PHENOMA practical book for schools 2019 PHENOMA practical book for schools 2019 | Page 86

Here are some tips on how to become a more effective learner:
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Find your learning style and use it to your advantage. If the teacher’s style doesn’t match
your leaning style, look for solutions, not excuses. Take notes in class and then Google the
topics and find information presented in your preferred format.
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Study, review, review, review. All new information is stored in the short-term memory
at first. If you don’t access that information within a certain period of time, i.e. review, your
brain will decide it is not that important, and will purge it. To keep everything you learn in your
head, review your notes right after you finish studying or just before you go to bed that day.
Review them again the next day, and again a week later to move the information to the long-
term memory.
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Take advantage of your teachers and peers. Ask them for help if you are having a
problem understanding a difficult concept. Every mental challenge gives your mind an
opportunity to expand, and once that happens, there’s no going back.
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Help a classmate in a subject you’re good at. As Joseph Joubert wisely said, to teach is
to learn twice. You will get a chance to review and organize your knowledge, and possibly
boost somebody’s confidence and change their life for the better.
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Never identify with your grades. They may be important, but the progress you make is
much more valuable in the long run.
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Keep in mind that knowledge is not about memorizing facts and figures. It’s about
training your mind to use the facts to solve problems. Think about facts as food ingredients.
You can give two people exactly the same ingredients, and one person may not know how to
combine them together to make the simplest dish, while the other will whip up a culinary
masterpiece. That’s the difference between a walking encyclopedia and a creative problem
solver.
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Your mind works best when it’s well nourished, peaceful and rested. Make sure you get
enough sleep and have some relaxation routines to help you distress when you need it.
Have you heard the expression, “I have to sleep on it”? When you go to sleep, your brain goes
to work processing information, making new connections and coming up with creative