The 5 Most Effective Learning Strategies to Help You Learn Better
One of the most important skills a student can have is the ability to learn how to learn. The issue is that not every student learns in the same way. So, when we talk about the five most effective learning strategies, they may not all work for every student, but at least one, if not more, of these methods, will be able to help a struggling student achieve better results.
Actively Listening
Active listening is an excellent learning strategy for people who learn best by hearing what others say aloud. In active listening, a student explains something to a teacher in his or her own words. Responding to each new point makes listening to an active, rather than passive, activity. When the student is expected to respond to the teacher's words, he is less likely to daydream. This strategy works well in both one-on-one tutoring situations and study groups.
Creating Notations
Taking notes is an age-old learning strategy, and it appears that everyone has their own method. The best method for taking notes, however, was developed and named after Cornell University. The Cornell method instructs the note-taker to draw a 14-inch line from the bottom of the note-taking paper and a 2-inch line down the left side of the paper. During class, notes are taken in the main section of the page, as is customary. Questions raised in class, as well as any other cues that can be used to help remember the notes on the page, can be jotted down on the left side. In the area at the bottom of the page, below the line, write a 2-3 line summary of what was discussed in class.
This allows you to process the information right away and record it in another format, as well as make the pages easier to index for later study.
The SQ3R procedure
When a student is having difficulty with reading comprehension, the SQ3R method (survey, question, read, recite, review) can help to break the process down into easily digestible chunks. Students begin by scanning the entire reading selection. This allows them to see what is coming and form opinions about how things will play out. During the survey, you can be asked why the teacher assigned the reading and what you should get out of it.
The sections read, recite, and review are all intended to encourage interaction with the text. Reading is an active process in which a student seeks answers to questions posed during the questioning stage. Going back through the section you just read and emphasizing key points is what reciting entails. The process of integrating what you already know about the reading with the new information presented is known as reviewing. The key feature of SQ3R is that it encourages active learning by allowing the reader to interact with the text on multiple levels.
Learning Through Kinaesthetic Motion
Kinaesthetic learning is also known as learning by doing. A small percentage of the population, about 5%, learns much more effectively by doing something than by reading about it or listening to a lecture. While this is not a large proportion of the general population, a disproportionate number of these children are falling behind in traditional classrooms. Specialized tutors are frequently the best option for this type of student because they have more time to focus on action-based learning than a traditional teacher.
