10 Effective Self-Study Tips to Enhance Learning
We’re familiar with how distance learning has enabled modern-day students to access massive amounts of information. This information is available at your fingertips now, and people may leverage these resources anywhere – not just in school/college. Therefore, we’ve seen more students trying to enhance their know-how through “self-study” in the 21st century.
Combined with traditional education, self-study can help students better prepare for their upcoming examinations. We encourage more people to utilize this procedure for better learning. But are you self-studying effectively? Let’s discuss some methods to make self-study more effective.
Making self-study better for students
How does self-studying benefit students? It can help them learn more about the topics they’re studying. It makes them curious, thereby motivated to investigate these subjects thoroughly. When students learn at their preferred pace, they become more confident. Moreover, a self-study session means you can continue learning without constraints or distractions. You make your desired schedule and learn without anyone supervising these studies.
However, not every student finds self-studying effective. Sometimes, you may forget why you highlighted something or fall short of translating your notes. Since digital courses require students to hone their self-studying competency, here are some tips to help you enhance learning:
1. Get study material
Let’s exemplify this point. Many students have failed CFA exams because they don’t have the right study material. That’s why a student shouldn’t purchase low-quality guides while self-studying for this text. For this reason, we suggest students get the Wiley CFA exam review. This personalized CFA examination platform will help you study and prepare for the next test.
With quality content, you can learn from experts via this platform. So, get the right study material to boost your self-study sessions and make them more productive.
2. Juggle between subjects
Students often dedicate one day to an entire subject. However, we suggest you focus on more than one subject in self-study sessions to prevent boredom.
Creating the correct combination of subjects can also help you make everything more interesting and engaging. For instance, don’t dedicate one day to study two science-related subjects; instead, include an arts-related one. This combination makes your self-study session stimulating, and you can easily consolidate all this information.
3. Read aloud
You can drastically improve your learning abilities by reading your content loudly to yourself. It helps students not just read but also hear the information they’re supposed to remember. This tactic will prevent your mind from losing focus and wandering around aimlessly.
But what if you get tired from reading every single word in the book? Well, you should highlight relevant details and repeat them to yourself constantly. That’s how you can encourage yourself to memorize crucial information.
4. Practice extensively
You’ve heard how singers, athletes, and musicians continue practicing their skills, without which they may lose their competency. The same goes for students – practicing is critical. We suggest you practice extensively every day to retain information for longer.
Repeating the same information allows you to bear it in your mind better. Also, stay honest with yourself and discover your mistakes to remedy them properly in the future.
5. Avoid multi-tasking
Students often attempt to become more productive by juggling another task while studying. It’s not helpful to your productivity if you’re multi-tasking since it just keeps you distracted. Thus, resist the urge to watch your favorite television program or scroll through your Facebook account while self-studying.
Likewise, we suggest you cut back on mid-study snacks to dedicate your energy to your lessons solely. Steer clear of checking your social media accounts when you’re studying on the laptop.
6. Test your knowledge
You can’t self-study better without testing your know-how. Hence, constantly examining your know-how can help you become better at learning. Studies have shown that repeated testing can enhance retention more effectively than testing yourself just once.
Additionally, bolster your critical thinking by not limiting queries to definitions but creating questions that compel you to compare/contrast different concepts.
7. Watch relevant videos
Watching relevant videos constitutes an effective strategy to engage with your studies and readings actively. Nowadays, you can find several online video tutorials that help improve your self-studying proficiency. These academic lectures can resolve your queries regarding these subjects and help you understand difficult concepts.
So, visit YouTube to access hundreds of these lectures and make your self-study session more interesting.
8. Take breaks frequently
Indeed, you can’t remain productive while studying endlessly. Your brain needs to take breaks often, thereby recharging itself.
Instead of studying for long hours, you can allocate yourself an hour-long self-study session. Then take a break for 10-15 minutes to rejuvenate your exhausted senses. Since studying continuously for several hours isn’t merely ineffective but even dangerous for your mental health and physical well-being. A sedentary lifestyle isn’t good, especially for younger students.
9. Use handwritten notes
Ingenious students make handwritten annotations while studying. That’s how they can retain all the information and understand difficult concepts. The process of receiving knowledge and then reproducing it in your words can help students remember this information better. It stops you from robotically shoving data in your memory without paying any attention.
So, make sure that you pen your notes down legibly. Don’t make your handwriting difficult even for you to decipher in the future.
10. Learn with pictures
Using pictures can help you remember information effectively. You can focus on the images drawn in these books or sketch some diagrams in your notebook for self-studying better. Researchers have found that even cartoon drawings can help students memorize information by creating mental models of difficult concepts.
So, you should incorporate more images in your studies. That’s how your self-study session can become more effective in helping you grasp any concepts.
Conclusion
We’ve established how self-studying has become crucial to students’ academic progress post-COVID days. So, they should follow our suggestions as mentioned above to make their self-study sessions more effective. We suggest students study different subjects, practice their learning, and examine themselves properly. Juggle between subjects if you’re getting exhausted and avoid multi-tasking since it drains your energy. Also, use handwritten annotations to understand these subjects, and don’t forget to take short breaks frequently while studying. Lastly, get quality study material to accompany your self-study sessions. That’s how you can enhance learning while engaged in self-studying.