Learning and Studying

Some general approaches to learning

The following ideas are suggestions which may help you to develop the an approach to learning and studying which will help you get the most out off your studies:

  • Treat learning as an adventure which can be rewarding and enjoyable. As adults we tend to forget how children learn so much without trying too hard, simply by being relaxed, interested, and keen to try things out.
  • Make full use your senses, through looking, typing, drawing diagrams, writing and speaking. The use of our different senses gives the brain more connections and associations, making it easier to find information later, which assists memory and learning.
  • Identify what attracts you. It is easier to learn by keeping desirable outcomes in mind rather than by forcing ourselves to study out of duty. Targets can become incentives as they are reached, and spur on your efforts to become even more successful.
  • Use active learning. We learn with a deeper understanding when we are both actively and personally engaged in activities such as juggling and linking information, making decisions, playing with different options.
  • Take responsibility for your own learning. In particular this means ensuring you are ready for the stage of study you are entering.
  • Recognise your own learning preferences. Each of use learns in an individual way – though we also have a lot in common. What you need to do is experiment with strategies and skills you currently under-use

Developing a study plan

In order to cope better with the requirements of the programme, you may find it useful to devise a study plan.

The plan can provide you with a framework so that you can settle as quickly as possible into effective routine and good habits.

  1. Find a place which can be devoted to your study. If this is not possible then ‘time separation’ can be a good second best, whereby you have access to a room whose usage does not overlap with other usage.
  2. Develop the habit of studying at regular times, if possible, so that at certain times of the day or week you automatically devote time to the programme, without the pain of deciding whether or not to start!

The next step is to construct a plan of action to help you progress through your programme of study.

We can consider this plan under three headings:

1 Set priorities / 2 Review resources / 3 Reflect
What needs to be done immediately?
Which things can wait?
In which order do you need to deal with matters? / What resources and help are available to you?
What are your personal resources? (see activity below)
Do you know anyone who has undergone a similar academic experience to you? / It helps if you write down and explore any anxieties which you may have.
Note down your feelings.
Write down your options and decide between them.
Record how you dealt with each problem.

Your approach to learning

Human beings possess the ability to learn from their experiences. This ability enables them to adapt to, and change, the world around them. Most experts who study learning define it as a process involving any relatively permanent change in behaviour produced by experience.

Cognitive theories offer another approach to learning, and are concerned with perceptions, attitudes and beliefs. i.e. active comparison as opposed to mere re-action. Cognitive theories help to explain how we learn from experience, in a significant way.

One view of the process involved in significant learning –learning that leads to an important change in behaviour, is that it involves a cycle something like this (Kolb et al):

Forming and reforming an

understanding of the situation

Observing and reflecting on thePlanning actions to influence

consequences of the actionthe situation, based on current

understanding of it

Acting on the situation,

according to the plan

The cycle can start at any point, and is continuously re-occurring in human beings; an individual tests his or her concepts in experiences, and then modifies them as a result of the experience.

Kolb’s work has led to the work of theorists such as Honey and Mumford believe that each of us has a preferred style or typical approach to learning, and the responses to the questions in the activity will reveal this to you.

Honey and Mumford’s research suggests that we oscillate haphazardly between different approaches to learning from experience. Sometimes when things are ticking over satisfactorily we are lulled into a state of complacency and entrust our learning to an intuitive process. Complacency may be shattered by an unexpected mishap and we are bounced into learning painfully and more consciously. On other occasions we are more selective and look back over an experience with the benefit of hindsight. Sometimes we deliberately try new and different ways of doing things in order to learn.

Knowing about different learning style preferences is the key to understanding and to become more efficient at learning from experiences.

If you would like to know more about learning styles and identify your own learning style we recommend that you visit Peter Honeys’ website at

The learning cycle

People are rarely helped to acquire the skills they need to become competent learners from experience, which may explain why only one person in fifty is equipped for a total learning experience.

In order to understand the learning process better, and improve our learning and study skills, we first need to look at the stages involved in learning from experience and then at the styles that affect our use of these stages.

The four stages in the process of learning from experience are, therefore, mutually exclusive. No stage makes sense or is particularly useful in isolation from the others. The whole process can be summarised as a cycle, as shown in the diagram below.

Stage 1

Having an experience

Stage 4 Stage 2

Planning the next Reviewing the experience

steps

Stage 3

Concluding from the

experience

The diagram may appear simple but, in common with many people, you probably only perform some parts of the process. This is because you will have developed, without necessarily having thought about it, some learning styles that equip you better for certain stages in the cycle than for others.

Study Skills

Handling information

Elliott and Wright suggest that "many students are failing to reach their true potential, not due to any lack of effort or intelligence, but rather to an inability to study effectively." The information below offers brief guidelines on successful study techniques..

Some general points

Embarking on a course of study is a major step for anyone. It may take a little time for you to settle into a successful routine which accommodates an increased workload, increased independence and responsibility for organising your own study.

Studying is very demanding. As your course progresses you may find it difficult to maintain your motivation, especially in disciplines where intellectual development is a diffuse, longterm, process. Every student will experience occasional lapses of enthusiasm, particularly when work and social commitments make great demands on your time. These lapses not be seen as a major cause for concern unless they persist or recur regularly.

Reading

Reading can be pursued at several different levels:

Enjoyment (Leisure) / Overview / Searching / Mastery / Critical

Your purpose in reading will dictate the level and method you adopt.

Educational research suggests that purposive reading searching for answers to specific questions is most effective during a course of study.

Reading technique can be summarised as SQ3R (Strathclyde University, 1987):

Survey.scanning

Question critical awareness

Read

Recite recall, recollect

Review rename, resurvey

Note taking

Notes should not be verbatim reproductions of articles, books or, but rather summaries of their main points interspersed with your own thoughts on the topic.

Carefully laid out notes, in which the key points are easily identifiable, are a real boon when revision or writing up time arrives. Abbreviate common words, but remember to be consistent. Leave plenty of spaces when first writing notes. They can be used later to add material from other sources.

Writing

Before putting pen to paper, it is important to establish what the examiner requires: description, evaluation, analysis, explanation, comparison, discussion? You will very rarely be asked to write down all you know on a particular topic The following is a list of terms commonly found in assignment, report and exam titles with brief explanations of what you are being asked to do:

Account forGive reasons for

AnalyseSeparate into component parts/factors

Assess Say how important it is

CompareShow similarities, differences: say which is better

ConsiderTake into account, weigh advantages and disadvantages

ContrastLook for differences between

DefineGive the meaning of

DemonstrateShow how, prove with examples

DescribeWrite in detail about the characteristics of

DifferentiateExplain the differences between, distinguish

DiscussDescribe the importance aspects, pointing out the "pros

and cons"

EvaluateJudge the importance or success of

ExamineInvestigate, enquire into

ExplainGive reasons for, make clear

How far...?Present and evaluate evidence for and against

IllustrateGive examples

OutlineIndicate the important aspects, omit minor detail

RelateShow the connections between

StateSet out briefly the main points

SummariseBring together the main points

To what extent... ?How true is it to say that? Give evidence

TraceShow the development of

It is advisable to prepare a summary before you begin writing. This

  • provides a checklist of your major ideas
  • helps you arrive at a logical order, avoiding repetition
  • makes it easier to check the contents
  • helps your peace of mind!