Learning Resources: Self-Help
Learning Preferences:
maximize strategies that are in line with your preferences!
Strategies Matched to VARK Preferences
Your VARK preferences can be used to help you develop additional, effective strategies for learning and for improving your communication skills.
The help sheets included on this website include strategies that are applicable for learning in an educational environment and for communicating with others in the workplace.
Visual Strategies
Aural Strategies
Read/Write Strategies
Kinesthetic Strategies
Multimodal Strategies
Effective study strategies by learning preference.pdfStrategies for Successful Learning
Strategies for Successful Learning.pdfEvidence-Based Effective Learning Techniques
The most effective learning techniques are those that foster deep, durable learning by causing the learner to actively engage with to-be-learned material repeatedly over time. These techniques provide the most learning bang for your time buck! The two most effective techniques according to cognitive science are practice testing (retrieval practice or self-testing) and distributed practice (spaced review or spaced repetition).
Retrieval Practice.mp4Distributed Practice.mp4Practice testing (aka self-testing or retrieval practice)
Doesn’t just pertain to actual tests; can be any technique where you attempt to retrieve information from memory.
Practice questions – use any provided to you, or write your own.
Format your notes in a way that fosters self-testing Q&A.
Free recall (write or say as much as you can from memory) methods appear to be the most effective, as they do not allow you to rely on cues for answers.
Do I really know what I think I know?
Self-testing provides important feedback on what you know and do not know, allowing for the efficient focus on what you still need to learn.
So, don’t save self-testing for just right before an exam. Self-test daily!
Testing improves learning…
The testing effect is an extensively researched and very well established phenomenon.
…because recalling info strengthens memory traces…
The act of retrieving info from memory strengthens the memory trace and thus makes the info more likely to be retrievable in the future.
…and potentiates subsequent learning.
Probably due to increasing mental organization of knowledge and improved metacognition (knowledge about and regulation of learning).
50% of study time should be spent reflecting on and recalling newly learned info.
Spend less time on the input side, and more time on the output side.
Practice testing is better with feedback.
Check your work, evaluate what you know and don’t know, and make adjustments accordingly.
Distributed Practice (aka spaced review/repetition)
Spacing study over several sessions rather than in one large chunk (i.e., cramming).
Allows you to build upon initial learning by adding greater complexity or detail when re-engaging after a delay.
Promotes long term retention.
Better retention than cramming, even when same total study time is used.
Some flashcard apps use distributed practice scheduling (e.g., ANKI).
Cramming may feel easier.
Familiarity with material does come quicker when massed, but familiarity is not mastery.
Easier is not better; the more mental effort we have to exert, the better our learning and retention.
Desirable difficulties: learning conditions that create challenges and slow the rate of apparent learning often optimize long-term retention and understanding.
Furthermore, practice testing and distributed practice are even better when you combine them. Spread out your learning, and test yourself repeatedly.
How much is enough?
For initial learning, students should practice recalling until info is correctly retrieved once (twice is even better).
For subsequent distributed reviews, there is no clear “magic number” but more is better (depends on the retention interval).
These combined techniques are particularly advantageous when retrieval is continued until items are answered correctly more than once within and across practice sessions, and with longer as opposed to shorter intervals between trials or sessions.
Practice Questions
AT Still Memorial Library has many online exam prep resources. One of them, Exam Master, is highlighted in the video below.
ExamMaster Online.mp4Free Practice Questions:
Exam Master
Exam Master
Improving Focus and Concentration
ADHD Mini Workshop EDIT.mp4ADHD Study Strategies.pdfProcrastination and Perfectionism
Defeating Procrastination video.mp4Time Management
The greatest academic challenge you will likely encounter will not be the difficulty of the concepts, but the volume of material to be learned. Effective time management is imperative! Managing time effectively starts with figuring your available time, and then prioritizing important tasks within that time.
Prioritize Tasks: Urgent vs. Important
Most of us know how to create a “to do” list, which is an important first step. However, to manage time most efficiently, we must also prioritize those tasks. To guide that, try categorizing each of your “to do” list items using the descriptions below. Urgency is about time-sensitivity, while importance has to do with a task’s value to you.
Urgent and Important: Do these now. These tasks get our attention, but if most of your time is spent here, it can be stressful. Examples: crisis or pressing problem (overflowing toilet), impending deadline (exam tomorrow).
Important, but Not Urgent: Plan to do these soon. Time spent here is the most gratifying! These tasks tend to become urgent if you procrastinate (keeping up in all your courses).
Urgent, but Not Important: Delegate or postpone these. These tasks are time sensitive, but don’t matter that much to you. Examples: most interruptions (visitors stopping by, phone calls) and digital communications (texts, notifications, etc.).
Not Urgent or Important: Eliminate these. Spend little to no time on these tasks. Examples: reading junk email, time-fillers (mindless channel & internet surfing, social media scrolling, game apps)
Schedule your high-priority tasks first. Focus on important tasks, rather than just the urgent. If you run out of time before you fit in all your priorities, revisit your tasks to see if you can do them differently. Look for tasks that can be combined, postponed, or cut altogether. Remember, self-care is important and can vary in urgency.
Time Management - preferences, and two scheduling techniques.mp4