On the first day of college classes, freshmen are expected to feel excited and optimistic. Probably few realize that nearly 40 percent of their classmates will not collect diplomas or even finish their third year. Such high attrition rates are usually attributed to poor study habits and a lack of clear goals for college and career. Poor academic motivation and not feeling a sense of connection with the university are directly related to students' success -or lack of success in and adjustment to school. All these stumbling blocks are especially risky for adult students or anyone returning to an academic path after an absence.
Luckily, many colleges now offer study skills classes. These courses can help students feel comfortable in the classroom, the study carrell or even wandering through campus. Adult students, many of whom will need to prioritize work and family obligations while attending classes, can benefit especially from such instruction.
Benefits of Study Skills Classes
The advantages of study skills classes are well-documented. A Florida study of community college students found that those who took study skills classes were more likely than those who didn't to earn an associate's degree, transfer to a four-year college or remain enrolled after five years. A national follow-up to that study confirmed the positive relationship between academic success and study skills classes. Because most of the 37,000 students involved in that study had taken some remedial education and came from a large variety of backgrounds, the researchers feel that neither prior academic preparedness or socioeconomic status can account for the students' success rate, but believe the skills learned in the classes helped the students excel.
Students who have taken study skills classes are also big cheerleaders for them. They often report being able to organize information in new and more meaningful ways and to use techniques such as repetition to increase their information retention. Tests, once the source of stress, became less monstrous as students learned to reduce their anxiety levels and tune out distractions. They are also now able to realize when they've fully understood the material they were studying.
Most importantly, many felt a new connection to the academic institution and its process, in part because the class material helped orient them to the university's facilities and services, but also because many were able to make personal connections with their instructors and other classmates, something they often felt they couldn't do in other first-year classes.
One study used four measures of success to see if the classes were having any positive effects. Integration is the ability to boil down information and then organize it in a meaningful way that relates to the prior knowledge of a subject. Repetition looked at using acquired skills to help retain knowledge. Comprehension is the ability to understand when information is really processed and is sticking in the brain. Coping assesses the degree to which students are anxious or distracted during studying or test-taking. The researchers found improvements in all four areas.
Basic Study Skills
Many classes and books on the subject begin with a questionnaire or pre-test about study skills, time management and connection to or enthusiasm for school. Once a starting point is determined, one of the first lessons is often in overarching basics like punctuality and regular class attendance. Though it might seem acceptable simply to read the assignments made on the course syllabus, regular attendance can help students keep pace with their work and provide some cohesion in the lessons covered.
Experts consider reading comprehension of textbooks and note-taking skills two of the most important skills to develop. They are also two of the skills most lacking in both undergraduate and graduate students. A dependable method students may learn to help them with reading is called the SQ3R: survey, question, read, recite, review. Students must learn to paraphrase and summarize the meat of books and lectures if they are truly to understand the content, which enables them to use that information to write papers, take tests and generally make use of the knowledge. They may learn to skim assignments or ask themselves questions as they read and take breaks to make sure they comprehend the gist of various passages. Later, they will want systematically to review the notes that they have taken during their initial perusal.
Test-taking is another important area of focus. Students must become proficient in taking both objective and essay exams. Many students need a lot of practice taking multiple choice tests, which are standard throughout higher education and whose hurdles are much easier to surmount by learning the right tricks of the trade. Another important aspect of test-taking is time management, especially useful for any kind of test that involves writing.
Similarly, learning to write under time pressure is becoming more and more important. As plagiarism rises, especially because of the prevalence of the Internet, many professors are employing more and more short in-class writing assignments.
Time management is not necessary just for test-taking. It is not just a study skill in its own right, but also a building block upon which more specific skills should be laid. Students must learn to make a schedule for short-term homework assignments and long-term studying, research and writing projects.
Students will also benefit from practicing working in a group. Group learning requires a unique approach to learning because it usually draws upon different abilities than individual skills and also, of course, because each person brings distinct talents and styles to the group. Participants must learn to meet internal deadlines, brainstorm ideas, collaborate and write thesis statements, combine research gleaned individually and often give an oral presentation.
While some books offer information about how to use a library, some experts now feel that information is superfluous because most professors do not require much library research from first- year students. In fact, some researchers have even found that many college professors no longer consider it necessary that their students have the ability to write research papers. This will certainly vary from college to college.
Despite the huge variety of academic institutions, and, in fact, of the world of learning throughout life, study skills will be a boon to you wherever you find yourself in your educational path. Like a suitcase for knowledge, these skills are eminently transportable. They can help ease your transition back into the academic environment and, more importantly, back into the world of the graduate.
