Effective Study Skills Are the Sole Foundation of a Sound Essay

Effective study skills are definitely an important factor of a sound education. They don’t happen overnight. They â€Å"evolve and mature through practice, trial and error, feedback from others and reflection through different stages of the course† (Cottrell,S.2008. pg1) Working on effective study skills means the individual will find out what works best. Basically â€Å"learning how to learn† (Cottrell,S. 2008. pg 48). There are many different ways in which individuals learn, for e.g. ‘conscious learning’ – when the individual is aware they are learning (Cottrell,S. 2008. pg 48). ‘Unconscious learning’ – when the individual is unaware that it is happening but it may become conscious learning when they just know something and then wonder, how did I know that (Cottrell,S. 2008. pg 48). Each person has 3 different learning styles which affect their lives. Some people learn better using visual learning such as looking at pictures or diagrams. Other people are auditory learners i.e. listening to recordings. Then there are people who are kinaesthetic or tactile learners, they like to touch and play with things. (Wyman,P. 2011). By testing all these types of learning people will see what they find easiest to use and then be able to adapt it to their studies. Effective study skills could definitely be described as the sole foundation of a sound education when doing independent learning. A learner would acquire knowledge by his or her own efforts, therefore good study skills are vital (Meena. 2012). This comes into effect on a distance learning course i.e. foot health diploma. Having the choice of when and where studying takes place, means being disciplined enough to dedicate the time to it. In essence the individual is teaching themselves. To really succeed in a chosen subject doing something with genuine enthusiasm is most important otherwise individuals could just lose interest.