Although there isn't a "one-size-fits-all" strategy for studying, there are several techniques that can improve long-term memory and recall. Everybody learns differently, thus maximising learning efforts can involve trying various methods. Understanding our learning process is critical, as we frequently misinterpret it, confusing memorisation with actual learning. Distributed practice, which entails extending the time between learning sessions, is one efficient way to improve learning.
Organisational Strategies
Get Organised
Investing time in organising your life will position you to succeed in your educational endeavours. Purchase a journal and use it to record upcoming due dates for assignments. To ensure full participation, bring all required materials and equipment to class. To ensure that everything is ready for use in the morning, pack everything the night before.
Create a Study Schedule – Stick to It
Enhancing motivation and commitment to learning, managing workload in reasonable chunks, preventing last-minute scrambling, and keeping work organised around other obligations are all benefits of this approach.
Use Downtime to Your Advantage
Straightforward weeks should be avoided; they are the quiet before the storm. Take advantage of shorter work weeks to get ahead on crucial tasks or assignments, which will strengthen your enthusiasm to complete work on time.
Customising Study Environment
Productivity can be greatly impacted by setting up a comfortable study space that suits individual tastes. It requires consideration to take into variables like lighting, the field of ergonomics, and space for research structure.
Effective Study Habits
Don’t Skip Class
Avoiding classes may seriously impede your capacity to learn and meet curricular objectives by creating massive discrepancies in your notes and comprehension of the subject matter. In place of juggling all courses at once, focus on one unit over four weeks. Focus on hearing what your instructors say during lectures while taking notes as needed to master engaged listening.
Take Notes
Taking notes may support long-term information retention. Going through these notes will be crucial to accomplishing examinations and tasks. After class, notes should be condensed to make them easier to read and more understandable. Mark or highlight pertinent subjects, and ask the educator or professor for clarification on whatever is obscure.
Space Out Your Studying
Establishing a learning regimen is one of the most beneficial study strategies. As compared to cramming everything into just one long study session, dividing out your workload across several days optimises the retention of knowledge and yields superior results. Mastering recollection can also help you learn more by actively retaining the material you've covered in the future.
Reading is not Equal to Studying
Simply reading and re-reading texts or notes is not actively engaging with the material. Active engagement involves constructing meaning from the text, explaining concepts in your own words, making connections to lectures, forming examples, and regulating learning. Highlighting and re-reading are not sufficient for true understanding.
Active Study Techniques
Engage in active learning techniques such as summarising information, teaching others, or applying concepts to real-life scenarios. Active involvement in the learning process fosters deeper understanding and long-term retention. It is also important to recognize that learners are often poor judges of their learning and that memorization alone may not lead to deep processing of information.
Advanced Learning Techniques
The Benefits of Spacing Out
A particularly efficient learning method is "distributed practice." Short, regular practice sessions are preferred to lengthy, infrequent ones for effective results. Excessive study sessions could result in an absence of memory and focus. You may get a greater amount of your study time by managing your schedule.
Problems are a Friend
For technical fields like mathematics or the field of economics, it's vital to work across problems frequently. When in doubt, ask questions and document each step. As you review an extensive set of problems compiled from the lectures and the course materials, be sure to explain the solutions to be sufficiently ready for examinations. Boost with learning and memory recollection by incorporating practice tests into your academic regimen.
Reconsider the Multitask Method
Studies show that multitasking may exert an adverse effect on performance. The distractions like texting and using social media should be minimised to maximise learning effectiveness and ensure sole concentration on the topic at hand matter.
Seeking Feedback and Practice Retrieval
Seeking for input from fellow students or lecturers regularly could assist to discover areas that need work. Advice that's encouraging assists the development of methods of research and calling out knowledge deficiencies.
Utilising Resources
Use All Resources
To begin putting any of these tactics into behaviour, arrange a meeting with a learning counsellor.
Utilise Technology
Technology offers various tools and apps designed to enhance learning efficiency. From flashcard apps to productivity tools, these resources can help organise study schedules, provide interactive learning experiences, and offer practice quizzes to reinforce knowledge.
Forming Study Groups
Establishing a research group may encourage and assist each other. Study groups promote sharing of resources, doubt clarification, and idea exchange. Understanding and memory of subject matter may have increased through collaborative learning.
Health and Well-being
Importance of Healthy Habits
Effective procedures are essential for learning to occur. Focus, memory, and general mental efficiency can all be enhanced by consuming properly, exercising often, and getting sufficient sleep. For the best results in education, maintaining a life of equilibrium is crucial.
Managing Stress and Anxiety
High levels of stress and anxiety can hinder learning. Practising mindfulness, relaxation techniques, and time management strategies can help reduce stress, making it easier to focus on studies.
Procrastination: The Leading Cause of Inefficient Learning
Procrastination, the act of delaying or putting off tasks until the last minute, leads to negative consequences. Nearly 75% of students admit to procrastinating, with some being habitual procrastinators. This avoidance cycle impacts overall functioning and can be exacerbated by mental health conditions like ADHD, depression, or anxiety.
Causes of Procrastination and Their Solutions
Perfectionism
Unrealistic expectations lead to fear of failure.
Solution: Adopt the "All or Something" approach—attempting tasks is better than doing nothing.
Preferring pleasure over progress and avoiding unpleasant tasks.
Solution: Identify the root cause and tackle the hardest tasks during peak energy times.
Low Self-Esteem
Procrastinators often suffer from lower well-being and higher stress.
Solution: Improve confidence by understanding underlying causes and seeking therapy if necessary.
Last Minute Waiting
Poor understanding of task duration leads to procrastination.
Solution: Use the Pomodoro Technique to break tasks into smaller intervals.
Troubles with Focusing
Especially relevant for people with ADHD.
Solution: Reduce distractions and set up a quiet workspace.
Lethargy in Decision Making
Too many options can lead to procrastination.
Solution: Simplify decisions to focus on more important tasks.
Resistance to Challenges
Avoiding complex tasks out of fear.
Solution: Plan daily, breaking long-term goals into small steps.
Reflecting on Learning
Improved methods of learning could originate from frequently reflecting on what has been learned along with how it was learned. Continuous growth can be encouraged by keeping a learning log where you can record your achievements, challenges, and thoughts. Important insights into cognitive functions and efficient methods for education can be obtained from psychological experiments.
Setting Realistic Goals
Specific guidelines for study attempts and motivated preservation can be given by setting realistic and achievable objectives. Education might be easier to accomplish if bigger objectives were broken down into more compact and manageable operations.
Conclusion
There are several advantages to learning efficiently, including improved time management, decreased stress, and decreased disorganisation. Learning success and quality can be increased by addressing procrastination and utilising efficient study techniques. The College of Contract Management promotes efficient learning with flexible learning opportunities to best suit the learner.