Study advice
Almost every person who has embarked on a course of home learning will perhaps smile at the situations outlined on this page. Something that we have not yet discussed is 'self-discipline'. To help with this we will look at:
Self-discipline is an essential requirement if you are planning to succeed with your studies. And because most instructors work on a self-employed basis, you will also need self-discipline after you pass in order to 'get up and go to work'!
The good news is that developing the discipline to get down to regular study is fairly easy, once you get into a routine, however, if you don't make proper plans for study a situation like the one below can easily arise!
Settling down to study ...
With the very best of intentions, you decide to settle down for a good couple of hours hard study in the evening.
First, you have to tidy up your study area and materials, but you find that you are short of paper and your favourite pen is missing. So, you go looking for the pen.
While looking for the pen you notice the newspaper and just check to see what's on television later in the evening – in the paper you notice an interesting article about cars.
You read the article and then decide that it might be a good idea to have a break halfway through the evening, so you look in the television guide for a suitable half-hour programme to watch.
Of course, the programme that catches your eye starts in just fifteen minutes. So, there is no point in starting to study before it begins but just enough time to find the pen and some paper.
You watch the programme and 20 minutes of next one as well – of course 20 minutes soon becomes an hour as you watch the whole programme.
Then you remember you haven't put out the wheely-bin for tomorrow's rubbish collection. You check round the house for any rubbish to put into the bin. And very conscientiously, you empty every waste paper basket and rubbish bin in the house.
Now it's time to settle down and study and with a great effort you open a book, usually at page one, but suddenly notice how hungry and thirsty you have become. So, you make yourself a quick snack which of course you wash down with a cup of tea.
By now most of your planned study time has just evaporated and you are beginning to feel tired at the end of the day. Thinking about all the things you have to do you decide that there is no point in just doing half an hour's study, best to relax and make a fresh start tomorrow!
We all have a great deal of talent for not doing things or avoiding something, which we think, might be difficult.
St. Francis of Assisi said:
"Start by doing what's necessary; then do what's possible; and suddenly you are doing the impossible."
The secret to successful home learning is to use that talent to plan your study sessions. When you have worked out a timetable for your home learning sessions you will find, in a short time, both you, and your family will become used to your regular routine.
You will get the time and space that you need and your family will know what to expect and hopefully support you in your efforts by leaving you undisturbed.
Getting organised
The more organised you can be with your study sessions, the better you will progress.
Imagine what a college course would be like if the times, days and lesson lengths changed every week. It would be confusing and incredibly difficult to integrate the course into everyday living.
In much the same way, disorganised home study can disrupt learning.
Now that you have had a taste of the SmartDriving Theory Course it's important to think about a getting into a routine for your studying.
Regular periods of study evenly spaced are much better than irregular all day or half day sessions. Also knowing what you want to accomplish in a particular period of study is important.
Remember splitting things up into manageable chunks from the section on motivation?
Different people will have different preferences for the way they learn. There are no hard and fast rules. The important thing is to find a way that suits you and fits in with your circumstances.
Start by asking yourself a the following, simple questions...
Where am I going to do my home learning?
It's best to have a specific place that is quiet and free from distractions. This could be any suitable room in you home or if necessary, somewhere outside your home such as the reference section of a public library.
It also needs to be reasonably comfortable with sufficient space to lay out the learning materials that you need. Even if this turns out to be the kitchen table, make it your own for the times when you are studying.
When am I going to do my home learning?
You will need to work out a timetable for learning sessions. This will depend on your own personal circumstances and may require some negotiation with the family to ensure you get peace and quiet.
The most important thing is to study at regular times. If you leave it to "when I have time" or "when I get around to it", you will find that it just doesn't get done. We are all very inventive at putting things off as the story on the next page illustrates.
How much am I going to do?
The first thing to note here is that everybody learns at his or her own pace. There are no prizes for qualifying in 7 months rather than 10. You need to allocate the amount of time that is best for you.
However, if you do too little you will loose the connection between one study session and the next. That is, you forget what you were doing and what you had learnt. This makes learning very slow and unrewarding. You will also take forever to qualify!
If you do too much you will get over-tired and you won't learn properly. In just the same way that your stomach need time to digest a meal your brain needs time to 'digest' new knowledge. Trying to stuff more knowledge into an already full brain is just a tiring waste of time and effort.
What you are looking for is a happy medium. As you get more used to home learning you will speed up and it will get easier.
In some ways it is like physical training. If you haven't done any for a long time, warm up first with something easy and break yourself in slowly. You will be surprised at how much you can do after quite a short time.
It is also important to know at the beginning of each learning session how much you hope to accomplish by the end. Otherwise how will you know when you have finished?
Getting a feel for how much you can accomplish in a given time and then setting a realistic goal for the amount of work you intend to do in each session helps in two ways.
It is both motivating into terms of achieving the goal you set yourself, and helps in pacing yourself to make the best use of your time.
Knowing that you can complete the 100 questions in a test comfortably in eighty minutes gives you a great deal of confidence when it comes to taking ADI Part-One.
Creature comforts
It's a good idea to make sure you are comfortable in your learning environment. Is the temperature OK? Am I wearing comfortable clothes?
Do I have a comfortable chair? Am I in the right frame of mind?
Sometimes you may have had a disastrous day or are just dog-tired. Then it may be better just to have a look back at what you have already achieved or do a little light reading about something that interests you.
This may perk up your enthusiasm. If it doesn't there is no point in making learning a chore. A good nights sleep may well be more beneficial.
It pays to plan when you are going to have a break during a learning session. You will also need to know what you are going to do during that break and how long it is going to be: e.g., get up, stretch, make a cup of tea eat a couple of biscuits etc., total time for break, say 10 minutes.
Some people find chewing gum helps concentration others smoke, eat sweets or have music playing in the background. It could be that you prefer absolute silence.
Whatever it is that puts you in the right frame of mind and makes you feel comfortable when you are learning make sure you have it to hand before you start.
Proper Preparation Promotes Perfect Performance
Often, quotes like the five P's (Proper Preparation Promotes Perfect Performance) usually spoken by some 'management guru' can sound pretty corny... But that doesn't make them any less true or valid!
Getting into a routine of making sure you have what you need before starting a learning session will make learning more enjoyable for you and help you to progress quickly and easily.
Here is an example of how it might go for a typical Part-One student....
Joe
Joe decides he is going to do three study sessions a week. He wants to make each session two hours long. Because the SmartDriving Theory Course is flexible he recognises that he can start and finish his sessions almost anywhere (except in the middle of a timed 'test').
He decides to do two hours on Tuesday evening, two hours on Thursday evening, and a further two hours on Sunday afternoon.
On Tuesday he starts with Module 2, marks it and records his score. he then spends the rest of the session and the Thursday session researches the answers to the questions that were answered incorrectly or which had a low confidence rating.
He continues the process on Sunday finishing with a re-do of the test. As his knowledge increases and his ability to research answers quickly and easily increases, he finds that he can begin to speed up.
By the time Joe is on to Module 10, he is completing the process described above in only two sessions. When he finds he has an odd half-hour during the week, he uses it to review the new knowledge he has acquired using his revision log.
A friend's son is learning to drive. Joe decides to put his new-found knowledge to practical use and offers to supervise some practice sessions on Thursday evenings. This helps him to integrate his knowledge with practical skills. As he progresses through the course Joe is pleased to see his marks increasing. He becomes more confident in his ability to learn.
Whenever possible he now goes out to practise the driving skills he has been learning about in iCourse Driving.
His driving is improving and he is gaining a little practice in putting it all together by helping teach his friend's son to drive.
By planning your time and then sticking to your plan, you will maximise your learning and make speedy progress towards your goal.