Chapter 16: 25 Ways to Develop Study Habits
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4.
U
se advance organizers.
If your instructor has not provided an overview of the course before beginning to teach it, ask
for one. It’s your right to have some sense of how the content will flow from one topic to
another. Psychologist Hilda Taba called these outline points “advance organizers.” In other
words, they help you mentally organize the material before you are exposed to it.
You could also view the outline or advance organizer as a skeleton, to which you will add
“flesh.” You’ll put meat on those bones as your mind takes in new knowledge. In time, you’ll
have your own “body” of knowledge!
If the material you need to ingest is provided in written fashion (as opposed to an instructor’s
oral outline), you can do the same thing. Most authors will provide an overview of the chapter
you are reading. But if they did not, just take the boldface headlines and write them on a
separate sheet of paper, in the order in which they appear. These notes will help your mind
organize the material, even before you read it. Then, as you do your reading, glance from time to
time at your handwritten outline to remind you of the topics you’ve already read, are reading, or
are about to read.
5.
G
et some sleep.
Don’t try to do all your studying at once. You’ll get tired and the data will eventually run
together like strands of spaghetti on a plate. Time management experts recommend using
schedules for work that has to be done in the future. They tell working people to divide their
work day according to these deadlines:
Three hours for work due today.
Three hours for work due next week.
One hour for work due next month.
One-half hour for work due in six months.
Leftover minutes for work due within the next year.
Make a similar study schedule (perhaps even a separate schedule for term papers). Take into
account the amount of studying you have to do. Also consider the time frame involved. How
much time do you have before you have to apply what you’ve learned? How much time do you
have before the examination that will test your knowledge? Don’t try pulling an all-nighter to
remember information you should have been studying all along.
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