Developing and Deepening Your Learning

Deepening your learning happens when you study effectively and prepare adequately for taking tests. Learning how to do these well can only help you be more successful. Additionally, this chapter discusses the role that metacognition plays in helping you improve your learning processes. This chapter has provided a variety of tools, strategies, tips and information about how to develop skills that will be most effective for your experience. You can help yourself by taking these guidelines seriously and tracking your progress. If one strategy works better for you in some classes and another is more suited to a different course, keep that in mind when you begin to study. Use all the resources available to you, and you’ll be well on your way to success in college.

Studying and test taking skills often need to evolve to meet the needs of college expectations. Even if you have solid skills your first year, you will need to continue to develop, hone, and add to them. To that end, consider what else about developing your memory, honing your study strategies, practicing good test-taking skills, or improving your metacognition you would like to learn or practice. Choose one of the following to explore further this term:

• Develop a study plan that includes when, where, and how to study.
• Incorporate spacing, interleaving, and practice testing as study strategies.
• Eliminate test anxiety by implementing strategies to reduce stress.
• Monitor self-awareness of how well you are learning and what needs to change.