then you said to yourself, consolingly, that they were lying? Do you wonder when someone says, “The way most students study doesn't make sense”?
This is the conclusion reached by psychologists at Washington University in St. Louis, Henry Rudiger and Mark McDaniel, who together have spent 80 years studying learning styles and memory processes and combined their findings with novelist Peter Brown in the book Make It Stick: The Science of Success. In this article, we will present the most important tips and unconventional methods that enable you to use time more effectively and get higher grades.
Using active learning strategies is most effective
Most students study by re-reading note papers and textbooks, but psychologists' research on both laboratory experiments and actual students in schools shows that this is a poor way to learn the material.
Using active learning strategies such as flashcards, diagramming, and testing yourself is more effective than other methods such as studying at spaced intervals.
Why don’t you benefit when you review your notes and readings?
We know that the majority of students, when they study, re-read paragraphs and notes, and most students say that this is their first memorization strategy.
In your first reading of something, you extract a lot of information that needs to be thought about and understood, but when you do the second reading, you read and say to yourself, "I know this, I know that."
This means that you do not process what you read deeply, and re-reading is often lightning-fast and deceptive reading because it gives you the illusion that you know the information well when in fact there are many gaps in your understanding.
Why do you memorize more when you ask yourself so many questions?
A good technique to use instead is to read once, then test yourself either using the questions at the end of each chapter or by writing and answering your own.
This leads to better and deeper learning and a more powerful memory, and even when you can't remember all the information and get the wrong answers to the questions, it gives you an accurate diagnosis of your weaknesses. This tells you what to return to and focus on more, which in turn helps to develop your way of studying more effectively.
Asking questions also helps you understand more deeply. Suppose you are studying history. How did Rome and Greece become trading partners? Here, stop and ask yourself why they became business partners. And why did their people become shipbuilders and learn to sail the seas? It is not necessary that your question always be about the reason; you can ask how or what.
When asking these questions, you are trying to explain, and in doing so, you are promoting a better understanding. This leads to stronger memories and better learning. So instead of just reading and repeating, stop and ask yourself things to make your understanding and memorization deeper.
A practical example that shows the importance of relating new information to something you know
Another strategy you can use during a second reading is to try to relate the information in the material to something else you already know. Linking new information with old and previously proven information is one of the best ways to develop the learning process.
For example, if you are studying a text that discusses how nerve cells transmit signals and impulses, you read the information that says: If there is a fatty sheath surrounding nerve cells, called the myelin sheath, then it helps the neuron transmit the nerve impulse more quickly.
We can liken this information to water running through a hose. The water runs fast through it, but if you puncture the hose, the water will seep out and you won't get the same flow. That's what happens when we get old: The myelin sheaths are destroyed, and fluid transport becomes slower.
Re-read the questions you answered correctly
Flashcards are another method of effective learning, and one of the keys to using them is to re-test yourself with the card you answered correctly. It is more useful to keep the correct card in the group and face it again, and many students often answer the question on a flashcard and then take it out of the group if they understand it correctly, but it turns out that this method is not correct; this is because the frequency of memory recalls is important even for information we thought we had stored correctly.
Studies also show that keeping the card we answered correctly in front of us and answering it again is very beneficial. You may want to re-train the questions you answered correctly, but repeating the questions you answered correctly is also important. Repetition is generally not bad, but mindless repetition is bad in most cases.
Is memorizing for short periods good or bad?
Many students put themselves in a corner, wait until the last minute to study all the information they've learned over the course of the year, and then one evening repeat the information over and over again.
Research shows that this method is not suitable for long-term memory, although it may allow you to get good marks on the next day's test, but then on the final exams you won't keep that information you studied on the fly, and then the next year when you need the information, you won't be able to retrieve it.
Teachers should space out and mix up lessons as well:
In conventional educational classes, the teacher covers one topic on the first day, another topic on the second day, and another topic on the third day without going back to the previous information or reviewing the subject.
But the main point for teachers is to get the material back in front of the student after days or weeks, and there are several ways they can do that.
What are the types of mindsets related to the learning process?
| Students tend to have one of two mindsets regarding learning: a fixed learning model and a growth mindset. |
There is this interesting research done by Carol Dweck of Stanford University that shows that students tend to have one of two mindsets with regard to learning, and it turns out that knowing which of the two the student possesses allows us to predict the extent of their success.
The first mindset is the fixed mindset. People possessing it state that they have a certain amount of talent in chemistry and physics, for example, and they will do well, but then it becomes very difficult for them and they cannot get high marks in the rest of the subjects.
The other mindset is the growth mindset, which says that learning involves using effective strategies, setting aside time to do the work, and getting involved in the learning process, all of which help you gradually increase your ability to understand, comprehend, and learn any subject, no matter how difficult it may seem.
Does explaining a growth mindset to students improve learning?
For teachers, speaking to students and explaining the growth mindset in a simple and engaging way has been shown to make them more open to trying new learning strategies, sticking to courses, and working in ways that enhance their learning abilities. The ability to learn is related to how you deal with learning. That is, work smarter.
Students with growth mindsets may tend to stick to it, persevere in the face of hardship, and end up succeeding in challenging classrooms, while students with a fixed mindset tend to be quite the opposite.
Therefore, the speed of learning is an important factor in building sufficient knowledge, but it is not the only important factor. You must be able to remember the information you learn accurately to be able to use it correctly later and employ it effectively in a variety of situations.
Which is better, paper or digital writing?
One helpful tip is to try writing your notes on paper rather than on a laptop or tablet. Research has found that taking long notes can help ingrain information in memory more effectively than taking notes digitally.
The Golden Rule of Deep Learning: Teach what you learn
| The best ways to learn something is to teach it to someone else. |
Teachers have long noted that one of the best ways to learn something is to teach it to someone else. I vividly remember my sixth-grade presentation on the geography of the Arab world teaching the rest of the class, and my teacher hoped I would gain a lot of skills and knowledge after giving me this assignment.
You can apply the same principle today by sharing your newly acquired skills and knowledge with others. So start writing the information in your own words while maintaining the scientific terminology; this process alone helps to solidify the new knowledge in your mind, and then find a way to share or teach what you learned. New ideas and knowledge include writing a blog post, creating a podcast, or participating in a group discussion.
In conclusion
At the end of this article, remember that reaching the stage of effective learning is not easy and doesn’t happen overnight, but applying the skills that we mentioned to you helps you put some of these learning techniques into daily practice. This contributes to making more use of study time.
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