Adapting our learning experiences to a better way of studying
We should know that the teacher teaches us, that is, imparts information in the best way guided by certain teaching-learning models, however, teachers will not accompany us throughout the learning process, since much of our time will not be spent at school and universities but at home. This means that the process of studying the subjects we are given at school and universities in our homes is what will ultimately lead us to set meaningful learning.
But maybe you have ever asked yourself: Can I study without applying any particular strategy?
It would not be advisable, studying without prior planning can lead to various learning failures and school performance, but do not worry if you do not plan your study strategies, because in the end your experiences in the learning process will lead you to apply what can be considered as your own study strategies.
The purpose of this post is to share with you some strategies that I consider are good to perform better while studying and learning, many of these strategies I started to apply when I studied at the university, and it was the result of correcting ways of studying given the mistakes and failures made.
Study strategies learned and adapted from my educational experiences as a student.
[1] What to do when the study content is very extensive?
What I recommend is not to study for very long periods of time, that will make us annoyed and we do not have the necessary concentration to acquire learning, what I recommend is to segment the content into small parts and go investing little time in each of them, then when we have already covered all the material we are studying, then make concept maps, diagrams and / or summary of what we have learned.
[2] What can we do so that we do not accumulate study topics?
Teachers often advance in the content they are explaining to us, but in turn as students we make the mistake that we let the topics of study accumulate, and when the teacher gives us the evaluation date, we will start studying all the material, which is very extensive, which will lead to fatigue while we are studying and learning.
It is advisable to create a study routine, where regardless of whether or not the teacher has sent us the date of the evaluation, each topic that we are given, we are going to review and study constantly, it is important to have a previous planning to get the free time that we are going to apply to our routine of constant study.
[3] Do not be satisfied only with the content provided by the teacher.
When we are preparing ourselves, studying the topics that the teacher gives us, we forget that we must be born researchers, we need to explore and complement our study material, for this I recommend that we prepare a diverse study material, that is to say, to the information we have from the classes of our teacher we must add books, research on the web, seek the explanation of other teachers if they are available, all with the intention of handling a critical learning, to handle different versions of what is being explained and taught, this helps us to a broader learning.
[4] What type of learning should we pursue while studying?
The way in which we study leads us to a particular type of learning, for example if we dedicate ourselves to simply memorize the content of study, without seeking any comparison, criticism, establish cognitive parameters, then we would be leaving aside constructivist learning, which is one of the best applied in meaningful learning.
That is why my recommendation is not to memorize as long as possible, and I say as long as possible, because for example someone who studies anatomy has to record the names as they are, another example is when we are studying history, in which many times we have to learn the dates, and that has no interpretation whatsoever.
I do not give an example in mathematics, because if we do not propose it within mathematics it is not necessary to memorize any formula or equation, since many times in the process of demonstration all the formulas and equations that are taught to the students to memorize come out.
In conclusion, memorization is not bad, but simply in my opinion it should not be forced, since for example, many times we are practicing some physics, mathematics or chemistry exercises, and there are so many times we go and check a formula because we need it to solve some exercise, that the point comes where we do not check it anymore because there are so many times we have used it that we have not memorized it anymore.
[5] What particular strategy can be applied to reinforce what has been learned?
I will start this point by explaining a very personal experience, when I was studying petroleum engineering at the university I saw other classmates who felt very comfortable studying in a group of people, that is, studying with other classmates in a group.
When I wanted to apply the same strategy I saw that it did not work for me in particular, because I noticed that studying in a group generates a lot of distraction, especially if we are starting and we have not set any kind of learning yet, so what I sought was to learn by myself, using books and supplementing information but individually.
Once I had already fixed the learning then I applied as a strategy to teach others of my classmates, all with the intention of perfecting more and more the learning and also to refine the knowledge obtained.
Conclusion
There are no pre-established strategies for everyone to study, perhaps some of the strategies explained in this article and based on my experiences coincide with some of yours, however the best strategies are the ones that you yourself establish based on your own experiences.