Learning Strategies

“Learning strategies are specific patterns or combinations of academic activities” used to learn and gain knowledge. These strategies range from summary and organization of lessons, note-taking during personal reviews or during class, creation of learning-conducive environments (eg. group study in a coffee shop), as well as personal tactics such as time management, comprehension enhancement and concentration improvement (Dumford, Cogswell and Miller, 2016, p. 72). Learning strategies that put emphasis on one’s mastery of, or performance level in the subject, are more effective (Ames & Archer, 1988, p. 264), as they encourage students to work harder, solve more challenging problems about the subject, and like the class more. Time and concentration are essential as well. For instance, while on class, taking down notes and while fully understanding the lecture can be very challenging, if not downright difficult, especially if complex calculations are involved. Full comprehension and blow by blow accounts of all information (on your notebook) while the lecture is on-going is not effective, but rather a complete waste of time. A lazy professor doesn’t help either. However, passing or failing a subject is entirely a student’s call, in my opinion, so learning strategies that personally work for each, matter. In my case, recording the lecture, then taking my own private time for studying, where all notes taken and information gathered during the lecture in class were summarized, organized, and thoroughly digested, and sample problems were answered, are what I call effective learning strategies. A short yet smartly consumed 5 hours of studying all lectures that have transpired during the day is enough for me. Additional learning strategies for me are sleeping well especially before an exam, and using lag times for intelligence and focus enhancing hobbies, such as reading, playing mind games, and solving puzzles. These activities improve concentration, analysis and comprehension.