☆Study Tips☆

Let's be honest: no one ever really tells you the right way to study. Study tips are not taught in school! The truth is, study methods work differently for different people. Try out a few of these study methods and find which one works best for YOU!

Practice Active Recall

About Active Recall

Active recall is a retrieval practice in which you continuously quiz yourself to determine what you do and do not know. You may not know it, but you have probably already practiced this study method! If you've ever quizzed yourself on a question without checking the answer or used flashcards to test what you know, that's active recall! Although this method may not apply to certain subjects, including math, it is a very beneficial practice for history and science classes.

Throughout our academic journey we are asked to study for our tests, midterms, exams etc. but we’re never taught how to. We’re expected to receive high marks and if we don’t it means we didn’t study hard enough. When a kid studies for 6 hours by rereading the textbook and taking passive notes it is classified as “studying hard” but this doesn’t mean it was effective. Two strategies every student must use to maximize their potential are active recalland spaced repetition. In a study done by the Department of Psychological Sciences by Purdue University and presented by Ali Abdaal in his mastercourse, there were 4 test groups who were tasked with learning the material presented. He explains how one group read the material once, the second group read the material four times, the third group made a mind map after reading the material, and the last group was asked to recall what they had learnt. The study shows that the active recall group outperformed the others by a large margin.

Now, as students, how are we supposed to implement this into our daily study sessions? Everyday one must sit down and review the topics assigned and try to recall as much as they can. Aimlessly rereading textbooks will not help forge your neural pathways to learning the material. The long term memory we are trying to build will only come from spacing your repeated recall of the information. Additionally, each and every time one recalls and reviews information, the more solidified the information becomes in our brains to pull from during major exams. Check out my technique template for active recall!

How To Practice

For more specific info on these study methods, click here!

• Short Quizzes Ask yourself questions based on your notes! Just close your notebook and quiz yourself, you don't even have to write everything out! If you miss a question, try re-reading your notes to come up with a better connection.
• Flashcards There are two methods to practice active recall using flashcards. The first involves writing a keyword on the front and trying to remember as much about it by writing everything you know about it on the back. The second is the more traditional practice of copying keywords and writing a description about it on the back of your flashcard (make a lot of these!). When you're done you can either see if you remember the keyword by looking at the description or vice-versa. Check Quizlet to see if there are study decks made by other students or teachers available!
• Hotdog Paper The next time you take notes, try folding your paper in half first! Unfold and write your questions on the left and the answers on the right. When you're studying, fold the paper so that only the questions are showing. Then, recall!
• Group Study Not only is group studying fun, but it also a great way to practice active recall. You can either quiz each other on questions or just explain different concepts to one another without using your notes.
• Mind MapsGrab a piece of paper and recall all the keywords and concepts from your notes. Then, connect all related concepts and words on your mind map!
• TeachingStudy as if you were going to teach a class about whatever topic you are being assessed on. This will make the areas in which you should put more focus in clear and force you to explain things in your own terms.
• Practice QuestionsWhen completing worksheets, try not to use your notes! Of course if you are required to submit it, you don't want to turn in the wrong answers. Therefore, if you don't know the answers go back and look at your notes for some help.
• Create Something NewCome up with your own examples for different topics!
• Fill In Your NotesCreate a summary sheet after writing your notes. Do this without looking at the notes you took in class. Once you cannot remember anything else, you can go back and fill in information using the notes you took in class. Then, close your notes and recall the information you wrote down!
• Read & RememberWhen reading texts for your class, try and recall what you've just read about after each paragraph. If you are stuck, move on to the next paragraph and try again!