5 Research-Backed Studying Techniques
People often believe that studying long hours is the best way to be a straight-A student and a model. Research shows that high-achieving students spend less time studying than their peers. They just learn more efficiently.
Students can learn from teachers how to make the most of their time studying by learning from them.
STUDY LESSER, BUT WITH GRESSER INTENSITY
People, both kids and adults, multitask a great deal in this age of digital distractions and social media, and this is especially true for students. Multitasking is not practicable since a significant amount of time is wasted switching between contexts. The brain is forced to restart and refocus as a result of this.
Consider the following formula: “work accomplished Equals intensity and time spent X work completed.” If a student is studying AP Biology while concurrently reading his texts and scrolling through Instagram, he or she may have a poor level of focus (for example, a 3. Despite the fact that he spends three hours studying, his work is only nine hours.
AP Biology students, on the other hand, have a high level of concentration (a 10 on the focus scale). Despite the fact that she just spends an hour studying, she accomplishes more than her distracted classmate who studies for three hours straight.
Students who have achieved great success have learned to avoid multitasking. In addition, these students do not spend excessive amounts of time on low-intensity work and are less sidetracked by social media or email than other students. Instead, they work for shorter periods of time at a higher level of intensity. They are more productive and achieve higher success than their counterparts.
TECHNIQUES FOR INEFFECTIVE LEARNING
Learning techniques that take too much time and appear to be mastery-like are used by many students. Students learn information and concepts in preparation for tests but then forget about them weeks later. Their learning methods never lead to long-term learning.
5 HIGH-INTENSITY STUDY HABITS
Research has shown that these techniques can increase retention and sustainable learning when they are incorporated into students’ daily studies. These techniques can be difficult and take effort. They also slow down learning. Initial learning gains are smaller than those from ineffective methods. These techniques can lead to long-term mastery.
The book Make it Stick lists several research-proven learning techniques.
1. Students can practice answering questions before they learn the content. Studies have shown that pretesting is more effective than studying the content.
2. Spaced practice: This is when you focus on one topic for a shorter period on different days. It has been proven to be more effective than massed training. The book How We Learn explains
It is possible that spaced exercise could appear tough because of an initial forgetfulness of knowledge; regaining that knowledge will need effort.
The creation of flashcards that may be used for self-quizzing and spaced practise is a wonderful concept for improving retention. Making distinct piles of flashcards when studying them is a good practise. Students should collect the flashcards that they can answer quickly and arrange them in a pile for three days later review and revision. Those who are having more trouble should be evaluated again two days later. All of the questions that they did not correctly answer should be reviewed the next day.
3 standardised testing is not the same as self-quizzing It is, on the other hand, retrieval practise in action. Encourage students to design test questions as they gain knowledge of new ideas. Consider the types of questions that might be posed on a test or quiz that they might be taking. Students’ study sessions should include these quizzes as part of the curriculum. They should respond to all inquiries, including those they believe they already know the answer to.
Fourth, students can rely on interleaving to have more practise time in between class periods. In this case, they could look at a series of multiplication problems.
together until they are proficient. Working on multiple problems at once is a more efficient way to study. For example, you might work on a list of math word problems that require addition, subtraction, division, and multiplication. It is impossible to solve consecutive problems with the same strategy. This strategy is better than solving one multiplication problem at a time.
5. Paraphrasing and Reflection: Many people have struggled to retain key concepts or ideas from a textbook after reading a few pages. Intentional learning strategies can be used to teach students how this can be avoided. They can relate what they are learning to previous knowledge and think about how they would explain it to a 5-year old. Then, reflect on the content and ask questions.