Study Strategies for our dear students

 

Many school students face the challenge of learning how to study. Unlike reading for pleasure, studying is a deliberate learning activity that requires students to acquire, process, organize, and remember new information.
Teachers can show students how to "study by doing." This means learning how to study as active learners—discussing ideas with classmates, reformulating information on graphic organizers, and predicting essay questions.
Students who are actively engaged in studying are more likely to be engaged in their learning, retain information they learn, and apply their knowledge to other areas.

"To study is not easy, Because to study is to create and re-create and not to repeat what others say."Freire & Macado, 1987, p. 77
Many students need direct instruction from their teachers to develop active study:1. Teachers can help students develop strategies by being explicit about what a strategy involves and offering a rationale for why and how the strategy works.
2. In addition, teachers can model study strategies while simultaneously explaining what they are doing.
3. Teachers should guide students to practice and apply strategies to authentic tasks.
4. Feedback from and debriefing with peers or the teacher help students identify what is working and what needs to be strengthened.
Listening:Improving students' ability to listen is a good first step for cultivating strong study strategies.
These techniques encourage students to become active listeners by having them evaluate what they hear and interact with the speaker.
TQLR Listening Process:TQLR (Tune in, Question, Listen, Review) can help students improve their listening skills—whether they are listening to a lecture, story, or conversation.

The four steps of TQLR are:
1. Tune in: Have students prepare by tuning their mind to what they are about to hear.

2. Question: Ask students to formulate questions on what to listen for. "Who, what, when, and where" are good questions to start with.

3. Listen: Encourage students to think while they listen.

4. Review: Have students review what they heard, answer questions, and consider areas that were not clear.
Taking Notes :Both teachers and researchers have observed the need to provide students with direct instruction for taking notes—extracting relevant information and recording that information in useful ways. The most effective instruction provides students with an explanation of the importance of note-taking and is sustained over a significant period of time.

Two Column Note-Taking System:Also called the "PUNS," "Cornell," or "Pauk" method. PUNS, a research-based note-taking system, encourages students to review their notes immediately after a lesson and pull out key words from them.

The steps are:
1. Record—Ask students to record notes on the right side of a sheet of loose-leaf paper, leaving a 3-inch margin on the left. Outlines can help students identify main topics. Have students leave space where they need more information.
2. Organize—Soon after the lecture, students should summarize the text by writing key words inside the left margin. Students should also add any information they missed during the lecture.
3. Study—Students should review their notes by reciting information they know and looking at the key words. Students can also use key words to create study questions.
Using Think-Aloud :The purpose of a think-aloud is to capture the student's thinking about the text during the reading process. The teacher selects a piece of text to model the strategy to the students. While reading the text aloud, the teacher asks herself questions such as, "Why did this author say that? Maybe if I keep reading I will find out." .
Remembering:Developing effective strategies for memorizing can help students tremendously throughout the course of their studies.
Using Graphic Organizers :Graphic organizers are excellent tools for helping students connect ideas and see relationships between different pieces of information. The goal is for students to expand their knowledge by understanding the material in their own way. Graphic organizers can be used for a variety of purposes, such as eliciting prior knowledge, demonstrating a sequence of events, and comparing and contrasting.