Which of These Study Techniques Is Best For You?
It can be hard at the best of times to find the study techniques that are right for you. Other times you may just want to switch up how you study as your current method is becoming repetitive.
There are many different approaches to learning some of which you may never have considered before.
Here’s 5 different study techniques for you to try out…
The Pomodoro technique
The Pomodoro technique divides your day up into 30-minute blocks. 25 of those minutes are used for studying while the remaining 5 give you the chance to take a quick break or review what you have done. After repeating this 30-minute cycle four or five times, then it is time to take a longer break. For this anything between 15 to 20 minutes is perfect.
This method works wonders when it comes to homework or writing an essay. Make sure to time yourself while trying out this method. This will encourage you to get as much work done in one of these slots as you have to stick to a time limit. It is also a good practice for exams too as you learn how to work within a strict time.
Interleaving
Interleaving is another great method to try. Instead of learning one thing thoroughly before moving on to the next thing, this technique requires you to mix up your study. These topics can come from the same subjects or completely different subjects, it is up to you.
Let’s say you had an upcoming geography test on rivers, earthquakes and volcanos. Rather than spending one day focusing on each area, mix them in together and go between all of them.
Jumping between topics allows your brain to find connections and therefore improves your memory.
Generation Effect
This approach requires you to test yourself on the topic before you begin learning the material. How this might work, you ask? Simple. At first glance the generation effect might seem very unusual and you might get a lot of the questions wrong. However this is very beneficial. Later when you discover the correct answer you are more likely to remember the information as you got it wrong earlier.
Why not give it a go and see if it works for you.
Spacing
We have all been there. Cramming the night before a big exam and burning the midnight oil. However, as we all probably know, this really is not the best way to study. Spacing is where you take the same amount of time say eight hours and instead of using it to study all in one go, you divide it up across a week or two depending on how much notice you get for the exam. This will make information easier to retain which is always a big plus.
The Feynman Technique
Have you ever heard the quote “If you can’t explain it to a six year old, you don’t understand it yourself.” These words were spoken by Albert Einstein many years ago and still ring true today.
The Feynman Technique is a great way to strengthen your understanding of a topic. Simply pretend you are teaching this subject area to a child and in your own words explain it. This way you will easily see the things you need to work on as well as the bits you know quite well.
Everyone learns differently. What might work for one person may be a disaster for another. You may have to try many different study methods until you find the one that is right for you.
Which of these study techniques will you be trying?