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The Learning Journey - Study Tools

"Your most valuable asset in learning is a positive attitude."  - Bobbie De Porter

Some Strategies for Effective Study

"Studying" is the process of learning and understanding all that you have been taught about a topic.  It should be a continuous process throughout the year, for all of your subjects.  Study needs to become a habit, with well established routines. Click here to read more

Study Skills

The key elements for any study programme include sound organisation, time management and focusing on a goal.  Organisation means having all the necessary information you require before and while you are studying eg. textbooks, class notes and other relevant material.

Time management is a really important life skill.  As busy people, we all have limited time so making the best of time available for study is best done from a plan (See planning a study timetable).

Everyone needs to focus on achieving goals. Before you start studying, write your goals on a piece of paper in a positive and personal way.  "I am going to achieve .....".  Pin it on your bedroom wall and look at it regularly.  This will act as a good motivator.

1  WORKING CONDITIONS

Study periods at school

• Know what you are going to do during the study period (goal)
• Bring all the necessary materials (organisation)
• Get started quickly, stay focused and complete the task (effective time management)

Working at home

• Make a set time that suits your learning style eg. mid afternoon, evening or early in the morning.  This time slot should become regular
• You must have your own learning and studying space.  Make the environment suit your needs
• Make your home study time quality time
• Be honest with yourself.  Ask yourself these questions ? am I achieving my goals?  Am I using my study time efficiently to meet my goals?

General

• Study does not mean five hours non-stop at your work space.  Study means using your time efficiently and effectively,  If you have achieved your goals in your allocated study time, give yourself a REWARD.  Rewards can be special food, watching a favourite TV programme, having a short chat on the phone
• During study time period, look after your health, sleep well, eat well and exercise

2  READING IS IMPORTANT

• Make sure you understand the key words and phrases in each subject
• Keep a personal dictionary of recurring and important terms for quick reference
• You need to try to increase your reading rate ... but don?t sacrifice understanding
• Rapid reading means greater concentration and therefore greater accuracy and retention.  Find out how you can increase your reading speed
• Go through with a marker and underline key words and ideas as you read
• Reading over your notes is not studying but your aim is to understand what you have read so that long term memory is triggered

3  HOW TO STUDY

• Focus on your goals
• Get into a relaxed state.  Do some simple Brain Gym exercises (Figure 8s, pulse points and controlled breathing techniques) and concentrate on calming yourself
• Take a chunk of work and read to understand and write down to remember, or tell somebody what you know at the end of your study time
• Don?t waste time on what you know, use the time on what you don?t know

4  PLANNING A STUDY TIMETABLE

When you are learning techniques on how to study and how to manage your time, creating your own timetable for your time out of school is often a simple but useful technique.

The 30 minute blocks work well for most people

Remember

• Relaxation and exercise are important
• It is usually better to work in short spells of time rather than in long spells
• It is not the amount of time that is important; it is what happens in that time that counts
• Working late at night after a day at school won?t achieve a great deal
• Study is more than just doing homework; it covers a wide range of skills which back up what has been taught at school and helps people learn more

5  MAIN METHODS OF STUDYING

Making summaries from memory

• Set aside a certain amount of time, for example 10 minutes
• Select a section of work to cover in this time
• Read your notes through quickly and carefully
• Turn your notes into a mind-map or another cognitive organiser
• Think of topics in key words
• Use anecdotes, acronyms, acrostics
• Read the original notes again, then check your points
• Move on to the next section
• At the end of the time, reinforce what you have learned by recalling the points you remember, then recheck with your original notes again

Keep your sections very brief because you will be able to concentrate for longer.  Have a break every half hour.  Keep your mind-maps on the wall or put on the fridge or near your mirror.  They are quick reminders and a good check for your self tests.

Self Checking

The main thing is to keep your mind on the job and use as many of your senses as you can.

• Imagine you are teaching someone else this topic without notes
• Tell someone what you know
• Put away all books.  Take a blank sheet of paper and try yourself out.  If you find this too easy, then you can extend the learning time.  Before you finish, try yourself out on all you?ve tried to memorise
• When you have taught yourself to concentrate and have discovered the method of memorising that suits you best, you will feel more confident about learning, and you will also be more successful with your work
• Have a rest about every half hour or when you feel you need one.  Relax for a minute or two with some form of exercise.  Get up, walk and stretch.  Drink plenty of water

6  WHAT TO DO ON EXAM DAY

Before the exam

• Work at subjects the day before but not too late at night
• Go to bed at a reasonable time
• Get up at the usual time and have a good breakfast with plenty of energy foods (carbohydrates, glucose, proteins)
• Check that you have all the necessary gear for the exam the night before and again just before leaving
• Set off for the exam to arrive about ten minutes before starting time

At the exam, when called into the room:

• Find your seat and organise pens and ruler
• Sit back, focus on your goals.  Breathe deeply; use pulse points and other non distracting Brain Gym exercises
• When told, head up paper or answer booklet, and read instructions slowly and carefully
• Circle the total number of questions to be answered
• Note the number of compulsory questions
• Mark with a stroke (/) the questions to be attempted. This includes compulsory questions.  Count up the strokes to check you are attempting the right number of questions.  Write down how much time to spend on each question.  In a three-hour exam multiply the mark by 1.5 to get the time you need to spend ? so if a question is worth 8 per cent, spend 12 minutes on it
• Start with the question you feel happiest about
• Prepare the answer for paragraph or essay type questions by jotting down the main points or a quick mind-map.  Check that this ?sketch answer? applies to all that is asked in the question
• In multiple choice or true/false questions always put an answer
• Write the answer as quickly and as legibly as possible.  When finished read it through, take a deep breath, and go on to the next question
• Allow a few minutes at the end of the exam to check your answers and make sure that everything is in order