Strategies for Learning

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Strategies for Learning

The Disability Services director can help with the following areas. Contact Disabilty Services for an appointment.

Productivity Style
Goals
Physical and Mental Health
Time Management
Reading
Note Taking
Test Taking
Writing

1. Know Your Productivity Style

Where do you learn best?

the environment's lighting
the sound(s)
the surroundings

When do you learn best?

early morning
late morning
afternoon
evening
late evening

How do you learn best?

visual
auditory
kinesthetic (hands-on)
a combination of all

2. Goals

Having a goal helps motivate. Whether long-term or short-term or frequently changing, a clear goal gives direction, meaning, and immediacy for getting work done.

3. Good Physical and Mental Health

It is difficult to study if you do not feel well or are mentally distracted.

Learning Services provides a relaxation room, a serene setting for studying/test taking and an ideal setting for a seated chair massage when a massage therapist is available. Other rooms may be used for study if available.

Health Services can help you identify medical problems, suggest nutritional advice, and advise about healthy choices.

Counseling Services can help if you need to discuss a personal issues such as improving communication and relationships, motivation, self-confidence as well as reducing homesickness, depression, stress, and anxiety.

4. Time Management

You cannot manage time, but you can manage tasks within time.

Use a semester calendar and know everything that needs to be done and when it is due.

Work backwards from a due date when deciding when work must begin.
Divide and conquer. Chunk large tasks into smaller tasks.
Schedule classes, work times, and tasks on a daily/weekly calendar.
When there is not enough time to complete the tasks:
- Do you drop a course?
- Do you say "no" to a club or organization?
- Do you quit your job?
Use time between classes effectively.
Use a tutor BEFORE a test.

5. Reading

If you have the following symptoms when reading, you should be screened for light sensitivity and perceptual reading problems. Contact the Learning Services Director for an appointment.

Are you a slow reader?
Could you improve your comprehension?
Are you light sensitive?
Do you feel drowsy/fatigued when you read?
Do you get a headache when you read?
Do you read for a short time--five, ten, fifteen minutes--and are ready for a break?
Do you reread material before you comprehend?
Do the words on a page ever move or seem distorted?

If you said "yes" to any of these questions, you may be light sensitive and would read faster and with more comprehension if you use a color overlay.

Make an appointment for a screening to see which color overlay may be right for you.

Reading by the Colors, 1991, by Helen Irlen is available from Avery Printing.
This material was reproduced from Reading by the Colors by Helen Irlen, Avery Publishing, New York, USA.

***Irlen.com for further information regarding services, training, ordering overlays and the 84 Irlen Clinics worldwide. Or contact: Irlen Institute, 5380 Village Road, Long Beach, CA 90808, USA; Tel 562-496-2550; website: www.irlen.com ***

Use the SQ5R method for getting the most our of your reading:

6. Note Taking

Your learning style may determine the way you like to take notes.
Most students are familiar with the linear method
I. /////////////////////                    * )))))))))))))))))
   A. ////////////                            -)))))))))))))
        1. //////////                                -)))))))))
        2. /////////                                 -)))))))))
   B. ////////////                             -)))))))))))))
II. /////////////////////                    * )))))))))))))))))
Explore new ways of relating information and taking notes:

You might tape record your most difficult class and fill in blanks in your notes later.
You might ask a friend who is a good note taker to share his/her notes.

7. Test Taking

If the previous six strategies have been used effectively, test taking may be easier.
Reviewing work frequently for only a few minutes will anchor information in long-term memory.
When taking a multiple choice test, cover all the choices, read the stem or question, think of the answer, and then go looking for it.
Before writing essay questions, take a few minutes to mind map all the essays. Mind mapping will allow you to create and organize material simultaneously and allow you to use your energy to write, organize, and edit.
If you have an essay question, number the parts so that you do not overlook a question and lose points.

8. Writing

If writing a paper seems like a large task, you need to divide and conquer. The following are steps in writing a research paper, but can also be used to write an essay:

Choose and narrow a topic.
Formulate a tentative thesis or hypothesis.
Locate books and periodicals (magazines, journals, newspapers).
Collect information on note cards (3"x5" or 4"x6").
Formulate a focused thesis: a statement containing a topic and an attitude (opinion) about the topic.
Draft a preliminary outline or working plan.
Continue to gather information.
Group note cards and put in order.
Draft a detailed outline.
List sources.
Draft and redraft and redraft.
Proofread the paper.