Study Skills Worksheets

Printable Study Skills Worksheets

This set of worksheets can really help you determine how you learn best. We feature a number of graphic organizers to help you focus your thoughts.

Resource For Understanding Study Skills

How do I know my learning style? - A questions students need to answer quickly.
How to create a Study Schedule - This is very helpful when students first discover how they learn well.
How to Improve Your Memory for Better Learning - A simple technique that works every time.
How to Improve Your Study Atmosphere - Students usually don't even qualify this. Students have shown that retention rates differ greatly based on study environment.
How To Study Links - A collection of quality web sites.
How to Study Better Using SQ3R - A reading technique that works!
How Can Parents Help Their Children Improve Their Study Skills - A great article to send home to parents.
I Know My Learning Style! How Do I Best Prepare For A Test? - This a pre-test preparation must.
Study Skills Lesson Plans - A number of lesson plans that will help students hone their skills.
Top 10 tips When Studying for Tests - Basic gentle reminders for students and parents.
What are learning styles? - An introduction.
What Are Some Basic Test Taking Strategies I Can Use? - This will give students some great ideas.

How to Improve Your Study Skills

Do you find it difficult to concentrate on studying? Do you suddenly remember unimportant things when preparing for an important test? You can relate to the questions we've asked just now in the affirmative; you'll be able to read a few tips that we have put together in this article that will surely help.

If you want to develop good studying habits, you have to know that it requires a certain amount of effort and dedication on your part. Improving your studying habits is the key to educational success.

In school, students are rarely ever taught effective studying methods, and instead, the condition to become a good student doesn't always hinge on being a good learner. Still, it rests more on the ability of a student to reproduce during exams according to their natural ability to memorize and understand what they have done in the classroom. Teachers need to emphasize the importance of good studying skills to their students to help improve their grades. Just like any other skill, studying is also a skill that you can improve. In this article, we will cover some simple yet effective methods to help you improve your study skills. Keep reading to find out!

Importance of Studying

The importance of studying is unparalleled, and it can change your life for the better. Students who study effectively get better grades. Good studying habits help you with short-term academic goals and aid in long-term career success.

You can't always 'wing it' to get better grades. Putting off studying adds to anxiety, stress, and self-doubt among students. So, students need to study well before their exams to avoid additional stress during the exam week.

If you practice regular studying habits, you will understand the study material better and keep you more engaged in your learning experience. Having good study skills is a great way to boost your confidence.

Effective Studying: Five Essential Tips on How to Improve Your Studying Skills

Set Clear and Realistic Goals

If you want to improve your study skills, you have to develop a culture of setting realistic and clearly defined goals. Improvement in anything is always a result of persistence and of determination. Similarly, in the case of improving your academic performance, you need to be persistent.

It will be challenging to remain committed to anything if one does not see adequate results. Therefore, it is always helpful if you see positive outcomes regularly. This is where clearly defined and realistic goal setting comes in. You make a plan to set realistic goals, which will give you a sense of accomplishment when you complete them.

Also, you should define these goals in tangible terms because that is how you will keep a check on your progress and know if and when you succeed. This is a very important step as many students get demotivated to continue putting in hard work when they do not achieve a set goal, no matter how much it is detached from reality.

Make a Study Schedule

Making a study schedule cannot be overemphasized. You can only hit what you aim for, which makes it pertinent to be organized in any manner. Once you have a defined study schedule in which you have distributed your syllabus into manageable chunks, you will find it easy to follow through on your tasks and thus perform them properly.

Making a study schedule is also essential for a student as it reduces the stress of deciding daily when to study. When you make a schedule, you will find that your brain will automatically direct you towards it, and then you will be able to achieve better results as a byproduct of planning ahead. This is a surefire way of beating procrastination too.

Be Attentive In Class

Being attentive in class is one of the most fundamental requirements for anyone looking to improve their academic performance. Being attentive in class pays dividends as you can grasp the topic that is being taught. Then whenever you review it later, it reinforces the concept even more than it is understood for the first time.

You can also take notes during class. Notetaking has been proven to increase the probability of retention of what you've learned in class against not being able to recall it later. Being attentive always helps and is—time-proven formula.

Minimize Distractions While Studying

If you get distracted while studying due to thoughts or random urges like seeing your smartphone, seeing the news, or remembering to respond to a text message, this tip will help you. If you want to achieve more, start by cutting off all possible distractions. Stay away from the TV.

Do not listen to music if you are trying to memorize something, and power off your cell phone. Removing distractions will direct all your attention and divert your energies towards studying while developing your willpower, and it will help you in the long run, not only in your studies but in life.

Take Planned Short Breaks

Taking short breaks which are planned is another helpful tip. If you can concentrate during a study session, taking a short break will help you. This way, you will be able to perform better in your next study session while also remaining fresh and active. Also, remember to plan these ahead of time with a clearly defined time limit, preferably a maximum of ten minutes, as, beyond it, you may find it difficult to concentrate again. Using a timer for this will also help.

In summary, being a better student is always possible for most of us. You will, however, have to commit to hard work and dedication. Remember, it's you against yourself, and you should remove all self-doubt by taking action. You shouldn't be discouraged by your past if you are willing to improve and learn for the future. Best of luck!

How to Determine the Best Study Method for You?

If you are a student, be it in school, high school, or college, you need to have a defined study method that works for you. Study methods are an essential aspect of learning, however they are often overlooked by students.

Finding the best study method can assist students in succeeding. Regardless of how hard a student studies, an inefficiently chosen study method will kill any meaningful progress.

Here, we'll shed some light on a few study methods that work. We'll also discuss an effective way to determine which study method is best for you.

4 Effective Study Methods That May Work For You

There are several study methods that one can use to learn fast and enhance their information retention skills. However, here we'll mention four methods that are easy to integrate into your learning process:

1. Spaced Practice

A spaced practice schedule encourages students to study by spacing out their study sessions rather than studying all at once. Our brains work harder to retrieve information when we're close to forgetting it. By spreading out your study sessions, your mind can make connections between different ideas and structure knowledge in such a way that it will be easy to recall in the future.

How to Do It?

If you wish to use this strategy, review your notes as shown below in spaced intervals:

- Day 1: Study the material.
- Day 3: Go back and revise.
- Day 5: Go back and revise.
- Day 10: Go back and revise
- After 2 weeks: Go back and revise

2. The Feynman Technique

The Feynman Method is a simple and quick way to learn a new concept by describing it in straightforward and simple words. This technique is based on the principle, “Simplify a new concept or idea, so you can better understand it.”- in other words, trying to explain an idea in our own terms increases our chances of understanding it much faster.

How to Do It?

- At the top of your paper, write the concept or subject you are learning.

- Next, describe the concept in your own words, like when you're teaching another person.

- Examine everything you wrote and spot any inaccuracies. After you've found them, check your reading material or notes to get the right answer.

- Finally, if you used technical jargon or difficult vocabulary in your notes, go back and rephrase such parts in plain terms for anyone who does not have your academic background.

3. Mind Mapping

Use mind maps if you're a visual learner; it's a method that helps you to visually structure information in a map. You start by writing a phrase or word in the middle of a page. Then you write core themes and keywords that are closely related to the main idea. Other relevant concepts will continue to emerge.

A mind map's layout is linked to how our minds collect and extract information. Reading comprehension can be improved by mapping your learning material and notes. It also aids in seeing the bigger picture by expressing the sequence and links between thoughts and ideas.

How to Do It?

- Take a blank sheet (or use an online tool) and write your topic in the middle.

- Link any one of your primary ideas to the main topic (for example, a chapter in your notes or books).

- Link supporting concepts to your main branch. This process is an example of concept association.

- Advice: Use different colors for every branch and, if necessary, create illustrations.

4. Leitner System

The Leitner System is a flashcard-based learning method. Preferably, you should put your cards in different boxes to keep track of when you need to learn each set. Each card begins with Box 1. If you guess correctly, you advance the card onto the next box. If you make a mistake, you either move the card to the previous box or leave it in Box 1 (in case it was already there).

How to Do It?

The time you spend studying each set of cards is determined by the number of cards in each box.

- On a daily basis - Box 1
- Every other day - Box 2
- Once every four days - Box 3
- Once every nine days - Box 4
- Once every two weeks - Box 5

How Can You Choose the Best Study Method?

The majority of students adhere to ineffective study methods. Research indicates that up to 83.6 % of students depend on rereading: a study technique that offers very few benefits.

Ask yourself the following questions to determine the most appropriate and effective study methods for yourself.

1. Can The Study Method Assist You In Engaging With The Information?

Many memory experts believe that the extent to which we engage with the information influences our capacity to recall it afterward. Essentially, the more we build on what we know and understand – and thereby tie it to all the known information – the more likely we are to recall it later.

2. Does The Study Method Require Repetitions?

Repeating what you've already learned improves your ability to retain information. Cramming, however, is significantly less successful than periodic recall over a longer period of time since it helps you integrate what you have already learned with all the recent knowledge acquired.

3. How Does The Study Method Test Your Learning Skills?

Educators and memory experts agree that taking notes and re-reading them isn't enough when it comes to acquiring and retaining information. Testing is essential for improving recall. According to a study on examination performance, students who took short-answer and multiple-choice quizzes on a frequent basis increased their performance.

4. Does The Study Method Assist You In Keeping Track Of Your Progress?

It's easy to get caught up in the cycle of reading through a stack of lecture notes, then organizing those notes for later use. However, studies have found understanding what you are learning is an important aspect of performance.

Final Words

Choosing an appropriate study method is a significant part of the learning process. It helps make learning easy, quick, and effective.

The methods mentioned in this article are just a few ways you can streamline the learning process. Determine which study method works best for you and start learning.