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Fernandez - How To Study Smarter, Not Harder

The document provides 3 research-backed approaches for studying smarter: 1. Practice testing and distributed practice are the most effective study strategies. Practice testing involves testing yourself on material and boosts retention, especially when done multiple times over time in a distributed manner. 2. Concrete tips for applying these strategies are to not cram and start studying at least a week before the exam, emphasizing active study like practice testing over passive rereading. 3. Adequate sleep is important, as being unhealthy the day of the exam can negatively impact performance, even if the material was well-studied.

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36 views2 pages

Fernandez - How To Study Smarter, Not Harder

The document provides 3 research-backed approaches for studying smarter: 1. Practice testing and distributed practice are the most effective study strategies. Practice testing involves testing yourself on material and boosts retention, especially when done multiple times over time in a distributed manner. 2. Concrete tips for applying these strategies are to not cram and start studying at least a week before the exam, emphasizing active study like practice testing over passive rereading. 3. Adequate sleep is important, as being unhealthy the day of the exam can negatively impact performance, even if the material was well-studied.

Uploaded by

oscarum
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© © All Rights Reserved
We take content rights seriously. If you suspect this is your content, claim it here.
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How to Study Smarter, Not Harder: 3 Research-Backed Approaches

You review your notes; you reread the textbook; you make flashcards. Then you take the test. When you
get it back, it’s not the grade you expected. “But I studied so hard for that test!” Sound familiar?

As a college professor—and once college student myself—I’ve seen this pattern repeat over and over
again. Students who don’t put in sufficient effort into preparing for their test can blame that for a low
exam grade. But those of you that do put in the work often don’t see that effort translate into a high test
score. Worse, some students feel like they studied hours longer than some of their friends yet only
received a similar exam grade. While there can be many reasons for this input-output mismatch, in the
10 years I’ve been debriefing test outcomes with students I’ve identified three key factors that influence
exam performance:

 How they prepared for the exam,


 When they prepared for the exam, and
 Their mental and physical state prior to and during the exam

What’s more, research into the science of learning is providing us with concrete strategies you can
employ to optimize these three facets of your exam prep routine.

How and When to Prepare for an Exam: Pro Tips from the Science of Learning

In 2013 a team of distinguished educational psychologists scoured the research literature to determine
the effectiveness of ten common study strategies. These strategies included staples like highlighting,
rereading, and summarizing, as well as lesser known techniques, like “distributed practice.” The
researchers found that certain strategies were much more effective than others. 1 Two, in particular,
they rated as “most effective” because “they can help students regardless of age, they can enhance
learning and comprehension of a large range of materials, and, most important, they can boost student
achievement.”2 These high-impact strategies are practice testing and distributed practice.

Practice testing—sometimes also called retrieval practice—is when you test yourself on what you’ve
learned; it’s really that simple. The learning boost resulting from practice testing hinges on the well-
documented testing effect, the finding that “active retrieval produces better retention than passive
rereading.”3 And if testing yourself on what you’ve learned boosts retention, then you might suspect
that testing yourself multiple times will also boost retention. That’s indeed the case: “the power of
testing seems to increase with the number of tests taken ….” 3 And that’s where “distributed practice”
comes in: “Students will retain knowledge and skills for a longer period of time when they distribute

1
Dunlosky, J., Rawson, K.A., Marsh, E.J., Willingham, D.T. (2013). Improving students’ learning with effective learning
techniques: Promising directions from cognitive and educational psychology. Psych. Schi. Publ. Intl. 14(1), pgs. 4-58.
2
Dunlosky, J. (2013).  Strengthening the student toolbox: Study strategies to boost learning (pp. 12–21). Fall: American
Educator.
3
H.L. Roediger III, P.K. Agarwal, M.A. McDaniel, K.B. McDermott. (2011). Test-enhanced learning in the classroom: Long-term
improvements from quizzing. Journal of Experimental Psychology: Applied , 17, pgs. 382-395.
their practice than when they mass it….” 2 (Check out these two videos for more on retrieval practice and
distributed practice.)

So how might you apply these strategies to your exam prep routine? Here are two concrete tips.

1. Do not cram for the exam. If delay all (or most) of your studying until the day before the exam,
you’ll be in the “massed study” camp. Plan instead to space out your studying. For example,
start at least one week before the exam and develop a study plan that gets you practicing the
content that will be tested frequently.
2. Emphasize active study strategies over passive ones. For example, test yourself on the content
you’ll be tested on. You could also try applying what you’ve learned to new contexts or in
different ways. You may at times need to refer back to your notes or the textbook and reread
some things, but by emphasizing active study strategies you’ll be taking advantage of the testing
effect.

As powerful as retrieval practice and distributed practice are, there is one often overlooked factor that
heavily influences your exam grade: your health.

On the Importance of Self-Care

We don’t have to consult a team of scientists to know that if you’re unhealthy the day of the exam
you’re likely to score lower than your healthy self would. While you may not be able to control certain
aspects of your health—such as catching a cold—other aspects are under your control. The one I’ll focus
on there is sleep.

Too often students stay up late—or don’t sleep at all—studying for an exam the morning after. It is hard
to overstate how badly this impacts your ability to do well on that exam. To put things in perspective,

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