This presents a good opportunity for you to make sure you’re using methods of studying that are suitable for the way you learn.. USE SENSITIVE TALK Remember, you’re your partner now.. Pr
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Since you’re working alone, you only have your own learning styles to
consider This presents a good opportunity for you to make sure you’re
using methods of studying that are suitable for the way you learn Be
aware of what works best for you and make changes if necessary (You
may want to review Chapters 2 through 5 on learning styles.)
START WITH THE POSITIVE
Begin a session by asking yourself what you liked about what you read,
wrote, saw, or heard Starting out with something you enjoy and feel
comfortable with will give you a sense of accomplishment as you say to
yourself, “I know that!” Then you can face the more challenging material
with a good attitude
USE SENSITIVE TALK
Remember, you’re your partner now Keep being sensitive to your feelings!
Use the magic word “I” even when talking to yourself When you begin
statements with, “I like ” and “I feel ” you’re assuming responsibility
for your opinions and feelings, and you’re respecting yourself
As you read the next part of this chapter, talk to yourself using
sen-sitive talk Pretend you’re talking to your partner Begin by saying, “What
I’ve gotten out of this lesson so far is ,” adding whatever comes to
mind Continue with, “This makes me think of ” and keep talking until
you have a good understanding of the lesson
Be nice to yourself as you push ahead Studying the material so that it
makes sense to you is hard work! Acknowledge your challenges One of
the comforts of a buddy is that you have someone who knows what
you’re going through, someone who’s listening to you talk about your
hard day and who is also talking about his day Play both roles yourself
Try It!
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Jill tells herself something like, “I know you’ve had a hard day I wish you could take the day off tomorrow; you’ll look into arranging for that soon, if you can In the meantime, is there some way you can treat your-self, maybe take a short walk or look through a magazine, before you set-tle down to study?”
Don’t criticize yourself! Instead, ask yourself:
• What else do I need to know to make a clear picture in my head?
• What else do I need to know so the order of events will make sense?
I N S HORT
Whether you act like your partner or pretend your buddy is next to you, you need to acknowledge how you’re feeling and the challenges before you Then you’re ready to study Talking to yourself before, during, and after studying helps you ask questions and make connections This in turn helps you to better understand and remember what you’ve studied Keep your thoughts in a notebook or tape recorder, so that you can go over and add to them each study session
1.
2.
3.
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Practice Tips
Talking to yourself while studying, and pretending you’ve got an
invisible buddy, may seem a bit odd to you at first!
To get used to the idea and become good at it, practice before you
start your study sessions
When you’re by yourself—in the shower, in the car, walking to work
or school—begin a conversation with yourself To make it seem more
real, pretend you’re with a classmate Try out questions like:
• So, how was class yesterday?
• What did you find most interesting? Puzzling?
• When is your next study session?
• What do you think you’ll need to spend the most time on during
that session?
No one’s around, so you can speak freely and pretend you’re
talking to anyone you want Relax, and realize that you’re doing it for
a specific reason: to learn!
Trang 5In this chapter, you’ll be
using what you’ve learned
about reading closely,
keeping calm, and using
your learning styles to
deal with tests that are
generally looking for one
specific answer to each
question These include
true/false, matching,
multiple-choice, and
fill-in-the-blank tests
M any tests—classroom tests, professional
tests, and school admission exams—use the multiple choice format, sometimes along with true/false, matching,
or fill-in-the-blank questions These formats are similar in that they have only one right answer
The problem with tests that require specific answers is that you’re either right or wrong; there’s not much room for personal opinion Even if you’ve studied and know the material thoroughly, you
Trang 6Getting Over Test-Taking Obstacles
Tim and Tameka had been studying for exams that would qualify them for promotions They’d been studying for several months and were confident they knew the material As it got closer to test time, they both began to panic because they knew they’d be given
a combination of different kinds of tests
Tim told Tameka, “I think I can handle everything but fill-in-the-blanks I’m OK, if the right answer is there and I can find it, but I’m really stuck if I have to come up with the name of something
on my own I have trouble with names!”
Tameka said, “What about me? I get confused when I see a bunch of answers that are similar to each other and I have to choose the one that’s right I say to myself, ‘Well, maybe under
cer-tain circumstances choice A would be correct, but then again, choice B would work in a different situation.’ I do it every time!”
Tim has a problem coming up with the right names, and
Tame-ka has a problem when answer choices are very similar What Tim needs to do is learn to associate names with meanings, and
Tame-ka needs to come up with an answer before looking at the choices.
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still may find some questions challenging That’s because these tests are often designed to be tricky: multiple-choice tests offer “close” answers in addition to the correct one; matching tests use words out of context So
in addition to knowing the subject matter, you’ve got to learn how to take these kinds of tests, and this includes making up your own practice test
STUDYING FOR A TEST
The best way to study for a test is to test yourself, or have your study buddy test you
TESTING YOURSELF
Creating a test of your own forces you to think like a teacher As you develop questions, you hone in on what’s most important in what you’re studying This helps you understand the material better, and it gives you more confidence in yourself It also helps you become more responsible for your own learning When you make up a test like this, you are doing