Techniques and Study Skills

Effective study skills must be practiced in order to improve. It is not enough to simply “think about” studying; we have to actually do it, and in the process use information from what we do to get better. In this essay we will identify and describe study skills and techniques which may enhance the learning ability of the person. The essay will include a description of study habits and preferred learning styles.

And finally identification and description of techniques and study skills that may be helpful for a tertiary student’s study plan. Better study skills lead to better test-taking skill and of course better grades. The study habits and skills, that personally help me succeed are many. Before starting, there should always be an appropriate study environment. Personally that includes limited noise, a lot of sunlight, hard surface to write and a comfortable furniture. The first step is to make summary notes, choosing the most important ideas from my text book or lecture notes.

Then organize these ideas in to a summary. Divide the information in to ideas, spreading them all over the page and then finding the relationship between them, to achieve this flashcards, mind maps, flow charts or tables. Studding by using summary notes can help you memorize, develop problem solving strategies and acquire more knowledge. Having quiet music playing in the background is very useful for memorizing information to me. Physically touching objects helps me focus my state of mind when performing a task e. g. spinning the pen. Each of us is an individual, and we all learn and think in different ways.

There are few learning styles that fit every personality and benefit in their own way. There are many ways that an individual can approach and find which style works best for them. According to Ward and Daley (1993, p. 59) V. A. R. K. is a simple test that consists of many question, which at the end can determine which learning style best suits your personality. V. A. R. K. simply stands for Visual, Auditory, Read/Write and Kinaesthetic. The one learning style that mostly stands out and best suits me is kinaesthetic. Ward and Daley state hat kinaesthetic learners, learn best by doing hands on activities, in which they can physically manipulate something in order to learn about it. For example to teach someone something kinaesthetic people will demonstrate then let them have a go or when listening to a band they move in time with the music. According to Gilakjani (2012)people who use this style tend to lose concentration if there is little or no movement. When listening to lectures they may want to take notes for the sake of moving their hands. When reading, they like to scan the material first, and then focus in on the details.

They take notes by drawing pictures, diagrams, or doodling. Although kinaesthetic is my main learning style, there are other styles that benefit me in remembering and understanding things. Visual and Interpersonal are the second and third highest styles that help with my learning process. Visual learners remember best when colour, charts, diagrams or mind maps are involved in the study session. While interpersonal learners are highly social and love to be around people and participate in group activities. Interpersonal learners can understand someone by their mood, the way they stand or their intentions.

Every person has different study skills and techniques that they use to help them with processing and learning new information. The amount of study skills is immense from hand writing to setting goals. The following techniques and study skills are useful to my learning:

1. Do something while studying: Tap a pencil or do something that occupies my hands without decoming distracted.
2.  Play music, when appropriate, during activities: Tend to be less distracted by music while studying than other people.
3.  Give frequent stretch breaks (brain breaks): break my study up into shorter periods, but also take shorter breaks. Regular 5 minute breaks can often be helpful to study far more, because by getting enough rest helps my concentration and thinking quality to improve.
4. Use flashcard: simply write a question or topic suggestion on one side of a card, and the answer or a list of details they should remember on the other side
5.  Study with other people: enjoy discussion, talking with others is often a great way to consolidate what is learnt.

In conclusion the learning style is the way we tend to learn best. It involves our preferred method of taking in, organizing, and making sense of information. Learning styles do not tell us bout a person’s abilities or intelligence, but they can help us understand why some tasks seem easier for us than others. There are several benefits of thinking about and trying to understand the learning preferences: learning most effectively when the strategies used are closely matched with the preferred learning style; we can improve learning by knowing what strengths and weaknesses are and then doing more of what is needed to achieve the goal; different situations and learning environments require different learning strategies, so it’s best to have a large variety of techniques and study skills.

REFERENCE

1. Gilakjani, A. (2012, Vol. 2, No. 1). Visual, auditory, kinaesthetic learning styles and their impacts on English language teaching. Journal of Studies and Education.
2. Ward, C. W. Daley, J. D. (1993), pp. 59. Learning to learn. Christchurch, New Zealand: A & H Consultants Ltd.