THEY FALL FOR YOU

cheese and tomatoes

cheese and tomatoes

cheese and tomatoes

c h e e s e  a n d  t o m a t o e s

Interweave your subjects. It’s tempting to think that the best way to learn something well is to sit down and concentrate on that topic for as long as you can, but research shows that mixing topics is a better bet. The interleaving forces students to notice and process the similarities and differences among the thing they’re learning, giving them a deeper understanding.

Test yourself. Testing can be a useful tool to help you learn. Decades of research shows that making yourself recall information helps strengthen your long term memory.

Space your study sessions. Lots of research shows that spacing out your study sessions over a longer period of time improves long term memory. As the APA website says, “In other words, if you have 12 hours to spend on a subject, it’s better to study it for three hours each week for four weeks than to cram all 12 hours into week four.”

Remember the hindsight bias. Seeing the answer to a question makes you think you knew it all along. The solution is to cover the textbook and test yourself, rather than simply reading everything. This avoids the issue of reading, thinking its common sense and not studying as much as you should.

Remember the over confidence effect. Give yourself the opportunity to over learn. Spend time reviewing material, even if you think you already know it. With each time that you review, try to make new connections to previous things you have learned; don’t just memorise passively.

Apply concepts to your life. If you can apply the concepts you are learning to your life, you are much more likely to remember them. Try to think of examples that illustrate theories of ideas, especially a theory that you’re struggling with. For example, when learning about the bystander effect, think of a situation you were in when a large group of people stood by and did not help someone in need.

Study for recall not recognition. When you take an exam, you are recalling information, but when you are taking a multiple choice test, you are recognising information. Most people study differently for these different exams, focusing on recognition for multiple choice tests. But, if the answers are all made to look familiar, then recognising the information won’t work. Study for recall! You should be able to know the answer without a prompt.

Use flashcards. Subjects like Psychology include a lot of terms/dates/key words that seem impossible to memorise. Even the names of some disorders can cause a serious loss of memory! Flashcards are a great help for storing key terms and definitions which will help you improve your memory.

Study in a group. This will allow you to begin discussions with peers and teachers and share study resources which help to maintain a high level of motivation. In addition, study groups will prevent you from wasting time.

Connect and develop ideas. In some cases, it’s not necessary to memorise a large catalogue of notes on a topic. Instead, it’s best to establish a connection between the facts. The events should follow a logical order to help you understand and memorise them, so the use of mind maps can be quite helpful.