Learning Through Your Senses - Hearing

Think about how you like to get directions to somewhere you have never been.   Do you like to follow a map or a list of directions like you get from MapQuest?  Or do you remember best if someone verbally tells you where to go and maybe you repeat the information back to them.  If this second way seems the best, you may like to learn through your sense of hearing.  There are several study strategies you can use that use sound and words:

• Read your textbooks or notes out loud.
• Read them to some sort of rhythm.
• Tape yourself reading them and then listen while driving or exercising.
• Form a study group and explain the class information to each other or quiz each other.
• Teach the information to someone else.
• Background noise is fine while studying; just don’t let it overpower your thoughts.  And remember that you will be taking the exam in silence.
• Of course, make sure that you attend all classes so that you hear your professor explain the information as well as your classmates’ discussions.

Next – study strategies using large and small muscle movements.

Learning Through Your Senses - Visual

One way you can increase your learning is by using your various senses (sight, hearing, touch or movement) while studying.  Here are some ways to incorporate the visual sense in your learning:

• Create charts or graphs
• Add color to your notes, charts, study cards, etc.
• Draw pictures
• Look at pictures or videos on the Internet
• Pay attention to diagrams
• Create your own diagrams
• Visualize what you are reading or studying
• If you are studying a person, find a picture so that you know what they actually looked like

You even might find that you can visualize your study aids when you are taking an exam!  

If you like color and visuals, these suggestions will make your learning and studying more effective and enjoyable.

Study = Learning + Review

I was talking with my grandson who is finishing seventh grade about what it means to “study.”   He had “looked over” his science notes, but was that really studying?  My reply was that what he did was “review” and he had yet to fully “study.”

So what is the difference? 

There are two parts to studying:

1. Learning – this is your initial and ongoing work with the information and is quite in depth.   You can use a variety of strategies to learn the material.  These include:

• Reading and note-taking
• Rereading
• Making Study Guides such as concept maps, charts, study cards, questions and answers
• Recitation – restating in your own words from memory
• Rewriting
• Working through practice problems

2. Reviewing – this is what you do to keep the information fresh in your memory after you have learned it.  Strategies to do this include:

• Recitation using the study guide you made during the learning stage
• Distributed practice – review the information for short periods spread out over time
• Rereading notes and/or study guides
• Practice problems
• Taking any practice quizzes or tests available through the textbook or your professor

You can see that this is quite time consuming, but learning does not happen quickly.  It takes time and effort.

Keep up the hard work!