Effective Study Skills, Essay Example

Students must know themselves and adapt effective study skills to be effective learners. The attitude and approach towards learning determines the success of a student. Most of the successful students have learned how to prioritize stuff while working smarter, and not harder. Study skills helps one understand more about how learning tailor to an individual’s thinking styles (Lengefeld 69). Effective studying skills revolve around the knowledge of one’s learning style, time management, and self-organization among many other factors that this paper discusses.

Learning styles are the different approaches to retaining knowledge. It would be best to find one’s learning style whether visual, kinesthetic, or auditory. To process information learners must rely on their senses and it is essential to learn the style that applies to every individual. If, for example, a person learns by listening, he /she should not adopt a visual learning style. It would be more effective for him /her to use techniques that focus on auditory styles. Such students should attend lectures, take notes and consult peers to ascertain that they have the correct details. They should involve them selves in discussion groups, dialogues and debates to achieve their goal of obtaining knowledge.  A kinesthetic learner retains information best through experience (Lengefeld 15). In the kinesthetic tactile, students learn by being involved in physical activities like movements and demonstrations.  A kinesthetic learner could gain nothing or rather remarkably little  knowledge in learning activities that involve  purely involve  listening and viewing, as they would lose interest unusually fast. Such learners should involve themselves in drama, games, and learn to memorize their studies using body language and gestures. A visual learner is one who learns through observation. They are proficient in recalling what they saw especially in diagrams, charts, graphs, and videos. They use written notes to learn and draw instructions. Such students advised to use handouts for studying, and make sure they watch subject related films gain knowledge. They should try as much as possible to make diagrams from notes to gain a better understanding. The other learning styles include tactile learning where learners learn best by touching and manipulating objects. Such students perform well in practical studies. There are the active learners who gain knowledge through discussion groups, and the reflective learners who learn by thinking.

The other trick behind learning is time management. Time is as precious as the money spent on education (Martens MJC et al. 189). For best results in managing time, one ought to develop a schedule.  A schedule assigns time for every activity of the day. It allocates class time, lab time, social work time, study time, recreation time, and some free time for any emergencies, that may arise. Study time planned strategically to be at a time when one is rested, relaxed, and alert. Weekly schedule works well with minimum time wastage.

Self-organization marks a particularly crucial strategy to developing effective study skills. Self-organization is all about being able to manage all the workload entailed in every subject. The questions behind self-organization in learning include:

1)        When should one study lecture courses?

2)        How and when, should one-study recitation courses?

3)        How should one plan a schedule?

4)        How should one use time?

5)        Where and when should one study?

6)        When should one start revising for exams?

With these above questions in mind, one can organize him/herself perfectly. A study schedule will allocate the daily activities and the lecture notes read after or before lectures. If before lectures, one should read all assignments and make notes of what not understood. It is wise to review lecture notes after lectures when the information is still fresh. Recitation courses as learning of foreign languages studied before the lecture. A schedule planned in a manner that can accommodate revision (Martens MJC et al. 190). One ought to start revision right from the begging of the semester and studies should take place in the library, or in a cool, comfortable environment.

In conclusion, effective study skills differ from one person to another depending on the learning style and the IQ level. The grasping ability differs in different people. While some people may take a short while to learn and grasp something, others will take ages. Therefore, to make a successful student, one should understand his/herself to adapt effective learning skills (Lengefeld 56).

Work Cited

Martens MJC, Duvivier RJ, van Dalen J, Verwijnen GM, Scherpbier AJJ, van der Vleuten CPM,. “Student views on the effective teaching of physical examination skills: a qualitative study”. Medical Education. 2009: 184-91.

Lengefeld, Uelaine A., Study Skills Strategies: Get the Most from Every Minute of Learning. Axzo Press. 2009.