One of my tasks this semester is to plan for a reading course. A reading course is a student-designed course, consisting of identifying a topic, creating a list of learning objectives, creating assignments that demonstrate and reinforce those objectives, finding source materials that will teach the objectives along with modalities to import the information from … Read more
What it is SQ3R is an acronym describing a process for better retaining information read from a textbook. It stands for Survey, Question, Read, Recite, Review. This multi-step process offers advantages over reading through the text of a chapter from start to finish linearly. The survey step is similar to developing a qfocus as in … Read more
What it is The Question Formulation Technique is a set of skills designed primarily to improve one’s ability to craft a useful, effective question. Secondly, they serve to engage one’s mind with a particular topic in an inquisitive manner, such that the mind will be more receptive to learning information about that topic. To this … Read more
My Autism and ADHD often feel like two sides of the same coin. If I am interested in it, a topic can easily become a Special Interest, and I can easily funnel hours of attention into it to learn everything I can about it. This is usually at the expense of other things in my … Read more
What it is When studying, the environment can be a large factor in success, because it can shape your ability to focus effectively on the material. By creating an environment that is specifically for studying, you can optimize retention and recall as well as extend your focus attention span. This has really helped me with … Read more
What is is There is a significant difference between recognizing something, and having a full recollection of that something. The human mind is hardwired (in many cases) with shortcuts for things. There’s no reason to expend the mental energy to fully recall something every time that you recognize it. So the brain will fire the … Read more
One of the things I’ve learned in my time as an autistic student is that I have to adapt neurotypical learning strategies to fit the way my brain works. Rather than taking the instructions provided by my teachers at face value, I have to dig into the underlying concepts and find ways to reverse engineer … Read more
