The studying process

Studying
• Studying is the process that one uses to recall, understand, apply,
analyse, synthesize and evaluate information.
• While studying, one selects information from the content that one
wants to learn.
• One should organise this information such that it can be learnt
efficiently and easily.
• This information should then be committed to memory so that it can
be recalled when it is needed.
Strategies for studying

• Studying requires certain skills so that it is done effectively.

• These skills include work planning, managing time and other
resources, taking and making notes, filing, critical thinking and
problem solving, among others.
Planning

• This involves allocating time using a plan for different tasks.

• Feldman (2000) “some people are a lot better at juggling their time
than others.” What is their secret?
• No one has more than 168 hours a week no matter how industrious
they may be.
• Instead, it comes down to figuring out our priorities and using our
time better.
Study time table
• A study time table will give you strategies for planning your time.
• It will also include some ways to deal with inevitable interruptions
and counter interruptive habits that can sabotage your best.
• The time table should have all the subjects studied in school without
allocation more time to your favorite subjects and denying time to
your weak subjects.
Time of study
• This is the setting apart of time to specifically study.
• Time is something from which we cannot escape even if we ignore it.
• It is still going by, ticking away and our lives are moving forward with
time.
• By taking control of how you spend your time, you will increase your
ability to do the things you must do, to be successful as a student and
the better you are at managing time you devote to your studies the
more time you have to spend pursuing your interest.
• Studying can be done alone or through study groups.
Cont…
Advantages of study groups
• Provide support and encouragement to one another towards
studying.
• Helps in students creative thinking which later builds communication
skills.
• Helps in soliciting different ideas from different people concerning a
particular subject which enhances understanding of subject matter.
Taking and Making Notes

• Notes are characteristically sketchy and free of such things as too

much exemplification or argumentation.
• Write down everything you think is important.
• If you hear an unfamiliar term, write it down so that you can look up
the definition later (Gerhard, 2011).
• Try to make them attractive by adding flow charts, diagrams and
sketches which will help you revise quickly (Gyanguru, 2009).
Factors affecting studying
Black holes
• Refer to tasks/activities/events that steal or swallow your time on which you do
not intend to spend such time on.
• Thus, where you feel your time is sucked into a black hole disappearing without
trace.
• Suppose when you are studying, you get a phone call from your friend and you
end up speaking for half an hour you could have:
a. Let the phone ring and not answer it.
b. You could have answered but told your friend you were studying and promise
to call back.
c. You could have spoken to her for a short time and inform them you were
studying.
• If you had done any of these, things you would have taken control of the
interruptions and prevented time from sinking in a black hole.
Cont…
Setting your priorities
• To figure out the best use of your time, you need to determine your
priorities.
• Priorities are the tasks and activities you need and want to do in an
order from most important to least important.
• Further, what is important to you at this moment may be less of a
priority to you next month, next year or five years from now.
• No one has enough time to complete everything but priotising items
and activities will help you make informed decisions about what you
can do to maximize your success.
Cont…
• All in all, prioritize your time and put off other activities to allow for
adequate study time.
• At times, you may find it necessary to postpone or eliminate certain
activities in order to fulfill your goals as a student.
• Take responsibility for yourself and recognize that in order to succeed
you need to make decisions about your priorities, your time, and your
resources (Cottrell, 2011).
Reading
• Reading is a process whereby one looks at and understands what has
been written.
• This definition of reading does not mean that one needs to
understand everything in a text.
• Reading involves many sub skills for example-literal comprehension,
inferential comprehension, interpretation, evaluation and critical
appreciation.
What does reading involve?
1. Reading is both a physical and mental activity.
2. It requires attention and thought.
3. It involves the participation of the reader emotionally and
intellectually.
4. It involves interpretation of the written (printed) symbols.
Purposes of reading
1. Reading for pleasure/entertainment.
2. Acquiring knowledge and information: to be informed about the
world you live in.
3. Reading for academic purpose
• Materials that can be read for academic information are: textbooks,
reference books, general and specialist journals, magazines and
special sections of newspapers.
4. Reading for instructions or directions: food and clothing labels,
instructions on drugs, operational manuals on machines etc.
Types of reading
1. Previewing
• It involves looking over a text to determine its relevance and worth
for a specific reading purpose.
• It helps the reader to predict in a very short time, what a reading text
is all about and to determine its degree of relevance.
• Previewing a text is done by looking at the following:
i. Front matter: title, forward/preface or introduction, table of contents.
ii. Back matter: blurbs, index, glossary, bibliography.
iii. The book itself: Headings, subheadings, organizations, language,
content, diagrams.
Cont…
2. Skimming
• Used when a reader wants to get the main idea or gist of a text within a very
short time.
• When skimming, you need to read the topic sentences only. The topic
sentence is usually the first in a paragraph and expresses the main idea.
• But sometimes a writer may choose to make the second sentence of a
paragraph the topic sentence.
• On rare occasions, a writer may make the last sentence of the paragraph the
topic sentence.
• You can skim through a long text or even a book in just a few minutes and get
the gist of the text.
Cont…
3. Scanning
• It involves searching for particular items of information.
• You are interested in these items only and not everything in the text.
Cont…
4. Word by word reading
• This reading technique is used when one is learning how to read for
the first time.
• You might use this technique if you decide to learn a new language.
• Word for word reading means trying to understand fully one word or
phrase at a time.
• It is a slow reading technique.
• Scientists and mathematicians use it when they are studying
processes and formulae.
Con…
5. Light reading
• This is the way most people read most of the time.
• There is neither an attempt to digest the material that is read nor is
there any attempt to assess it critically.
• This type of reading tends to be fast and superficial.
• It is the type of reading most people apply when reading newspapers
and novels.
• This kind of reading is not recommended for study purposes but you
can use the technique when reading for leisure.
Cont…
6. Intensive reading
• Intensive reading entails content study of what is read in some detail
and study of language in which the material is written.
• Intensive reading calls for a deep and thorough understanding of what
is written.
• The concern is with detailed comprehension of short texts-typically
not more than five hundred words in length.
• Intensive reading implies approaching a text under the guidance of a
task (or a teacher) which forces the student to use analytical, critical
and evaluative skills.
• It is the type of reading a university student engages in when studying.
Cont…
7. Extensive Reading
• Extensive reading might be said to emphasize the process whereby a
student comes to understand a book without fully grasping every point
of it, or even trying to.
• Strategies such as skimming and scanning are important here, but there
are also others such as recognising the contribution of 'plot' or
'argument' to understanding a text.
• Extensive reading usually involves long texts or books with many pages -
or just wide reading.
• The objectives of extensive reading are: to promote enjoyment of
reading, to provide various experiences, and to provide wide exposure
to written English in use.