Theory and Empirical Evidence of Sound Study Skills

After reading about the “six hour D”, I have been interested to see how my own studying techniques compare to that of a successful and comprehensive studier. When I study for tests, I typically read through all of my notes, each of the texts, and every one the power points before even thinking about self-testing. I realize now that going through large amounts of material without actually taking the time to see if I am truly grasping each idea included in the material may not be the greatest studying technique; since, even though I do self-test at the end of my studying sessions, I tend to wait till I believe I understand every part of the material.

The first step to successfully study for any type of material is to keep the material organized and make sure the information is correct. A good routine would be to check notes periodically

1. The rationale and history for the existence of such policies and guidance documents (Ref. 1.3, 1.4)

Low levels of processing include operations like counting the letters in words and higher levels of processing might include forming semantic relationships such as understanding what the words’ meaning is. According to Craig and Lockhart who formulated this theory memory recall would improve as the information is processed in greater depth. However it has been hard to define exactly what depth is and it has been found that there are other factors that make people remember things. (Zachmeister, E.B., Nyberg 1982)

In video 2, Dr. Chew talks about the difference in shallow and deep processing. Shallow processing is memorizing facts and isolated things whereas deep processing is making connections to real life applications. Many people use shallow processing to memorize definitions or random facts. Doing this does not help you actually learn because you are not making connections to real life situations. Anyone who uses shallow processing can achieve deeper processing my reading the book and answering the questions at the end of the chapter and making

* Levels of processing theory- proposes that deeper levels of processing results in us remembering information for a longer period of time

This student’s preferred learning strategy compared to the learning strategy provided by V.A.R.K. is almost identical. The learning strategies that have been used throughout her education have always netted good results, which is evident by her grades. In the past other students have commented about her learning style and the amount of time spent on note taking, outlines, and writing out note cards, but she has perfected this process for her learning style.

One important study skill to use is self-explanation. to practice this study skill you are going to need to do three major things. Get organized to study, finding time to study, and note taking. This study skill bases all for you. Self-explanation can be used in any class and it is simple. Say if you are ready, your textbook or just a random

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.

The first two chapters of “What the Best College Students Do” cover several topics. Throughout the chapters, the lives and experiences of different college students are explored. A reoccurring theme in the book is the concept of learning styles. Essentially, the three learning styles are memorization, comprehension, and strategy. According to the author, comprehension is the most effective style of learning. While everyone will possess one of these three learning styles, it is not impossible for someone to adjust to another style. Additionally, the author elaborates on academic ideas such as independence, grades, and outside influences.

Levels of processing identities the stages or memory retrieval when needed in hopes that it was stored in long term memory. The different levels of processing are identifying what the word looks life, what

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

The authors recommend that students should treat themselves while studying, even going so far as to recommend taking a break every 20 minutes. During the break, the student could stretch, get a snack, or even watch a video. The student is also recommended to re-evaluate progress so that they can feel accomplished with the fruits of their labor. The guide also places emphasis on making studying enjoyable. Some examples given include drawing pictures associated with the subject instead of taking traditional notes and using flashcards to make a game. The authors even recommend listening to non-vocal music simply to have fun while studying. The reasoning for this recommendation is the thought that enjoyable studying as well as the use of breaks and relaxation to create a “winning”

Prior to the early 1970s the prominent idea of how memories were formed and retrieved revolved around the idea of processing memory into specific stores (Francis & Neath, 2014). These memory stores were identified as sensory memory, short-term memory, and long-term memory. In contrast to this idea, two researchers named Fergus Craik and Robert Lockhart proposed an idea linking the type of encoding to retrieval (Goldstein, 2015). This idea is known as the levels of processing theory. According to this theory, memory depends on the depth of processing that a given item is received by an individual (Goldstein, 2015). Craik and Lockhart stressed four points in supporting their theory. First, they argued that memory was the result of a series of analyses, each level of the series forming a deeper level of processing than the preceding level (Francis & Neath, 2014). The shallow levels of processing were believed to hold less importance and are defined as giving little attention to meaning of an item. Examples of which include focusing on how a word sounds or memorizing a phone number by repeating it over and over again (Francis & Neath, 2014) (Goldstein, 2015). The deeper levels processing involve paying close attention to the meaning of an item and relating that meaning to something else, an example of which would be focusing on the meaning of a word rather than just how the word sounds (Francis & Neath, 2014) (Goldstein, 2015). The second point Craik and Lockhart

This essay will critically analyse three pieces of research to give a balanced detailed analysis of learners study habits. It will evaluate the impact of learning methods to determine if traditional teacher led or student led methods have an influence on how students study. Considering the research to discover what students consider to be successful learning, using the three pieces of text. Then conclude if results correlate to students’ predictions, by means of self-reflection, performance and deductions.