{"id":724,"date":"2019-01-07T07:04:31","date_gmt":"2019-01-07T12:04:31","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.helpteaching.com\/blog\/?p=724"},"modified":"2024-09-17T06:07:40","modified_gmt":"2024-09-17T10:07:40","slug":"5-ways-to-improve-study-skills","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.helpteaching.com\/blog\/5-ways-to-improve-study-skills.html","title":{"rendered":"5 Ways to Improve Study Skills"},"content":{"rendered":"
As students gear up for state tests and finals, it’s time to start taking a look at how they study. Knowing how to study not only helps boost students’ performance on major exams, it also helps them go into the exam with confidence. Even students who already know how to study can stand to re-evaluate their skills to make sure they’re maximizing their brain power. These strategies for improving study skills will not only help students learn how to study, they’ll also help make their study time more effective.<\/p>\n
1. Start Early<\/h3>\n
Despite its popularity, cramming for an exam rarely works. Focusing on a lot of the same information at once may make students feel confident that they know it, but\u00a0it usually doesn’t stick. Instead of cramming for exams, students should start studying early and gradually review the information over time. This helps them learn and review a range\u00a0of information at once and in smaller amounts, making it easier for the information to stick. It also removes some of the stress because they can get a good night’s sleep the night before the test rather than staying up all night studying.<\/p>\n
2. Find Your Optimal Study Environment<\/h3>\n
Sometimes students know the basics of studying, but they don’t do it in the best environment. They may think they can study with the TV on and music blaring or while sitting in the library with their friends, but that’s not always the case. Students should conduct an honest and thorough evaluation of their study environment to see whether it’s really working for them. One way to do this is to read a paragraph in the normal study environment, test what they remember, and then switch to a quieter environment, read another paragraph and see if they remember more or less.<\/p>\n
A few questions to ask when finding the optimal study environment include:<\/p>\n
\n
What do I hear around me? Does it distract me from what I’m reading\/doing?<\/li>\n
What do I smell around me? Does it make me feel positive or negative?<\/li>\n
How is the lighting? Is it too dark? Too bright?<\/li>\n
Am I comfortable? Too comfortable?<\/li>\n
Do I have all the resources I need around me?<\/li>\n
What objects\/sounds\/smells\/etc. take me away from my studying in this environment?<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n
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As students gear up for state tests and finals, it’s time to start taking a look at how they study. Knowing how to study not only helps boost students’ performance on major exams, it also helps them go into the exam with confidence. Even students who already know how to study can stand to re-evaluate their skills to make sure they’re maximizing their brain power. These strategies for improving study skills will not only help students learn how to study, they’ll also help make their study time more effective.<\/p>\n![creating a study calendar<\/a>, learning what](\"\/imgs\/Graphic_Organizers\/700x900\/7-day-planner-full-page.png\"){kind=link}