Studying requires processing information using different pathways including seeing, listening, reading, speaking, writing. Engaging multiple pathways improves retention. What strategies do you already use? What do you think you might try?
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Visual Strategies
- Watching demonstrations
- Creating graphs and images
- Color coding notes, handouts, or textbooks
- Using Graphic organizers - like concept maps
- Reorganizing notes
- Making illustrations, drawings, photos, or other images of what you are learning
- Keeping things reorganized
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Auditory Strategies
- Dictating the first draft of a paper to a recording device
- Recording lectures or discussions and listening back to them.
- Asking questions and discussing course content or ideas
- Use mnemonics jingles to remember facts, lines, or other information
- Talking things through
- Participating in a study group
- Teaching or explaining what you are learning
- Verbal repetition of information
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Reading & Writing Strategies
- Taking notes from lectures and books.
- Reading course content and summarizing in your own words
- Translating information from charts and graphs and describing their contents in writing
- Summarizing main ideas from handouts, ppts, information posted on class webpages
- Writing out questions and answers as you read or study for an exam
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Kinesthetic Strategies
- Experimenting with physical materials
- Watching physical demonstrations of processes or ideas
- Using props to solve problems
- Thinking up real-life examples to illustrate ideas or concepts
- Imagining ways course content has real-life applications
- Listening to a lecture while you workout
- Roleplaying or acting out an idea or skill
- Taking a short study break
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Additional Resources:
Using different learning modalities