Tips for Effective Studying (6)

Thinking Aloud/Private speech

Everything becomes a little different as soon as it is spoken out loud. When we learned as infants and children, thinking aloud or saying what we are thinking (private speech), was accepted as a way of demonstrating our knowledge, or of opening ourselves to “get it right.” We sounded out words, expressed ideas, and formed sentences. When corrected, we practiced until we imitated correctly, or conformed to the model of our family, neighborhood, school, etc. Thinking aloud was essential to our early learning. Thinking aloud is also called private speech. As we grow older, thinking aloud is internalized, and speech shifts to communicating with others.



“Nevertheless, the need to engage in private speech never disappears. Whenever we encounter unfamiliar or demanding activities in our lives, private speech resurfaces. It is a tool that helps us overcome obstacles and acquire new skills”. We tend to use only phrases and incomplete sentences in private speech. What is said reflects our thoughts, but only what is puzzling, new, or challenging. We omit what we already know or understand. So also private speech decreases as our performance or understanding improves.

Applications of private speech in learning include planning, monitoring progress, or guiding ourselves in working through challenging tasks and mastering new skills. It can help us manage situations and control our behavior by verbalizing our feelings, or venting to ourselves. Private speech is a useful tool in learning. The more we engage our brain on multiple “levels,” the more we are able to make connections and retain what we learn. We read, create images or diagrams, listen, use music or motion, talk with others (collaborative learning) and with ourselves. Some of us like to talk things through with someone or in a group, either to help us understand or to remember better. And some of us don’t need another person around to talk with in this process! This can be a learning style, and a very effective one. We use multiple senses and experiences to process and reinforce our learning, and the combination of these strategies is very individual.

Applications of private speech in learning include:

• Memorizing vocabulary by saying the words


• Appreciating poetry by “dramatizing” it


• Editing papers by reading the text aloud


• Talking through math problems to arrive at solutions

Tips for Effective Studying (5)

Steps of Converting Memory to LTM

Mood:
Set a positive mood for you to study in. Select the appropriate time, environment, and attitude

Understand:
Mark any information you don’t understand in a particular unit; Keep a focus on one unit or a manageable group of exercises

Recall:
After studying the unit, stop and put what you have learned into your own words

Digest:
Go back to what you did not understand and reconsider the information; Contact external expert sources (e.g., other books or an instructor) if you still cannot understand it

Expand:
In this step, ask three kinds of questions concerning the studied material: If I could speak to the author, what questions would I ask or what criticism would I offer? How could I apply this material to what I am interested in? How could I make this information interesting and understandable to other students?

Review:
Go over the material you’ve covered, Review what strategies helped you understand and/or retain information in the past and apply these to your current studies.

Tips for Effective Studying (4)

Note Taking Techniques
The most comprehensive note taking systems require attention on your part. You must be alert enough in class to take legible, meaningful notes. You can’t rely on “writing everything down” because a lot of information in a given lecture won’t help you actually learn the material. If you have problems determining the specific relevant points in a particular class, you can always ask the professor to clarify them for you.

The 2-6 Method
The 2-6 refers to the way you divide the space on your notepaper. Make two columns, using the red line on the left of the page as your border. Then, when you take notes in class, use the 6 column for the notes and the smaller 2 column on the left as a highlighting system. Write main headings and important points on the left, including material you think you will be tested on. When you’re finished, you should have a comprehensive page of information that you can quickly scan for important points.

Finally If you have any questions or need more help, stop by and talk to one of our counselors. Studying is 99%% perspiration; if you give it a real, concentrated effort over the course of a semester you will see an improvement. Your academic success is entirely up to you.

Tips for Effective Studying (3)

SQ3R
The SQ3R method is the reading and studying system preferred by many educators. Reading research indicates that it is an extremely effective method for both comprehension and memory retention. It’s effective because it is a system of active reader involvement.

Step 1. “S”= Survey
Before you actually read a chapter, or go over a particular section of notes, take five minutes to survey the material. Briefly check headings and subheadings in order to understand the author’s organizational pattern of ideas to be discussed. Scan all visual material. Read introductory and summary paragraphs. This preview will enable you to anticipate what the chapter is about.

Step 2. “Q”= Question
Create interest in the material by asking: What are the main points of the chapter? As you read, keep the question in mind and figure out the most important points. It gives you a clearly defined purpose for reading, and helps you maintain interest in the material.

Step 3. “R”= Read
Read the chapter actively for meaning. Go through the paragraph before underlining, then underline key words and phrases to help you recall the main points. Be selective, you don’t want to highlight non-important points or miss anything that can help your comprehension. Summarize main concepts in your own words in the margins. The more active you are in the reading process, the more you will retain.

Step 4. “R”= Recite
After every few pages, close your book and recite aloud the main points to the questions you posed in step 2. Try to recall basic details as to the author’s intent by putting them in your own words. Verify your answer by checking the text. If you can’t remember the text, read through it again. If you don’t get it now, you won’t remember it for a test. Take as much time as you need to answer your questions. Don’t be frustrated, this takes more time but the information will be clearer in your mind.

Step 5. “R”= Review
Finally, review the chapter every so often to fix the material in your mind. Keep rereading your margin notes and underlinings. Verbalize the sequence of main ideas and supporting facts to aid retention. Numerous reviews are a lot more effective than one cramming session the night before an exam. Review once right after you’ve finished reading and then every couple of days. The SQ3R is time consuming at first, expect it to take ten to fifteen percent longer to read a given chapter when you first begin. Research indicates a 70%% increase in retention after two months of using the system and, eventually, a reduction in time spent preparing for exams.