The Pascal Method An Effective Study Technique

Sometimes children and adolescents fail in their studies because they do not have an effective work technique to help them organize. The Pascal method can be very useful to them and improve their school performance.

That a child has an organization and effective study techniques will be crucial for him to achieve good grades or, on the contrary, suffer school failure. The Pascal method, which takes its name from its founder, José Pascual, can help children to enhance their learning.

As José Pascual said, children must “learn to learn.” Sometimes, we forget the importance of a boy having some study skills; without these you may end up failing. The method, together with effort, sacrifice and perseverance, will make the minors internalize much better what they learn.

Pascal method: planning, routine and parental help

It is essential that, before talking about the Pascal method itself, it is clear that the first thing to do is plan with the children the time they will spend preparing each subject each day. There is no use doing it on the fly or at the last minute; we must put it on paper and always apply it.

Another thing to keep in mind is the child’s place of study. This has to be a place with good lighting, quiet and with all the materials that you will need arranged in an orderly way and at hand.

The periods of dedication to study cannot exceed an hour and a half, since learning tends to decline from that moment on. Therefore, you have to take breaks after an hour and a half of work.

Parents also play an important role: they should not burden the child, but neither should they disengage. What is sought is that they are autonomous and that things are never done for him.

Learning and motivation

All of us, when we learn, make changes in our knowledge through the experience and studies we acquire. But, for there to be optimal learning, these basic conditions must be met :

1. Desire to learn voluntarily and freely.
2. Ability to know how to face problems and solve them.
3. Motivation and interest in learning to reach the goal we want to achieve.
4. Parental support. If the child’s environment provides security, calm and harmony, this will be an optimal environment for study and it will be easier to carry it out every day.
5. Detect early any possible learning, developmental, emotional or behavioral difficulties. The earlier they are detected, the less they will interfere with your learning.
6. College. Teachers are also key in the study and, depending on the didactic methods used by them, they will make their content interesting, or not.
7. Study methods and techniques to help create an organization and planning program of knowledge and time.

What is the Pascal method?

José Pascual, founder of this method, introduced study techniques in Spain 37 years ago and proposed the Pascal method to improve the performance of boys. What steps must be followed with this method?

Pre-reading or previous reading

This consists in that, before the teacher goes to give a topic, the child has read it to him at home so that, in this way, he knows what the teacher is talking about when he explains it.

Comprehensive reading

Read the syllabus several times and try to understand and memorize it. This is the method that students often use uniquely, but by itself it is not enough.

Underline

After the comprehensive reading, the next step is to underline those relevant aspects of the text that has been read. Different colors can be used to highlight the main ideas from the secondary ones.

Summarize topics

Here comes the step of reducing the content as much as possible without leaving anything important of what has been read. It is important to use your own words to make it easier to remember. Also, while you are writing it, you are also reviewing.

Make outlines of the themes

Outlining is another way to reduce content. According to José Pascual, it is easier to organize ideas if they are arranged in a hierarchical way because, in this way, the main and secondary ideas are appreciated at a glance through the use of arrows or brackets.

Mnemonic rules

The mnemonic rules are very useful to remember dates, names or sets, relating by keywords or acronyms.

Review

Once you have the summaries and diagrams made, you have to review all the contents. If this is not done, after 24 hours everything is forgotten.

Self appraisal

This step consists of taking mock or oral exams yourself, or making question and answer cards to see if the content has been acquired.

Organization

For this technique and others to be successful, it is essential to have an organization and distribute time appropriately, prepare a study schedule and avoid bingeing the day before the exam.

As far as the Pascal method is concerned …

In short, it is very important to establish, from a young age, some study habits and a place to do it. The Pascal method is very effective and can be the difference between getting excellent grades or failing.

However, we must not forget that the method, by itself, does not contribute anything if the student is not constant and makes an effort. By following the steps we have seen above, children will achieve their academic goals.