Techniques to improve learning
May 5, 2023
Written by : MAITHRI RATHOD , CLASS OF 2028.
Do you ever feel like your study habits simply aren’t cutting it? We can all struggle with a lack of energy and inadequate time so ensuring that we are investing both in the right places is the key. Fortunately, there are many active, effective study strategies that are shown to be effective.This handout offers several tips on effective studying. Implementing these tips into your regular study routine will help you to efficiently and effectively learn course material.
Feynman technique
The main idea behind the technique is to take something that’s hard to understand and try to clarify it in your mind by explaining it as if you were talking to a child. Ideally write & speak at the same time just as a teacher does it at the blackboard. This makes you realize which part you understand and where you still have gaps. Whenever you get stuck go back to study & repeat the process until you have explained the whole topic from start to end.Blurting method
Blurting is an active recall technique that is often used as part of the exam revision process. Blurting is often also referred to as a memory dump. Blurting involves quickly reading a section of a textbook, an exam specification, or other study guide and then closing the book and writing down as much of the information as you can remember. Once you have done this you then reopen the textbook or the study guide and compare what you have written to the text, and see which areas you recalled and which areas you might need to work on.Gap learning method
In this method you stop randomly every once in a while and take a 10 seconds break and just do nothing. Inside of this little rest block the brain runs many repetitions of the material that you are trying to learn. So speed and depth of learning is much faster.The Leitner system
It is based on the principle of spaced repetition, the idea that our brains will better remember material if we revisit it repeatedly over a length of time. The technique primarily uses flashcards to make learning and memorising concepts easier.Rather than cramming information into your brain all in one sitting, spaced repetition encourages learners to space out learning over periods of time. By executing this technique, students can attain clarity of their strong and weak concepts.
The 5-min rule
Procrastination is result of the conflict between the emotional and logical sides of our brain. So you want to avoid different tasks that don’t offer an immediate reward. In this technique, you set a goal of doing whatever it is you would otherwise avoid, but only do it for five minutes. If after five minutes, it’s so horrible that you have to stop, you are free to do so. However, what most people find is that after five minutes of doing something, it’s easy to continue until the task is done. Setting the intention and starting is usually the hardest parts. By thinking about the task as something that may take only 5 minutes, it feels much less overwhelming and a lot more doable.
6. Pomodoro technique
This method is based on studying in time intervals. A time management method where a 25- minute stretch of focused work is broken by five-minute breaks. We learn best when we are fully engaged in a task, but this can be mentally exhausting. With this intensity breaks are important. During the longer breaks our brains are assimilating the new information and resting for the next round. Procrastination-busting strategy is exactly what the pomodoro technique asks you to do: break down your big tasks, projects, or goals into something you only have to do for the next 25 minutes. It keeps you hyper focused on the one next thing you need to do rather than get overwhelmed by the enormity of what you’re taking on.
