In a recent New York Times article they discussed new evidence demonstrating the ineffectiveness of old study habit theories. We’ve all experienced the pain staking study session – crammed in a quiet room, no visual or auditory distractions, going over one topic until it is jammed into our heads, and not stopping the session until study goals are achieved.
Newly released studies show that doing exactly the opposite of what we learned growing up will help you retain and understand new material. These new found study tips include:
- alternating study environments
- mixing content
- spacing study sessions
- participating in self-tests
Utilizing these factors will help those students that are motivated to learn, become even better students! These approaches can also be used in speech therapy. We encourage our speech families to work with their children at home, allowing for the materials to be presented in multiple environments, and allowing spacing between the “study sessions.”
We hope you find these tips useful as we enter into the 2010-2011 school year!