Effective Learning Strategies Learning strategies are tools and techniques that learners develop as they learn. Learning strategies are an important part of developing autonomy. For example, a learner keeps a small notebook in their pocket and records interesting new language when they hear it, then researches it later using online reference material they have been shown. Here are some learning and memory techniques. The Learning Process People tend to learn something totally new by first getting the general idea in their minds and then filling in the details. Outline When researching a new topic: • Dictionaries, Encyclopedias (if needed) • Text Books • Specialised Books • Journal Articles When reading academic writing: • Look at all the headings, subheadings • Look at all the pictures and captions • Read the first and last paragraphs • Read first sentence of each paragraph • Read the whole text Divide • Make study tasks more manageable by dividing them up into a series of smaller tasks • Divide your study time into chunks of about 50 minutes and take a break every hour • Break up your assignment into smaller tasks and focus on each task one at a time • Focus on one paragraph at a time when writing your assignments • Don’t try to read everything at one time. Break up your reading into articles or chapters or even parts of these Vary • People are more alert to changes in their environment and tend to lose concentration when things remain the same. • The human brain is more able to pick up variations between things than be able to judge if something is right without comparing. • We can concentrate better if we vary our study tasks regularly. • Change study tasks every hour or so. Alternate tasks that require intense concentration with more routine tasks. Intersperse study with physical and leisure activities. Incubate • We learn more if we give our brains time to process. • The solution to a problem often appears if you leave it and focus on something else. • Leave your assignment draft overnight. You will see corrections you did not notice before. • If you have a reading that is difficult to follow, reread it the next day. It will be clearer then. Revise • The more we revise the more we remember. • Make notes on your readings. Reread the notes a week later and again before exams. • Review your lecture notes on the same day or the day following the lecture. Summarise your lecture notes for each week. Reread these throughout semester. • Use the little bits of time on the bus, between lectures or waiting for someone, to quickly review one set of notes. Learning Strategies These strategies work together. For example: • Incubation occurs when you vary your tasks • Revising is easier if you divide it up into manageable chunks • Engagement is easier in short bursts. Divide tasks and vary between concentrated and routine tasks (Adapted from “a university for the real world QUT”)
Posted on: Sun, 09 Mar 2014 17:10:24 +0000
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