10 Modern Studying/Learning Skills
- Always read your assignment before you come to class. Be prepared in Advance
- Find a seat near the front of the room. Up close, you can see the board, be more aware of the instructor's facial expressions.
- Identify some serious students in each class and get to know them. Get their phone numbers in case you have questions or need help during the term.
- Copy everything the instructor writes on the board. This is especially true of examples, solutions, outlines, and definitions.
- Organize and index your notes with colored tabs. If notes are allowed on any exam, you'll be ahead of the game.
- Do not try to write down every word the tutor/teacher says listen only for the main points/ideas.
- Voice changes usually indicate important points-listen for increases in volume or dramatic pauses.
- Repetition is a clue that an important point is being made.
- Think, react, reflect, and and ask questions. Actively participate
- Spend 5-20 minutes reviewing your notes immediately after class. Fill in missing areas in your notes. Studies show that short periods of study improve long term memory.
4 Types Of Learning style
1. Activists
- Flexible and open minded; happy to have a go; happy to be exposed to new situations, Optimistic about anything new and therefore unlikely to resist change.
- Tendency to take the immediately obvious action without thinking; often take unnecessary risks; tendency to do too much themselves and hog the limelight; rush into action without sufficient preparation; get bored with implementation/consolidation.
2. Reflectors
- Careful, thorough and methodical, thoughtful, good at listening to others and assimilating information; rarely jump to conclusions.
- Tendency to hold back from direct participation; slow to make up their minds and reach a decision; tendency to be too cautious and not take enough risks; not assertive: not particularly forthcoming and have no ‘small talk’.
3. Theorists
- Logical ‘vertical’ thinkers; rational and objective; good at asking probing questions; disciplined approach.
- Restricted in lateral thinking; low tolerance for uncertainty, disorder and ambiguity; intolerant of anything subjective or intuitive; full of ‘shoulds, oughts and musts’.
4. Pragmatists
- Keen to test things out in practice; practical; down to earth; realistic; businesslike: get straight to the point; technique orientated.
- Tendency to reject anything without an obvious application; not very interested in theory or basic principles; tendency to seize on the fi rst expedient solution to a problem; impatient with waffle; on balance, task orientated.