I think it’s very important, especially as a student in higher education, to know how to study effectively.
Many students coast by and can make it as far as graduating high school without learning how to learn, choosing to use pure rote memorization and/or their natural intelligence. Often these students are shocked when they enter post-secondary education and they can no longer rely on their old study habits.
I am a firm believer in evidence-based studying techniques. Here are some study tips and research that backs it up.
Get enough sleep.
It may seem strange to start a post about how to study well with something that isn’t specifically about studying, but sleep is one of the biggest foundations for brain function, and that includes learning.
Although we may not fully understand the exact mechanics behind sleep yet, we know a lot about what sleep helps with. Sleep has been proven to function in memory consolidation and flushing of metabolites in the brain. In other words, sleep is important for brain function and memory.
As a student, you should strive to get adequate, restful sleep. This includes prioritizing sleep in your schedule, waking up the same time each day, avoiding devices before bedtime, and avoiding caffeine consumption later in the day.
Resources to help with sleep:
- Optimize Your Sleep: 5 Tips for Falling Asleep Faster and Sleeping Better
- Struggling to Sleep with ADHD? Watch This! (YouTube)
Know the difference between focused and diffuse thinking.
Focused thinking is when you are focusing attentively on material and using your brain, and diffuse thinking is letting your mind wander.
Both modes of thinking are important for learning. You cannot study a topic intensely and expect to master it using only focused thinking - diffuse thinking allows you to strengthen neural pathways and make new connections you may not have been able to before. (It’s why something like “shower thoughts” are so common.)
Take advantage of diffuse thinking by first and foremost, getting enough sleep, and taking walks/exercise, switching to another task, or thinking about something else.
Learn how to remember things better.
What techniques allow you to effectively remember information in a shorter time span? How do you know you know something and can remember it later on a test?
One should first keep the forgetting curve in mind, which is the concept that you forget things over time. You can overcome this curve by using spaced repetition - forcing your brain to actively recall memories in longer and longer time periods. This means studying new material within 15 minutes after learning it, then the next day, and then the next week, and so forth. This is effective because you do not need to study something every single day to remember it. Studying a little bit over time is much more useful than studying in one large session.
Resources about memorization:
- Memory Techniques on AcademicTips.org
- How to Study Effectively with Flash Cards - College Info Geek (YouTube)
Use active study techniques.
Active learning is a way of engaging directly with content, as opposed to passive learning, which involves things like listening to lectures or reading slides and textbooks. This is key to really knowing the material beyond rote memorization.
Do not fall victim to the illusion of knowledge or fluency illusion - that is, thinking you know the material when you only recognize it. You may think you know something because you’ve read it on a slide, but you may not necessarily be able to recall it or explain it.
Testing yourself is a great way to combat this, since it forces you to recall information as a memory, and not just recognize information in front of you. Create questions from the material that go beyond asking for a definition or a list. Ask how the information can be applied in other areas.
Another way testing yourself is to try teaching others using the Feynman Learning Technique. The technique involves using a blank page and explaining everything about a particular topic as if you were teaching it to someone else, using as simple terminology as possible. This is a fantastic way to identify gaps in your knowledge.
References
Studies about sleep:
Studies about focused and diffuse thinking:
Studies about memory:
Studies about active studying:
If you’re interested in digging deeper on learning how to learn and improving your studying skills, I recommend you check out the Coursera course Learning How to Learn: Powerful mental tools to help you master tough subjects. The course is suited for any education level and helps you understand how and why study tips work. The companion book, A Mind for Numbers, was used to create this course.