Campus Connection

 

By Charlene Holler, Academic Specialist, Counseling and Testing Center

For students

We are constantly hearing how being active is good for one’s physical health. Well, the same is true for one’s academic “health.” I am sure you have heard the adage that you remember 20 percent of what you hear, 75 percent of what you see and 90 percent of what you do. So, it just makes sense to find ways to get more involved with your learning. Reading silently is the most ineffective way to learn material. Yet I suspect most of your study time with notes or texts is just that. And, with some of your easier subjects that may be all you need to do. But when the material is more difficult because you do not have the background or the interest, you must find other ways to grasp and retain the information. So how can you get more involved with learning? How can you use more of your senses when studying? Hear it by reading out loud, discussing it with a classmate or asking the instructor. Feel it by writing down key points in your own words, clarifying your notes soon after class and making note cards on the hardest material. These are just a few ways to get “physical” with your studies. If interested in learning more about your learning style go to our website www.uwlax.edu/counseling and click on “Self Assessments.” Take the 24-item Learning Styles Inventory. When you submit your results you will receive your preferred way to learn and suggestions on how to maximize this preference.