How do you Learn: Let’s Learn! 

Investing in yourself

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It can be difficult to motivate ourselves to work hard. It takes time and effort and it often seems like there are better things you could be doing! 

It is important to remember that by working hard you are investing in yourself and in your future. Too often we forget that we are the only ones that benefit from our hard work, or on the flip side, who lose out when we don’t put the effort in. 

Find out how to ‘invest in yourself’ and get tips on how to do well in your textiles studies


Understanding yourself

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Understanding yourself, what motivates you, your attitude to learning, and what things help you learn better are an important part of being successful. If you know what works for you, you can do more of it, which means you will be even more successful! The questionnaires on this page will help you evaluate how you approach various things linked to learning. Along the way you might also pick up some tips on things you might do to improve how you learn. 


Attitude matters

Take a look at this (via @coachSHardin). It is a bit of fun but the message is an important one. Handwork and knowledge matter a lot when you are studying and revising but the key is your attitude. This is what makes you work hard and what makes you motivated to overcome the hurdles you face along the way. 

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How do you use your time

Do you always feel busy and never get your homework done in time? Do you have a part time job, hobbies or sports that take up a lot of your time? 

Do this exercise to find out how you use your time. It might help you review whether you are trying to do too much, as well as helping you consider where your priorities are. If, for example, you discover that you have very limited time to study, you may need to reconsider how you use your time. 


Independent learning

Being an independent learner is a very important part of being successful. This is especially the case for A level students, as well as college and university students where this is considered a key skill. 

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Here are some tips to help you develop your independent learning skills:

  • Do your own additional research outside of the lesson e.g. follow up on resources the teacher mentioned
  • Be organised in how you file your notes and plan your time. This means you are taking responsibility for your learning.
  • Discuss your learning with friends and family and encourage them to ask questions where you have to explain things
  • Look out for t.v. programmes, magazines and newspaper articles linked to things in your lessons


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Take this self assessment test to find out about other things you can do to develop your independent learning skills



Reading

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Background reading is an important part of learning. This is especially the case for A level students, as well as college and university students where this is considered a key skill. 

Even someone who enjoys reading can find reading academic books challenging so here are some tips to help you develop your reading skills:

  • You don’t have to just read book; magazines, leaflets, even things like labels on products are all useful learning tools
  • Highlight or underline keywords or phrases. If you can’t write in the book invest in some sticky notes & attach those to the page.
  • If a book has headings, subheadings, diagrams etc. use them as a clue to what is on the page. This will help you develop ‘scan reading’ techniques.
  • ‘Scan reading’ is where you don’t read every word. You let your eyes run across the page searching for headings, subheadings, keywords or phrases. You might read in more detail where you see the keywords. 
  • When scan reading you might find it useful to use your finger to run along the lines on the page. This feels quite childlike but it helps your eye focus on the text and trains it to move quickly over the words. 

Take this self assessment test to find out about other things you can do to develop your reading skills

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Take a look at the page on Reading and Research to find out more about this skill



Note taking

Taking notes is an important part of learning. This is especially the case for A level students, as well as college and university students where this is considered a key skill. 

Here are some tips to help you develop your note taking skills:

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  • Don’t write down every word; use mind maps or bullet point lists to help you write more quickly and to ensure you get the main points
  • Use subheadings and headings to organise your notes
  • Use doodles to bring ideas to life (or stick down real samples linked to the notes)
  • Note taking is a good time to practice your spelling and grammar but as only you will see and use the notes don’t worry about this if it slows your note taking down. 
  • Develop your own codes for things to save you having to write things out in full


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Take this self assessment test to find out about other things you can do to develop your note taking skills



Using feedback to help you improve

It can be hard to take criticism of your work, but it is important to realise that this will help you improve not only your work, but how you approach a similar piece of work in the future. As long as feedback is constructive (which means it is aiming to help you improve) always try to see it as a good thing. Don’t be disappointed if you don’t always get good comments as it is actually the things you did wrong that you need to know about in order to do better next time. 

Here are some tips to help you use feedback in a positive way:

  • Always reflect on comments with an open mind; if you aren’t sure if the comment is fair ask for it to be explained or ask someone else if the point is a fair one
  • When you get feedback think about how you can use the information to improve e.g. do you need to redo the work, do you need to do something different next time, what exactly do you need to put in place (or get help with) to improve?


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Take this self assessment test to find out about other things you can do to develop your note taking skills




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