3.1 Study Skills and Learning

MYTH #1: You can multitask while studying.

How many times do you eat in the car? Watch TV while you write out a grocery list? Listen to music while you cook dinner? What about typing an e-mail while you’re on the phone with someone else and jotting down notes about the call? The common term for this attempt to do more than one thing at a time is multi-tasking, and almost everyone does it at some point. Studies show that when our brain switches gears to bounce back and forth between tasks – especially when those tasks are complex and require our active attention – we become less efficient and more likely to make mistakes. Multi-tasking can hinder your performance as a student. Multi-tasking divides your attention, which can impact your learning. It can also affect our ability to learn because, to learn, we need to be able to focus.

MYTH #2: Highlighting main points of a text is useful.

Another myth of studying that seems to have a firm hold is that the idea of highlighting text—in and of itself—is the best way to review study material. It is one way, and you can get some benefit from it, but don’t trick yourself into spending too much time on this surface activity and consider your study session complete. Annotating texts or notes is a first-step type of study practice. If you allow it to take up all your time, you may want to think you are fully prepared for an exam because you put in the time. Actually, you need to spend more time reviewing and retrieving your lessons and ideas from the text or class lecture. It is also important to quiz yourself to accomplish your goal of learning so you can perform well on the exam. Highlighting is a task you can do rather easily, and it makes you feel good because you are actively engaging with your text, but true learning needs more steps.

MYTH #3: Studying effectively is effortless.

There is nothing effortless, or even pleasant at times, about studying. This is why so many students don’t put in the time necessary to learn complex material: it takes time, effort, and, in some cases, a little drudgery. This is not to say that the outcome, learning—and maybe making an A—is not pleasant and rewarding. It is just that when done right, learning takes focus, deliberate strategies, and time. Think about a superstar athlete who puts in countless hours of drills and conditioning so that she makes her work on the field look easy. If you can also enjoy the studying, the skill development, and the knowledge building, then you will most likely be more motivated to do the work.

MYTH #4: It is best to study alone.

Often students feel that studying alone is the best way to learn. It is easier because you are not coordinating study times with others, there are no distractions around you and you can focus on your studies based on your learning style. Research shows that if you are with a group of motivated peers who are focused, you will benefit more by studying as a group than by studying alone. Once you set a date and time to get together with a study group, it prevents you from procrastinating because you know other people are counting on you to be there. When you study in a group, you tend to retain more information. This is because you get an opportunity to review your peer’s notes along with your notes. This allows you to understand the information further and build upon the concepts you learned in class and read in the textbook. Being with other people allows you to gain different insights and perspectives on the material. ( https://www.studyusa.com/en/a/1980/better-to-study-alone-or-in-a-group )