5 Study Techniques That Work
The motivation for talking about different study techniques that work, and not focusing on just one of them, is that each of us is better suited to a way of taking in or retaining information. There are students who are very visual and others who register by reading the notes and listening to each other.
For this reason, today we want to present 5 study techniques that work and that can even be combined with each other. However, the goal is that people who are in training (in high school, university or cycle, among other options) have a small toolbox for when they need to study for an exam.
1. Highlight the most important things, one of the best study techniques
An article from the Universidad Nacional de Educación a Distancia (UNED), Study Techniques , mentions it as one of the ways of “[…] emphasizing the relevance of the information we read ”.
This helps to manage time better, since in a second review of the corresponding program, students will only focus on the underlined information. This way, they will avoid what is not important and which they do not need to remember.
2. Study skills that work: reading aloud
The second study technique that works is reading aloud. Practicing it makes us focus our attention when the subject is somewhat boring. Additionally, reading aloud improves our reading comprehension, which is why many students find it helpful to memorize.
However, reading aloud allows students to repeat what they have the most difficulty understanding, developing the ability to explain it in their own words. A very effective study technique with very good results.
3. Write a summary
There are many who study abstract writing. They love to study with them. However, they find it difficult to distinguish the important from the insignificant. Therefore, this third study technique could be a later step than the previous two.
However, we recommend that you take the time, after writing a summary in which each student can express themselves in their own words (this will make it easier to withhold information), to highlight, once again, these important parts of the your text. This will make the summary clearer which will give you a lot of value during the review.
4. Study techniques that work: drawing diagrams
There are people who are unable to study abstractly. They think it’s a step they can skip, because what works best for them is the patterns. This often happens to those who have visual or photographic memory, as the article Memory in the teaching / learning process points out . This way, they see much more clearly what is important and what is not.
Overall, diagrams help to expose meaningful concepts in a short way and without having to span multiple pages, so that each student can explain them in their own words. For this to be possible, they must read the entire program.
5. Use mnemonic rules
If a student has found that diagrams work better for them, but there are still concepts they cannot memorize, they can use mnemonic rules. It may take some training, but in turn, they are extremely helpful.
Let’s take a very simple example. Imagine that we are studying the OCEAN model, but we tend to forget some of the personality traits that make it up. A mnemonic rule could be the following:
- E: extraversion
- N: neurosis
- E: empathy
- O: opening
- R: rigor
When in the review we have to talk about this model, we will remember the word ENEOR, being easier to complete the rest of the information. This last of the study techniques that work can be used in multiple ways and is particularly effective for memorizing lists.
Which of these working techniques do you use? Do you combine them? We hope you put them into practice or know that there are other options if the one you are currently using is not giving you the results you expect.
Our thoughts to succeed, it is necessary to have good study habits. Is it possible ? Obviously. We will therefore present to you below 5 keys to better …
