T.+Basic+Principles+of+Study

e... 1.Don't Just Sit There! Be **active** in your approach. Don't just sit back and wait for it to happen to you. Make sure that you know the syllabus or the scheme of work that you are following. Use it to plan your studies. Find out about the areas where you are weakest. You are not an empty mug, waiting to have knowledge poured into you. You have useful experiences that can help you. Take control of your learning. 1. To Do : Write down on a piece of paper one way you will be active in your study. 2.Know Yourself! Everybody's different and we all have individual learning styles. Be confident about what you do well, and work on those areas where you are not so strong. Examine the problems that you have when it comes to studying. 2. To Do :Write down at least one skill that is your school strength for learning. Then write down at least one weakness in your learning style. After you are through with this page, you will complete the short quiz, 2.1 Common Problems While Studying. You will find the page on the left navigation column. 3. Planning Time No one ever has enough time to fit in everything that they want to do - so **plan** your work and leisure. Use a calendar with plenty of room to make entries, so that essays and assignments don't suddenly become urgent - you've anticipated them. Set yourself short term targets that you can achieve, such as spending 15 minutes making some notes or jotting down some ideas, and then record what you have done in a work diary. This stops you feeling helpless, and thinking that you haven’t achieved anything. Do **//some//** work **//now//**, rather than promise yourself that you'll work really hard for hours next Sunday. Step back every so often and take an overview of your effort. Try not to get side-tracked by chasing off after things that are not relevant to the task in hand. 4. What is Your Motive? Keep up your **motivation**. When you are feeling depressed, hassled or overwhelmed, remind yourself of your reasons for studying - the qualifications you will achieve, the chance of a better job, your vision of a future life, even how other people will feel disappointed if you drop out. Use this to carry you through the hard times. 4. To Do: **Add to your "to do" list "Complete Self Assessment Quiz 2.2 on Motivation and date when I have done it.You will find it on the left navigation column.** 5. Variety Is the Spice of Life Work is not one single activity. It is lots of different tasks - making notes, reading, thinking, writing ideas down, writing essays and assignments. You'll be able to think of many more examples. Use this **variety** to stop yourself feeling bored. Always have some work with you. Get involved with your studies and don't feel that they're just a bad, spare part of your life. If you do, you won't enjoy your work.  5. To Do Write down on a piece of paper one way you will maintain variety in your work 6. Fun, Fun, Fun Make it **fun****!** If you're enjoying yourself, you'll be much more likely to want to work and the work itself will become much easier. Perhaps this sounds a tall order. If so, just try the following approaches : 6. To Do :Write down on a piece of paper one way you will keep an element of fun and creativity **in your work** **7. It All Fits Together Make connections**. Look for reflections of your studies in the real world, on the news bulletins, in the newspapers. Think about how your academic work relates to practical examples. Write down on a piece of paper one way you will seek to make connections between your studies and the real world. 8. Computers If you can, take advantage of **Information Technology** to enhance your learning. You don't need to understand all about computers to word process your work, any more than you need to understand all the insides of the Internal Combustion Engine to drive a car. Writing up your work on a word processor has many benefits - not least a built in spell checker! 7. To Do: Write down on a piece of paper some ways you will try to use Information technology. 9. Teachers Last, but by no means least, talk to your **teachers**. They want you to succeed. If you're not sure of something, just ask. It takes a lot of courage, but you can bet that you're not the only person in the class who didn't understand that point the first time round. Be quite clear that you know the criteria that you are being assessed on. When you get an assignment or essay back, don't just look at the grade - pay attention to the comments as well! <span style="background-color: rgb(255, 255, 0); font-size: 110%;">9. To Do:That's the end of the first module. ** Try our [|short quiz] to see if you have understood the main points. That wasn't too painful was it? ** ||
 * The following nine, brief suggestions form the outline of an approach to studying that may seem strange at first, but which can dramatically improve your efficiency as a student. To make these suggestions more personal, write a few notes to yourself about each one. This forms your own individual action plan, a guide to yourself about how these good intentions can be turned into reality. **
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 * [[image:http://www.ccn.ac.uk/library/images/Pencil_and_Paper83B5.gif width="24" height="20"]]3.** <span style="background-color: rgb(255, 255, 0); font-size: 110%;"> To Do: Write down on a piece of paper one way you will **plan your work.**
 * <span style="color: rgb(255, 255, 255); font-family: Arial;">4. Why oh why? ||
 * <span style="color: rgb(255, 255, 255); font-family: Arial;">5. Variety is the spice of life. ||
 * <span style="color: rgb(255, 255, 255); font-family: Arial;">6. Fun Fun Fun? ||
 * Co-operate** - share your work with your friends and family. Human beings are social creatures. We need others around us, and yet very often we try to study on our own. We then feel lonely or have trouble concentrating. Why not encourage some of the other students on your course to share ideas with you so that you can discuss your work together? Try inventing essays to set each other, or reading each others marked assignments and discussing the comments. The company of friends can stop this seeming grim and provide a learning environment.
 * Use pictures** - study doesn't only involve words. Sometimes pages of print and notes can actually get in the way of your understanding and remembering the whole of your subject areas. Human beings respond positively to symbols, signs and pictures. "Mind mapping" (or brainstorming) works very effectively for many people.
 * Ask questions** - we are creatures that thrive on curiosity. Make up little quizzes to test your knowledge and understanding of your subject. Try them out on your friends - and get them to test you. The more you remind yourself of your work, the easier it gets to remember.
 * <span style="color: rgb(255, 255, 255); font-family: Arial;">7. It all fits together ||
 * <span style="color: rgb(255, 255, 255); font-family: Arial;">8. Computers ||
 * <span style="color: rgb(255, 255, 255); font-family: Arial;">9. Teachers ||

This distance learning project was developed by John Smith and Martin Davis. Material written by Martin Davis, Study Skills Tutor, Learning Support Services, City College Norwich. Feedback welcome.