Study Skills Institute :: www.StudySkills.net :: Online Courses and Curriculum

1- Laws of Learning
Objectives: Students will understand the nature of learning and how to apply it to schoolwork. Too often we find that students simply do not know how to learn efficiently. Once students understand the "Laws of learning", they are able to recognize whether or not they are being productive in any given learning situation. Even better, students learn how to encourage their productive habits which are the first steps towards more efficient learning.

2- Reading Comprehension - "Readrite"
Objectives: Students will learn the Readrite techniques to improve their ability and speed in reading and recalling school materials (especially textbooks). Students will learn the value and importance of previewing, taking notes, reviewing and developing memory recall techniques when reading. Too often, students read textbooks as if they are novels. The problem is that they are expected to learn, not just read textbook material. The readrite method teaches students to read with the intent and ability to learn and recall the material.

3- Reading Speed
Objectives: Students will double their reading speed. Doubling reading speed often means just getting students up to their natural comfortable reading speed. Knowing what words to look for and improving eye movement techniques are great methods for increasing reading speed. The second objective is for students to understand how to continually work to increase their reading speed without sacrificing comprehension.

4- Memory
Objectives : Students will learn basic and advanced techniques to improve memorization and recall rates. Often memorizing is much easier than people realize, but recalling information can be dreadful! When students understand how their memory processes information, they are better able to recall the information. On tests, it is not always enough to recall the material because there is time pressure. So, our objective is for students to recall material quickly!

5- Organization
Objectives: Students will understand the value organizing and practice techniques to improve organizational skills. Organization is one of the keys to efficiency. Students learn about patterns of organization and practice applying the organizational skills. Good organization affects reading comprehension, memory, homework, note-taking and time management just to name a few.

6- Reinforcement (Habit Formation)
Objectives: Students will learn the principles of reinforcement and how to use reinforcement to develop better habits. Too often students will unknowingly reward the wrong efforts and develop bad habits. For example, when students take a break because they are frustrated, they are effectively encouraging themselves to be frustrated. This can be changed! Learning how to apply reinforcement properly can help students improve at any study skill and get their desired results from any aspect of studying.

7- Concentration
Objectives: Students will learn how to increase their concentration and how to work productively within the limits of their current concentration span. Everyone loses focus from time to time, and students need to know ways they can react once their mind wanders. Students will practice simple concentration techniques that can improve their concentration span. Additionally, students will learn how to adjust their learning style to suit their ability to concentrate because there are a lot of productive study activities that can be done in short periods of time.

8- Classroom Skills
Objectives: Students will learn how to use class time more productively. Between high school and college, students spend approximately 5500 hours in class. A better habit that saves even a single minute per class translates into over 90 hours of less work. There are a lot of ways to get a little more productivity out of class that can have a great impact on one's education.

9- Note-Taking
Objectives: Students will learn to take simple, effective and organized notes and learn how to review the notes for tests. Students often believe that the main (and sometimes only) reason to take notes is to have them for later review. While notes are important for exams, that is only one reason for taking them. They are also a great tool for learning in class and students need to understand why organized notes are an indispensable tool.

10- Homework Skills
Objectives: Students will develop a productive and efficient homework habit. Homework can be frustrating for students because it is often done alone and after a long day of school. The Learn-to-Learn course offers a procedure for students to develop good homework skills. Simply following some basic rules can make homework more enjoyable and more productive.

11- Taking Tests
Objectives: Students will understand how to better prepare for tests and will learn techniques to improve test performance. When a student can properly recall the information that has been studied, then test scores should be very high. Preparation and knowing the material are obviously top priorities, but once the test starts it boils down to performance. Simple techniques that link the preparation to the recall during the test make can have a great impact for those who struggle on tests. While the preparation is the lion's share, the testing skills get you those several points that can turn a "B" into an "A".

12- Co-Teaching
Objectives: Students will learn techniques and the value of teaching and explaining information to others. One of the fastest ways to learn is to teach. Co-teaching is a technique to help students divide up their work and teach it to each other. Th produces efficient learning and extra motivation to help a friend. Often a small study group in which the members teach each other is imperative for success in college.

13- Time Management
Objectives: Students will learn basic time management strategies. Time management is critical, especially at the college level when students have part-time jobs and must do so much work on their own time. When students know their learning rate, then they can schedule their study time well.

14- Motivation / Setting goals
Objective(s): Students will learn to how apply motivation techniques properly. Students who are content with mediocre grades are not motivated to improve their grades. Others who are not content with near-perfect grades try to improve. Getting motivated is as simple as a personal decision to make an improvement. Staying motivated requires some basic knowledge of how motivation relates to the goals that we try to achieve.