Establishing Good Study Habits

Establishing Good Study Habits

STABILO's colourful Study Tips!

With the start of the new school year now firmly on the horizon, now is the time for students to put the groundwork into establishing good study techniques that will ensure they gain every possible advantage. According to colour experts, STABILO, strategy is key to getting on top of study and forming good study habits and using colour is just as important in facilitating learning and memory.

Most students use one pen (and, therefore, one colour) when constructing their notes, meaning no page is visually different or distinct from another. That's a problem for memory. Colour has long been proven to stimulate the brain and capture attention, making it easier to encode and recall information. Note-taking practices such as mind mapping – a diagramming technique using keywords, branches and colour – help us make connections between ideas and see a bigger picture that we might otherwise miss.

Best-selling study skills author and former teacher, Nina Sunday, encourages us to abandon the laptop when making study notes and to embrace colour and new study methods, ideally using a variety of coloured pens. -Change pen colour for each new topic. Your notes become colour-coded to help you visually separate and recall the details of one topic from another,' says Sunday.

Here are Nina's Top Tips for getting the most out of your studies:

Step 1 - Preview the big picture: Preview for a minute or so, skimming through the manageable chunk you have chosen to pick up the gist of what it's all about (30 seconds – 1 minute)

Step 2 - Notes outline using key headings: Make an outline for your notes or memory map, dividing your page into segments and leaving space to add the detail later. Keep your headings short; key words or short phrases only. (30 seconds – 2 minutes)

Step 3 - Read for understanding: Read your manageable chunk for good understanding, to acquire and absorb the information. For any important keyword or key idea that sums up what the sentence or paragraph is about place a tick in the margin next to the line you are reading or highlight the key word. Remember the 80/20 rule: 80% of the ideas come from around 20% of the work (3 - 5 minutes)

Step 4 - Reread a little faster: Reread to check you've absorbed everything truly important. Tick and highlight if there is anything important you've missed before (2.5 - 4.5 minutes)

Step 5 - Postview: Perform a postview, scanning only those lines you have ticked or highlighted as important. You are reading only the important parts of the manageable chunk of information. This is your final -cram' before starting to make your notes for immediate recall (30 seconds – 1 minute)

Step 6 - Start notes – first from memory: As soon as you have finished the postview, cover your reading material and add to your notes whatever you can immediately recall. Use the headings in your outline as memory triggers for the detail you're adding. (1 - 4 minutes)

Step 7 - Add notes, using another colour: When your notes are complete with as much as you can retrieve from memory, only then open your reading material again. Go through the text and cross-reference i.e. check whatever you ticked or highlighted is included in your notes. If not, add it in using another colour (1 – 5 minutes)

Now take a ten-minute break

Step 8 - Retell: after your ten minute break (no longer), verbalise what you can remember out loud to yourself or to someone you know. Review again after 48 hours, then 7 days, after you first studied the material.

With its distinct hexagonal striped design, the STABILO Point 88 pen is the best-selling pen in the STABILO range a favourite amongst students. STABILO's latest offering, the NEON highlighter, is a savvy marker that effortlessly merges modern and vintage STABILO aesthetics. The STABILO NEON boasts all the famous hallmarks of the classic pen and is sure to emerge as another classic in the STABILO range.

STABILO Point 88 is available in single form and packs of 3 ($5), 6 ($10), 10 ($16), 15 ($19) and 25 ($30). STABILO NEON are available individually (RRP$1.70) and in packs of 3 ($4.00). Both the Point 88 and STABILO NEON are sold nationally in Woolworths, Officeworks, Big W, Target and other leading stationery suppliers.

For more information visit www.stabilo.com/au

STABILO has established itself as the No.1 brand of pen amongst young people all over Europe. The reason: STABILO products stand for design, trends and lifestyle. The needs and wants of those who write, highlight or draw with STABILO are now central to product development from the very beginning. This results in innovative and high-quality products perfectly suited to modern lifestyles.

Nina Sunday (BA, Dip Ed, CSP) is a leading educator, expert in memory and learning, and author of -Brainpower Smart Study: How to Study Effectively Using a Tested and Proven 8-step Method' – a culmination of a 20-year study of neuroscience, memory and learning. www.HowToStudyMethod.com