
strategies you used in this class. Look at your learning style
graph. Do these strategies fall within your areas of strength?
6.
Think of the last time you had difficulty learning something. List
the kinds of things you did. Now think about your style profile.
What might you now do differently?