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Step 1 – How to preview

This video explains step 1 of the 3-step model: Preview. When previewing you make a blueprint of the study material, in order to know in advance what
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Be brainfriendly! Previewing helps you to learn. First, let’s do a test Listen to this story and try to remember as much as possible.
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Start by dividing everything into different groups. Sometimes, one group may be enough. It is important to keep the groups separated. If you don’t, this may lead to problems. The whole task will probably seem complicated at first. But it will soon become a part of everyday life. Once you have completed the task, everything must be returned to its proper place or reused immediately. And after a while, you will have to do the whole task again. The chances of this task coming to an end in the near future are small. What do you remember? Did you notice that you were wondering what the story was about?
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It was about doing the laundry So, what does this tell you about what your memory needs? Fragments are hard to remember [words tumbling down] Groups, divide, not too much, divide again This is better Doing the laundry Divide into groups Put in machine at home or at laundry service Return to wardrobe
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Your brain needs an outline of the information that is coming in! Previewing gives you that outline Preview - Study - Revise How to preview a book?
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Read the title And the back Who is this author? Researcher? Practical experience? Position in the field? Personal vision?
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Examine the preface Why is this book important? How to use the book? How old is this book? What is new in this edition? Information on specific chapters? Look at the table of contents How is this book structured?
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Leaf quickly through the entire book! How long are the chapters? How are they structured?
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Try to explain what the book is about in your own words Now, you’ve previewed your book Your brain will picture the book like this Title Chapters Sections per chapter How to preview a chapter? Don’t start reading
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First, leaf through the chapter Ask yourself What themes will be discussed?
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Subheadings
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First sentence of the paragraph
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Bold and italics
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Graphics
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Conclusion
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Preview - Study - Revise Ready to study!

After your preparation, it’s time to start with your study session. In this video you learn how to do step 1 of the three-step model: Previewing. Previewing is a technique, a skill. That’s why you can practise with two preview exercises in the following steps.

Please reflect on the following questions in the discussion section and find out what others came up with:

  • Are you already used to previewing your books/chapter, or something similar?
  • What in this video is new to you?
  • How do you think previewing can be useful for you?
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