Essential Study Skills: Strategies for Ultimate Success

Why do you study? Well, there are actually 5 reasons for studying and by looking at these as well as the 4 fundamental ways you can improve your learning and study skills we can 'set the scene' for the rest of this course.

In 1987 Neil Flemming suggested that people learn through a mix of Visual (seeing), Auditory (listening) and Kinaesthetic (doing).

You will see how each of these ways of learning open up different ways of studying.

In lecture 5 I have added a VAK scoring / test, so you can see what your individual preference(s) is.

Do you know how you best learn / study? This VAK -Visual, Auditory & Kinaesthetic scoring sheet allows you to see your preferred method of studying and learning. You will see that some people have dominant style, whilst others have more of a combination approach.

This video explores acrostics - An invented sequence of words, whose first letter gives you the clue to the information you need to remember and recall.

You will see examples of 'acrostics in action' .

This video explores acronyms - an invented combination of letters, which is pronounced as a single word. Each letter of this word is a cue or suggestion to the item you need to remember.

You will see examples of 'acronyms in action'.

This video explores analogies - a comparison between unlike things that have something in common.

You will see examples of 'analogies in action'

This video explores mnemonics - another technique for remembering information that is otherwise quite difficult to recall.

As with the previous videos we will explore this through examples.

To be a really effective reader and therefore studier you need to be able to vary your style depending on your material.

The three methods we will look at in this video are; speed, skim and scan

This is a list of apps that you can consider when becoming a more efficient and effective reader.

Keywords help with memory recall by condensing large amounts of information into a single word or short phrase that is easy to remember. The key to success is to pick a word that unlocks a large amount of information.

Tree structures or diagrams allow us to see all the possible outcomes of an event and calculate their probability. Each branch in a tree diagram represents a possible outcome

These are an excellent tool for creating an overview, and remembering it accurately.

They help distill complex topics down into a single memorable page by using branching and spatial organisation, colour and images.

Mind maps help you to generate ideas and make associations. They are a powerful memory aid in an examination because they are visual in nature and show the relationships between component topics within an overall subject area.

A concept map is a way of representing relationships between ideas images or words.

In a concept map, each word or phrase connects to another, and links back to the original idea, word, or phrase. As such they are a way to develop logical thinking and study skills by revealing connections and helping you see how individual ideas form a larger picture.

This is a list of apps that you could consider when using condensing and summarising study methods.

The most widely used cue method is the flashcard.

One of the primary reasons for their success is they require active recall and each time this is practiced you force your brain to remember or recall information.

Nowadays these can be electronic rather than written and there are many apps or sites where these can be created or downloaded.

Notes are structured as a sequence of numbered points and paragraphs, with headings and indentations which resembles an essay plan. It is a useful technique for books or articles where arguments are static and built up slowly and sequentially.

This provides you with a structured, common-sense way of making sure that you take clear notes, engage with them actively and have accurate material from which you can study or revise. It prevents you from having to laboriously recopy your notes when revising or studying - a so called “do it right first time” method.

This is a list of note taking apps that you could consider to support your learning and studying.

As promised in the last video this document gives you a sample 7 -day SQ3R plan. Remember though, it can and should be adapted for your individual needs.

When studying a common pitfall people fall into is setting out to learn everything in the order in which is was presented or delivered. However, for a variety of reasons which could include time constraints, fatigue or sheer volume of material this may not be possible, or as you will see, even desirable. Therefore, we need a method of separating what is essential you know from what would be great to know if you had unlimited time and energy.