We've all tried highlighting textbook pages, copying notes and rereading pages and pages the night before a test; hoping that the knowledge will stick enough to get you through. But this is an unnecessary anxiety when we can make small changes to make our studying easy, less draining and more efficient. Here are some tips:
1. Space it out. Whilst cramming may feel productive, it is actually one of the least effective ways we learn. Instead, you should try implementing spaced repetition, which is essentially reviewing material in short sessions over several days. This helps move information to long term memory so you can remember it a lot better. For example, studying 20 min a day.
2. Practice tests! Practice tests are one of the most effective ways to study. Don't feel pressures to get everything correct. Making mistakes, in fact, is one of the best ways we learn information. Other ways we can test out knowledge include flashcards or explaining concepts aloud which forces your brain to retrieve information in the same way you would in your test. It is literally brain training.
3. Teach it to someone else. If you can't teach it, you won't be able to understand it. Even explaining concepts simply to others can help you identify gaps in your knowledge which you can research and try again. If you can explain concepts simply, you can understand a question on a test.
4. Lastly, and arguably my favourite, is sleeping! Sleeping is one of the most important ways we consolidate knowledge. We literally process the information we have learned previously that day whilst we are sleeping. This means cramming and pulling an all-nighter is actually counter intuitive and can impair the amount you can remember rather than helping it.
Hopefully you have found this helpful!
