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Learning Strategies for Students: What Works Best for You?

Every student is unique. Teaching approaches that work for some students might prove to be entirely unsuccessful for others. That is why many of them struggle in traditional academic settings and look for alternative ways to get the necessary skills and knowledge. At AdvancePath.com, we focus on individual needs, providing the flexibility, support, and opportunities that traditional classrooms may lack. We help students manage their assignments faster. By showing the benefits of different learning strategies for students, our team motivates them to unlock their potential.

So, what is the definition of learning strategies? Basically, these are the approaches you use to understand and remember the necessary information while you study. Usually, they involve active engagement with the material and effective study habits. The best part is that you can choose those strategies that match your individual learning style and preferences.

When we talk about the types of learning strategies, we can say that they can be cognitive, metacognitive, or affective. Cognitive strategies include the mental processes you use to get and process information (for example, structuring and/or visualizing it). Metacognitive learning strategies are all about monitoring and regulating your behavior (planning and evaluating).

Finally, affective strategies help you manage emotions and motivation (stress management and time management techniques). Let’s explore the most effective strategies to let you decide which of them is worth using in the classroom.

We’ll start with active learning strategies for students.

Active Learning Strategies for Students

Suppose there’s a source of information - a lecture of a famous professor. Some students prefer listening carefully to every word the lecturer says and paying all their attention to the narrative. They can also write down some of the crucial ideas to be able to read them in the future and process the material in detail. After that, they can further investigate a topic through research and analysis using an inquiry-based learning strategy.

Here are some more examples of active learning strategies for students you can use.

5 Learning Strategies for Students You Need to Know

When you start reading about all the strategies out there, your head can start spinning. There is no need to swallow the whole piece at once. Let’s start with digestible bites. Here are 5 learning strategies for students you can try using to bring their productivity to the next level.

#1 Collaborative Learning

This strategy encourages students to work together on projects and assignments. It can help them develop communication, teamwork, and problem-solving skills. For instance, peer tutoring can be rather effective because it allows students to get a comprehensive explanation from someone who speaks the same language as them (no offense to the educators, but there is often a big difference between getting answers from teachers and from fellow students).

#2 Real-World Connections

Theoretical knowledge is often the basis every student needs to explore its real-life application. Field trips or the usage of VR technologies can make learning more relevant and engaging for students. They can finally get the answer to the question: “Why do I need to learn all this stuff if I can’t use it in the real world?”

#3 Feedback and Assessment

This is how educators can help students monitor their progress and identify areas for improvement. The key idea here is not only to provide students with the necessary information but also to ensure they use it correctly. The task of every teacher is to guide students and highlight their strengths and possible weaknesses. Being supportive while giving feedback is crucial to ensure students are inspired by the opportunity to become even better at what they do rather than disappointed by their lack of accomplishments.

#4 Helpful writing strategies for students

Writing assignments are a big part of the studying process. Therefore, teachers can suggest some effective writing strategies for students to help them overcome these obstacles with less stress. For instance, teachers can help students analyze the published works of scholars to identify the features of high-quality academic writing.

Being criticized for not being able to write as great papers as other scholars do is often a vulnerable point for students. Therefore, teachers can create a supportive and collaborative environment where everyone shares their writing, receive feedback, and learn from each other. It is an effective way of helping students to build confidence and improve their writing skills.

#5 Gamification

It is one of the types of learning strategies that have become extremely popular nowadays. It is all about incorporating game-like elements into learning activities to make them more engaging and motivating. For example, students might play a game that simulates running a business or conducting a scientific experiment.

More Learning Strategies Examples

Here are two more great strategies that almost always work great for students of any academic level.

Historical Figures

This is one of the role-playing learning strategies examples. Students take on the roles of different historical figures to understand their perspectives and actions. The point of this approach is to let students analyze the behavior of famous historical characters and learn about their lives. It gives them a deeper understanding and allows them to remember the material faster.

Socratic Seminars

These are guided discussions where students engage in critical thinking and analysis of a text or topic. It is possible to suggest several topics and let students pick the one that resonates with them the most.