I remember when I was in college. Studying the night before a test. Getting two hours of sleep before the test. Then, I would ace it.
“I have this learning thing down,” I thought. But I was terribly wrong.
The final would roll around and I had forgotten everything from the first third of the semester. In fact, I remembered that more poorly than the newest material even though I studied that material!
The problem wasn’t the material, it wasn’t that life was hard, and it wasn’t that the teacher wasn’t teaching (no matter how much I wish it was). It was always because I did not know how to learn or study effectively.
In Peter C. Brown’s book, “Make It Stick: The Science of Successful Learning”, he diagnoses this problem and offers a few solutions. One of those solutions is to avoid reading information over and over again. This technique only places the words in our mind in a specific order which makes the information harder to reach organically (like on a test). Tests are usually not given in the order that you learned the material. So, why do we study that way?
Instead, we need to be quizzed on the material. Make flash cards. Have a friend test you on the material. Then, shuffle the cards and do it again. This makes you practice “memory retrieval” which strengthens the neurological connection between a concept and its definition. This helps you remember new information and recall it more easily on a test (or whenever else it would be necessary). Practice makes perfect, after all.
Practice memory retrieval when you really want to know a concept. And never stop practicing memory retrieval because it is one way to continue your growth. Always keep learning and always learn effectively.
Do you have any other good suggestions to help the Soapbox community learn more effectively? Let us know in the comments!
Micah Davis
If you want to read Peter C. Brown’s book, “Make It Stick: The Science of Successful Learning” , then check it out here:
The Soapbox 