Learning Skills
Common study problems faced by students
- Why do I find it difficult to settle down to study?
- What can I do if I am not really interested in a subject?
- I am doing a lot of reading but I still do not really understand the topic.
- I have trouble concentrating during my study time.
1. Why do I find it difficult to settle down to study?
Do you procrastinate? Recognise that you are totally responsible for using your time in the most productive way. Once you own up to the fact that you are just putting things off (Be careful! Procrastination can masquerade in a thousand different guises!), then you’re in a better position to control your actions. Don’t create a barrier by thinking of your study as an obstacle to be overcome but as a challenge to take up. Find practical ways to increase your motivation and then practise them so that the time you spend studying is quality time.
Don’t have a dedicated study space? Find it as soon as possible (whether it be at home, somewhere quiet on campus, or even a spot you have negotiated with a friend or relative at their place), and begin to ‘own’ it as yours for study.
Are you easily distracted? Do you allow interruptions to come between you and your learning? Having a recognised space for your study, and asking family and friends to respect your study times and place, will go a long way towards minimising uninvited distractions. Identify the obstacles that prevent you from successful study with the intention of being better in control. Perhaps you need to:
- close the door;
- turn off the mobile phone;
- prepare a schedule for your study session with beginning and ending times;
- take strategic study breaks so you can still pay bills, go to the gym, pick children up from school and make important phone calls.
2. What can I do if I am not really interested in a subject?
Be realistic about yourself and acknowledge that it’s okay to have definite interests and dislikes. Most students will find that they have at least one subject they’re not keen on but the subject still has to be tackled as part of course content. Hey, you owe it to yourself to do your best despite your negative feelings about the subject. Stay motivated and maintain a positive attitude towards your university studies and the long term goal of graduating.
Tackle the readings and assignments for this subject first in your study schedule, instead of leaving it until last, in the hope that you’ll feel more motivated later. Treat the topic seriously, accept the difficulty or the uninteresting nature of the subject matter as a challenge, and reward yourself with some minor ‘luxury’ for completing a reading or spending a productive an hour on the subject. Keep a running record of your study times and achievements in the subject; and be sure you take the reward only when performance matches previously stated goals..
3. I am doing a lot of reading but I still do not really understand the topic.
Reading is much more than having a whole lot of words pass before your eyes. Trying to master the topic by doing a lot of reading may be going about things the hard way.
When approaching an unfamiliar text, such as a book chapter or a journal article, scan it first before trying to understand the detail. Take in the headings, briefly read any introduction or conclusion, and check the first sentences of main paragraphs (often the topic sentence), along with any charts and diagrams in the main text to pick up on leading themes. Next, as you read in more detail, digest the things that you can understand. You might choose to highlight , circle or underline key words and concepts or create a concept/mind map. Alternatively, take brief notes without letting yourself get bogged down in the difficult passages of the text. Accept that you may have to return to the text later to confirm or refresh details you didn’t at first understand. Tackle the second text in your reading list in an identical fashion. As you work through recommended readings, follow the simple reading/note-taking pattern. You’ll find that you do, indeed, gain a better understanding of the topic. Often too much concentrated reading, without any real purpose, can cause information overload; the details don’t make any sense to you because you simply haven’t developed a big picture view of the subject matter.
The very important aspect of review is often neglected by students. A short review of readings, notes, or your assignment task immediately after a study period (rather than at some later date) will be tremendously helpful in your grasp of the subject matter and also in retaining information.
Check out the website section on reading for further practical advice and effective reading techniques.
4. I have trouble concentrating during my study time.
You need to recognise that study is hard work, and therefore it’s important for you to keep up a balanced diet with proper amounts of rest and periods of relaxation to study effectively.
If you find your attention beginning to fade, you may need a break. Get up, stretch or go for a walk around. Take a few slow, deep breaths, and certainly have a drink of water. Then if you can’t return to concentrated study, face up to reality and finish that session. Come back later; it’s best to study with peak concentration levels.
Study in short time blocks with short breaks in between. This approach keeps your mind from wandering or from feeling fatigued, and will also help reduce time-wasting activities as you try to settle into study. Follow this approach in a planned way, not spasmodically, and maybe with the idea of gradually increasing the length of your study period.
Be as active as possible: make notes, create mind maps, talk through key points aloud or explain new concepts as though there is another interested adult in the room with you (quietly if neighbours start looking at you quizzically), walk around the room as you talk, throw a soft ball against the wall as you recite points to remember, make up rhymes or songs to help remember facts or sequences.