In the last two segments, I shared with you what you have to do if you want to be successful in your studies as an adult student. Here, I will share with you how you should study your topic so that you better understand what you are reading, be it your textbook or class notes.
In order to understand what you are studying, remember the following acronyms:
PQRIT This means:
PREVIEW what you read
Ask questions
READ effectively
INFER what you have read
TEST yourself constantly
1. PREVIEW of what you read
This is a practice that is taken for granted. Many students talk about it, but don’t fully practice it. Studying effectively is almost as similar to watching a movie.
Ask yourself what you normally do before watching a movie in a theater.
Most likely, you want to know what the movie you are going to see is about. You may have seen the trailer and perhaps read the film’s review in the newspapers. You have simply “previewed” the movie before watching it.
This is exactly what you should do when reading your textbook or class notes. When you preview your text and class notes, what you are doing is primarily to generate interest and this will motivate you to be fruitfully involved in your studies.
2. Ask QUESTIONS
Questions and more questions will get you on the road to success in your studies. Before even reading or reviewing a topic, ask questions about what you are about to do. Your questions can be structured using: “who; what; when; where; why and how”. As cliche as it may be, asking questions generates interest and also allows you to identify what are the key points that you need to know and perhaps need to clarify. The questions will also allow you to identify your weak areas and make you work harder in those areas. As I mentioned in my previous segment, adults are basically self-directed learners, therefore you need to address what you want to know and discover. What better way to do this than by asking questions?
3. READ effectively
After you have asked as many questions as possible about what you are about to read, you can start reading your textbook, notes, etc. Keep a notepad at your side and use your finger or a pencil to glide through the pages you are reading. Take note of key concepts and phrases. Write them down on your notepad. When you practice this thoroughly, you will notice that your ability to concentrate improves and you are not easily distracted. I’m sure you know that most textbooks are relatively boring and difficult to follow. So the only way you’re going to make sense of it is by making an inference from what you’re reading. This is the next stage.
4. INFER what you have read
When you learn to infer, you will learn to see the connection between what you are reading and how this relates to the bigger picture. By inference what is meant is to try to repeat the main idea of each topic in your own words. When you express it in your own words, it shows that you are capable of making sense of what you are reading.
One way to do this is to see how the chapter you are reading integrates with the rest of the materials you are reading. Inference skills are especially important in studies, as you need to analyze what you are learning to understand it.
TEST yourself constantly
This is the final stage. Test your understanding by summarizing the entire chapter and include as many facts and details for each subtitle that you find in the chapter you have read.
Visualize yourself as a lecturer or teacher trying to teach this chapter to an imaginary audience (the real one is even better). That is why I mentioned in my previous segment to get your family involved. By involving your spouse or children, you could make this a pleasant endeavor by having them ask you questions about what you are reading or asking you to explain what you have read. If you are able to make them understand, just go on to show that you understand.
When you make this concerted effort, you may be pleasantly surprised at how much information you know.
In the next segment, I will share with you how to prepare for and write on a test.