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Blackboard
Employing effective study
skills
As you become
increasingly successful, you will need to memorise huge number
of documents,data and reports as well as assimilate all the
information you need to go through
By
Humera Idrees
In your
initial years of student life, you must digest a huge volume
of information, simply to
become effective. As you become increasingly successful, you
will need to memorise huge number of documents, data and
reports as well as assimilate all the information you need to
go through.
The
following techniques help you to master information quickly in
organising and remembering information especially during exams
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Your reading skills, so that you can find the
information you need quickly and easily
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The way you make notes, so that they become clear,
understandable and quick to review.
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Your review techniques, so that you can keep
information fresh in your mind.
Some other
useful techniques are:
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How to take notes effectively - Mind Maps
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Fully absorbing written information - SQ3R
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Speed Reading. Reading faster by thinking what to read
- Reading Strategies
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Keeping information fresh in your mind - Review
Techniques
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Learn in a way that suits you - Learning Styles
Mind Maps:
Mind
Mapping is an important technique that improves the way you
take notes, and supports and
enhances your creative problem solving. By using Mind Maps,
you can quickly identify and understand the structure of a
subject and the way that pieces of information fit together,
as well as recording the raw facts contained in normal notes.
How to use
Tool:
Popularised
by Tony Buzan, Mind Maps abandon the list format of
conventional note taking. They do this in favour of a
two-dimensional structure. A good Mind Map shows the 'shape'
of the subject, the relative importance of individual points
and the way in which one fact relates to other.
SQ3R
Increasing
Your Retention of Written Information SQ3R is a useful
technique for fully absorbing written information. It helps
you to create a good mental framework of a subject, into which
you can fit facts correctly. It helps you to set study goals.
It also prompts you to use the review techniques that will
help to fix information in your mind.
By using SQ3R to actively read a document, you can get
the maximum benefit from your reading time.
How to Use
Tool:
The acronym
SQ3R stands for the five sequential techniques you should use
to read a book:
Survey:
Survey the
document: scan the contents, introduction, chapter
introductions and chapter summaries to pick up a shallow
overview of the text. Form an opinion of whether it will be of
any help. If it does not give you the information you want,
discard it.
Question:
Make a note
of any questions on the subject that come to mind, or
particularly interest you following your survey. Perhaps scan
the document again to see if any stand out. These questions
can be considered almost as study goals - understanding the
answers can help you to structure the information in your own
mind.
Read:
Now read the
document. Read through useful sections in detail, taking care
to understand all the points that are relevant. In the case of
some texts this reading may be very slow. This will
particularly be the case if there is a lot of dense and
complicated information. While you are reading, it can help to
take notes in Concept Map format.
Recall:
Once you
have read appropriate sections of the document, run through it
in your mind several times. Isolate the core facts or the
essential processes behind the subject, and then see how other
information fits around them.
Review:
Once you
have run through the exercise of recalling the information,
you can move on to the stage of reviewing it. This review can
be by rereading the document, by expanding your notes, or by
discussing the material with colleagues. A particularly
effective method of reviewing information is to have to teach
it to someone else!
Speed
Reading:
Speed
Reading helps in understanding the information more quickly
and the trick is to know what information you want from the
document. Here skimming the text is the idea for quick
reading. You read blocks of words at a time not one word.
How to use
this tool:
Speed
reading aims to improve reading skills by:
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Increasing the number of words read in each block.
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Reducing the length of time spent reading each block
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Reducing the number of times your eyes skip back to a
previous sentence.
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Increasing the number of words read in each block: Try
to expand the number of words that you read at a time. With
practice it can be made faster. You can increase the number of
words in each block by holding the text a little further from
your eyes.
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Reducing fixation time: The minimum length of time
needed to read each block is probably only a quarter of a
second. This is achieved again with practice.
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Reducing skip-back: Run a pointer along the line as you
read. This could be a finger or a pen or pencil. Your eyes
will follow the tip of your pointer, soothing the flow of your
reading. The speed at which you read using this method will
largely depend on the speed at which you move the pointer.
Review
techniques:
Review
material in a structured and effective way so that it is fresh
and alive in mind and makes recalling easy.
How to use
this tool:
The first
step is to review the material immediately after the learning
session. A good way of carrying out review is to re-write or
tidy up notes. Jot down every thing you can remember about the
subject and compare this with your notes. You can easily do
this by putting the information learned into a concept map.
Reviews need to be carried out after one day, one week, one
month, after four months.
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Learning styles: Reading quickly and effectively
becomes easier after knowing your learning styles. The most
widely used index of learning styles is by Felder and
Silverman. The dimensions in this include:
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Sensory: Looking
for facts.
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Intuitive: Looking
for meaning
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Visual: Looking for visual representation of
information.
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Verbal: Looking for explanation with words.
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Active: Looking for groups to work and figure out
problems.
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Reflective: Figuring out problems on their own.
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Sequential: Putting together information in order to
understand the overall picture.
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Global: Seeing the big picture first and then fill in
the details.
Some people
have a cross of these qualities. Remember these are only some
of the many useful tools you can apply to studying
effectively. Try and use these techniques, as studying well is
important but studying skillfully and well is even more
important.
Student Tips
Time
Management & Goals
- Under-set
goals
-Attend all
classes, keep-up, start early
- Weekly
lists/ daily to-do lists/ priorities
- Record
accomplishments
- Reward
finishing
Motivation
- The Do's
- Set
realistic goals
- Stay
healthy, find joy
- Take
breaks
-Develop
positive forms of procrastination
- Reward
yourself
- The Don'ts
- Avoid
"should"
- Wipe out
workaholism
- Don't go
negative
- Remember
you're human
Life
- Stay in
balance
- Do not try
too much
- Learn to
say no
- Use fun to
stay motivated, reward yourself with free fun time
- Regular
exercise helps you to study and stay alert
Organising
to learn
-
Mind/concept mapping
- Tables
- Visual -
color & shape
- Outline
-
Hierarchical outline
- Sequential
diagram
- Summary
paragraph
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person when you cannot otherwise converse with, printed for
you." Accounts of traveling, interesting discussions on
current questions and light fiction can be called the books
for the hour. These books are good for reading; but we should
not allow them to take the place of true books.
the arrangements for the Gender in Education Policy Support
Project (GEPSP).
Upper Sindh, to give priority to widening and diversified
participation and life-long learning. It cultivates close and
productive links with its local and regional community. It is
putting in place a tradition of working in collaboration with
business and industry and plays an active role in economic
regeneration. The university is growing with a set programme
aimed at progress with a lasting impact and a vision.
ic
leadership of the present Vice Chancellor, the university is
developing leaps & bounds in the academic and
co-curricular fields. Already, the people of the area are
taking pride in their university and feel a sense of
satisfaction at playing their constructive roles in the
meaningful and life-related education, seeking a change in
their hitherto rural and traditional ways. The recent
remarkable progress in strengthening the university's
infrastructure and expansion in the buildings and physical
facilities will enable the university to march forward with
dignity and grandeur into the twenty-first century, as a
progressive and forward-looking institution of higher
learning.