Study Smart, Not Hard: Evidence-Based Techniques Students Need to Know

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As you all know, students are never at ease with exams and studies. And they are all telling them to study harder, work harder, spend more hours reading books. The question is however is studying hard really working or do you need to study smart. Well I would be saying that it is better to study smart than hard. The reason is that in the long run the amount of what you recall and comprehend is what counts not the number of hours you spend reading books. And I too have witnessed numerous students that study entire night prior to exam and still, they fail due to the fact that they are not studying in the correct manner. Today we will discuss some evidence-based techniques that really works and the students have to be aware of them.

Well the first thing that students should realize is the distinction between learning by heart and learning the concept. Majority of the students are only memorizing everything without knowing what it is all about. And this is the largest error since that way you will only know everything by heart forgetting it after the test. However, once you learn, the idea remains in your mind over a long period and you are able to apply the same in real life as well. Well I do not know much about everything but I understand that in science and math you cannot just memorize some formulas but you have to know how these formulas work. And even in history or social studies memorizing dates and names is not sufficient that you should know the reason why this or that event took place and what was its effect.

Now, speaking about one of the best techniques that really works, I can speak about active recall. Well what is active recall, it is when you attempt to recall what you studied with no reference to the book or the notes. We all tend to do the same thing again and again as we keep on reading the chapter again and again thinking that we are studying. However, in fact our brain is not very busy when we simply read. It is only after closing the book that the actual learning takes place as you attempt to memorize what you have just read. And that is attested by numerous research and studies that active recall is far more productive than passive reading. What the students need to do therefore is to read any topic and then after reading it, you close your book and list all what you remember about that topic. And then find out what you have overlooked, and read that over again.

Another technique that is quite significant is spaced repetition. Since majorities of the students revise everything the day before the exams and thereafter they question why they forget everything after some days. However, our brain is not programmed in that manner, we must go through the information several times in bits. As an example, when you study something today then study it after two days, then after one week, then after one month. By doing so the information will be imprinted in your long term memory and this will stay in your memory over the years. And even there are now numerous apps based on spaced repetition algorithm they will remind you when to review what topic. However, I would also add that you do not need app to do this as you can create your own schedule and adhere to it.

Well I would be saying that practice is the most significant thing as far as studying is concerned. Just reading theory is not sufficient because you have to put to practice what you learned. You see we all know that you cannot read in a subject such as math and physics you have to solve problems. and the more problems you run through the more you are good at it. And even in other disciplines such as history or language you are supposed to practice writing answers or elaborating on a concept to another person. Well when you give some thing to one or tell someone that you know better about that yourself. Find a study partner and discuss things with him or her, it will help both of you to study better.

Now people will reason and say so how many years should we learn. Well that is no definite answer to this as we are all different. There are individuals who are able to work long hours and there are those who are not. However I would say quality not quantity. Rather than spending 10 hours studying with a 15-minute break and being distracted by phone, spend 2-3 hours studying in complete concentration and without any distraction whatsoever. and even have good breaks in between studying as our brain requires the rest to process information. Well the Pomodoro system is extremely popular in the place where you learn 25 minutes and then have a 5 minutes break and so on. And of each four cycles you have longer 15 to 20 minutes rest.

Well at least I have seen numerous students who are merely underlining everything in their textbook believing that they are studying. However, highlighting is of little use unless one is doing so correctly. Instead what you need to do is to first read the entire paragraph and then highlight the main points and not the entire paragraph. And even taking notes is quite important but do not simply copy everything out of book make notes in your own words. When you paraphrase or write something using your own words it implies that you got it and this itself is a learning strategy.

Since we all know that the study process is not simple, and people have their way to study. There are those who learn through video watching, those who learn through reading, others through listening. You just need to determine what you can work best with and apply that style. However, I would add that irrespective of the approach you adopt the fundamentals of the same will always be the same: memorize not just do it regularly, do it with gaps, and do it with attention. Better than that mind your health as well since you cannot have a proper brain without sleep and food. I have also observed that students consume excess amounts of coffee and fail to sleep before exams on the assumption that this will assist in performance yet this is not the case.