These Are The 6 Best Science-Based Study Strategies
Use them and you will ace your exams and learn anything
In my last post, I showed you why highlighting and rereading are ineffective study strategies.
So … what are the best ones?
Well, a tutorial review published in Cognitive Research by Weinstein et al. (2018) pointed out the best 6 study strategies with robust evidence.
Use them and I’m sure you will ace your exams :)
1. Spaced Practice
This technique is about spreading out your study sessions over time.
So instead of cramming all the information at once, spaced practice consists of revisiting the material multiple times with breaks in between. This helps your brain retain the information and improve your understanding.
The authors say that the benefits of spaced practice are one of the strongest contributions that cognitive psychology has made to education.
But why is it too good?
I will let the authors explain:
“The effect is simple: the same amount of repeated studying of the same information spaced out over time will lead to greater retention of that information in the long run, compared with repeated studying of the same information for the same amount of time in one study session.” (Weinstein et al., 2018)
How To Use It
Break your study sessions into smaller chunks.
Schedule those smaller sessions.
Go back to the information you learned every new session.
2. Interleaving
Shortly, this is about studying different topics in a sequence.
For example, instead of studying the central nervous system in a study session, you can study this for 20 minutes and then switch to studying the sympathetic nervous system (a different but similar topic).
Interleaving is effective because it helps you make new connections between the topics, thus learning them better.
How To Use It
Study topic A for 20 minutes.
Study similar topic B for 20 minutes.
Study another similar topic C for 20 minutes.
Study all in a different order. Connect insights.
3. Retrieval
Retrieval is arguably the most effective and simple study technique.
This consists of bringing learned information from mid to long-term memory. For example, using flashcards, doing a free recall, or testing yourself without looking at the correct answers are retrieval practices.
Note that the benefit of this will depend on whether it is successful or not.
If a student, for example, reads a sentence and immediately recites it out loud, they are not retrieving the information, but simply remembering it in their working memory (not long-term memory).
So use it wisely.
How To Use It
Always test yourself.
Use Anki to create flashcards.
Close your notes or summaries and try to recall what you learned so far.
Create tests with Chat GPT to understand what you know and don’t know.
4. Elaboration
Elaboration is one of my favorite techniques.
The authors of this paper focus on elaborative interrogation, which consists of asking and explaining why and how things work based on prior knowledge. In other words, it involves connecting new information to preexisting knowledge.
The process of figuring out the answers will help you learn effectively.
How To Use It
Ask “how“ questions about the topic you are studying.
Ask “why“ questions about the topic you studying.
5. Concrete Examples
Topics are easier to learn with familiar scenarios.
When learning abstract concepts it was found that illustrating these topics with specific examples improves learning. For example, as a teaching assistant in Neurophysiology, I’m always seeking analogies to make things easier to understand.
These relevant and in-context examples can help people learn effectively.
How To Use It
Try to explain what you are studying with an analogy.
Use Chat GPT to help you create analogies for your topic.
6. Dual Coding
We generally remember images better than words, right?
Well, dual coding is about combining words with visuals. So if you use relevant and helpful images in your notes, you may increase learning by remembering what you study with the help of these images.
For example, last month, a student told me he remembered the answer to a question about synapses thanks to a meme I used in my presentation.
How To Use It
Draw mind maps about the concepts you are studying.
Draw images for hard concepts to learn.
Use memes to study hard concepts.
Some Questions For You
Have you ever heard of these study strategies?
Which ones do you use when you study?
What is the most difficult problem when learning something new?
So now you know!
Rereading and highlighting are ineffective study strategies. Worse still, they are the main reason for the illusion of learning (thinking you learned something when you didn’t).
So if you want to learn effectively and ace your exams, you must change your system.
Use these 6 strategies and I promise you will learn anything.
Keep it up, super-learner!
Until the next time,
Axel
Interleaving, Concrete Examples and especially Elaboration. I keep ask questions and make connections. I like to study deeply and understand the topic in a profound way. Downside: takes a lot of time.
Barbara Oakley mentions them in Learning How to Learn, and Andrew Huberman has made an episode on learning protocols recently🤞🏼