College Study Skills Clint A Wilson Huntington University Author Note Clint A. Wilson, Huntington University Correspondence concerning this article should be addressed to Clint Wilson, Contact: clint@clintawilson.com Abstract In this paper, I will discuss what I learned about myself as a result of the surveys conducted, and any strategies or techniques I picked up to enable me to be more proficient. College Study Skills I started this class with mixed emotions. I was wondering what could I learn that hasn’t been taught to me in years prior? I have always been taking some type of course or another all my adult life, most of which centered either around technology, biblical/theological, or fire/ems. I have always excelled at everything I put my mind to, so once again, what can I learn from this class? The answer was quite shocking to me, I learned a lot. Had I kept a close minded attitude I may not have learned anything, but my willingness to open my mind and be willing taught me some good study skills, some of which have already been put into practice. The four surveys that were completed showed a lot of what I already knew about myself, but I will admit it did make me realize some things. I have always been a big picture thinker, which has gotten me in trouble often, as I often don’t dig into the small details as well. This gentle reminder of that was helpful. Part B which shows our learning styles it was fully, even with everything except cooperative. I originally disagreed with that statement, but after more reflection, it is exactly accurate. I may be a people person and be very sociable, but when it comes to learning leave me alone. I study best with some music playing (typical smooth jazz, or classical) and the proper lighting. I also have to have my desks set up just so, none of this I can do in a group setting. Does listening to an essay help me? No, not at all because I like to see whatever it is in practice. This was concreted even more so with the results of Part C which was fairly overwhelming to visual learning. Finally, Part D the most intriguing one of them all to me. It stated that to be successful in learning I would need to know my learning style, which side of the brain is my dominant. According to the results I have no dominate side, I think equally from both sides. I do not know how that is possible, but apparently it is. I am able to offer compassion and empathy and at the same time start problem solving. The reading and practice exercises provided many TIPS (bad pun intended) that I can use and have already put some into practice. The two main things that I got out of this reading was the TIPS method and SQ4R. Admittedly, I do not retain what I read unless I read it multiple times. This has always been one of my biggest problems, or when I get done, I have the entire book highlighted. The SQ4R method has already improved my retention of my reading for another class. It fits my reading style perfectly as I read fast and I skim. By breaking it down and looking over the contents, then the headers first, and then formulating questions based on those does several things for me. First, it engages me into the reading, I am now reading with more of a purpose. It has already given me a good foundation to follow as I begin to read. Breaking things out into manageable chunks is another great tip taken from SQ4R. It causes my readings to look less stressful. Then the 4 R’s the icing on the cake, with the 4 R’s I am able to retain more information. The recite part puts the information more into my brain, and the Record helps me from marking up the entire book. I will always use SQ4R from here on out. TIPS, an interesting way of learning. I have been able to incorporate TIPS with SQ4R and add the secondary punch to my reading and retention. How I have used them together is by reading via the SQ4R method and having a sheet of paper beside me with TIPS outlined on it, as I read I fill in the blanks. In summary, this course teaches many things I was already doing, such as time management. By using the methods, I learned in this course I have already started seeing a difference in my retention. I will use my professional presentations class for a reference. Week 1 I had to write an essay on the reading assignment, and my grade on it was a high B. I was just reading with no method. This past week I used both TIPS and SQ4R and scored a 100% on my essay. I was able to reaffirm some learning thoughts I had for myself.