Many people know they should space out study sessions and quiz themselves, but actually doing these things is easier said than done. Learning to study better can help students get the most educational value out of their time.
For example, if you're an auditory learner, try describing new information to someone or taking notes in your own words. This method is called elaborative learning. This post was written based on material from essay writers free service called WowEssays.
1. Practice makes perfect
It might seem unsurprising that students would benefit from practice—after all, doesn’t “practice make perfect?” But research has shown that practicing to perfection is only useful for short-term performance gains. For skills to become long-lasting, sustained practice—such as daily review of math problems or regular history quizzes—is necessary.
To help students sustain their progress, it is important to create feedback loops. This can be done through a variety of methods: Watch the experts on YouTube and slow them down, film yourself, get a physical timer to measure your practice, write in a journal, or even teach to others. These systems will allow you to self-evaluate, shave off unnecessary parts of your practice and improve your approach with each session.
It is also essential to establish a balance between mental rehearsal, hands-on practice and exploration in order to optimize skill development. Without these, you risk overconfidence crashes, the depressing realization that you will never be as good as that expert—and the abandonment of your new learning habit.
2. Learn in more than one way
A variety of strategies can enhance learning. Basic tips like improving focus, avoiding cram sessions and structuring study time are good places to start, but there are many other ways to improve your learning.
Using different media to learn, such as videos and infographics, can help. Visuals are easier to remember, and the use of analogies and metaphor can really make things stick. Putting information into your own words is also an excellent way to cement it in your brain. Think back to your seventh grade presentation on Costa Rica, for example – teaching others what you had learned made it even more memorable for yourself.
It is also a good idea to vary where and when you study. A longer session in the library may be tempting, but research suggests you are more likely to get better results with short bursts of study spread over several days. This is known as distributed practice.
3. Take a break
A common misconception is that taking a break will make you less productive, but breaks can actually help you learn better. Humans simply can’t stay highly focused on a task for long periods of time, so breaking up your work with short intervals of rest is vital for retaining information.
It’s also important to set up the right learning environment. Create a space that is quiet and free of distractions and noise, so you can focus on the task at hand. It’s helpful to experiment with different study environments and determine what works best for you — perhaps you work better with music or in complete silence.
Another effective learning technique is using flashcards to familiarize yourself with key concepts and pieces of information – then, you quiz yourself later to test your knowledge. Alternatively, you can switch tasks (known as interleaving) to stimulate different brain pathways. For example, if you’ve been working with your logical, linguistic left-brain, you can try switching to a more creative or visual right-brain activity such as sketching.
4. Practice makes perfect
Whether you’re learning to play an instrument or new skills at work, it helps to find techniques that work for you. In this talk, Eduardo Briceno shares tried-and-true tips backed by research that will make it easier to master new information and identify gaps in your knowledge.
One technique is to break down the subject into its smaller parts and study them individually. This approach can help you understand and remember concepts better, especially if you are visual or auditory learner. You can also try taking self-administered quizzes or explaining the subject to someone else. And remember to vary your studying location, time of day and study materials – a mix of these factors can boost learning. Also, don’t study in one session – the brain can only hold so much in working memory and long-term memories are made after forgetting. Spread your studies over several days or weeks to see better results.
I prefer to use a large or desk-size planner that has both weekly and monthly views. That has weekly and monthly layouts: I use the week page to break down what points or chapters I want to go over on certain days. Another favorite technique of mine is color-coding by subject, so that at a quick glance, I know who or what requires my focus.