Different people approach research and studying differently. The students and staff of Berkeley High School have shared their own habits and hacks, and their multifaceted experiences of learning these skills.
According to Allyson Bogie, a BHS librarian, “Making sense of info is the fundamental basis of most liberal arts and studying. It’s essential, being able to find info and not get stuck.”
Bogie attended a local high school, and most of the research skills she learned during that time came from diligent reading; however, most of her studying skills developed later, while in college. The skills she has learned have helped her throughout her life, especially in taking classes to become a librarian when she had to study and write research papers.
“I do think that I draw on the skills that I learned in high school and college when I’m teaching here, but also I know that there’s some foundational skills that are the same, and some things have changed,” Bogie said.
She used technology as an example, explaining that when she was in school, it wasn’t as advanced.
Kendra Lubalin is a World History teacher at BHS, and had a different high school experience than many students of this generation in terms of research and studying.
“We really mostly read our text books, and memorized information in (them) for tests. It was a lot less thinking about things, trying to understand why things happened, and a lot more memorization of information,” Lubalin said.
According to Lubalin, as someone with ADHD and learning disabilities, she didn’t excel in this.
“I do assign a lot of research assignments, because I think it’s important to learn how to evaluate information,” Lubalin said, “History, like life, isn’t tidy. It’s something you have to piece together to understand.”
Lubalin doesn’t assign much study based work, which she defines as learning information just so you can prove you know it.
One of BHS’s clubs that involves research is Speech and Debate.
“Speech and debate meetings start off with a ‘podcast warm-up’ in which debaters gather in small groups and each give a one minute speech about something they learned from a podcast or article that week,” Amber Safir, the BHS Speech and Debate co-president, said.
According to Safir, there are two types of research one needs to do in order to succeed in debate.
“First is the general accumulation of knowledge throughout life,” Safir said. Debaters are better at their jobs when informed of current events and what’s happening in the world. While it isn’t required, debaters generally spend a lot of time reading the news, listening to podcasts, and studying philosophy, history, and economics.
“Second, at some tournaments, debaters are allowed to research online during the preparation period, which is necessary for niche topics,” Safir said.
For these situations, debaters attempt to quickly gain a general understanding of the topic, and then find quotes or statistics they can cite during their speeches to support their arguments.
A general interest of Safir’s is learning new information. “I suppose research and studying is an extension of that,” she said.
Safir prefers self motivated research over assigned research, but to her, all of it is enjoyable to some extent.
“My approach to research and studying is guided by trying to be as quick and effective as possible,” she said.
Researching comes naturally to some. Others may find it difficult, but can still understand and identify the importance of these skills.
“I think that getting better at researching and studying is just a matter of doing it consistently until you find a system that works for you,” Safir said.