Studying new course material involves multiple steps.
1. Scan the material
The first step is to acquaint yourself with the material rapidly
through learning key concepts, becoming familiar with the vocabulary,
and ‘getting the gist’ of the material.
Do not focus on the details at this point. Instead, try to
determine the relative importance of the concepts and organize
your study plan so that you begin by focusing on the most important
parts of the material.
2. Comprehension
This step involves ‘working’ the material in order
to achieve a satisfactory level of comprehension.
You should try different ways of creatively integrating the
new knowledge rather than passively reading the material and
attempting to memorize everything.
Here are some useful tips :
- Explain the material in your own words;
- Create links and comparisons;
- Create a table summarizing the material;
- Use visual tools like flowcharts, diagrams and pictures;
- Attempt to answer as many problems as possible without
consulting examples or the answer key.
3. Self-evaluation
An important step is to verify your comprehension of the material
by asking yourself questions and imagining what might appear
on an examination.
Creating questions allows you to process the material and
increases your understanding of the relationship between the
different concepts. This technique puts you to work and takes
advantage of your analytical skills and ability to synthesize
information.
As you attempt to answer your own questions, you can evaluate
how well you have understood the material. At the same time
you are making small steps toward a deeper understanding.
Exams are the ideal moment to measure just how far you have
traveled in your learning path. Having developed an effective
study strategy, you will have all the necessary tools to develop
your knowledge and confidence, thereby increasing your likelihood
of success.
contributed by the Academic Advisors of the COLLÈGE
DE ROSEMONT
Translated and adapted from an Ici Rosemont article:
Ici Rosemont. 2007. J’APPRENDS À
ÉTUDIER... pour mieux réussir. October
10, Service des communications du Collège de Rosemont
Montreal – Posted: February 8, 2007
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