Study Tips

STUDY SKILLS

Welcome. The way that you study is a reflection of who you are and how much you’re willing to put forth when it comes to work, relationships and obviously your education. Every small decision that you make is a reflection of your brain pattern and a test towards your character. Studying skills will require a few characteristics: creativity, dedication, punctuality and self-discipline. Studying yourself is also challenging your intelligence and the way that you want to progress with your education. Education is the foundation of our nation’s future, which is why it is essential that you obtain one before you begin to live your life.

With all the freedom that you have in choosing a home, location, job and social environment why wouldn’t you sacrifice a few years of your life to have a job that can give you the resources and comfort that you need for years to come? We all have a different perception of things, which is why we all obtain information differently. We may be 1 of 3 learners: Visual, Audio or Active. Recognizing which way works for you is important to succeed in school because it’s the only way that you are going to obtain information, take notes correctly and improve your memory.

Learning material is either going to be short-term or long term? It’s common that it’s short term, unless we continue to practice the information everyday through repetition. After you have obtained the right study skills then you will begin to see an improvement in your grades and the level of concentration/focus that you have towards your school work and your future. If you can make your education interesting, and something that you can appreciate or enjoy than the process is much easier.

I can’t stress the importance of studying enough because in a sense it stands for how hard you’re going to work when it comes to other challenges in your life. The more that you put forth the more you are going to gain from it. When you let laziness and stress get to you, it may take you backwards instead of forwards. How can you persist and continue to progress with your study skills and your school work?

The best way to stay balanced and headstrong is by looking at the reward that you are going to receive from all of your hard work. It’s going to seem tedious and frustrating at times, but the early bird gets the worm! The more willing you are to achieve bigger and better things means that you are more willing to put the work and effort forward.

It’s going to take creativity and sacrificing some personal time that you would otherwise spend doing something relaxing. Prioritize your time and your responsibilities so that you can achieve something that is going to take you that much closer to your reward. The biggest motivation that you have is within yourself, and that’s something that no one else can take away from you.

GOOD STUDY HABITS

You do realize that if you are getting negative results on your quizzes, tests and assignment grades, it is probably because you are not taking the initiative in practicing good study habits, which will determine the letter grade on your next semester transcript or report card. As you probably are not a child, you are aware of the importance in good study habits, but you cannot find the punctuality in actually pulling through with them.

You may be very active both physically and mentally, causing you to stop concentrating when you should be most. Many students suffer from distraction… but, you can discipline yourself in studying the right way according to what type of learner you are and how concerned you are with the grade outcome. Like anything, you will have to put effort forth in receiving something of worth. That goes towards any business, service, product, competition, etc.

To maintain good study habits you are going to have to make a routine out of it and disregard breaking that routine for a night out with the friends or a day on the beach. Of course, we all deserve our play time but only after we have put the hard work into play. Consider studying in an area that is relaxing. If you do live near the beach and it relaxes you, then take a caffeine drink, your books, a towel and go to lay out under the sun while you’re studying. Make a compromise here and there. Go and play a quick football game but after the first game call it quits and hit the books.

If you can balance out your life and look at how much work you are going to have to put into your school assignments, then you will also find a happy medium in which you can abide by. Some of us tend to work in extremes. We will either study a lot or stress ourselves out doing it or we won’t study at all and assume that we know all the information.

This is a lack of self-responsibility and prioritizing. Your achievements, goals and rewards are a measurement of how much effort you have put into something. With practice, you can achieve perfect, but you may have to fail before you are up to the standards that you have set up for yourself. Good study habits kick into gear when we need those most… often in the case of a failing grade and a semester close to being over. Don’t make this mistake again.

Start off your semester fresh by kicking it into gear towards the beginning, middle and end of the semester. Many giving up near the middle being that fatigue and stress kicks in… but, don’t let it get the best of you. Good study habits will come from your own persistence, which is a reflection of who you are and how much strength you have when it comes to effort.

Learning Styles

The learning style for each student is going to vary depending on visual, audio and active learning styles. While some students are better with repetition and taking part in the activity, some are fortunate enough to hear a sentence once and remember it for a test that’s coming up. The best thing for a student to do is acknowledge their interests and how they learn about educational concepts.

Studying and learning can bore those who may not be settled enough to sit still but the right learning styles will efficiently help a student who is ready to take their grade up a notch and learn how to comprehend information for an upcoming test and for future reference. Students framing their own learning style is not only going to help them with their test grades, but it will sharpen their memory skills altogether. These are types of techniques that should be the focus of many assignments being that it is a life-long skill.

The mistake that a lot of students and adults make when it comes to setting goals and achieving them is not doing it by setting their own standard. While we all begin at different starting points, we will have to work around certain work restraints to gain something. All students have grown up in different environments and have been centered around different concepts and ideas as they had grown up.

When students can acknowledge their own learning styles and how important it is to reconcile then they can work on their own standards and on their own time limit. It isn’t a matter of time but how much effort is put forth while this student is learning, memorizing and putting their knowledge into effect. Through audio, visual or active learning styles the most important thing is repetition and review. When the instructor requires the students to actively participate in reviews and practice tests, then they are promoting the effort of the student.

It’s the instructors’ goal to require the students to actively learn instead of passively learn. Education is the foundation of a country’s future and when it isn’t passed on with the utmost effort on the behalf of the instructor then the students will continue to go through life having the idea in their head that they don’t have to actively participate in anything to feel content with their lives and knowledge. To succeed in school and college a student must work at a steady pace and forget about the knowledge and learning styles of other people.

If a student has a superb memory, and another has a weak one- it doesn’t mean that the weaker memory does not have the capacity or the potential to grow in such an intellectual manner. It all has to do with how much effort is being forth by the student, how often it is being put forth and whether or not the work is challenging enough. The only way for students to grow is by constantly challenging themselves and learning in a way that complies with their brain function.

How to Focus and Concentrate

Knowing how to focus and knowing how to concentrate will depend on what type of person you are. Take a closer look at your personality type: are you Type A or are you Type B? Type A personalities usually have a higher level of stress when it comes to their work load as well as any other area of their life that is going to require work.

Without their “perfection” they feel as if they have failed. The things that make them happy are achievements and challenging goals, which will require them to work very hard. For these types of personalities, there is going to be an intent and highly questionable level of focus and concentration. This may require them to perform a sort of meditation before they go into a workplace or educational facility.

These personalities may have to stay away from the caffeine so that their minds aren’t running a million miles a second! If you are a “type A” personality, then you may have to find a way to calm your nerves and anxiety if you want to focus and concentrate. They are very competitive, and if they see that someone is working above their standards, then they will go to any extreme to be better than that person. For this group to concentrate, there are often an underlying motivation and sense of reward so that they know they are achieving something of worth.

A “Type B” personality will deal with a very low amount of stress and have the ability to work consistently without trouble on how to focus or how to concentrate. They can concentrate easily because they aren’t worried about other things going on in their life or what people are going to think of their work. For a “Type B” personality to focus it may take a bit more motivation, but they are more likely to have the ability to comprehend information the first time that they hear it.

It may be much easier for them to focus in class because they are relaxed- although, they may not have all the nice details and extra features in their work or projects because they don’t have that perfectionist mentality. This type of personality doesn’t mind losing because they just enjoy playing the game. Often, it’s effective to pair a Type B and A personality together because they can work better as a team. Pair the hyper-active personalities and you may get two people who bump heads.

Place two carefree attitudes together and the project may not be up to par with the standards of the assignment. Both are reflective and they will think about the introvert and extrovert self, but the way that they focus will depend on what type of environment they are comfortable in and what their reward is- if there is any at all. What type are you? Attempt to focus for the reward that you are in search of and you will find the outcome that you need as a person and as a diverse individual.

Note Taking Techniques

Note Taking Techniques The most comprehensive note taking systems require attention on your part. You must be alert enough in class to take legible, meaningful notes. You can't rely on "writing everything down" because a lot of information in a given lecture won't help you actually learn the material. If you have problems determining the specific relevant points in a particular class, you can always ask the professor to clarify them for you.The 2-6 Method: The 2-6 refers to the way you divide the space on your notepaper. Make two columns, using the red line on the left of the page as your border. Then, when you take notes in class, use the 6 column for the notes and the smaller 2 column on the left as a highlighting system. Write main headings and important points on the left, including material you think you will be tested on. When you're finished, you should have a comprehensive page of information that you can quickly scan for important points. Studying is 99% perspiration; if you give it a real, concentrated effort over the course of a semester you will see an improvement. Your academic success is entirely up to you.

Split Page Method Class lectures and your textbook--they're the primary sources of course content and you need to learn both. So combine them with the split page method of taking notes. Just divide your notebook page in half lengthwise. Draw a line down the middle of the page. Take class notes on one side of the page and outline the text on the other side. When you study you'll have both. Class notes and text together, integrated. Some students find it helpful to add a third column for questions they need to ask the professor.

Using Group Notes Are you tired of struggling to keep up with a lecture while copying page after page of notes in class? My advice? Don't take the notes -- at least not every day. Instead, form a group with some of your classmates and take turns taking good class notes. When it's not your day to be the note-taker, really concentrate on what is being said in class. You might want to jot down a few particularly important points, but mostly try to participate in class. Ask questions when you can't understand the point your teacher is trying to get across, and score points by answering questions your teacher asks. After class you can either photocopy the notes from your classmate, or better yet, copy them over by hand while reviewing in your mind what happened in class.

Secrets to Taking Better Notes As a writer for Edinboro University and its Alumni News magazine, I spend a lot of time interviewing people. A key interviewing skill is taking good notes--a skill that is just as valuable in the classroom. There is no magic to taking good notes, just common sense. It's simply a matter of being thorough and accurate. Now, not many people can write fast enough to capture everything their professor says in class, so it is a good idea to also use a tape recorder. That way you won't miss something while you write, and you can double-check the tape for accuracy. Whether you use a recorder or not, it's important to transcribe your notes as soon as possible while the subject is still fresh in your mind. By re-writing or re-typing your notes, you become more familiar with the material. You mentally reinforce what was said in class. And you get practice writing the information, making it easier to write the material a second time whether it be for a test or a term paper.

Noteworthy Notes Are your grades as good as you want them to be? Are your notes worth reviewing? Notes are phrases and abbreviations that we hurriedly jot down while trying to follow a lecture. Later, when we go back to review our notes, there are times when we can't seem to understand or remember what those key words and phrases meant; sometimes we can't even read our own handwriting. Here is a note-taking study tip that has proven to be effective. After you have finished class, immediately rush to the nearest computer lab and retype your notes. You need to rewrite those phrases as complete thoughts and sentences; dot your I's, cross your T's and use "cut and paste" to put your notes into some type of a logical sequence. While retyping your notes you are using several modalities: you review as you read your notes aloud, you use your hand to type, and you reread again as you proof read what you have typed. Research indicates that 80% of new material can be recalled if you review notes within the first 24 hours of presentation. Also, clean typed notes are easier to read and highlight as you study. If you retype your notes daily, you will keep the task from becoming overwhelming, you will learn good study habits that aid in memory retention and, at the same time, improve your grades.

Attend Class  The most important advice I can give to you is to make sure you attend your classes. Attendance in class enhances the chance you'll get a passing grade in a course. In addition to attending class, it is important to brush up on your note-taking skills to really achieve optimum success. Some general recommendations for improving note-taking skills are to:Read all textbook material relevant to the topic being covered prior to attending class. Make sure you take notes in class. If you fail to take notes, much of what you learn from the lecture will be forgotten in a few days. If you have something written down on paper, you can always refer to the material later. Ask professors who lecture too fast if you can tape record their lecture. You'll generally find that many professors are willing to assist you in your efforts to gain as much from their lecture as possible. By attending class and utilizing the note-taking techniques just described, your chances for success in college will increase significantly.

Prepare for the lecture The greatest advantage is that you are familiar with the subject you know what to ask you are not going to waste time by writing down stuff that is already there in your study material. Rather, you know what to write, where to pick links and to clear your concepts. By the time the lecture is over, you are in a much clearer state of mind. This way, taking down notes becomes more meaningful and worth the time you spent doing it.

Use Colors This may take a little bit longer but it will work. Just give it a chance. When you are taking notes change the color of your pen! Don't write in blue or black ink. Writing in color will help you retain 50% - 80% more of the infomation without reading it a second time (also highlight in purple). I am a teacher of adult education and this is the rule for my class room.