Study Skills

In Esthetics students need to have a solid grasp on the theory foundations before they begin to perform treatments on clients in the practical lab to ensure safety. However, there is a considerable length of time between when these theory portions of the course are conducted and the end of course exams which are conducted by the Beauty Council of BC. Gaining skills and strategies so I can help students to improve their study and learning skills, to be ready for these additional exams at the end of the course, is a strong desire for me. Elizabeth Barkley recommends student engagement techniques to get students thinking about learning.

• Class portfolio- Artifacts from a specific course + Reflection on them
• Resource scavenger hunt- Students will navigate for resources to help support their path and determine what will help them progress academically and personally.
• Formative quiz- A way to obtain ongoing feedback on their learning progress
• Crib cards- A sheet of paper that students prepared beforehand and that contains information they think might help them answer exam questions.
• Student-generated rubrics- Allows students to evaluate themselves as it improves their motivation, interest, and performance in the project
• Triad listening- Students work in groups of threes. They are given active roles where they take turns listening and working together

Some additional strategies that would be beneficial to our Esthetics class for reviewing content in a fun and engaging way are:

• Jeopardy – while time consuming to prepare each student or group would take a category and develop questions to be used in the game.
• Snow ball fight – students write a question on a piece of recycled paper then crumple it up and when time is called throw it around the room. Time is called again and each student must pick up a snowball and answer the question.
• Categorizing grid- students are given items to categorize in the appropriate column or row.

Continuing our habits of practice testing is another source of study strategies for the students to review and solidify their knowledge. This article gives some excellent summery of 10 techniques used in the classroom with results on how effective these techniques are. The result for practice testing shows it has a high rating in its effectiveness to improve learning. Additionally, when students create the questions themselves a deeper level of learning results.

“Research has found that though multiple choice testing is indeed effective, practice tests that require more detailed answers to be generated are more effective. Importantly, practice testing is effective when you create the questions yourself.”

References:
Barkley, Elizabeth F. Student Engagement Techniques: A Handbook for College Faculty. San Francisco: Jossey-Bass, 2010. Print.