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Concept maps are useful for stimulating the recall, organization and sequence of prior knowledge. They are particularly useful tools for visual learners. A timeline is actually a type of a concept map that can help you recall the order or context of historical events. Go online and research “concept map templates.” You’ll find dozens of designs. Select a few that appeal to you and store copies in your binder and at your workspace. Use them for sorting out relationships, concepts or events, and review them to activate your schema. Predict Before starting an assignment or reading, ask yourself: Based on what I already know, what do I predict will happen? Make it a game: What three things do I expect to happen and why? Reward yourself when you’re right. Wikipedia/Google Searches Wikipedia is not a citable source, but Wikipedia and online factual searches can be very helpful in building schema. For example, build prior knowledge about a novel by researching facts about the author. What was the author like? What time period did they write in? Did their life experiences influence the writing of this novel? Explore the novel’s setting. If the novel is set in 1850 California, spend a few minutes on Wikipedia or a good history website, learning what was going on in California at that time. Look at old photos. Study a map of 1850 California. Pull up old newspaper articles. Create a mental vision of the novel’s setting, so the story runs like a movie in your head as you read. Simple research takes only a few minutes, but goes a long way to build your schema and make new information meaningful and memorable. Do the same to increase your comprehension of historical events. For example, if you are studying the Russian Revolution, take some time to read the biographies of the key players, watch a documentary, check out old photos of Russia, read accounts of events. Build a mental picture of the time and place. PRODUCT PREVIEW
THE BIG PICTURE
Fire up Brainy's dendrites, axons and synapses by activating your schema. Brainy likes to link information to other information. It builds comprehension and strengthens retention of content. Whenever you are learning something new, activate your schema! Brainstorm, quiz yourself, review class notes, make a prediction, or use any other schema activation technique. It takes only a few moments to use any one of these schema activation techniques, but it’s really worth the time. Activating your schema makes learning easier, and improves comprehension and recall. It’s an excellent pre-learning study skill for high school and college readiness.
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THE 21st CENTURY STUDENT’S GUIDE TO STUDY SKILLS
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