Managing+Studying


 * Summary**

Some of the most valuable skills that any learner can develop are study skills. Regardless of discipline, if students are going to succeed in school they need to be effective and efficient studiers. In the social sciences students are often confronted with multiple perspectives related to multiple complex themes. In order to keep them all straight and be able to unpack the important information requires students to study. Unfortunately, educators rarely take the time to help students develop effective study skills and habits. Too often studying becomes last minute cramming, or reliant on some other ineffective study strategy. By learning to //Manage Studying// (Lenski et. al, 2011: 214) students can learn to access and retain the important information that they need to succeed in any class. All of the strategies in the world cannot help students learn content information if they do not know how to manage their studying. By making them aware of positive study habits, you can give all of your students an important advantage over the material they are being asked to learn.


 * Directions**


 * 1) **Introduce** the idea of study management to the class and let them know that you will be offering them some suggestions for how to become better and more effective studiers. Be sure and emphasize that studying better is not necessarily studying more, it is just managing the time that you study with more efficiency.
 * 2) **Share** a list of positive studying habits with your students and have the class discuss why they are good techniques for studying better. Be sure to explain that following these suggestions will increase their studying productivity.


 * Example**

Below is a list of strategies that you can share with your students to help make them better studiers.


 * Study in a comfortable environment with good lighting, air circulation, and minimal distractions.
 * Set study goals for each study session. List the goals and estimate how long you think it will take to reach goal.
 * Determine whether short or long periods of study are better for the goals you have.
 * Schedule study time at the time of day you do your best learning.
 * Always have notebooks, pens, and other supplies available so that you can take notes and jot down ideas while you study.
 * Keep a positive attitude and do not rush through your studying.
 * Use study questions or create your own questions as you study and then think about possible responses.
 * Actively read and study. Avoid distraction.
 * Relate what you are learning to your life in any way that you can.
 * Compliment or reward yourself for productive study sessions.