In accordance with an article written by Winston Sieck, learning is a continuous journey, and developing strong study skills is crucial for achieving success in both academic and professional environments.
His article published on Global Cognition, outlines five study techniques that can significantly enhance your learning, offering valuable insights for students.
- Elaborative Interrogation: Asking “Why”
By posing “why” questions to yourself, you connect new information with what you already know, which improves memory retention. Research indicates that elaborative interrogation supports learning by creating additional “hooks” for recalling information.
- Self-Explanation: Drawing Inferences
Take breaks while studying to explain concepts or problems to yourself in your own words. Self-explanation promotes a deeper understanding and enhances problem-solving abilities, thereby enriching your grasp of the material.
- Practice Testing: Engaging in Active Memory Retrieval
Using practice questions or flashcards to actively test your memory boosts learning by engaging in memory retrieval. Retrieval practice fortifies memory pathways, making it easier to remember information later.
- Distributed Practice: Spreading Out Study Sessions
Avoid cramming by spreading your studying over several sessions to improve learning. Revisiting the material in spaced sessions reinforces memory retention and fosters deeper understanding.
- Interleaved Practice: Combining Different Problem Types
For subjects like maths, mix various types of problems to improve problem-solving skills. Interleaved practice helps you identify and apply suitable problem-solving strategies, enhancing overall comprehension.
Conclusion
These five study techniques are supported by scientific research and offer effective strategies for improving learning. While some may be more strongly recommended than others, all are relatively simple to adopt and can greatly ease your learning process. Begin by trying out one skill at a time and gradually incorporate them into your study routine. Mastering these study skills will better prepare you to face academic challenges and continue on the path of lifelong learning.
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