To succeed in an exam, it is not enough for students to read and reread their courses. This is the conclusion reached by psychologists specializing in learning. However, to learn in the long term, there are effective methods that work, such as personal questionnaires, and making cards or diagrams for example. Here are 7 tips that will help you learn better.
Rereading endlessly is useless. This is the conclusion of Henry Roediger and Mark McDaniel, two psychologists from Washington University in St. Louis, who combined 80 years of studying learning and memory with the novelist Peter Brown in the book “Make It Stick: The Science of Successful Learning.” To learn better, various methods exist, such as the famous flashcard method; synthetically mobilizing your knowledge is much more effective than simply rereading. There are of course some tips to follow to better manage your way of learning, and here are a few.
DON’T JUST RE-READ YOUR NOTES AND COURSES
We know from studies that the majority of students when they study, tend to reread their lectures and notes. Many students say that this is their number one study strategy. We also know from a lot of research that this kind of repetition and recycling of information is not a very good way to learn or create permanent memory. Studies of students at Washington University, for example, show that rereading a chapter of a book does not achieve any results, since they have the same knowledge as a student who only reads it once.
The first time you read, you extract a lot of information. But the second time you read, you read with the mindset of, “I know this, I know this.” So you don’t push the process deeply, you don’t get anything out of it. Often, the rereading is superficial, and this method is very insidious because it gives you the illusion that you know the information when in fact, it’s just gaps.
ASK YOURSELF A LOT OF QUESTIONS
A good technique to use instead of rereading is self-questioning using ready-made or self-created questions. Reworking the information is what will produce better learning and memory. And even if you can’t remember it, when you make a mistake, it gives you a more accurate diagnosis of what you don’t know, and what you need to go back to study. This method helps you study in a more efficient and orderly manner.
Asking yourself questions also helps you understand more deeply. For example, let’s say you’re studying history and ancient Rome and Greece were trading partners. Stop asking why they became partners, but instead ask why they became shipbuilders, and how they learned to sail the oceans. It’s not always “why,” you can ask the “how” or the “what.” By asking yourself these questions, you’re trying to explain, and by doing that, you create a better understanding, which leads to better memory and learning. So instead of reading and skimming, ask yourself questions that will make you understand the information.
CONNECT NEW INFORMATION TO INFORMATION YOU ALREADY KNOW
Another strategy is to connect the principles in the text to what you already know on a second reading. For example, if you’re studying how neurons transmit electricity: one of the things we know is that you have fatty sheaths around neurons, called myelin sheaths, that help the neuron transmit electricity more quickly.
So you can compare it to water flowing through a pipe. Water moves very fast through it, but if you puncture it it will leak, and you will not have the same flow. This is exactly what happens as we get older, the myelin sheaths break down and transmissions become slower.
TRANSCRIBE THE INFORMATION IN A VISUAL WAY
A very good strategy is to make diagrams, visual models, or flowcharts. Anything that creates activates learning and understanding done by yourself, which is very effective in the long term. It is necessary to be less passive and to be much more engaged and concerned by learning to succeed.
USE CARD SHEETS
Flashcards are also a great way to learn. And one of the keys to using them effectively is to test yourself on what you know. Many students will ask questions on a flashcard and put it away once they get it right. But of course, that’s not the way to do it. Repeating the act of remembering is important. Studies show that keeping a good flashcard on your desk and using it over and over again is very helpful. Of course, you should practice what you don’t know, but you shouldn’t abandon what you already know. That’s important too!
DON’T HOARD SPACE OUT YOUR STUDY TIMES
Many students wait until the last minute to study, all in one night, they repeat information over and over. It may help you ace that test tomorrow, but in the end, you won’t retain much of the information you may need to know next year. The best way to do this is to space out the repetitions. Practice a little bit a day in a spaced-out manner and your memory will be more apt to be stimulated, so learning will be much easier.
NO PERSON IS GOOD AT MATHEMATICS
Everyone has the strength to learn and has the same abilities. Saying that one is more talented in a subject is above all a question of preference, and not of ability. Logic, everyone is disposed to it. What differs between students is their ability to learn and to want to understand something, and especially their way of learning. A good student who will study in a very good way will necessarily be more inclined to understand something than a student who studies on the last day only to pass his test. One will work his memory in the long term and the other in the short term and will forget everything shortly after.
BONUS
If you are a teacher, you also need to pay attention to how your lessons are laid out. Generally, once you have seen a concept, you do not return to it concretely, and yet it is sometimes necessary to restart the memory process and therefore allow your students to learn better. Doing tests in the middle of the year on a concept seen at the beginning of the year can be a good way for you to see if your students have understood and learned your lesson. We are not going to teach you how to do your job, but this little tip can still be very useful.
We hope that these tips will help you better understand how learning works and will motivate you to work better, space out your time, and succeed in your studies. At the editorial office, we use these few tips to be more efficient in our work. As such, it can also be useful at work!