HOW TO STUDY 46 You can even review without your study material—on a train, in your car sitting in traffic, or waiting at the doctor’s office. Just think about what you know already—and why it’s important to you. Be ready for any new questions you might ask yourself! Jot them down as soon as you can. Making Connections Relating new material to what you already know can be done any time. Ask yourself, “What does this remind me of?” as you go about your daily routine. Carry a small notebook with you to write down thoughts as they come. It’s a good idea to have a special notebook for any project you’re working on, small enough to carry with you. Ideas can come at any time; you can be waiting for a bus or putting a baby to bed. Be ready! Finding multiple times in your day to study means you can keep going. Your hard work will pay off. However, make sure you also get plenty of rest, eat well, and treat yourself occasionally! A good mood keeps you motivated and energized. USE YOUR LEARNING STYLE Before you plunge into a new study project, consider your past successes. Think about a project you did, and what you did to successfully complete it. Which of the following applies to you? Do you like to stick with one thing at a time? This usually appeals to literal (often left-handed) and sequential learners. If so, use different days to focus on different subjects. It is a good idea to allot additional short study periods to review new material in other subjects, so every subject is studied nearly every day. Do you prefer going back and forth between different things? This usually appeals to kinesthetic and image learners. If so, warn the people who live and work with you that you need space to lay out material! When working on several projects at the same time, it is a good idea to take breaks between each. Kinesthetic and image learners should be pre- pared for ideas coming at any time—even when working on a project in another subject. Are you more comfortable standing, sitting, or lying down? Maybe you need to vary your position from project to project. If You Learn Best with Images Focus on parts of the assignment where pictures come most easily to mind. In your notebook or into your tape recorder, describe the pictures 1. 2. 3. MAKING STUDYING DO-ABLE 47 you imagine. As you review the material you’re studying, go back to your notebook or tape recorder and add detail. Notice how your picture becomes more complete as you begin to further understand the topic at hand. Image, or global, learners often are good at seeing the big picture and the connections between things, but perhaps at the sacrifice of the finer details. You can compensate for this by having a family member, friend, or study buddy remind you of your due dates. If You Learn Best with Order You might be more comfortable following sequential lessons or sections of what you’re reading or listening to. For instance, if you had a deadline to finish this book, you might divide the book into four parts and make a smaller deadline for each quarter. Or perhaps you’d order the chapters in decreasing degrees of difficulty. In that case, you’d study the most diffi- cult material first and the easiest last. Find the order that’s best for you. If You Learn Best by Seeing Write or draw as you study. If you’re using an audiotape, write what you hear. Use colored markers to create our own color code. Give each color a “job.” In math, use a different color for each operation, so you see where you’re multiplying and where you’re adding. Do the same in studying a text or writing in your notebook: use a certain color to take notes on details in a certain subject. This lets you see how different facts are connected to each other. For instance, in studying history, you might note facts leading to the French Revolution in one color, details of the revolution itself in another, and results of the revolution in a third color, and so on. If You Learn Best by Hearing Talk and listen. Read texts aloud, and read your notes out loud into a tape recorder, so you can review by re-listening. Use different intonations as you read, to organize related information. In the example above, you could speak in a low tone for events leading up to the French Revolution, sing notes on events during the revolution, and chant to denote the results of the revolution. As you reflect on what you studied, try to hear your notes in your head. You may want to check your school or local library for relevant tapes; there’s a chance the book you’re reading is on tape. 1. 2. 3. HOW TO STUDY 48 GETTING STARTED B EGIN WITH THE EASIEST You’ll feel good when you’ve finished something. Anything. Choose the task that takes the least amount of time. For example: • If you have a seven-page lesson to study, begin by just making sense of the title. Write in your notebook or talk into a tape recorder about what it means to you. • If you are about to solve math or science problems, choose the simplest problem first. Write in your notebook what you did to solve the problem. Draw pictures that help you see the problem| in your head. K EEP FOCUSED Before you start your science project or begin to study for that test, decide how long you want each study session to be. Can each be 20 minutes long? That’s about how long most people can stay really focused on the task at hand. But perhaps it’s less for you—maybe 10 or 15 minutes. Or maybe it’s more like 25 or 30 minutes. Whatever you find is best for you, try to stick to it. Remind yourself that you have a regular period of time to stay focused, but don’t be so rigid that it can’t change sometimes for legitimate reasons, such as when: • You’re familiar with the material and can move ahead easily without difficulty. • You’re ill. • You really enjoy the material and want to stay with it longer. Practice Tip Take a short break after reading this chapter, then spend 20 minutes (more or less!) today on beginning your study project. Make sure you reward yourself when you stick to your schedule! MAKING STUDYING DO-ABLE 49 IN SHORT You’ll remember more if you break your study project into smaller chunks instead of trying to tackle it all at once. Use a calendar to plan ahead, setting several short and reasonable deadlines for yourself. Get a general idea of what you’ll be studying, then build on what you already know. Use those study techniques that have worked best for you in the past. . third color, and so on. If You Learn Best by Hearing Talk and listen. Read texts aloud, and read your notes out loud into a tape recorder, so you can review by re-listening. Use different intonations. know. Use those study techniques that have worked best for you in the past.