Go get a glass of water before you start. Studies show that children learn better if they are able to drink plenty of water throughout the day, so it may work for you too. Make sure you are not hungry, and please do relax. It really is pointless to begin to study if you are tense or stressed. You will be wasting your time and you will become more and more frustrated and unproductive.
You need a plan. You need to begin to develop a system for studying, and to do that you need some basic information.
TIME MANAGEMENT
At college you will be expected to take responsibility for your own study time and use it efficiently. Your tutors should be able to help you with this, but unfortunately I have seen many students sitting in the study centres, not doing anything because they are unable to organise their time effectively.
If you are doing most of your study at home, it is even easier to become distracted. Even while I am writing this, I'm looking round and thinking that I should really be doing some housework. Hopefully, by following some of the tips and ideas in this guide, you will develop the necessary skills to enable you to make the most of your study time and to successfully complete your course.
24-HOUR/SEVEN-DAY TIMETABLE
First of all you will need a sheet of plain A4 paper and several different coloured pens or pencils. This may seem a bit childish, but it is one of the most useful activities I have found for recording how people use their time. I do it with all my students when they begin their course.
Make yourself a 24/7 timetable just like the example, top left, and, using a different colour for each activity, start by filling in all the things that have to take place in your day - for example, sleeping, the hours you spend at work or at college and the time you need for travelling or picking up the children from school.
Now fill in all the other things you do during your week, and make a key to show what each colour represents. Do you have many white spaces left? Hopefully, you do have some, as this will be your study time.
If there are no white spaces left, you need to get ruthless now. What are you doing that could be put on hold for a while? You will probably find that your tasks have expanded to fit the time available, so now you need to weed out the unnecessary activities and fit in more study time.
You will also have to get tough and tell family and friends that, for a while, your college work will need to take priority and at certain times you are not to be disturbed. Ask your tutor or assessor how much private study time is recommended for your course, and try to fit it into your timetable. Now plan a study timetable, pin it to the wall in a prominent place - and stick to it.
WHAT'S YOUR STYLE?
Think about the activity at the beginning where you itemised your prior learning. Did you begin to realise how you learn best? When you follow instructions, do you read all of the words, do you only look at the pictures, or do you disregard instructions altogether and just go for it? By asking yourself such questions, you will be able to establish whether you are a visual, auditory or kinaesthetic learner (see box, p16).
If you are a visual learner, you remember things more if you see them, or if things are arranged in patterns or colours. Auditory learners prefer to listen, and kinaesthetic learners find that they learn best by doing practical activities or manipulating objects.
Some people like to learn things in a step-by-step way; this is called sequential learning. The holistic learner will prefer to see the whole picture before she begins.
It is important for you to know your learning style and in many colleges you will be given a questionnaire to complete so that your tutors also know your learning style. There are many online questionnaires that you can try, and you will find their addresses in Resources (p17).
