Study Skills
Here are some study skills to assist you with your online class, and of course, these are also useful for traditional face-to-face classes.
- Keep up with your work. This goes without saying, and I’m sure all of you have heard this from different teachers, your parents, guidance counselors, and parents. But with an online class, it’s easy to fall behind, so LOG IN EVERY DAY to at least make sure you haven’t forgotten something. OK, every day may be a bit much, but at least every other day.
- Read the information and do the assigments. Your instructors, me included, don’t put things up for us to practice – it’s done for you. And you do pay for your education, even if it’s free. I can blog about that some other time. But seriously, do the work. PRACTICE, PRACTICE, PRACTICE. Why? Unless you are one of the VERY few people who always “get it” just by seeing it once, the only way to succeed in math, or any other class, is to practice the material. How? See #3.
- Do the examples and practice problems. Why do you have to do the examples over and how? Write the problem down and do it without looking at the page. And talk to yourself as you do it. Yeah, you might look nuts to someone, but you will learn it. Or, ask if you can teach your friend or sibling how to do the problem. If you can teach it, you can do it.
- Review previous quizzes and tests. Again, do the problems you “sort of” knew how to do, and definitely do the problems you didn’t know.
- Complete practice quizzes. Trust me on this – I’ve seen students realize they needed extra help by doing practice quizzes and it helped them out on the graded assessments. Plus, if ungraded practice is there for you, why wouldn’t you do it?
- Ask for help. Too many students don’t want to be embarassed or “look stupid” by asking for help, but you won’t look stupid and you shouldn’t feel embarassed. This is your course. Your education. It’s your responsibility to seek the help when you can get it, BEFORE a test or quiz, and not afterwards. I’m here to help, just as your other instructors are.
Here are some links I found that may help you. If you know of others, please post it for others to see. Two of these come from university sites, but don’t shy away from them just because they are from a higher education domain. Online learning and study skills are relevant for all learners, and as high school students, you are preparing yourself for future academics, so might as well look now!
- Study skills – There are a lot here to help you in all your courses throughout life, not simply K12.
- General study skills – Includes taking notes, online learning, collaborative projects, and math.
- Profile, tips, and a calendar – This is from the Univ of Minn and has some useful information.
- Strategies for online learning – This is from the Univ of Utah, is laid out very well, and is devoted to online learning.
