Some people love to study and others hate it. Usually, when you don't like something it's because you're not very good at it, or because you are not interested. Are you passionate or not so much? If you are passionate, you surely are reading this article looking to be a better student every day. And if you are not, you may have realized that to achieve your goals it's necessary to study and improve yourself.
School years are often filled with fond memories, soulmates, inspiring teachers, and academic competition too. The knowledge you acquire here, and the skills you develop will guide you for many years. Also, your grades will be very important in landing your first job, or when applying to graduate school. Being a great student will even help you to qualify for better scholarships.
The truth is that, to become excellent in school, studying is not enough. But don’t worry, you don’t need Stephen Hawking’s IQ either. You need specific skills to succeed, and many of them can be learned. Keep in mind that your attitude also influences your performance, so make it your superpower.
Before discovering the top 8 best skills to learn for students, it is important that you identify what type of learner you are. This will help you find the most effective ways to acquire new knowledge. Also, it will give you ideas to implement in your study groups, to share with your trusted teachers, and even to personalize your self-study.
The main categories are:
You get information best when visualizing relationships and ideas. Mental maps, charts, diagrams, and even essays work well for you. Illustrating or diagraming your lectures on a whiteboard or paper will help you to absorb the information much better.
Dude, you are all ears! You prefer listening to information rather than reading it or visualizing it. You may repeat things you hear out loud. It’s easy for you to remember things best if you talk about them because it will be easier to recall a conversation than text.
You are the most hands-on learning type. You learn best by doing and maybe don’t feel comfortable if you are forced to sit for a long time. You shine when participating in activities or solving problems in a hands-on manner. You tend to remember what you do best.
For sure you are especially comfortable with the written word! You prefer to consume information by reading and may further retain more by condensing and rephrasing it. The traditional textbook and annotation process works well for your learning style.
After having detected what type of learner you are, here we have the top 8 best skills to learn for students 2023:
Let's dive into each of these skills! As you read, we invite you to do a simple self-test to determine your level in relation to each one. Rate how you perform in each skill with 1 being the lowest score and 5 being the highest.
No matter where you are, there are only 24 hours in a day. Effective time management requires:
Be comprehensive and honest with yourself. It’s recommended to set a frequency for your introspection sessions.
Goal setting keeps you away from distractions. Note that incremental goals are more effective than large ones.
While undesirable, failure is normal and necessary. A helpful approach is not to avoid failure, but to change the way you perceive it.
Teachers are not your enemies, they are allies. In the future, you may need an academic recommendation to apply for scholarships. Who knows?
As a proactive student, you see your studies in the context of the wider world. “Listen and not question, memorize, and repeat” is a thing of the past.
It is very difficult to learn when in a state of stress, anxiety, or depression. It is very important that you set limits and seek balance in your life.
Having an open mindset does not imply that you are indecisive or dull. You are capable of considering alternative viewpoints.
Before we showed you the top 8 best skills to learn for students, we invited you to do a self-test on these skills. It’s time to add up your scores. If your total score is between:
32 - 40: You are on fire, congrats! Keep doing it!
24 - 31: Be calm. You need to work on specific issues.
08 - 23: Give it a try! Find your motivations to learn.
Beyond the score you have obtained, here are 6 tips to be a better student every day:
Anyone can be successful in school, no matter what others say. You already know what type of learner you are, and the skills you need to continue developing in 2023. It is up to you to put your mind and hands to work. You can do it!
