Acing Exams
This is Bert.
Bert went from struggling in his classes to getting straight A+’s. Let’s learn how he did that!
Do you ever wonder why some students spend hours and hours studying for exams and still don’t get the results they want, while some students seem to fly through their revision process in a breeze and ace every exam? This is because time spent does not necessarily equal results! Everyone has their own method to study for exams, but not everyone makes the best use of their time. The best students know how to maximize the efficiency and efficacy of their study time. Doing so gives you more time to study for your other classes and more time to rest, relax, and spend time with friends! It can take some time for students to find a routine that works for them, but why wait? Here are five things that I’ve learned that you can do to help you become a more efficient student!
Be consistent in your revision process!
Last-minute cramming is never pleasant. The hours and hours that you have to spend the last few days before your test can be super tiring. But there is a step that reduces the time you need to sit down and review right before your test! After every class, when you get a moment, sit down and resolve all of the practice problems you did that day without looking at your notes. This is called an active recall method. Research has shown that the active recall method—a method in which you test yourself at every step of the revision process—is highly beneficial for learning! Retrieving information from our brains reinforces the memory, and will help you save time in the long run.
Closer to the test date, go through your notes and handwrite a condensed study guide of all the important information.
This process is helpful for a few reasons. Going through your notes and writing a condensed study guide ensures your brain encodes the information through effortful processing. This means it better allows the information to be retained in your memory. As you read, you don’t always fully absorb the information. However, by going through it and narrowing down the important parts, you are forcing yourself to process what you are reading. In addition, handwriting your study guide will also help with encoding the information, encouraging long-term information retention.
After going through your notes and condensing them, do a series of practice problems without looking at the study guide.
I know…this may seem a little counterintuitive. What’s the point of creating a study guide if you aren’t going to use it to help you solve the problems? This, too, is an active recall method! The retrieval of the information you just reviewed and wrote down strengthens the memory, and it also allows our brains to make more connections between different ideas, which can help us remember the information as a bigger picture.
Review questions you get wrong.
When doing mock exams or practice problem sets, make sure to list all the problems you get wrong. After doing so, review the source material that relates to each problem. Once you do that, go through all the problems you got wrong and redo them without looking at your notes. Again, using active recall will strengthen your understanding and memory in learning how to solve those problems. Recheck your answers and repeat the process with any problems you got wrong a second time. If checking the answers, remember not to memorize the steps and the answers to that specific problem. Try to understand why each step was done so you can apply the learning to similar problems. After finishing all the problem sets and mock exams, make a master list of all the ones you got wrong (and already resolved).
Use the Feynman technique.
When studying, it is crucial to understand the importance of understanding over memorization. Memorizing information isn’t learning; you’re more prone to forgetting the ideas. It also makes it harder to apply the information to more complex application problems you may get on an exam. Instead, make sure you are prioritizing understanding the information. One way to ensure you understand the information is by employing the Feynman technique. This four-step process has been shown to produce better results in learning:
Choose a concept to learn. Try to solidify your understanding of the details and the information as a bigger picture.
Explain it out loud to yourself or another person. You can catch gaps in your knowledge and understanding by verbally walking through the information.
Note when you get stuck and return to your source material.
Simplify your explanation, create analogies, and explain it out loud again!
Effective studying takes discipline, but in the end it will help you get better results and save time! Once you find a groove in your routine it will come much more naturally. Make sure to stay consistent and most importantly, learn how you learn!
Bert thinks you’re ready!!
He knows you can totally bring up those grades.
