Effective study skills and techniques are critical for student success. Just like repeated blows with a blunt ax would have one wasting valuable time and energy on a task which would have been a cakewalk if it were for a properly sharpened ax, study skills are a vital tool which every student must have in their arsenal if they want to get ahead in the highly competitive atmosphere of modern-day universities and land themselves a well-paying job.
The study skills required to succeed today are quite different from what worked in earlier times. Nowadays, most of the teaching and learning activities are carried out in a digital environment through online classes, learning management system and likewise. These modern pedagogical tools such as eLearning and LMS portal have made teaching and learning simpler and more effective than ever before. Most students suffer from the same challenge, wherein they need to get a lot done in seemingly little time. However, by learning to make judicious use of their limited time, they can easily get ahead of the competition and achieve academic success. Here are 5 important study skills which every college student can benefit from knowing about and learning. So, without further ado, let us take a look at each one of them…
Effective note-taking-
I think we all have experienced it at some point in our student lives. We think that we won’t forget some important details of a topic being discussed in the class. But before we know it, our mind gets overburdened with other information and let alone weeks, we are lucky if we can recall that particular detail by the end of the class. Suffice to say, the art of effective note-taking is something which every student needs to learn. Some of the key strategies for effective note-taking include highlighting important words and headings, rewriting central ideas into simple concepts which can be understood easily while revisiting the material, using various tools such as highlighter, sticky notes, diagrams, charts, index cards and likewise in order to ensure that the notes your prepare are through and outline the objectives and ideas contained in each lesson.
Mind Maps-
Mind maps can be of great use for college students. A mind map is essentially a technique for helping us in retaining information by organizing it in a way that we can visualize and summarize the given information. Mind maps help you in representing a huge chunk of information on a single page which can help you tremendously with memorizing and retaining said information over a long period of time. Mind maps can help the students by providing them an elegant way of learning and revising a number of topics with little effort and in minimum time.
Reading out loud-
Many students learn best via auditory stimulus. If you are one of them, it might be helpful to try reading the subject matter out loud while studying. Either you can read the material aloud when you are alone at home or you could record and listen to it while traveling or doing other chores. Sometimes, listening to the content multiple times helps in gaining a greater clarity over the subject.
Teaching others-
Teaching any fresh concept, you learned in the class or by yourself to someone else is one of the best learning techniques. You can also partner with your friends or classmates in order to take turns teaching each other. This will not only help the listener in understanding the concept, but it will also help the teacher in revising the content and understanding their strong and weak areas, areas which they need to revisit and likewise.
Time management skills-
Time management is life management. College students have a lot on their plate constantly. In order to succeed in the classroom, you should make yourself more proficient in time management skills. Firstly, you should organize your study table in an effective manner. Also remember that proper planning and prioritizing important tasks will save you a lot of time and energy. Moreover, students should be punctual and never let too much work pile up.
Students who invest in gaining better study skills can easily outperform those who don’t. The study techniques discussed here shall certainly help the students in achieving success in academia as well as in their lives.
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