Many times we think that studying involves the same process for everyone, facing books or notes, reading the information and repeating. But studying is something else, what works for one does not work for others and can also be taught. Depending on the material to be studied, there are more appropriate learning strategies, it is even important to learn about the learning process itself. learning in addition to academic knowledge in order to combine different strategies appropriately and carry out learning significant. Knowing ourselves in the study process is essential when it comes to knowing if we are really learning and allows us to If we are not doing it, we can change strategies or make new combinations depending on our strengths or weak. In this Psychology-Online article we explain some of the different types of learning strategies.
Research has shown the effectiveness of the following types of learning strategies that can be taught in class by the teachers so that each student then makes a generalization and uses it on their own throughout their learning:
Spaced practice. Extend your study in time
Many students wait until the last minute to study for an exam. By passing the exam we think that the material has been learned correctly, but a few weeks later, most of this information disappears. For meaningful learning (prolonged in time) the study must be carried out in smaller pieces over time.
Every time we leave a little space between study and study, we forget a bit of information that later when we return to it we learn again. That forgetting helps us to strengthen our memory, we need to forget a little to learn by remembering it again.
Recovery practice. Practice retrieving previously learned information with the help of materials
Many people think of studying as simply looking at notes, textbooks or other materials, but having the information right in front of us does not force us to retrieve it from memory. Remembering information without supporting materials helps us learn much more effectively.
Save class materials and then write or say them aloud, checking for accuracy materials, it makes us bring information to mind almost as if we were putting proof. By remembering that information we are changing the way it is stored so it is easier to get to it later.
Teaching students in class how to do remedial practice (checking for understanding of notes and discussing misconceptions) can have them apply it at home.
Explain and describe ideas in great detail
This strategy requires students to go beyond simple information retrieval and begin to make connections between content. For this, students must ask themselves open questions about the material, answer with the greatest possible as much detail as possible and then check the materials to make sure your understanding is correct.
Teachers can apply this strategy by having short class discussions where these types of questions are explored and asked to work on them.
Interspersed. Change ideas or assignments while you study
We tend to think that to learn a skill we must practice it over and over again. Although repetition is important, research says we will learn that skill, but we will do it more effectively if we combine practice with other skills. This is known as interleaving.
For example, if you are doing math problems, the typical thing is to do several exercises of this type in a row, but if we use this strategy it would be interspersed with exercises of another type. The point is to interrupt the repetitive behavior and to force the students to think more critically. Explain this strategy to students so they can apply interleaving or interlacing on their own.
Concrete examples. Use specific examples to understand abstract ideas
This strategy is widely used in teaching to explain a new concept. Then the teacher usually asks the students to make their own examples, if they are not entirely correct, they will look for more. It is important that everyone at home does this practice while studying.
Dual encoding. Match words with visual material
When information is presented to us, it is usually accompanied by some type of visual material: an image, a graphic... When we study we must get used to paying attention to these visual elements, linking them to the text and finally explaining what they mean with our own words. Then we can create our own images of the concepts we are learning. This process causes concepts to go different paths in the brain, making it easier to retrieve them later.
It is important that teachers try to encourage this strategy in class so that they later generalize it to other situations.
Something very important to keep in mind is that learning strategies do not have to be used in isolation, but rather that it is best to combine them. For example, you can space the study time and when you try to recover what you have studied try to remember concrete examples, elaborate concepts, etc. In this way you will be combining various strategies and favoring meaningful learning
Knowing what the objective of each learning strategy used is can help us see improvements sooner because we know what we are doing things and, therefore, if in the future I want to learn some material in some way, I will remember that this type of strategy helped me in those cases.
If we observe an infant education class it is very common to see children raise their hands when they want to say something or they have an idea, learn colors, numbers, letters... but nevertheless it is less frequent to see them learn to think. The school tends to teach declarative (academic) knowledge, but not so much about the learning process itself. Children need access to instructions that help them learn more and better. The underlying thinking strategies and processes that enable children to engage in these behaviors are They are known as learning approaches and constitute a fundamental basis for the learning and development of kids. Some of the strategies applicable at any level that are used to learn about the learning process itself are:
- Metacognitive strategies: planning, self-monitoring, self-assessment, attention and commitment and persistence.
- Cognitive strategies: activities with objective, repetition, search for resources, grouping, elaboration, summarization and use of images.
- Social and affective strategies: cooperate and collaborate, ask questions and interact.
This article is merely informative, in Psychology-Online we do not have the power to make a diagnosis or recommend a treatment. We invite you to go to a psychologist to treat your particular case.
