Top 10 tips on how to study smarter, not longer - Science ...

Musicians practice their instruments. Athletes practice sports skills. The same should go for learning. “If you want to be able to remember ... Skiptocontent Sharethis:EmailFacebookTwitterPinterestRedditGoogleClassroomPrint ByKathiannKowalski September9,2020at6:30am Asateen,FariaSanaoftenhighlightedbookswithmarkers.“Thecolorsweresupposedtotellmedifferentthings.”Later,sherecalls,“Ihadnoideawhatthosehighlightedtextsweresupposedtomean.” Shealsotooklotsofnotesassheread.Butoftenshewas“justcopyingwordsorchangingthewordsaround.”Thatworkdidn’thelpmucheither,shesaysnow.Ineffect,“itwasjusttopracticemyhandwritingskills.” “Nooneevertaughtmehowtostudy,”Sanasays.Collegegotharder,sosheworkedtofindbetterstudyskills.She’snowapsychologistatAthabascaUniversityinAlberta,Canada.Thereshestudieshowstudentscanlearnbetter. Havinggoodstudyskillsisalwayshelpful.Butit’sevenmoreimportantnowduringtheCOVID-19pandemic.Manystudentsworryaboutfamilyorfriendswhomaygetsick,Sananotes.Othersfeelmoregeneralstress.Beyondthat,studentsinmanycountriesarefacingdifferentformatsforlearning.Someschoolsareholdingin-personclassesagain,withrulesforspacingandmasks.Othersschoolshavestaggeredclasses,withstudentsatschoolpart-time.Stillothershaveallonlineclasses,atleastforawhile. EducatorsandParents,SignUpforTheCheatSheet WeeklyupdatestohelpyouuseScienceNewsforStudentsinthelearningenvironment Clientkey* E-mailAddress* Go Thankyouforsigningup! Therewasaproblemsigningyouup. Theseconditionscandistractfromyourlessons.Plus,studentsarelikelytohavetodomorewithoutateacherorparentlookingovertheirshoulders.Theywillhavetomanagetheirtimeandstudymoreontheirown.Yetmanystudentsneverlearnedthoseskills.Tothem,Sanasays,itmaybeliketellingstudentstolearntoswimby“justswimming.” Thegoodnews:Sciencecanhelp. Formorethan100years,psychologistshavedoneresearchonwhichstudyhabitsworkbest.Sometipshelpforalmosteverysubject.Forexample,don’tjustcram!Andtestyourself,insteadofjustrereadingthematerial.Othertacticsworkbestforcertaintypesofclasses.Thisincludesthingslikeusinggraphsormixingupwhatyoustudy.Hereare10tipstotweakyourstudyhabits. 1.Spaceoutyourstudying NateKornell“definitelydidcram”beforebigtestswhenhewasastudent.He’sapsychologistatWilliamsCollegeinWilliamstown,Mass.Hestillthinksit’sagoodideatostudythedaybeforeabigtest.Butresearchshowsit’sabadideatocramallyourstudyingintothatday.Instead,spaceoutthosestudysessions. Crammingbeforeabigtestcanleaveyouexhausted.Butyou’lllearnandremembermaterialbetterifyouspaceyourstudysessionsoverthecourseofseveraldays.South_agency/E+/GettyImagesPlus Inone2009experiment,collegestudentsstudiedvocabularywordswithflashcards.Somestudentsstudiedallthewordsinspaced-apartsessionsthroughoutfourdays.Othersstudiedsmallerbatchesofthewordsincrammed,ormassed,sessions,eachoverasingleday.Bothgroupsspentthesameamountoftimeoverall.Buttestingshowedthatthefirstgrouplearnedthewordsbetter. Kornellcomparesourmemorytowaterinabucketthathasasmallleak.Trytorefillthebucketwhileit’sstillfull,andyoucan’taddmuchmorewater.Allowtimebetweenstudysessions,andsomeofthematerialmaydripoutofyourmemory.Butthenyou’llbeabletorelearnitandlearnmoreinyournextstudysession.Andyou’llrememberitbetter,nexttime,henotes. 2.Practice,practice,practice! Musicianspracticetheirinstruments.Athletespracticesportsskills.Thesameshouldgoforlearning. “Ifyouwanttobeabletorememberinformation,thebestthingyoucandoispractice,”saysKatherineRawson.She’sapsychologistatKentStateUniversityinOhio.Inone2013study,studentstookpracticetestsoverseveralweeks.Onthefinaltest,theyscoredmorethanafulllettergradebetter,onaverage,thandidstudentswhostudiedthewaytheynormallyhad. Inastudydoneafewyearsearlier,collegestudentsreadmaterialandthentookrecalltests.Sometookjustonetest.Otherstookseveraltestswithshortbreaksofseveralminutesinbetween.Thesecondgrouprecalledthematerialbetteraweeklater. 3.Don’tjustrereadbooksandnotes Asateen,CynthiaNebelstudiedbyreadinghertextbooks,worksheetsandnotebooks.“Overandoverandoveragain,”recallsthispsychologistatVanderbiltUniversityinNashville,Tenn.Now,sheadds,“weknowthat’soneofthemostcommonbadstudyskillsthatstudentshave.” Inone2009study,somecollegestudentsreadatexttwice.Othersreadatextjustonce.Bothgroupstookatestrightafterthereading.Testresultsdifferedlittlebetweenthesegroups,AimeeCallenderandMarkMcDanielfound.SheisnowatWheatonCollegeinIllinois.HeworksatWashingtonUniversityinSt.Louis,Mo. Toooften,whenstudentsrereadmaterial,it’ssuperficial,saysMcDaniel,whoalsoco-wrotethe2014book,MakeItStick:TheScienceofSuccessfulLearning.Rereadingislikelookingattheanswertoapuzzle,ratherthandoingityourself,hesays.Itlookslikeitmakessense.Butuntilyoutryityourself,youdon’treallyknowifyouunderstandit. OneofMcDaniel’scoauthorsofMakeitStickisHenryRoediger.He,too,worksatWashingtonUniversity.Inone2010study,Roedigerandtwoothercolleaguescomparedtestresultsofstudentswhorereadmaterialtotwoothergroups.Onegroupwrotequestionsaboutthematerial.Theothergroupansweredquestionsfromsomeoneelse.Thosewhoansweredthequestionsdidbest.Thosewhojustrereadthematerialdidworst. 4.Testyourself That2010studybacksuponeofNebel’spreferredstudyhabits.Beforebigtests,hermomquizzedheronthematerial.“NowIknowthatwasretrievalpractice,”shesays.“It’soneofthebestwaysyoucanstudy.”AsNebelgotolder,shequizzedherself.Forexample,shemightcoverupthedefinitionsinhernotebook.Thenshetriedtorecallwhateachtermmeant. You’llunderstandandrememberinformationbetterifyoucanexplainittosomeoneelse.Andifyoucan’texplainit,youprobablydon’tunderstanditwellenoughyet.kate_sept2004/E+/GettyImagesPlus Suchretrievalpracticecanhelpnearlyeveryone,RawsonandothersshowedinanAugust2020studyinLearningandInstruction.ThisresearchincludedcollegestudentswithanattentionproblemknownasADHD.ItstandsforAttentionDeficitHyperactivityDisorder.Overall,retrievalhelpedstudentswithADHDandthosewithoutthedisorderequallywell.  “Createadeckofflashcardseverytimeyoulearnnewinformation,”Sanasuggests.“Putquestionsononesideandtheanswersontheotherside.”Friendscanevenquizeachotheronthephone,shesays. “Trytoquizyourselfthewaytheteacherasksquestions,”Nebeladds. Butreallygrillyourselfandyourfriends,shesays.Andhere’swhy.Shewaspartofateamthataskedstudentstowriteonequizquestionforeachclassperiod.Studentswouldthenansweraquestionfromanotherclassmate.Preliminarydatashowthatstudentsdidworseontestsafterwardthanwhenthedailyquizquestionscamefromtheteacher.Nebel’steamisstillanalyzingthedata.Shesuspectsthestudents’questionsmayhavebeentoosimple. Teachersoftendigdeeper,shenotes.Theydon’tjustaskfordefinitions.Often,teachersaskstudentstocompareandcontrastideas.Thattakessomecriticalthinking. 5.Mistakesareokay—aslongasyoulearnfromthem It’scrucialtotestyourmemory.Butitdoesn’treallymatterhowmanysecondsyouspendoneachtry.Thatfindingcomesfroma2016studybyKornellandothers.Butit’simportanttogothenextstep,Kornelladds:Checktoseeifyouwereright.Thenfocusonwhatyougotwrong. Asecretofscience:Mistakesboostunderstanding “Ifyoudon’tfindoutwhattheansweris,you’rekindofwastingyourtime,”hesays.Ontheflipside,checkingtheanswerscanmakeyourstudytimemoreefficient.Youcanthenfocusonwhereyouneedthemosthelp. Infact,makingmistakescanbeagoodthing,arguesStuartFirestein.AColumbiaUniversitybiologistinNewYorkCity,heactuallywrotethebookonit.It’scalledFailure:WhyScienceisSoSuccessful.Mistakes,heargues,areactuallyaprimarykeytolearning. 6.Mixitup Inmanycases,ithelpstomixupyourself-testing.Don’tjustfocusononething.Drillyourselfondifferentconcepts.Psychologistscallthisinterleaving. Trytosolveproblemsandrecallinformationonyourown.Thenchecktoseeifyou’reright.Retrievalpracticeboostsyourlearningandmemory,saypsychologists.SolStock/E+/GettyImages Actually,yourtestsusuallywillhavequestionsmixedup,too.Moreimportantly,interleavingcanhelpyoulearnbetter.Ifyoupracticeoneconceptoverandover“yourattentiondecreasesbecauseyouknowwhat’scomingupnext,”Sanaexplains.Mixupyourpractice,andyounowspacetheconceptsapart.Youcanalsoseehowconceptsdiffer,formtrendsorfittogetherinsomeotherway. Suppose,forinstance,you’relearningaboutthevolumeofdifferentshapesinmath.Youcoulddolotsofproblemsonthevolumeofawedge.Thenyoucouldanswermorebatchesofquestions,witheachsetdealingwithjustoneshape.Or,youcouldfigureoutthevolumeofacone,followedbyawedge.Nextyoumightfindthevolumeforahalf-coneoraspheroid.Thenyoucanmixthemupsomemore.Youmightevenmixinsomepracticeonadditionordivision. Rawsonandothershadgroupsofcollegestudentstryeachofthoseapproaches.Thosewhointerleavedtheirpracticequestionsdidbetterthanthegroupthatdidsingle-batchpractice,theresearchersreportedlastyearinMemory&Cognition. Ayearearlier,Sanaandothersshowedthatinterleavingcanhelpstudentswithbothstrongandweakworkingmemory.Workingmemoryletsyourememberwhereyouareinanactivity,suchasfollowingarecipe. 7.Usepictures Payattentiontodiagramsandgraphsinyourclassmaterials,saysNebel.“Thosepicturescanreallyboostyourmemoryofthismaterial.Andiftherearen’tpictures,creatingthemcanbereally,reallyuseful.” Payattentiontodrawings,graphics,chartandothervisualaids.PsychologistMarkMcDanielatWashingtonUniversityinSt.Louis,Mo.,saysadiagramofanervecellhelpedwhenhestudiedneuroscienceincollege.colematt/iStock/GettyImagesPlus “Ithinkthesevisualrepresentationshelpyoucreatemorecompletementalmodels,”McDanielsays.HeandDungBui,thenalsoatWashingtonUniversity,hadstudentslistentoalectureoncarbrakesandpumps.Onegroupgotdiagramsandwastoldtoaddnotesasneededtothediagrams.Anothergroupgotanoutlineforwritingnotes.Thethirdgroupjusttooknotes.Theoutlineshelpedstudentsiftheywereotherwisegoodatbuildingmentalmodelsofwhattheywerereading.Butinthesetests,theyfound,visualaidshelpedstudentsacrosstheboard. Evengoofypicturesmighthelp.NikolRummelisapsychologistatRuhrUniversityBochuminGermany.Inonestudybackin2003,sheandothersgavecartoondrawingstocollegestudentsalongwithinformationaboutfivescientistswhostudiedintelligence.Forexample,thetextaboutAlfredBinetcamewithadrawingofaracecardriver.Thedriverworeabonnettoprotecthisbrain.Studentswhosawthedrawingsdidbetteronatestthandidthosewhogotonlythetextinformation. 8.Findexamples Abstractconceptscanbehardtounderstand.Ittendstobefareasiertoformamentalimageifyouhaveaconcreteexampleofsomething,Nebelsays. Forinstance,sourfoodsusuallytastethatwaybecausetheycontainanacid.Onitsown,thatconceptmightbehardtoremember.Butifyouthinkaboutalemonorvinegar,it’seasiertounderstandandrememberthatacidsandsourgotogether.Andtheexamplesmighthelpyoutoidentifyotherfoods’tasteasbeingduetoacids. Indeed,ithelpstohaveatleasttwoexamplesifyouwanttoapplyinformationtonewsituations.NebelandothersreviewedstudiesonthisinJuly2019.TheirJournalofFoodScienceEducationreportdescribeshowstudentscanimprovetheirstudyskills. 9.Digdeeper It’shardtorememberastringoffactsandfiguresifyoudon’tpushfurther.Askwhythingsareacertainway.Howdidtheycomeabout?Whydotheymatter?Psychologistscallthiselaboration.It’stakingclassmaterialand“askingalotofhowandwhyquestionsaboutit,”Nebelsays.Inotherwords,don’tjustacceptfactsatfacevalue. Elaborationhelpsyoucombinenewinformationwithotherthingsyouknow.Anditcreatesabiggernetworkinyourbrainofthingsthatrelatetooneanother,shesays.Thatlargernetworkmakesiteasiertolearnandrememberthings. You’llrememberfactsifyouaskquestionsaboutwhythey’resoandhowtheyfitwithotherthings.Forexample,supposeahungrymandroveacar.Whymighthedothat?cenkerdem/DigitalVisionVectors/GettyImagesPlus Supposeyou’reaskedtorememberastringoffactsaboutdifferentmen,saysMcDaniel.Forexample,“Thehungrymangotintothecar.Thestrongmanhelpedthewoman.Thebravemanranintothehouse.”Andsoon.Inoneofhisstudiesbackinthe‘80s,collegestudentshadtroublerememberingthebarestatements.Theydidbetterwhenresearchersgavethemexplanationsforeachman’saction.Andthestudentsrememberedawholelotbetterwhentheyhadtoanswerquestionsaboutwhyeachmandidsomething. “Goodunderstandingproducesreallygoodmemory,”McDanielsays.“Andthat’skeyforalotofstudents.”Ifinformationjustseemssortofrandom,askmorequestions.Makesureyoucanexplainthematerial.Betteryet,hesays,seeifyoucanexplainittosomeoneelse.Someofhiscollegestudentsdothisbycallinghometoexplainwhatthey’relearningtotheirparents. 10.Makeaplan—andsticktoit Manystudentsknowtheyshouldspaceoutstudyperiods,quizthemselvesandpracticeothergoodskills.Yetmanydon’tactuallydothosethings.Often,theyfailtoplanahead. BackwhenRawsonwasastudent,sheusedapapercalendarforherplanning.Shewroteinthedateforeachexam.“Andthenforfourorfiveotherdays,”sherecalls,“Iwroteintimetostudy.” Buildbreaksforexerciseintoyourstudyscheduletoo.Evenafewminutesoutsidecanhelpyouperkupformorestudying.Halfpoint/iStock/GettyImagesPlus Trytosticktoaroutine,too.Haveasettimeandplacewhereyoudoschoolworkandstudying.Itmayseemoddatfirst.But,Kornellassuresyou,“bythetimeweektworollsaround,itbecomesanormalthing.”Andputyourphonesomewhereelsewhileyouwork,addsNebel.Allowyourselfshortbreaks.Setatimerfor25minutesorso,suggestsSana.Studyduringthattime,withnodistractions.Whenthetimergoesoff,takeafiveor10minutebreak.Exercise.Checkyourphone.Maybedrinksomewater—whatever.Afterward,setthetimeragain. “Ifyouhaveastudyplan,sticktoit!”addsMcDaniel.Recently,heandpsychologistGillesEinsteinatFurmanUniversityinGreenville,S.C.,lookedatwhystudentsdon’tusegoodstudyskills.Manystudentsknowwhatthoseskillsare,theyreport.Butoftentheydon’tplanwhentheyintendtoputtheminaction.Evenwhenstudentsdomakeplans,somethingmoreenticingmaycomeup.Studyinghastobecomeapriority,theysay.TheteampublisheditsreportinPerspectivesonPsychologicalScienceonJuly23. Bonus:Bekindtoyourself Trytosticktoaregularroutine.Andgetenoughsleep—notjustthenightbeforethetestbutforweeksormonthsonend.“Thosethingsarereally,reallyimportantforlearning,”Nebelsays.Exercisehelpsaswell,shesays. Don’tstressoutifallofthisseemslikealot,sheadds.Ifalotseemsnew,tryaddingjustonenewstudyskilleachweekortwo.Oratleastspaceoutyourstudysessionsandpracticeretrievalforthefirstfewmonths.Asyougetmorepractice,youcanaddmoreskills.Andifyouneedhelp,ask. Finally,ifyoustruggletofollowtheadviceabove(suchasyoucan’tkeeptrackoftimeorfinditveryhardtojustsitandfocusonyourwork),youmayhaveanundiagnosedcondition,suchasADHD.Tofindout,checkwithyourdoctor.Thegoodnews:Itmaybetreatable. Doingschoolworkduringapandemicisatoughsituationatbest.Butrememberyourteachersandclassmatesalsofacechallenges.Likeyou,theyhavefears,concernsandquestions.Bewillingtocutthemsomeslack.Andbekindtoyourselfaswell.Afterall,Kornellsays,“we’reallinthistogether.” ClassroomResourcesforThisArticle Freeeducatorresourcesareavailableforthisarticle.Registertoaccess: Clientkey* E-mailAddress* Go AlreadyRegistered? Enteryoure-mailaddressabove. PowerWords ReadabilityScore:6 RelatedStories Science&Society Fivetipsforlearningbetterfromhome ByRachelKehoeApril9,2020 Math Newmath:Fail+tryagain=reallearning BySusanMoranAugust4,2015 Brain Learningrewiresthebrain ByAlisonPearceStevensSeptember2,2014 MoreStoriesfromScienceNewsforStudentsonPsychology Psychology Addictioncandevelopwhenreward-seekingchangesateen’sbrain ByAlisonPearceStevensFebruary10,2022 SendtoE-mailAddress YourName YourE-mailAddress Cancel Postwasnotsent-checkyoure-mailaddresses! 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