Study Techniques to Suit Your Style of Learning

Effective study techniques for your personal style of learning

Whether you’re about to start a new school year, or you’re coming up to exams, these study tips are guaranteed to help you ACE your subjects (see what we did there?) and make your life a whole lot easier .

If you don’t know what kind of learner you are, don’t worry, we’ve got you covered. Take ACE’s quiz to figure out what kind of learner you are.

Visual Learners

Although you may think visual learners have some kind of artistic ability, this isn’t necessarily true. Visual learners are those that can learn and remember concepts far better if there is a visual aspect to the information, such as diagrams or graphs.

An effective technique for you may be to simply colour code your notes. This will allow you to associate information with a certain colour, making it easier for you to remember it in exam situations, and who doesn’t love looking at a beautiful, bright algebraic formula?

Another effective study technique for the visual learner would be including graphics in your notes. These don’t need to be hand drawn.

Scanning diagrams from your textbooks or finding them on the internet and including them in your notes will go a long way to helping you retain the relevant information.

Highlighters will be your best friend, so treat yourself and invest in that fancy Faber Castel set. We probably don’t need to teach you how to highlight, but in case you’ve ‘forgotten’, remember to highlight things such as definitions, important dates, names, formulas, and other important information.

Try not to over-highlight (It’s hard we know. We’re all guilty of this). Over-highlighting will significantly slow down the process of memorising the information.

Writing down information in your own words will also help you remember information. Just make sure what you’re writing is accurate and makes sense to you and others. After all, your exams won’t be marked by you (how good would that be?) so it’s important other people can understand it.

Lastly, when learning a new word, idea, or theory, try to visualise it. Sure, this sounds easy enough, but really try to visualise it. Whether it be cell mitosis or a mathematical formula, picture it in your mind’s eye (I like to visualise words and formula’s in different 2004 ‘Word Art’ styles. Works a treat).

Auditory Learners

Auditory learners, listen up! If you’re an auditory learner, you learn best when things are explained to them.

You know that voice memo app on your phone? It’ll work wonders for you. Record yourself reading your notes out loud, and listen to it over and over and over again. We know it’s hard to listen to your own voice on tape, but trust us, it will help learn much faster. What’s also great about this technique is that you can listen to your notes on the bus, around the house, at the gym or falling asleep (maybe not the last on, that’s creepy).

Another helpful technique for you will be explaining concepts to other people. Teaching others information will help you remember it yourself, so grab your Mum and teach her about bacterial infections, or kinetic and potential energy (if she doesn’t already know), or something along those lines. After you’ve done this, get her or a friend to quiz you. The auditory cues will help you to remember the information.

This might sound weird, but try and create a song with your notes. Put theories and concepts to a tune and sing it over and over. Make it as catchy and annoying as you can, that way you can’t possibly forget it.

What you really want to avoid doing is simply reading your notes over and over again. It’ll be more time consuming and difficult for you to remember everything if you approach your studies that way. Remember, the more you can hear the information, the better you’ll learn it.

Tactile Learners

You definitely don’t have to be some kind of athlete to be a tactile learner, you just need to be someone who typically prefers ‘hands-on’ learning. This makes it difficult to find study techniques for you guys. After hours upon hours of research however we’ve found a few that might help.

If you’re a frequent exerciser, record yourself reading your notes out loud, and listen to them as you exercise. Another helpful tip is try to learn through practical experiences.

What we mean by this is use drama or dance, make models representing the concepts you are trying to learn, or even see if it’s possible to do lab work outside of class. The more you can physically touch and feel the different aspects of your studies, the more you’ll be able to learn and remember.

Something to consider for the tactile learner is the importance of taking breaks when studying. As someone who constantly needs to be doing something, it’s super important that, if you’re writing notes or reading, you take a 5–10 minute break every 45 minutes.

During this time, remove yourself from wherever it is you’re studying and walk/run/jump around. Getting your blood flowing will help you to feel more alert and energised, and will allow you to focus more effectively on your studies.

Something that will be really handy for you tactile learners is quizzing yourself. Use palm cards to write both questions and answers on separate cards. Shuffle the cards on a table and try and place the answers with their corresponding questions.

If you don’t have to time for all this, try standing up when reading or writing your notes. You’ll find that it helps to improve your concentration.

Multi-Sensory Learners

Multi-Sensory learners are able to use a variety of techniques from each learning style. We recommend testing out a different technique each time you sit down to study until you find one that works well for you.

And that’s it! Go and apply your newfound knowledge to ACE your subjects!