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Transcript of Please note: This presentation is the intellectual property of the Copenhagen School of Global...
Please note: This presentation is the intellectual property of the Copenhagen School of Global Health. It may only be used by students registered at the school. Passing
this material on to other parties is illegal.
Your study technique toolbox
Getting off to a good start
Where we left off ...
Danish academic culture is based on the individual, critical response
• Knowledge (not information) and analysis• Your ablity to reflect on what you have
learnt• Sharing/discussing your thoughts with
others• Communicating your ideas CLEARLY
’Read, mark, learn and inwardly digest’
...inward digest?
• Retaining what you’ve learnt
• Making your knowledge useful - to yourself and others
For this, you need good study techniques...
..but you also need motivation
Get into good habits
• Check course requirements
• Plan your term • Have fixed working
hours (independent study)
• Choose your study environment (’work place’)
• Refine your study skills
The basics of a good study technique
• Read (appropriate technique)• Reflect on what you read (process your
material)• Share your thoughts
(teachers/colleagues)• Review your material regularly
Your study technique tool box
• Planning• Reading technique• Note-taking
technique• Active participation
in class • Generating ideas
Planning your time
Planning your time
Check:• Course requirements• Course plan • Type of exam and date• Reading load: primary/secondary
literature
Work out a study plan
• Long-term plan (overview of tasks month/term)
• Short-term plan (timetable for a week/day)
• Include extra-curricular activities
• Prioritise your tasks (ex. colour code)
• Set deadlines (be realistic!)
Reading techniques
Suit your technique to the status of the text
Before choosing your reading technique, you need to define
• text type?• aim of text?• relevance of text
Select your reading technique
• Overview reading• Skimming• Selective reading • Normal reading• Intensive reading....or a combination
Overview reading (’library reading’)
Purpose: • to familiarise yourself with various types of
text
How?• Read abstract or back cover• Check list of contents• Quick scan through text• Perhaps read parts of introduction and
conclusion
Skimming
Purpose: • To get a general idea of the text’s
content
How?• Quick scan through text• General notes when you’ve finished
Selective reading
Purpose: • Find specific information/explanation
which you need to use
How?• Read with a particular issue in focus• Take notes to the specific topic
Normal reading
Purpose: • understand the entire argument of the
text
How?• Read entire text• Take notes as you read• Summarise the text’s argument
Intensive reading
Purpose: • Know the text in detail
How?• Read text cover-to-cover• Take notes as you read• Final notes (progression of argument + your
response)
The SQ3R reading method
• Survey: Skim the text through before taking notes
• Question: What’s this about/what do I already know
• Read: Read thoroughly and take notes
• Recite: Summarise the main points (orally/in writing)
• Review: Go over notes regularly
The ultimate reading test
Put the text’s argument into your own words.
If you can’t, you’ve not understood the text!
Taking notes
Class notes
Purpose:• Record what went on in
class• Writing as an aid to
memory• Short and concise• Use your own
shorthand/page layout• Important notes in
quotes (watch out for plagiarism!)
Shorthand examples
• Def. definition• Ref. reference• Ex. example• + and/addition• => leads to/results in• = equals/the same as• < or > larger than/smaller than• ~ almost the same as/corresponds
to
Note-taking methods
• The Cornell method• The outline method• The mapping method• The charting method
Reference: sas.calpoly.edu/asc/ssl/notetaking.systems.html
The Cornell method
• Left margin for ’cues’/headlines/main points
• Notes to the right• Bottom of page for
main ideas (review)
Outline method
• Headline/main point• Space indention for
subpoints• Outlines content
relationships + levels of importance
• Need accurate organisation
The mapping method
• Visual/graphic representation of content of lecture
• Overview• Emphasizes critical
thinking• Easy to add
numbers, underline, colour-coding
The charting method
• Columns and headings
• Clear identification of lecture categories
• Easy to review• Limit amount of
notes
The four methods
Exercise - lecture notes
• Listen to the extract from part I of Anthony Giddens’ lecture series, Runaway World - on Globalisation
• Select your note-taking technique• Take notes while listening• Compare notes in pairs - discuss
pros/cons
Ex. lecture notes (Giddens)
• Intro. anecdote => impact of glob.• ’globalisation’ (term) - over past 10 years - meaning not clear -
great debate => • Two camps
• A. ’Sceptics’– Status quo - economy not different - regional exchange, not
global (ex. trading blocs, EU, NA, Asia) => the old left (free market agitators)
• B. ’Radicals’– Global market highly dev. ( % nation states - a fiction)
• Giddens: Radicals are right!• World trade, services, finance - ’new electronic global
economy’• BUT:’glob is political, technological, and cultural as well as
economic’
What to do with class notes?
• Fair copy of your notes when you get home- use headlines- summarise/put into your own words- classify topics into seperate files
• Recap: read over your lesson notes before the next seminar/lecture
• Questions? Clarify issues asap with colleagues/lecturer
Reading notes
’An unmarked text is an unread text’
Reading notes• Use the margins (content notes and your own
comments)
• Highlight the text (colour coding/post-it notes)
• Use note-taking techniques (cp. class notes)
• Synthesize your reading notes
• Devise a logical filing system
Exercise - reading notes
• Read through the text on the hand-out (Giddens/globalisation excerpt)
• Select a new note taking techique and use it for your reading notes.
• 10 min.
Checklist for text summaries (synthesis)
• Topic?• Issues addressed (synopsis)?• Argument?• Methods used (and why)?• Conclusions (and why)?• Your response
Mindmapping - generating ideas
Exercise - mindmap your thoughts
Draw a mindmap of your associations to any of the following topics:
• Disaster management• Networking• Improving public health in the third world• First impressions of Denmark
Active participation in class
Your sessions
• Lectures• Student presentations• Class discussions• Group work/discussions
Active participation from you is expected!
Active participation
• Take the floor early on - get use to speaking in class
• Contribute to discussions• Ask questions• Listen to your colleagues - share your
thoughts• Make sure your contribution is relevant
and constructive
Studying is work in progress ...
and study techniques only get better through constant practice