Study Skills
Study Skills for School Success
Students’ success in school depends on how well they organize their study skills. Practicing good study habits ensures success in school. A well-organized student always does well. Effective study skills save time that is wasted due to mismanagement. Study skills and organizational skills do not come naturally to most students. It is something that has to be learned.
Learning study skills require students to learn about how learning takes place. Some of the important aspects of learning that students must know to sharpen their study skills are as follows:
· People learn 1% through taste, 1.5% through touch, 3.5% through smell, 11% through hearing and 83% through sight.
· We retain or remember 10% of what we read, 20% of what we hear, 30% of what we see, 50% of what we see and hear at the same time, 70% of what we say while talking, and 90% of what we say while we doing something.
· Left and right part of brain functioning develops different skills and preferences. In some people, left part of brain is more active than right part and vice versa. People with active left part prefer to work alone and favour quiet place. People with active right part prefer to work in groups and enjoy collaborative group work.
· Howard Gardner (1956) theory of Multiple Intelligences says that all human beings possess all eight intelligences in varying amounts. Each person has a different intellectual composition. These intelligences are located in different areas of the brain and can work either independently or together. Although the intelligences are located in different parts of the brain, Gardner claims that the eight intelligences rarely operate independently. Rather, they are used simultaneously and complement each other as we learn to develop skills and solve problems. Undeniably, the theory of MI further supports that individuals are smart and talented in their own way. They possess different potentialities, interests and personality and have the capability to think differently. Children are smart differently and possess different preferred intelligences as verbal/linguistic, logical/mathematical, visual/spatial, musical/rhythmic, body/kinesthetic, interpersonal, intrapersonal, and naturalist. Students need to identify their preferred intelligence and work on it along with developing other intelligences.
Students should have the knowledge of these important aspects of learning process. Considering these, they can develop their study skills.
Organization is also an important aspect for developing effective study skills. School- work should be well organized and managed. Some of the tips for students to effectively organize their school related tasks are mentioned below:
· Preparing supply update list (Things needed for study such as notebooks, markers, pens, scrapbook, etc should be mentioned in supply update list along with quantity and date)
· Maintaining Home/School communication folder (Important papers from teachers should be kept in home folder and important papers from parents should be kept in school folder)
· Assigning color code to subjects (through colored covers or tabs for easy identification)
· Labeling assignments (giving every assignment a heading, title, and date)
· School zone can be made at home ( It can be a bulletin board or a basket or a shelf where important things like progress cards, worksheets, trip permission slips, parents papers, note for teachers, etc should be kept)
· Securing a proper study area at home, (study area should be appropriate, spacious, well lighted, ventilated, and comfortable. There should be right-postured furniture, and all necessary supplies.)
Practicing these tips on improving study skills ensures success to students in school.
This study skills workshop was created for you. It was written with the following in mind:
Students want to do well in school
Students who consistently do well in school practice good study habits and are well organized
Study skills and organizational skills do not come naturally to most people – they must be learned
Download presentation: studyskills2
Vishal Jain
Editor
