Effective Study Skills

The first and foremost step to avoid the study culture shock and to excel in future studies abroad is to understand the existence of this gap and bridge it by developing study skills. Students who develop and use effective study skills are able to prioritize their work and thereby can cut down on the number of hours they spent studying leaving room for other things in their life. Study skills help students enhance skills such as:

1. Active listening: Active listening is one of the critical skills which helps the students to concentrate and be attentive. It also helps the student to be prepared and focus on what is important. Active listening also helps the student in effective note-taking.

2. Reading Comprehension: A student can master the skill of reading and comprehension through practice. This will increase the awareness of how to study and become more confident.

3. Some of the key practices that a student can include to enhance the reading comprehension skills are

a. Visualization: While reading, if a student can visualize or create mental images around a topic or event, then it could help the student to understand the passage better than usual.
b. Taking notes: Important points can be underlined, circled or noted for better understanding.
c. Summary methods: Paraphrasing the idea from the author’s perspective to the student’s own words. Writing down the summary after reading will prepare the student for the class discussions and presentations. Writing down the summary also enhances better retention and the ability to understand complicated concepts detailed in books.
d. Make a glossary of difficult terms

4. Critical thinking: It is one of the most crucial study skills as it prepares the students for higher education through high-level reading, writing and questioning skills. Some of the key critical thinking skills include analysis, interpretation, inference, explanation, self-regulation, open-mindedness, and problem-solving.

5. Stress Management: Students often experience stress as they manage the demand of their education and personal life. Therefore it is very essential that they think positively and know how to cope up with the stress to maintain a healthy balance between studies and their personal life.

6. Time Management & Organization: The life of the student encompasses both academic and non-academic activities and therefore there should be a balance between the two. Thereby, allocating time as per the priority of tasks is the major key to success as it reduces the stress level.

Thus the above elements help the student look at learning from a different perspective and also allows them to have healthy and active participation in the learning process. It is a means of banishing the mugging culture that is often prevalent in the Indian education system. Effective study skills such as Critical Thinking, Analytical Problem Solving, Stress Management, and Time Management help students become more efficient in problem-solving as well as enhancing their overall academic performances.