Successful Learning Techniques
Good learning techniques are beneficial to anyone, regardless of age or educational background. Understanding and applying good learning techniques can help improve short-term memory, long-term memory, comprehension, and even creativity. Using good learning techniques can help people master a subject faster than traditional methods and also be more effective and enjoyable. There are four fundamental techniques used to improve learning that are known as the first four strategies of learning: organizing information, elaborating on information, integrating information and experimenting with new strategies.
Organizing information: When encountered with a new topic, organize and classify the information into a hierarchical structure. Create a timeline, flowcharts, summary tables, and Venn diagrams to help organize the information into a structure that is easily understood. Abbreviations and acronyms come in handy when organizing information because they quickly allow the learner to retain and understand a large amount of material.
Elaborating on information: Get more out of learning by talking or writing about the material in more detail or from another view point. Simply reading or repeating the same material over and over again has limited effectiveness. Elaborating on information includes critically analyzing the material and ask questions such as “what if…?”, “why?”, and “how?”.
Integrating information: Integrating information means paying attention to connections among different facts or ideas in order to form an overall understanding of the material. This is done by relating new material to material that is already known by the learner.
Experimenting with new strategies: Experimenting with new strategies can be done to determine what works best for a particular type of learner. Different strategies will work for different people, for example, someone who is a visual learner might find using visuals such as diagrams and pictures more useful than someone who is an auditory learner. Some strategies might work well for a particular subject, but not for another.
These four strategies are not a one-time-use quick fix, but should be used consistently for lifelong learning. Understanding and using these strategies can help motivate and engage learners, as well as improve confidence in their own learning abilities. Good learning techniques can be used with any subject and any learning level, ranging from a young student to an adult returning to school. Implementing these strategies into everyday learning activities can have a positive effect on understanding and mastering new material.
