Are you feeling stressed out by the exams? Here is a round up of our most popular exam-related blog posts in case you missed it.
No matter your learning style, we’ve got handy exam revision tips for you:
Tips for kinaesthetic learners
If you’re organised, you’re more likely to be productive, which reduces stress and anxiety. Set up a study timetable – it’s not too late.
Are exams already in session? Read these two blogs to help you get through it:
Of all of the different learning styles, the visual learning style is the best suited to traditional exam revision methods, such as mind mapping. Visual learners will respond well to these colourful summaries of the content. This is not to say that auditory learners and kinaesthetic learners shouldn’t use mind maps; they can actually be pretty effective for you too.
A bad mind map is useless and ineffective. It’s important to know how to develop them properly, or they’ll just be a waste of time and paper.
Here are some tips to help you learn how to mind map so that you don’t waste time or paper.
Firstly, gather your tools. You will need:
The most important thing to remember about mind mapping is that it is a way to see the main ideas/components of a section at a glance, and how those ideas are connected.
Start by reading through the section you want to summarise, and making a note of the main ideas.
Draw your mind map with these ideas in mind.
Now, read through the section again. For each of the main ideas, you should identify related ideas.
Using a black pen, jot these down on your mind map.
Now, set aside your textbook or notes and focus on what you know or remember about the content. Using different colours, make notes for yourself, write examples that illustrate the point, draw doodles that help to explain things and connect different ideas. You can also use sticky notes to add more examples or to test yourself.
Your mind map is now complete! If you are a visual learner, you can simply use your mind maps as visual reminders of the content. If you are an auditory learner or a kinaesthetic learner, use your mind map to explain the content to a friend or helpful parent or sibling.
So you’ve done the quiz (or read the previous blog post about different learning styles) and you’ve figured out that you have a visual learning style.
To recap: People with a visual learning style learn best when they can see what they are trying to learn. If your notes are colourful and you like to doodle in the margins, then you’re probably a visual learner.
Here are some study techniques that you could try. These techniques help visual learners to make sense of content and concepts by forming ‘pictures’ that your mind can then file away, ready to be whipped out when you need it most: in a test or exam.
This might sound obvious but it’s an old school way to make sure that you remember what you’ve learnt in class. Too many people try to simply listen to what the teacher is saying, and then find that they can’t remember anything as soon as the class is over!
As a visual learner, you may also find your thoughts drifting if you try to listen without taking any notes… Taking notes is a skill: Don’t think that trying to write down every word that the teacher is saying is going to help you either. You’ll lose track and end up missing something if you try to do that.
There are five main note-taking techniques that you can use during a class:
Here are two excellent YouTube videos about note-taking skills. The first explains the three main methods, and how to use them, and the second shows you how to make your notes colourful and exciting to look at and use (perfect for visual learners!):
TIP: If your teacher doesn’t approve of note-taking during class (we all have a teacher who says “You don’t need to write, it’s all in the hand out”), try speaking to him or her about it after class one day. Show your teacher the kind of notes that you would like to take, and explain that you think that you’ll be able to grasp the content much better if you’re allowed to write notes during the class. If your teacher is still unsure, then try to write as many notes as possible in the time between classes or straight after school.
There’s nothing new about mind maps. It’s a study technique that’s been around for ages, and you’ve probably seen them before. Perhaps a teacher or adult has even tried to teach you how they create mind maps. Whether you’re a mind map expert or a mind map novice, this much is true: Mind maps are a visual learner’s best friends.
The trick with mind maps is to only include the most important information (so don’t try to include everything in your History textbook). Mind maps should be as colourful (or not) as you want them to be. Use highlighters, different colour pens, wax crayons, pencil crayons and sticky notes to really make them stand out. You can also use pictures to really solidify concepts or ideas in your mind – either draw them yourself, or cut-and-paste pictures and articles from newspapers, magazines and the Internet.
If you’re worried about running out of space, try to get hold of A3 sheets of paper. You can even use sticky-tape to make a bigger sheet of paper from four A4 sheets.
(We have a full post on creating mind maps coming up on the blog so look out for that.)
Are you excited when you turn a page of your textbook in the middle of a complicated section and see an annotated diagram because, finally, you’ll be able to understand what all those explanations are about? It’s pretty obvious that if you’re a visual learner you’ll need to actually see something before you fully understand it.
Unfortunately, you may not always have a picture, photograph or video in your textbook or learning materials to explain everything. And, even if there are pictures, they may not be clear enough for you to really get it.
This is where the Internet and your school’s library will come in handy. You’ll be able to find illustrations and photographs, and even videos in some cases, for almost anything.
So when your textbook describes a Blue Crane as a tall, ground-dwelling bird that is about 120 cm tall with a wingspan of about 200 cm, look it up! You’ll get a much better idea of what a Blue Crane is when you actually see a picture of it. Better yet, search for a video on YouTube, where you can see the Blue Crane walk and hear its call.
Just be careful while you’re online – be smart and stay safe. And only trust reputable websites because not everything on the Internet is true.
(We have a full post on study techniques using technology coming up on the blog so look out for that.)
Hopefully this post has given you some good ideas about study techniques to use when you’re a visual learner. Don’t forget that the Ace it! study guides have all the content you need to know for your exams.
Here’s how a visual learner can use the Ace it! study guides to their best advantage:
If you’re an auditory learner, then look out for our next blog post.
Some people love pineapple on their pizza, while others can’t stand the thought. Some people like hip-hop, while others prefer pop music. Boxers or briefs; bikinis or a one-piece; Marvel or DC Comics… why is it that we accept people’s differences in almost every aspect of life, and yet think that every high school kid learns and studies the same way?
We’re all wired differently, so it’s no surprise that we have different learning styles. Here’s a secret: if you can figure out your unique learning style, you’ll be able to learn better, study smarter and do better in your exams.
Your teachers might not have the time to adapt how they teach to suit every single person in the class but, if you know your own learning style, you can empower yourself to revise the content in a way that makes sense to you.
More efficient revision = Better grasp of the content = Easier studying sessions = Better exam results!
Take a look at the three main learning styles below, and try to figure out which describes you best. If you’re not sure which you are, try to work it out by deciding which study technique you prefer. If you still can’t work it out, there’s a handy quiz in every Ace it! study guide.
The auditory learning style
If you are an auditory learner, you probably learn best when you hear what you are trying to learn. You’re the kind of person who actually listens in class, and remembers what the teacher has said. You’re also the kind of person who talks to yourself (we’re not judging) and reads things out loud when you’re trying to understand them.
Recommended study technique: Reciting study materials.
The visual learning style
If you prefer using a map to following written instructions or if you have a pencil case full of highlighters, you’re probably a visual learner. In order to understand something, you need to see it or observe it. You prefer using colourful charts, pictures or diagrams to study. You also prefer to use visual aids when you’re giving a presentation.
Recommended study technique: Mind mapping and highlighting key facts.
The kinaesthetic learning style
Let’s break down the word ‘kinaesthetic’: kinetic, as in movement and aesthetic, as in the senses. You need physical experiences to help you make sense of new information. You’re probably fidgety in class and wish that teachers would let you do, rather than just telling you. If you’re really interested in a subject, you can learn more about it in two hours of doing, fiddling, interacting, researching and exploring than a teacher can tell you in a week of classes.
Recommended study technique: Role-playing or model building.
Remember that you can be a combination of two or three of these learning styles and that it might change depending on the subject. So, you might prefer a visual study technique for most subjects but kinaesthetic study techniques for Technology or Physical Sciences. You just have to try to understand yourself better so that you can do better.
Once you know your learning style, you’ll be ready to ace your exams!
