by Todd Pheifer

Created on: August 30, 2008

Study skills are often about being disciplined. Also, students must develop consistently good habits if they want to have effective study skills. Too often, students demonstrate poor study skills throughout a term and then try to make up the difference the night before an exam. It is reasonable to argue that "discipline" is difficult to teach, but over time it can be modeled and guided, particularly as a student grows and matures. There are some tangible things that can be taught to students in order to develop good academic skills. Here are a few thoughts on guidelines for developing effective study skills.

FIND A QUIET PLACE

Unfortunately, we do live in a world of electronic noise. Students are used to the Internet, television, radio, personal music devices, and cell phones all making noise at the same time. Students will argue, for example, that they study better when they have music on. Unfortunately, it simply isn't true. The brain does not naturally "multi-task", and anything auditory that enters the brain is going to distract the student from their academic pursuits. Therefore, the student has to get in the habit of studying in a quiet spot. It may be painful at first, but in the long run it will serve their academic success.

ASK QUESTIONS

Another way to develop effective study skills is to ask questions. Rather than simply rush through material, the student should stop and ask questions about things that they do not know. They can ask parents or they can write notes to themselves in order to ask the instructor when they get back to school. This represents another mistake that students often make. They assume that they do not have to know everything and they hope to be tested on material that they do understand.

STUDY ON AN ONGOING BASIS

When a student takes notes, reads some text, or completes a project, they should get in the habit of returning to prior material. Even a quick review can enhance future retention. Again, too often students take notes and then do not look at them until weeks or months later when they are going to be tested. If students look at their material on a consistent basis, they will have a much greater chance of being familiar with the material when they have to produce it in a test setting.

Overall, study skills are about being patient, getting help, and eliminating distractions. Current students are prone to seek study sessions that are less "boring", but unfortunately they aren't always the most effective. When a student is distracted, they retain less information and they take much longer to get through material.

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