Learning by doing 3 docx

It’s a good idea to have a special notebook for any project you’re working on, small enough to carry with you.. It is a good idea to allot additional short study periods to review new ma

You can even review without your study material—on a train, in your car sitting in traffic, or waiting at the doctor’s office Just think about what you know already—and why it’s important to you Be ready for any new questions you might ask yourself! Jot them down as soon as you can

Making Connections

Relating new material to what you already know can be done any time Ask yourself, “What does this remind me of?” as you go about your daily routine Carry a small notebook with you to write down thoughts as they come It’s a good idea to have a special notebook for any project you’re

working on, small enough to carry with you Ideas can come at any time;

you can be waiting for a bus or putting a baby to bed Be ready!

Finding multiple times in your day to study means you can keep going Your hard work will pay off However, make sure you also get plenty of rest, eat well, and treat yourself occasionally! A good mood keeps you motivated and energized

USE YOUR LEARNING STYLE

Before you plunge into a new study project, consider your past successes Think about a project you did, and what you did to successfully complete

it Which of the following applies to you?

Do you like to stick with one thing at a time? This usually appeals to

literal (often left-handed) and sequential learners If so, use different days

to focus on different subjects It is a good idea to allot additional short study periods to review new material in other subjects, so every subject is studied nearly every day

Do you prefer going back and forth between different things? This

usually appeals to kinesthetic and image learners If so, warn the people

who live and work with you that you need space to lay out material! When working on several projects at the same time, it is a good idea to take breaks between each Kinesthetic and image learners should be pre-pared for ideas coming at any time—even when working on a project in another subject Are you more comfortable standing, sitting, or lying down? Maybe you need to vary your position from project to project

If You Learn Best with Images

Focus on parts of the assignment where pictures come most easily to

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you imagine As you review the material you’re studying, go back to your

notebook or tape recorder and add detail Notice how your picture becomes

more complete as you begin to further understand the topic at hand

Image, or global, learners often are good at seeing the big picture

and the connections between things, but perhaps at the sacrifice of the

finer details You can compensate for this by having a family member,

friend, or study buddy remind you of your due dates

If You Learn Best with Order

You might be more comfortable following sequential lessons or sections

of what you’re reading or listening to For instance, if you had a deadline

to finish this book, you might divide the book into four parts and make

a smaller deadline for each quarter Or perhaps you’d order the chapters

in decreasing degrees of difficulty In that case, you’d study the most

diffi-cult material first and the easiest last Find the order that’s best for you

If You Learn Best by Seeing

Write or draw as you study If you’re using an audiotape, write what you

hear Use colored markers to create our own color code Give each color

a “job.” In math, use a different color for each operation, so you see where

you’re multiplying and where you’re adding Do the same in studying a

text or writing in your notebook: use a certain color to take notes on

details in a certain subject This lets you see how different facts are

connected to each other For instance, in studying history, you might

note facts leading to the French Revolution in one color, details of the

revolution itself in another, and results of the revolution in a third color,

and so on

If You Learn Best by Hearing

Talk and listen Read texts aloud, and read your notes out loud into a tape

recorder, so you can review by re-listening Use different intonations as

you read, to organize related information In the example above, you

could speak in a low tone for events leading up to the French Revolution,

sing notes on events during the revolution, and chant to denote the results

of the revolution As you reflect on what you studied, try to hear your

notes in your head You may want to check your school or local library for

relevant tapes; there’s a chance the book you’re reading is on tape

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GETTING STARTED

BEGIN WITH THE EASIEST

You’ll feel good when you’ve finished something Anything Choose the

task that takes the least amount of time For example:

• If you have a seven-page lesson to study, begin by just making sense of the title Write in your notebook or talk into a tape recorder about what it means to you

• If you are about to solve math or science problems, choose the simplest problem first Write in your notebook what you did to solve the problem Draw pictures that help you see the problem|

in your head

KEEP FOCUSED

Before you start your science project or begin to study for that test, decide how long you want each study session to be Can each be 20 minutes long? That’s about how long most people can stay really focused on the task at hand But perhaps it’s less for you—maybe 10 or 15 minutes Or maybe it’s more like 25 or 30 minutes Whatever you find is best for you, try to stick to it

Remind yourself that you have a regular period of time to stay focused, but don’t be so rigid that it can’t change sometimes for legitimate reasons, such as when:

• You’re familiar with the material and can move ahead easily without difficulty

• You’re ill

• You really enjoy the material and want to stay with it longer

Practice Tip

Take a short break after reading this chapter, then spend 20 minutes

(more or less!) today on beginning your study project Make sure you

reward yourself when you stick to your schedule!

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I N S HORT

You’ll remember more if you break your study project into smaller

chunks instead of trying to tackle it all at once Use a calendar to plan

ahead, setting several short and reasonable deadlines for yourself Get a

general idea of what you’ll be studying, then build on what you

already know Use those study techniques that have worked best for you

in the past

C H A P T E R 7

K NOWING W HAT

What makes you say,

“Now I get it!” or “I see

what you mean”? You have

learned something—

whether it’s parallel

parking a car or understanding terms in a

psychology class—when

you know that you

know it

you know something are two different things You may know

things you don’t know you know—odd little facts lying

around in your head like Ted Williams’ batting average or the phone

number of your childhood home On the other hand, you can think you know something that you don’t really know, like the contents of that

chapter you read or lecture you heard but didn’t think about afterwards

To study effectively, you have to realize what you don’t really know It is

then that you will develop an awareness of your knowledge and

learn-ing processes