Welcome to Knowledge Gain's Twelve Effective Study Strategies. These strategies can be helpful to you and your child in acquiring knowledge. Acquiring knowledge requires effort and energy. It is not enough simply to listen, read, or just be around an opportunity to learn. We must seek knowledge, desire to organize it, and focus energy to collect and retain it. Although most learning is stimulating and enjoyable, it does require work.

These activities are NOT designed for children to follow by themselves. Rather, they are designed to enhance YOUR interaction with your child so that you can be a positive contribution to his/her success in school. The activities are written to you as a parent (or teacher), and include suggestions about how to use them with your child.

Too many people, of every age, fail to understand the active nature of learning. Many think knowledge should come naturally to us and can be passively absorbed and passively retained. When we participate only passively, an unfortunate and unproductive situation is created. Instead of developing active, effective, and personal methods of learning, we come to assume that successful learning is doing that which will impress or satisfy someone else. This gives the control and responsibility to that other person and makes learning far less enjoyable than when we control ourselves. When we attempt to satisfy others or we passively respond, anxiety increases and, if it becomes excessive, the resulting pressure or tension actually limits our ability to acquire knowledge. We develop negative attitudes that, instead of increasing our motivation to learn, can cause us to be too afraid to try.

Contrast the passive learner with the active learner, one who understands the need to be active and organized and who sees acquiring knowledge as a creative enterprise. Although effort is required, the active learner measures success by the feeling of completeness or mastery over knowledge rather than by seeking to satisfy others. This sense of mastery is a principal characteristic of people who succeed at learning. It is knowing you know. Further, mastery is achieved only by being active. Active learners are more confident about their abilities, and this confidence produces greater ability to acquire knowledge. Desire and individual responsibility replace fear. Rather than avoiding opportunities, active learners seek after and enjoy the challenge.

Knowledge Gain's Twelve Study Strategies probably sound familiar. They are designed to create the type of confidence and sense of responsibility described in the foregoing paragraph. The twelve strategies match learning opportunities offered at school, and they can also be applied to activities at home or elsewhere. More importantly, they can increase anyone's motivation and ability to learn. These learning strategies add a sense of enjoyment and excitement to pursuing knowledge rather than waiting passively for it to come. When applied, these strategies accelerate learning and make it a richer and more satisfying part of life.

The amount of information available for us increases tremendously every day. This suggests that we must match the "information explosion" with new and improved abilities to learn. If we quicken our abilities to master greater amounts of knowledge in less time, we will be less overwhelmed by the requirements and more excited about the possibilities.

Knowledge Gain's learning strategies will not be new to everyone. The twelve strategies have been available for some time, but they are often unused. Strategic learning improves performance and increases the reward. For young and old, learning can be a more successful experience.