Wednesday, March 9, 2016

A Powerful Approach to Note-Taking


Have you ever studied a subject or brainstormed an idea, only to find yourself with pages of information, but no clear view of how it fits together?
This is where Mind Mapping can help you.
Mind Mapping is a useful technique that helps you learn more effectively, improves the way that you record information, and supports and enhances creative problem solving.
By using Mind Maps, you can quickly identify and understand the structure of a subject. You can see the way that pieces of information fit together, as well as recording the raw facts contained in normal notes.
More than this, Mind Maps help you remember information, as they hold it in a format that your mind finds easy to recall and quick to review.

About Mind Maps

Mind Maps were popularized by author and consultant, Tony Buzan. They use a two-dimensional structure, instead of the list format conventionally used to take notes.
Mind Maps are more compact than conventional notes, often taking up one side of paper. This helps you to make associations easily, and generate new ideas . If you find out more information after you have drawn a Mind Map, then you can easily integrate it with little disruption.
More than this, Mind Mapping helps you break large projects or topics down into manageable chunks, so that you can plan effectively without getting overwhelmed and without forgetting something important.
A good Mind Map shows the "shape" of the subject, the relative importance of individual points, and the way in which facts relate to one another. This means that they're very quick to review, as you can often refresh information in your mind just by glancing at one. In this way, they can be effective mnemonics – remembering the shape and structure of a Mind Map can give you the cues you need to remember the information within it.
When created using colors and images or drawings, a Mind Map can even resemble a work of art!

Uses

Mind Maps are useful for:
  • Brainstorming  – individually, and as a group.
  • Summarizing information, and note taking.
  • Consolidating information from different research sources.
  • Thinking through complex problems.
  • Presenting information in a format that shows the overall structure of your subject.
  • Studying and memorizing information.

Drawing Basic Mind Maps

To draw a Mind Map, follow these steps:
1. Write the title of the subject you're exploring in the center of the page, and draw a circle around it. This is shown by the circle marked in figure 1, below.
(Our simple example shows someone brainstorming actions needed to deliver a successful presentation.)

Figure 1

Example Mind Map: Step 1
2. As you come across major subdivisions or subheadings of the topic (or important facts that relate to the subject) draw lines out from this circle. Label these lines with these subdivisions or subheadings. (See figure 2, below.)

Figure 2

Example Mind Map: Step 2
3. As you "burrow" into the subject and uncover another level of information (further subheadings, or individual facts) belonging to the subheadings, draw these as lines linked to the subheading lines. These are shown in figure 3.

Figure 3

Example Mind Map: Step 3
4. Then, for individual facts or ideas, draw lines out from the appropriate heading line and label them. These are shown in Figure 4.

Figure 4

Example Mind Map: Step 4

Imagination: your key to enjoying memorizing hundreds of words quickly

Do you feel like you your memory capacity for learning lots of new words is holding you back? I certainly felt that way…
When I was given a list of foreign words (German in my case) to learn the meaning of in school, it was always unclear how to actually do this. Nobody ever taught me so much about how to learn things, they just told me what to learn. Since other students were doing much better than me, I logically thought that they were simply smarter than me. They must look at the word once and then it is magically burned into their mind forever. This is a very comfortable and defeatist conclusion most people make when they aren’t making much progress with a language, or generally have a weak memory (for people’s names, where they put the keys etc.). It’s because of an amazing memory that the other person was blessed with at birth, but you just weren’t. It never occurs to us, that maybe all we need to do is change our learning method!
kayak

The wrong way to learn words

So how was I learning these lists of words in school? I used the classic repeat method. For example, if you wanted to learn that the French word gare means train station, then just say aloud “gare… train station…gare… train station…gare… train station…” dozens or hundreds of times and eventually it will sink in, right?
Well… technically yes. After this mind-numbingly dull exercise you may indeed recognize “gare” as train station when you read it, and you will find a lot of people who have studied a language enough to say that they have no trouble recognizing words when they hear or read them. But when they have to actually speak the language themselves? They want to say the word for train station… it’s on the tip of their tongue… but no, it’s not coming. Time to fall back to English, or abandon ship and be shy and say nothing!
This method is obviously extremely boring, but more importantly it’s very inefficient. A typical language has hundreds of thousands or even millions of words so this is another reason people may think that you do indeed have to be a genius to learn all of them, or it would take years for them to eventually sink in with your current method (if you happen to have a method as bad as the one I used to use).

The right way: have fun and use your imagination!

So today I want to share the way that I currently learn words! If you have your own interesting way, please do share it with us!
I “naturally” have a very poor memory, but through lots of reading (I’ve definitely not come up with this myself, so I’m sure some readers apply these methods already), I’ve discovered how other people learn things in a way that is efficient and fun. Schools are great for teaching you facts, but I wish more would teach you learning methods!! (If yours did, you are luckier than I was!)
The obvious problem with my repetition method mentioned above is that there is no actual association. Even if you repeat the pair to yourself a million times you are still not actually linking the two words together, just trying to force them to match in your mind. Even other methods of using the word in as many examples as possible are still relying on something to just magically click in your mind to put these words together.
I am suggesting that all you need to do is create a very amusinganimatedunforgettableimage in your mind that links both words to each other! This means that if you are translating either to or from the target language (unlike just from which most people will master easier), you will access the other word just as easily. This is especially important when the words look nothing alike. To demonstrate what I mean, I’ll give you two examples that I used myself.

The story of why gare means train station

There is no word in English (at least that I know of) that sounds almost the same as “gar” (with an “ah”, not “ay” sound) so thinking for a moment the closest I could come up with was Garfield, a popular comic strip (and cartoon and even movie) of a fat, lazy and sarcastic orange cat (that talks of course). I also thought of a very specific train station that I used a lot in Valencia in Spain. It is important from the very beginning to make everything colourful and full of details and movement. I imagined the people rushing through the station, under where the timetable can be found, the platform I usually went to, and the machine I would buy the tickets from. Suddenly, there is a big fat orange cat, in very cartoony colours; not your typical tabby cat, but Garfield himself with his trademark sneeky grin.
But he isn’t just sitting in the train station (that would be very easy to forget). He is about to miss an important train directly to Bologna for a Lasagna eating competition!! He has his suitcases and sunglasses with him, since he is going on holiday of course, and he is puffing frantically as he runs around trying to figure out which platform his train is going to leave from. It’s quite funny that this fat cat has to actually run for the first time in his life. The train is pulling out of the platform but he dashes after it, throws his suitcase on the back compartment, pounces on… and makes it just in time!
With this image, whenever I picture a train station I will always see this ridiculous story of Garfield running through it and that will help me remember to say gare. Conversely, seeing gare and immediately recognising the similarity with Garfield that I assigned it, means that I will see Garfield in a train station. The recall process takes less than a second and barely slows down a nicely flowing conversation.



Thursday, March 3, 2016

Learning Method

Ten Study Methods That Work


Studying effectively is not a matter of chance. Educators and psychologists have researched study methods for years. Some of the best studies come from the top universities: Stanford, Indiana, and Chicago where precise experiments with student groups have shed light on the most effective study methods. Students who follow these metho
ds learn more easily, retain material for longer periods of time, and save themselves hours of study time. The ten study methods researchers have found that work are:

1. Making and Keeping a Study Schedule

Set aside certain hours of each day for study just as you do for nourishment and sleep. Keep the same schedule faithfully from day-to-day. The amount of time needed for study will vary for each individual based on skills with the subject matter. An average of two hours of study each day for each hour in class is recommended. Going to class is only the beginning; the real work begins afterwards!

2. Studying in an Appropriate Setting — Same Time, Same Place, Every Day

If concentration is your problem, then the right surroundings will help you greatly. Your study desk or table should be in a quiet place – free from as many distractions as possible. You will concentrate better when you study in the same place every day. It’s a mind set. For example, when you sit down at the kitchen table, you expect to eat. When you sit down in an easy chair, you watch TV, etc. Developing the habit of studying in the same place at the same time everyday will improve your concentration.

3. Equipping Your Study Area With All the Materials You Need

Your study desk or table should be equipped with all the materials you might need to complete the assignment, e.g., pencils, pens, erasers, paper clips, stapler, dictionary, snacks, and liquid refreshments, etc. For some assignments, you may require a calculator or other supplies. With your materials at hand, you can study without interruption. If you have an answering machine, let it do its job during your study time. You can return the calls after you have finished studying. Taking your snack food and drinks to the study location will eliminate those endless trips to the kitchen which break your concentration.

4. Not Relying on Inspiration for Motivation

Can you imagine an athlete-in-training waiting for inspiration to strike to practice in preparation for an event? Of course not. They train daily to stay competitive whether they want to or not. Like the athlete, you must get in training for tests and examinations by doing the assignments and preparing daily through review to be ready for the action.

5. Keeping a Well-Kept Notebook Improves Grades

Researchers tell us that there is definitely a relationship between orderliness and high grades. Knowing where to find your materials when you need them is crucial. Keep a special section for each subject in your notebook as well as a semester calendar so that you can write down all important assignments as they are announced. Having all of this information together in one place is vital to your success. A well-kept notebook is a part of good time management. If you’ve ever misplaced an important assignment, you know how much valuable time can be lost looking for it.

6. Keeping a Careful Record of Assignments

Put it down in black and white—including the details—and keep it in your notebook. Knowing just what you are expected to do and when you are expected to do it is the first giant step toward completing important assignments successfully and on time.

7. Making Use of “Trade Secrets”

Flash cards aren’t just for kids! They are a legitimate study tool. Use the front of the card to write an important term, and on the back, write a definition or an important fact about that term. Carry your flash cards with you. Use them during “dead time,” such as standing in a check-out line, waiting in a doctor or dentist’s office, riding a bus, or waiting at the Laundromat. Keep a set in the glove compartment of your car for long lines at your favorite fast food drive-in restaurant or bank. Post them on your bathroom mirror to review while shaving or applying make-up. You’ll be surprised how much you can accomplish during those otherwise “dead times.” Think about developing your own “trade secrets” that will improve your study skills.

8. Taking Good Notes as Insurance Against Forgetting

Learn to take good notes efficiently as your instructors stress important points in class and as you study your assignments. Good notes are a “must” for just-before-test-reviewing. Without notes, you will need to reread and review the entire assignment before a test. This may require you to read anywhere from 100-300 pages of material in one sitting. With notes, you can recall the main points in just a fraction of the time. The time you spend in note taking is not lost, but in fact, is a time-saver.

9. Overlearning Material Enhances Memory

Psychologists tell us that the secret to learning for future reference is overlearning. Experts suggest that after you can say, “I know this material,” that you should continue to study that material for an additional one-fourth of the original study time. The alphabet is an example of overlearning. How did you learn it? Probably through recitation which is the best way to etch material into the memory trace. Manipulate the material as many different ways as possible by writing, reading, touching, hearing, and saying it. In an experimental study, students who overlearned material retained four times as much after a month than students who didn’t overlearn.

10. Reviewing Material Frequently

A student who does not review material can forget 80% of what has been learned in only two weeks! The first review should come very shortly after the material was first presented and studied. Reviewing early acts as a safeguard against forgetting and helps you remember far longer. Frequent reviews throughout the course will bring rewards at test time and will alleviate pre-test anxiety.
Although these ten study methods do work, there is one other component needed when using all of them – taking responsibility for studying by following through on assignments. All the study methods in the world won’t help you if you don’t help yourself. As with most everything in your life, your motto should be, “I’m responsible for my success!”
If you put forth the effort to study effectively, the improved skills will soon become a habit and be just as natural as breathing. The result can be better grades, greater knowledge, and higher self-esteem. These skills will also serve you well in your professional and personal life.