No matter how much time you spend learning your lessons, you feel like you’re a real sieve. When it’s time to present your knowledge in an exam, you wonder where the 15 formulas you learned that very morning went! What if you changed your tactics? Here are 7 ways to learn your lessons effectively and get good grades.
1 – By writing
The first question to ask yourself is simple: are you writing enough? And by writing, we don’t mean typing on your keyboard. When was the last time you picked up a pen?
Handwriting has unsuspected side effects – beyond wrist cramps – and many studies have demonstrated its beneficial effect on memory. And at Oxford, we are convinced that writing is already memorizing!
We can notably cite that of the Norwegian neurologist Audrey van der Meer, who demonstrates that cursive handwriting stimulates brain activity and triggers learning in the brain.
Writing to learn is effective because it activates different areas of your brain and combines several elements of thinking:
- – retrieval you actively seek knowledge, without memory support
- – elaboration you connect new information to old information, already stored in your memory
- – and finally, generation: you reformulate ideas in your own words.
The hand notes are ss, but better!
Science says it again: the study by two American researchers Mueller and Oppenheimer has shown that students who take their notes on digital media often have poorer results than those who take them by hand.
It makes sense: the more you type, the less you think! Since you write faster and more mechanically, you don’t think as much about the content that will be in your course and you don’t select the information to process. You just write down what you hear, without asking yourself if it’s worth it 💭
On the other hand, handwritten notes encourage you to pre-select information, rephrase it, and write it in your own words – or even use abbreviations. There’s nothing more effective than anchoring information in your memory.
If you prefer taking notes on the computer, consider rewriting the course on paper when you get home.
2 – Take ownership of the information
Are you having trouble absorbing the information in your course as was said by your teacher? Try to make it your own. This is called storytelling: you use your imagination!
Create stories, rhymes, acronyms, mnemonic phrases… Anything that can help you take raw information out of context and put it in another context that is much more comfortable for you.
3 – Simplify them
Simplifying and popularizing information will help you a lot to appropriate it. Succeeding in learning a course is a big step, but you still need to know how to render it in a way that your corrector can understand… For that, two options are available to you:
- – The solo option with the blank sheet technique. It’s simple: after learning your course, you just have to write down everything you remember on a sheet of paper. Then, you can compare it with your original course and see what you’re missing. It’s ideal for pinpointing your difficulties!
- – The social option with the Feynman technique. It simply consists of popularizing your course to make it understandable to anyone: your grandmother, your little brother… At the same time, you make sure that you have understood it yourself. Win-win!
What do the blank sheet technique and Feynman’s technique have in common? They invite you to search through your knowledge and shape it in your way to better restore it later.
4 – By testing your knowledge
In addition, you must ensure that you have understood and that you are ready to bring out what you have learned in the event of a surprise test or exam.
As a general rule, try to always ask yourself 5 very basic questions about the information you have learned ( what is it, what is it for, how, with what, why, when, where? etc. ). If there is one that blocks you, make sure to solve this problem before going further!
Are the basics laid? Perfect! Now, refine the questions, and choose more specific and more challenging ones for you.
You can then move on to flashcards which are specifically designed to test your knowledge.
What are flashcards? They are double-sided cards that will quickly become your best revision allies. You can write a question on the front and the answer on the back. When you need to test your knowledge after revising a course, you can take out your flashcards and guess their hidden faces.
We offer you FLASH 2.0 flashcards, 100% effective for revision.
- – They are available in several formats for all your needs,
- – with several rulings (plain, small squares or lines)
- – and colored frames available in 12 colors to vary the pleasures – and above all, store them better!
You will also have access to REVIEW mode, a super effective way to create personalized revision sessions without racking your brain. It’s simple: SCRIBZEE® will scroll through the questions on your flashcards on the screen and you will have to guess the answer. Are you right? Swipe from the right, otherwise to the left. You can practice as much as you want and access progress curves to always be up to date with your revisions
5- Make cards
Flashcards are one of the best learning techniques, because if you’ve paid attention to what we’ve said above, they combine almost all of the most effective techniques for learning a course.
6 – Choose the right time to learn
Beyond constantly looking for how to work, it’s also very important to know when to work. It’s impossible to ask your brain to be at its best for hours, especially since too much information could impair your ability to learn.
To compartmentalize your revision sessions, try the Pomodoro technique. It is a time management technique that consists of regularly alternating work time and breaks to increase your concentration and optimize your learning conditions.
After revising, you also need to give yourself time to decompress to assimilate the information and retain it better. After a good revision session, don’t go over the information again for two or three days. Once this time has passed, you can reread your course.
Learning efficiently, children’s play
Here’s how to learn effectively in 7 tips. There will be one that will help you remember your lessons better, words from the pros But don’t forget that the most important thing is to believe in yourself and set goals. If you’re not organized, you risk quickly getting lost in your revisions! Don’t hesitate to combine these learning techniques with meticulous organization and a schedule.