Once students reach upper elementary and middle school, it is assumed that students already know how to organize, learn, and study. Some students may pick up a few skills along the way on their own, but the vast majority of students have no clue. Most never learn there are more efficient and effective ways to organize and learn, and they fail to realize they can be strategic about their school work, as well as save time and frustration, while also becoming more successful in school.
Learning how to apply successful learning techniques is like mountain climbing with a backpack equipped with the right tools. Throughout life, students will always face new and challenging mountains, and it will all depend on what tools and skills they have in their backpacks. When that mountain looms before them, they often cannot even begin to climb (much less scale) the peak. For many, the mountains appear overwhelming, and the climb seems hopeless. Sadly, they begin to doubt their abilities, their intelligence, and their capabilities for learning.
Students can learn study skills, but first, they need specific instruction and sufficient practice. The following tips for teachers are all focused on how we can help students learn how to learn. As educators, we can never teach a student all he needs to know, but we can teach a student how to learn all he needs to know. Begin now to fill their backpacks with terrific learning skills, so our students can climb any "learning mountain" with confidence.
Teach Study Skills Based on Students' Learning Styles
Visual Learners
• Use daily "to do lists"
• Post reminder notes to yourself
• Use color codes
• Draw pictures, make timelines, and copy or type notes
Auditory Learners
• Use and give oral directions
• Read aloud and review orally
• Talk to yourself as a reminder
• Make and use tapes for review and study
• Use music or rhymes to learn facts
Kinesthetic Learners
• Write in organizers or type notes
• Pace, walk, jump, or bounce a ball when you study
• Write lists and notes repeatedly
• Review in front of a mirror and watch your lips move
• What is the one subject the author talks about throughout the paragraph? The answer to this question identifies the topic.
• What is the author saying about this topic? This is the main idea.
• What facts support the main idea? These are the important details.
• When looking for the topic, look for the words that are repeated the most often.
Benefits of Good Note-taking Skills
• Promote retention
• Increase concentration
• Help the student to organize, process, and decode information
• Provide material for study and review
Note-taking Models
• "Brainstorm bubbles" - Draw a big circle on the paper. Then, while the student reads, he writes down facts, details, and ideas.
• Webs - Include phrases and ideas connected by arrows, lines, and circles to link thoughts in a visual way.
• Venn diagrams and T-charts - These are useful when a student is comparing or contrasting ideas.
• Outlines - These work best for older students who have a large amount of material to organize.
• Cornell Note-taking - Cornell note-taking is a very effective strategy and an excellent independent study tool. By covering the note column, students can quiz themselves by reciting information triggered by the notes in the recall column. Then, they can get immediate feedback by uncovering the note column. Here are some samples of Cornell note-taking:
(Note: Click on each individual screenshot for an enlarged image).
Become "Test-wise"
Most objective exams call for recognition learning. In other words, the best answer is given, but the student must be able to recognize it. General questions will require more thorough learning than specific questions. Either way, the student will probably need to spend much of his time on memory work.
General Test Suggestions
• Note the number of items and figure out how much time you have to answer each one.
• Are there penalties for guessing? If not, guess when you don't know the answer.
• Answer the easy items first to get the maximum number of points.
• Change your answer only if you have a reason to do so. Research indicates that three out of four times, your first choice was correct.
• Return to questions you couldn't answer initially and try them again.
• Don't waste time reviewing answers of which you are confident are correct.
True/False
• If there is more than one fact to the statement, carefully check each part. If one part is false, the item is wrong, unless there is a qualifying word such as "usually" or "sometimes."
• Words like "always" and "never" tend to indicate that the statement is false, especially if you can think of an exception. "Always" and "never" are absolutes. True absolutes are rare.
• When the statement is given negatively, state the item without the "no" or "not" to see if it is true or false. If the statement now reads "true," mark it false.
Matching
• Find out if each item is used only once or if some are used more than once.
• Check off the answers you have already used.
• Analyze the choices to see if any parts of the term or word you know will allow you to associate it with the right answer.
Fill-in-the-Blank
• Check the number of lines per answer to see if they indicate the number of letters or words.
• If you can't remember the exact word, write something related or an explanation.
• Use appropriate endings to fit the statement or question.
Multiple-Choice
• If the question is long and complex, underline the subject and verb to help you.
• Read the question and answer it in your mind. Then, look for the matching answer.
• Read all the alternatives, saying "probable" or "not probable" before making a decision.
• Ask yourself if you are dealing with a fact or the understanding of some fact.
• If a question is negative, look for three true answers, and the one remaining false answer will be the correct one to mark. For example, "One of the following is not a cause."
• Note appropriate grammatical structure from the question to the alternative.
• General statements are more likely to be correct than specific statements, especially if you can think of one exception.
• In questions that have complex alternatives involving more than one right answer, mark each item as true or false. When you finish all the alternatives, you will have the answer.
• When you think you are finished, remember to go back and review your answers, making sure you did not make any careless mistakes.
When students of today are given the correct tools, they will become the successful leaders of tomorrow. Our passions have become our purpose, and we as teachers must seek to empower the current and future generations to realize their greatest potential both personally and professionally.
