How to Study Effectively?

Everyone has different abilities, so it is important to identify what works for you and what doesn't. You should first discover what type of student you are and which study techniques work best for you.

Proper study habits are a must for effective use of your study time. If you follow the proven methods described here, you will be able to use your study time more effectively.

What are the conditions for effective studying?

Learning is not a spontaneous phenomenon; it is a planned activity. The time you spend on study preparation is a good investment in learning. Before you start studying, there are at least three things you should do: First, you must develop a positive attitude towards studying; second, you must set a specific time each day for studying; and third, you must study in a specific place.

1. Develop a positive attitude towards study.

Attitude can be defined as a disposition towards an opinion, object or person. The attitude you develop towards studying affects how much you learn. Before you start learning, you should develop a positive attitude towards studying. One should know what and why one should study. The presence of goals increases the desire to study. If you have a negative attitude towards studying, your learning will be very limited. 

2. Set a time to study.

If you develop effective study habits, you can reach self-satisfaction. You need to set a fixed time for studying each day - what is the best time for you to study? This depends on you and your work patterns. For effective studying you need two times.

First, set a certain time before class to study the topic to be discussed in class. This time should remain the same every day.

Second, set a time each day to review the material discussed in class. Most of the information you read or listen to is forgotten or lost within 24 hours.

If you have set a set time to study each day, stick to it strictly. Study time should be no more than 1-1.5 hours per session. 1-2 hours of studying with regular breaks is more productive than 5 hours of studying without a break.

Do not attempt to study in the hours immediately before bedtime. In these cases, you may fall asleep towards the end of your study time.

3. You should have a specific place to study.

Do not study in different places. Studying in the same place at the same time will help you to adapt to studying in a shorter time. You should feel that you sit at your desk only to study.

It is unlikely that you will always find the best place to study, but try to choose one that is as convenient as possible. Use the same desk, desk and chair each time you study. Your workplace should be quiet and comfortable, but not so comfortable that you fall asleep. Eliminate distractions around you as much as possible. Examples of distractions are television, radio, books that are not related to the study topic, hunger, uncomfortable clothes. A study room that is too hot or too cold is also an important distraction. If you cannot eliminate these distractions, you should learn to ignore them.

As soon as you sit down at the desk in the place you have chosen, make the effort to start working. This behavior will soon become part of your effective study habits.

What are the factors that prevent effective studying?

Working with music,

Excluding difficult subjects,

Having excessive anxiety (insecurity),

Working lying down (reclining),

Daydreaming at work,

Spending too much time on social media,

Making phone calls that go on and on,

Lack of motivation, reluctance,

Drowning in daily details,

Stuck with the TV,

Having insufficient knowledge about courses and subjects,

Not doing regular repetitions,

Having a negative circle of friends,

Negative perception of school climate,

Unsupportive family structure,

Teacher apathy and biased behavior...

A Sample Study Method (TSOAT)

The planned methods recommended for effective work are known by different names. One of these methods is TSOAT, which includes five steps. In order to achieve an effective result, the requirements of these steps should be carried out in the appropriate order. These steps are listed as follows.

T= Screening

S= Asking questions

O= Reading

A = Bringing to mind

T= Review again

1. Screening: 

The aim of this step is to determine the general scope of the topic, lesson or training. You should start by reading the objective of the course.

Then, in order to continue your scanning, you should take advantage of the facilities offered by the author of the book or note you are going to read or study.

- Some authors divide the topic into sub-headings and sub-headings into smaller sub-headings to form smaller units that can be easily recognized.

- Some writers use key sentences at the beginning and end of each paragraph to capture the essence of the topic.

- A group of writers may summarize in a way that reflects the whole topic and give questions related to the topic.

By making use of these three facilities, it is possible to quickly scan the topic you are going to read and study. At the end of this scanning you may uncover important insights.

Sometimes authors may refrain from providing such aids. In this case, you may have to go through the topic in order to uncover the main ideas.

In summary, a "scan" involves first reading the objective of the lesson, then the main headings, sub-headings and the sub-heading under the sub-headings; addressing the summary and review questions at the end of the lesson, if there are any; and finally going through each paragraph quickly to extract the main idea sentences.

The scan gives you an overview of what is covered in the topic.

2. Asking Questions: 

Once you have finished scanning the topic or lesson, you should prepare questions about the coverage, which you will answer yourself. The best way to prepare questions is to turn each main heading and sub-heading into a question. In some cases, you will not be able to find the answers to all the questions you have prepared in the subject you have read; but whatever the case, these questions will give you direction by showing you the purpose of your study.

3. Reading: 

The third step of the method is to read the topic carefully. In this step, you should never jump from one paragraph to another in order to find the answers to the questions you formulated in the second step. Read each paragraph in turn and try to find answers to your questions as they arise. Make sure you study each explanation carefully. Read the topic from beginning to end without skipping.

Effective reading requires activity. When we pick up a lecture note, most of us sit down in an armchair, put the book on our knees and begin to follow the lines with our eyes; although our eyes are active, our brain is at rest. The result is that after we finish reading any paragraph, we have no insight. Your mind cannot absorb information the way thirsty soil absorbs water; it requires conscious effort. Information has to be chased after and grabbed.

Another aspect of effective reading has to do with speed. Most of us know that we could read faster and understand what we read, but we avoid it. Just as we usually walk at the pace that is easiest and most comfortable for us, so when we read we prefer to read at the most comfortable pace rather than the most adequate. The average student can increase their reading speed by one-fifth to one-third by being alert and taking their time.

To do this, take one of your classes. Set yourself up to read a five-page passage at normal speed. Notice how much time this takes. The next day, read a second five pages at a faster pace, but with understanding. Force your eyes to travel long distances rather than short distances across the lines and to move quickly from one distance to another. Some people prefer novels and other entertaining works to increase their reading speed and only apply this to their studies when a high reading speed becomes a habit. Effective reading requires you to adjust your reading speed according to the difficulty of the passage and your reading purpose.

The biggest obstacles to fast reading are reading aloud while reading, following the lines with your finger, and going back to the beginning after reading a few lines. If you have such habits, you should give them up as soon as possible.

4. Thinking-Saying: 

This step requires you to describe the topic in your own words, without reference to the book. When you have finished a paragraph or a chapter, sit back, put the book aside and say what the author has said in your own words. You can do this out loud or in your head. This step allows you to grasp the lesson because you have first read what you have read and then you have said it to yourself and heard what you have said.

In carrying out the requirements of this step, it may help you to look at the main heading of the topic and then remember what is covered under that heading. Verbal explanation is very important here, as well as recall. In other words, we need to be able to explain what we remember clearly. Otherwise, it is not enough to say "hmmm..., huha..., I remember..., I know everything about this" while thinking. The biggest trap that almost all of us fall into in this regard is the assumption that "I know everything about this view". If you can remember it correctly, you will be able to explain it in the best possible way, no matter what you are studying.

5. Revisit: 

The revision step is very important. The time you spend in this step should be at least equal to the total time you spent in the scanning, questioning, reading, recalling and reciting steps. To start reviewing, close your book, think about the topic you are studying in its entirety, this process is called "reflective thinking".

If, during reflection, something is not clearly and completely understood, you should go back to the reading step, read the material again and repeat the process of reflection.

The importance of reflective thinking cannot be underestimated. Studies in real experimental settings have shown that students do better on exams if half or a third of the time is devoted to reflection within a given study period (whether 15 minutes or 5 hours).

The review step is easily overlooked because thinking is more difficult than reading. Research shows that people forget most of what they have just learned within the first eight hours. The only way to prevent this loss is to practice the "review" step. This means that in every exercise, before acquiring new knowledge, old knowledge should be reviewed.

Conclusion

Learning takes place according to people's individual differences. Each of us uses different senses more effectively when learning. For some of us visual stimuli are more effective, for others auditory stimuli are more effective. The natural consequence of this is that everyone's most effective and efficient way of working is unique to them. However, there are three primary conditions for effective studying. These are

- Developing a positive attitude,

- Determination of working time,

- Determining the appropriate environment and place for the study.

One of the methods recommended for effective studying is TSOAT, which includes the processes of scanning, asking questions, reading, recalling and reconsidering, respectively. It is evaluated that the application of this study method by making changes according to the individual differences of each student will increase the level of success.

REFERENCES

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BEDOYERE, Quentin de la. Sorun Çözme Teknikleri. Çeviren: Doğan Şahiner. İstanbul, Rota Yayınları, 1997.

BLOOM, S.Benjamin. İnsan Nitelikleri ve Okulda Öğrenme. Çeviren: Durmuş Ali Özçelik. MEB Yayınevi, Ankara, 1979.

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https://web.ogu.edu.tr/zaltac/Sayfa/Index/24

ULUĞ, Fevzi. Okulda Başarı. Remzi Kitapevi, 2012.