1. Introduction
It has been claimed that everyone has a different “learning style”.
- If you believe in the existence and validity of learning styles, then you might find some of the following references of interest:
- Claxton & Murrell 1987,
- “Learning Styles” (Wikipedia),
- Keirsey Temperament and Character Web Site,
- William Perry’s Scheme of Intellectual and Ethical Development,
- Holland 1966,
- Kolb 1984,
- Sternberg 1999.
- For some online tools targeted at different learning styles, see “100 Helpful Web Tools for Every Kind of Learner”.
- However, there is no evidence that supports their use! The major study is Pashler et al. 2009; see also Glenn 2009/2010.
But everyone surely has a different “studying style”.
More importantly, the way that you are studying right now might not be the best for you:
How would you know? Easy: If your grades aren’t what you’d like them to be, then you probably need to change how you study!
One important clarification before we begin:
“Studying” is not the same thing as “doing homework”!
Studying may include doing homework, but it is also a lot more, as you will see.
(So, if you say that you have no homework and that therefore you can’t, or you don’t have to, study, you’re mistaken!)
I am going to give you some suggestions on how to study efficiently. They worked for me when I was in high school, college, and graduate school.
Not only that, but they worked equally well for me in humanities courses (like philosophy and literature) and in science courses (like math and computer science).
But, to the extent that everyone’s learning style may be different, some of my suggestions may not work for you, at least not without some individual modifications.
Nevertheless, I urge you to try them. Most successful students use them (or some slight variation of them).
Source: HOW TO STUDY