Hacks to efficient studying!
Some people just have the gift of being able to remember things that they are taught once, and when exams and tests come around, they hardly need to study.
Back when I was in school, I remember knowing a few of those people – I however, had a photographic memory – without a film.
There are a few ways to determine what type of learner you are, and how you can study loads of information efficiently and successfully.
With the World Wide Web at our fingertips there are a variety of personality tests that are available to help narrow down the ways of learning, personalised to you! Try one here!
Here are the different styles of learning:
Do you have the following characteristics?
- I speak slowly and explain things well
- I am a neutral listener
- I tend to repeat things out loud
- I think about things in a literal sense
- I read slowly
- I prefer to listen and hear things, rather than read them
If you identify with the above description, you are most likely an auditory learner.
The best way for you to learn would be to associate one or two key words associated with a topic or a sentence, so that when you hear those words, you automatically remember what you have learned.
Another tip is to repeat/recite what you have learned out loud with your eyes closed.
It is proven that when one sense, such as sight is taken away, another sense is heightened – for you it would be hearing.
The most successful and fun way for you to learn is to engage in group discussion or study sessions with your friends. Discuss the topics and explain them to each other – that way you socialise and you learn together – WIN-WIN!
Kinesthetic Learners
Characteristics of a Kinesthetic learner:
- I speak very slowly
- I learn by doing and solving real life problems
- I like to have a hands on approach
- I get fidgety if I sit for too long
- I like to take breaks when studying
- I get distracted easily – short attention span
Does this sound like you? If it does, there are many ways that you can utilise the ‘hands on’ study techniques.
This is a great opportunity to play memory games – use flash cards with keywords in order to memorise facts – you can take this one step further and introduce it to your friends, a group study session!
Because you find it difficult to sit for so long, set out a short study block routine and take frequent breaks.
If possible, take a field trip down to a place that enables you to see, touch and experience the topic in order to gain complete understanding.
Visual Learners
How many of these characteristics fit you?
- I tend to speak quickly and have a tendency to interrupt
- I learn by looking at graphs and diagrams
- I need absolute quiet in order to concentrate
- When I read something or listen to someone speak, I picture what they are speaking about
- I tend to make very detailed notes
- I prefer to sit in the front of the class so I can see what’s going on
Luckily, you have more film than I do…
You can start by drawing or outlining information that you need to remember – make sure to use bright colours that will spark your memory when writing your tests/exams.
By circling, highlighting and underlining the words you are enabling your mind to ‘visualise’ what you have learned.
Remember to take detailed notes and make lists – keep a learning journal if you feel the need too – highlight the things you don’t understand and watch videos on youtube / ask your teacher/tutor to SHOW you how it is done.
Don’t fit into these categories? Do you prefer to read and write in order to study?
This is in fact considered another learning personality, falling under kinesthetic learners statistically – kinesthetic learners being the most common type of learner.
A good study method for these types of learners are as follows:
Writing model answers – as you go through your material, try and imagine the type of questions that you would get in your test/exam and write your personal answers, showing your understanding.
Practice writing your answers, get a friend or family member to set questions out for you and answer them to the best of your ability – Don’t understand something, go back and try again – do corrections and continue to learn in the best way you know how!
Have any other methods of studying that haven’t been mentioned?
Send in your methods to tiffany@showme.co.za and share them with other students!