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u/happyadela • Nov 6, 2019

for those who weren't used to study

and now are
what were your first habits that you successfully
developed to get better at studying?

!21" # 7 Comments

TOP COMMENTS

donothurryme • Nov 7, 2019

I would say get into the groove of using effective study

techniques. I was a med student at Cambridge when I
came across this Dunlosky 2013 review paper about
effective study techniques + active recall, and
honestly, it completely changed the way I study.

(TL;DR: actively recalling facts with closed book spider

diagrams/practice tests/self-explanation >>>>
re-reading, highlighting, summarizing).

I legit used to spend hours re-reading content and

making open-book mindmaps (which worked in high
school when the workload was much less). My
efficiency hugely increased when I started actively
trying to make connections, making closed book spider
diagrams, etc etc. and it helped me be much more
work-life balanced tbh.

You need to make use of evidence-based study

techniques. The Dunlosky paper ranks 10 commonly
used learning strategies from the least to the most
effective ones according to cognitive sciences (i've
listed the top 5 below).

To get the most out of your studying you need to

use the most effective techniques when you're
studying or making your resources/use
education tools that are built using these
principles.
Platforms I found useful included Anki basically,
like Quizlet but interleaves practice using spaced
repetition (super handy for learning long lists of
drugs for pharma).
For high school, a platform like Seneca might
be useful as it uses spacing/interleaving in its
algorithms to retest you on topics you have
struggled with previously.

Dunlosky's five most effective strategies (in increasing

order) are:

5) Self-explanation

Connect new content to stuff you already know.

(e.g. how does what you learn about enzymes in
biology relate to reaction rates in chemistry?)
Relating novel content to prior knowledge
creates new connections and facilitates the
development of schemes.

4) Elaborative interrogation

This strategy involves asking and answering

'why' and 'how' questions. (e.g. why are
enzymes similar to chemical catalysts? How do
they both increase the rates of reactions?)
This requires thinking about a subject in more
depth and detail, which strengthens connections
in the brain.

3) Interleaved practice

Interleaved practice means mixing up the order

of questions across different topics. This is
particularly effective for Maths and Sciences.
Usually, students learn strategy A, solve a series
of problems that demand strategy A, then do the
same with strategy B.
Interleaving would be to learn strategies A and
B, and solve problems that can demand one or
the other.
This way, pupils need to find out the right
strategy from the problem itself, leading to a
deeper understanding and better preparation for
exams.
Basically, let's say you're going over triangles. in
math. Rather than studying Pythagoras' theorem
and then doing Pythagoras' theorem questions
and then studying trigonometry and then doing
trig questions, you should study both
Pythagoras' theorem and trigonometry and then
do a mixture of triangle questions based on both.

2) Distributed practice

Distributed practice is basically like the opposite

of cramming.
Research consistently shows that studying small
chunks of content spread out over time is more
effective than studying long blocks of the same
topic only once. (tbh i still cram a bit for exams,
but starting earlier>>later).
Try and make a study schedule as early as poss
in the year and stick to it. Regularly review
content.
Also working in small chunks is generally more
effective than studying for hours at a time (a
good technique is the Pomodoro technique,
where you work for like 50 mins, rest for 10
mins, then repeat!).

1) Practice testing

The most effective strategy according to

Dunlosky is practice testing. It consists of
studying and reviewing by answering questions
and actively bringing information back to mind.
We love active recall!!
When this is done, information is reconsolidated,
new connections are created, and memory and
understanding are strengthened.
Basically start doing practice questions as early
as possible. Like if you cover photosynthesis in
AP bio, go on the college board's website and
find all the free-response questions you can on
photosynthesis do them and mark them yourself.

I hope this helps!! :-) If you can set up these study

habits now, honestly the rest of your education (and
working life) will be so much easier and efficient, good
luck!!

!9"
QNoble • Nov 7, 2019

• Designated area for study— not your bed or the

dining room table, those already have a purpose.

• Divide into small bits. Most people can only absorb

information well for 30 - 45 minutes. Take a 5 - 10
minute break after these short study sessions.

• Mnemonics help, try and utilize them.

• Ensure that you remember information, not just

recognize it. If you can put the information into your
own words, you likely understand and retain the
information.

• Don’t stress over it too much, habits take time to

develop.

• Reward yourself! After you’ve studied for a good

couple/few hours, have a beer, get a snack, whatever
you find to be rewarding,

!6"
-BananaB- • Nov 7, 2019

Growth mindset. It’s so easy after that, all you need is

a habit to sit down and do the work.

!6"
snush559 • Nov 7, 2019

I weren’t used to study then later I were.. now back to

square one

!6"
liisuuuuu • Nov 7, 2019

Try pomodoro technique. For me it was hard to

concentrate on my studies, well the hardest part was
actually the starting, but the pomodoro technique
helped me to like fully concentrate on the topic or
subject and it is also good because the method makes
me rest between the pomodoro sets, therefore i find it
easier to not burn out. Because before using this
technique i mostly tried to gather motivation to study
and when i felt motivated, i studied constantly for very
long period. Approx 5-6 hours without resting, which
basically made it harder to start the next time. Because
i felt like it takes a lot of time off from my day. I try to
set little goals now, for example 5 pomodoros per day
and i try to think that if i do one pomodoro now, then i
have only 4 to do left. And also you have to
understand, that you cannot have motivation every
time you have to study, but it gets easier over time tho.

!2"

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