Study Skill Lessons

Lesson 5 of 5

Prepare Yourself for Every Learning Experience

Lesson #5: Prepare Yourself for Every Learning Experience

Before you begin any learning activity, take a few minutes to prepare yourself for it. Five minutes spent in this way can easily save you an hour in trying to make up for it.

For example, if you have a reading assignment wise preparation should include:

  1. Look at previous reading assignments. How they were arranged will be excellent examples of what you will encounter.
  2. Look at the titles, sub-titles, bold-faced terms, etc.
  3. Above all, form some expectations of what you are about to learn. Whether you are right or wrong, you will have a better encounter because of those expectations.

With lectures or videos, your preparations are perhaps of greater value. You will be in a situation where you cannot alter the pace of time and that makes it more important to forsee the possibilities you will encounter. Again, take some time to prepare. Specifically:

  1. Recall how previous like experiences were arranged.
  2. Speculate on what this new experience might entail.
  3. Again, form some expectations of what you might learn.

Any ideas???

You have completed the Lessons for Selecting Main Idea. Your efforts have helped you make significant progress towards becoming a more strategic learner. Take a few days to practice what you learned. Then, come back and begin working on another set of Lessons.