Bjork 's Seven Studying Techniques

In the section “Tips from the Science of Memory-for Studying and for Life”, found in our textbook, “Experience Psychology”, the Arthur Laura A. King discusses the importance of study habits. She addresses the skills needed to turn short-term memory into long-term memory through organizing, encoding, rehearsing and retrieving the information we study and memorize. “No matter what the model of memory you use, you can sharpen your memory by thinking deeply about the “material” of life and connecting the information to other things you know.” (King. 2013).

I have learned while in college that the best ways for me to learn are by being able to see or write down something because it is something that I can review and still be able to grasp the concept when it is needed for a test. This strategy was helpful when I was in my English and math class. The second thing that also helps is viewing models because there is something that is tangible which makes it so much easier for me to be able to learn this is the strategy that I used while in my biology. The help of peers has also helped me with my learning process as well because there is not as much pressure when going up and talking to the teacher about what is wrong.

Another strategy, is reviewing your notes. I find that it’s easy to forget what we have wrote down. Reviewing your notes allows maximum recall of the material you write down. Recording the general main idea and details can be more useful than verbal notes. Notes serve to record information for recall and should show the main points of the lecture in an organized manner so that the relationship between points and details are easy to tell apart.

After reading the article I want to change my study habits some. My goal is to implement the strategy previously mentioned. I think self-testing myself as I read will allow for much more long term absorption of material. In addition, to increasing the skills in how I read I want to learn to create study questions for myself. When study guides are not provided it’s easy to feel overwhelmed with the idea of exams. However, we can train ourselves to recognize important information and create our own study questions to be able to answer before exam day. Self-testing and self-created study questions are going to my new approach at studying.

However, by changing my tasks frequently I can get more things done. Also, I may be able to stay fresher by switching the topic I am learning. The third technique that find interesting is we shouldn’t always keep learning something over and over until it sinks in: “Brains that are constantly stimulated by new ideas and new challenges need time off to digest them” (BMS, 85). It is important to take breaks while studying and not try to force yourself to learn something. Taking breaks while studying may actually help me learn more than I would by continuously

1. Read - around the topics you are learning about or want to learn about and develop

1. Well, to begin with, most importantly, I like to learn in a peaceful and calm surrounding because that helps in building concentration. I don't like a messy work area because it causes a distraction, so I try to make the area organized if possible. I get distracted easily so, if I am studying near a window, I close the blinds so I won't look outside, turn off the radio, television, etc. I start going through will all easy questions, then I work on the harder questions. Every time I think that I am tired or been studying for a very long time, I take a 30-minute break and I make sure that I am not over-doing it, that way I can take in the best.

After all, if a person was to learn about or concentrate on a different subject every few minutes, it would be nearly impossible to retain and remember the information. As one study discovered, "multitasking adversely affects how you learn. Even if you learn while multitasking, that learning is less flexible and more specialized, so you cannot retrieve the information as easily (Rosen 412)." Most people who multitask become so distracted by the amount of information they are trying to obtain at one time that it is actually causing the opposite effect. Multitasking makes it harder to distinguish the difference or importance between individual tasks. This means that many people either dismiss all the information gain as redundant or clump all knowledge, unnecessary and essential, together.

Since attending CCSU, I have evaluated many studying methods. I have used chucking, writing on a white board and making practice exams. However, time after time I noticed no progress in the many studying methods I used. On the other hand, during the fall semester of last year, I have found a two studying methods that works. The first one is writing my class material down while recording myself and the second method I found that works is using a whiteboard to practice key concepts and then writing them down.

Being able to take in the information that is presented and being able to apply it is a crucial tool that is needed in order to be successful. One of the assignments that we were given in ENGR 1000 was that we were tasked to see what type of learner we were. Everyone has their own unique way of learning and I myself feel that I am more of a visual learner than verbal. There are eight different characteristics on a scale from one to ten which means there can be fifty thousand and four hundred different possibilities. This is why it is important to know and understand what type of learner you are because you are only one of that fifty thousand and four hundred. You could and are very likely spinning your wheels trying to learn things the wrong way if you truly don’t understand how you learn. I can read a book cover to cover and at the end, sometimes I could not tell you what I have just read. After taking that survey I was surprised at how much I was heavily leaning only on visual and not verbal. Just this one alone was putting me at a disadvantage in my education because I was only really taking in half of what I could be. I have started to rely different learning styles so that I can be more we

An example of this would be my own personal experience. Whenever there was homework that wasn’t interesting or fun to learn, I would have problems actually remembering the knowledge I acquired from it. This was problematic when I needed

Personal learning styles are highly complex and unique to specific individuals. It is often difficult to pinpoint an exact learning style. Though there are different categories, we often fine tune them to our own abilities. By examining our traits and tendencies we create a clearer understanding of how we process and learn information. With careful review, I have developed a specific analysis of my learning characteristics, including an evaluation of skill levels. Based on what I have recently learned and know from experience, I have also devised a structured plan for improvement of time management and study skills.

Though the use of note-taking and rereading is most notably known as the best study technique amongst college students, we see that other ways of retaining information can be more beneficial than that of writing notes and reading them over before exams. The article at hand tests the idea of a 3R method which is the use of reading, recalling, and reviewing information instead of traditional study methods. The usage of the 3R strategy in studying is seen as more effective than traditional note-taking, due to the 3R strategy being able to increase the chances of recalling information

A range of different and useful topics have been discussed since the start of Pathways to lifelong learning, some of which I found to be of particular help. The college expectations which we learned towards the beginning of the course was especially helpful to learning how to become a critical thinker, something that was not very touched upon throughout my time in high school. I now use Bloom’s Taxonomy when beginning to prepare for an important paper or presentation. In addition to the first chapter, I had also found great help in the second chapter on the skills needed to succeed in school. In the past, I used rehearsal as my main strategy to memorize for any upcoming tests or exams, however that often resulted in either retrieval failure or ineffective encoding. I now use chunking and elaboration as my main strategies to studying as I find it most effective when studying and retrieving information, especially when I am needing to memorize and learn a big amount of material.

Besides, I have the problem to find the key points and important facts during the lectures, and I am wasting my time writing down the points which not necessary. I cannot see the overall concept which the lectures try to deliver and the important ideas. I don’t want this to be a problem for me anymore as it may affect my study and my concentration during lecture time. So I make a step to seek and think what the main concept is, and I try relating all the ideas of the course so that I can see clearly the overall picture and understand the topics that I learn. I also read the notes and make an effort to understand the lesson that will teach before going to the lecture. This helps me to give the overall idea of new topic that I will learn.